PhD progresses through many stages. And writing is considered to be the last of it. Often proposal writing is so exhausting that we tend to procrastinate before we take up writing again. If you are like me, and love to read, you would also revel in the lovely time that a quiet library can offer. With just the company of books and journals, it is wonderful to just sit, read and be lost in the world of researches and publications. If libraries in DU allowed coffee inside, I doubt if many of us would ever step out!
This tip comes as a response to what one of my friends was talking to me about yesterday. The beauty of reading is that it allows us to live in a cocooned world. The trouble is that this world is so beautiful that you would never come back to reality. This is a big hurdle in starting writing.
My suggestion here is to start writing from the beginning of your work. If you are tech savvy, carry a tab or laptop or make documents in your phone. If you are like me, get inspired by the world of stationery and always carry a PhD exclusive notebook with you. No thought, reading, conversation is unimportant to your PhD work. You can always discard things later. Note down details of all ‘casual’ conversations. Newspaper articles can give you fresh insights. Write down references that people may unexpectedly cite.
Do not postpone to tomorrow what needs to be written today. The best time to write down fieldnotes is the minute you finish a session. If you postpone it to tomorrow, you are bound to miss out on a few details. Write it down asap. Thus, the need to carry writing equipment. If need be, make cafes, park benches, bus stops, metro stations, public libraries, and the like your second homes. Trust me, the world recognises a busy PhD scholar. Nobody bothers you. They may peak into your notebooks. You will soon learn to ignore them and even be oblivious.
It is most important that you write down the details of interviews taken, expert validation of tools, conferences on areas related to your research and discussions with your supervisor or advisory. Many of these will later come in handy when you are writing your final thesis. At the time of engaging in the field in doing a preliminary scouting task, I was wondering where this data will come in useful. I had already written my objectives and the survey that I had conducted was in contrast to the qualitative research that I was undertaking. Nevertheless, I wrote a report, did elaborate statistical analysis, and wrote a paragraph on the insights I could draw out of the analysis. When I was finally writing my thesis, this paragraph became a part of my methodology chapter and the report a part of my appendices. More importantly, it was this paragraph that I had written four years ago that helped me to justify my research questions. I could have ofcourse written it in the end. But with these bits and pieces that I had written over four years, I was able to construct my thesis. In some ways, I was writing my PhD from day one.
Another important aspect that I would like to emphasise about writing is that you must read, re-read and re-re-read your work. Nothing that you submit to your supervisor should be the first draft. You must read what you have written before giving it to your supervisor. By reading what you have written, you will know whether you are actually expressing in a language that can be understood by people unfamiliar with your work. It would be ideal if you give at least a two day break between working on your second drafts.
Throughout my association with research writing over the past ten years, I am yet to come across a supervisor, across disciplines, who does not thrash a scholar’s writing. Do not take this only as a reflection of your abilities. Research writing is very different from, say, writing a blog. Take it as a learning experience. It will help you grow!