Oh, So You Want to Write a Dissertation?

I’ve been an English as a Second Language instructor since 2015, and I’ve been working on my PhD since 2016. No, I didn’t leave my job to become a doctoral student; rather, I decided to dedicate my “free time” to advancing my studies (i.e., writing a dissertation).

I’ve always had an appetite for higher education. I’ve always liked school; I’ve always liked learning. That’s why, during my fourth year of undergraduate studies at the University of Iowa, I decided to apply to do my MA in Theoretical and Applied Linguistics at Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, Spain.

This accomplished two goals for me: (1) be the first of my family to earn a graduate degree and (2) live in Spain for a minimum of one year. I did both of those things. When I graduated from Universitat Pompeu Fabra in 2015, I took my current job at the University of Iowa. I was happy for my first year—just being a teacher—but I wanted more. I didn’t just want to be an ESL teacher; I wanted to be a linguistics professor.

So, I’m pursuing a doctoral degree; and, for me, this is a personal adventure, a challenge to myself. I enrolled in the English Linguistics doctoral program at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona in Fall 2016, and due to the kind of program I’m in, I’ve basically been ABD (“all but dissertation”) since I started. This means I’ve essentially been working on writing my dissertation the whole time.

Here’s what I’ve learned so far.

I’ll Take Your Cheapest White Wine, Please

In Stephen King’s memoir, On Writing, he says, “For any writer, but for the beginning writer in particular, it’s wise to eliminate every possible distraction.” To be honest, this worked for me—in the beginning. In the first year or two of my PhD, I thrived in a quiet environment with little to no distractions.

But as time went on, I began to feel isolated.

I found myself procrastinating out of boredom. I couldn’t believe it. Not to mention, when I would spend time in Barcelona, I found myself just lying in bed to avoid doing work! Not. Even. Sightseeing. Again, crazy!

Now that I’m ending my third year of my doctoral studies, I’ve found I work better in places with some kind of ambiance (e.g., a café, a bar, a busy library). When trying to find a location, you must make your selection carefully, as there are many things to consider.

Here are just a few:

• Reliable Wi-Fi?
• Coffee?
• Snacks?
• Background noise?
• Wine?!

Of course, Wi-Fi and coffee. And, yes, wine. But I’ll come back to that one.

There are a number of good cafés in my hometown, so I’m always happy to go there in the morning. Not to mention, once you establish yourself with the barista, there are perks. For instance, your latte could be a nice flower, signaling spring is in bloom, or a thundercloud, giving the day’s forecast.

For me, coffee always motivates me to get started, and some cute latte art definitely helps!

And the wine? That’s for after lunch.

Being as I am a teacher, I get time off during the summer. I am also fortunate enough to have a screened-in porch at my house. Do you see where I’m going here? I’m not good at math, but I’ll try.

summer weather + screened-in porch + wine = very productive writing

In other words, find yourself a nice outside location to work, too. You don’t always want to be cooped up indoors, especially when the weather is nice. So, go grab a bottle (or two or three) of your favorite white wine and throw it in the fridge. Chill it. Set up your writing space outside (or as close as you can get). Pour yourself a glass of wine and keep the writing going.

If you are anything like me, though, you need to be careful. After two or three glasses of wine, there will be some editing to do once you’re sober again.

But who knows, maybe you’ll write 1500 amazing words a little tipsy and even like it in the morning!

You never know until you try!

A Note on Formatting

I’m obsessed with formatting . . . ask anyone that knows me! Don’t get me wrong, I love for my documents to all look professional and coherent, but this can also be a hinderance.

For example, before I began writing my first dissertation chapter, I spent a week formatting files and documents for each chapter and appendix so they would match. I even made a title page. A title page that I recently had to modify from “June 2019” to “June 2020.”

This formatting, though, helped me with my organization. I was able to see what I wanted the dissertation to look like. For example, I didn’t want to spend three years writing in Calibri if that wasn’t the font I wanted to use. (I don’t like Times New Roman, either!) So I chose Garamond. It’s a favorite serif font for me.

