Ask Doctoral Advising

Nearly every day I speak with learners who do not appreciate how important writing is to the successful completion of their dissertation and their doctoral degree. Learners need to be able to convey their messages in a way that demonstrates they understand what they have been working on – and in a way that others will also understand.

Before learners can move on to the dissertation stage, they must complete the comprehensive exam. That exam is not only a test of one’s ability to employ critical reading and thinking skills, but it is also a test of one’s writing skills. The completed exam goes to faculty readers who determine if the learner answered the question completely, if the organization of the response makes sense and if the writing rises to a scholarly level.

Whether