Once I established what I wanted my dissertation to look like physically, then I was able to focus on the content. For each chapter, I put in general headings to organize my reading and writing patterns. It was through this process that one chapter I wrote actually became two! You never really know what’s going to happen until you get started.

Organization is key. In my early writing days, the first (very rough) draft that I would send to my advisor often came back with “This is disorganized—very academically immature.” These kinds of messages can be disheartening in the beginning, but they foster growth.

Writing is a process. You learn to write. You write to learn.

But I Digress…

When I started my PhD, I made a timeline—3 years and done. Well, here I am, at the end of the third year and applying for an extension.

There’s no shame in taking your time to work on a meaningful project. I mean, they’ve been building the Sagrada Família for over 130 years. (No, the original architect is not still working on the project.) If you ever get the chance to see it in person, you’ll see why they’re taking so much time. It’s an impressive building that has many intricacies in its design.

Don’t spend 130 years writing your dissertation.

Sure, it’s totally kosher to take a hiatus once in a while. After spending my normal 3-4 weeks in Barcelona in 2018, I took a 2.5-month hiatus. I had done a research stay during the spring semester and then turned around and immediately went to Barcelona for my academic work. I was overwhelmed. After setting some deadlines, I decided to take some time off and distance myself from my PhD.

This was one of the healthiest decisions I could have made.

In October, I resumed work collecting data and writing my dissertation with a newly refreshed motivation and more positive outlook.

Take your time; take a hiatus.

Just make sure you message your supervisor occasionally so they know you’re still alive!

Paper Clip Broke: Take Two

Regardless of what you do, don’t forget to update your supervisor on your progress. Being as I live in the USA and do my studies through a university in Barcelona, it’s imperative that I send regular updates on my progress.

I often send my emails in the evening before I call it a night. That way, my supervisor sees these messages in the morning and can send me a quick reply if needed. Buuuuuut, if I had a dollar (or euro) for every time that I didn’t attach the file, I’d be one rich doctoral student.

I don’t really know how many times I’ve forgotten to attach the important documents to my emails. This often delays my work by a few days due to the 7-hour time difference between my supervisor and me.

Fix the paper clip: it’s not just important–it’s imperative to include the attachments.

Remember, You’re Avant-Garde or MIND THE GAP

From early on, one of the most important things that you have to work on is finding how your work will fit into the greater scheme of existing academia. Sure, as you read, you’ll think the field is crowded and that there isn’t any room for you.

That’s not true, though.

I’ll never forget a conversation I had when I was working on my MA thesis. My supervisor at the time told me, “Find the research gap.” Every subsequent meeting included her emphasizing “The Gap” and reminding me to keep it in mind.

I now let The Gap lead my research planning and writing.

In working on my dissertation, I’ve always known what The Gap was that I wanted to address. What I didn’t know was how to fill that gap. It wasn’t until recently, in reworking my research questions, that I really realized the potential impact of my work.

In giving my third seguimiento (annual update on my progress), I presented updated research questions and hypotheses to my committee. At the time, I felt good about my research questions, but I wasn’t sure how they would be received.

After briefly discussing the research questions, I pointed out which one was my “favorite.” In that moment, one of my committee members made it a point to say, “This is an important question. It’s a clear favorite because this is the question. This is the question that will anchor your name in the field. Whenever any research wants to approach this topic, they will have to mention your name.”

That was an amazing moment for me. I suddenly felt like a trailblazer. I felt avant-garde.

Take a leap of faith. Do the thing that’s going to make the project really feel like it’s yours.

About the Author: Dakota J. Thomas-Wilhelm

Dakota is an English as a Second Language instructor at the University of Iowa and fur-dad to four fur-babies: Oscar, Tyra, Charlee, and Rosco. He loves traveling and started his PhD in English Linguistics at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona in 2016. He’s currently on track and plans to defend his dissertation in June 2020.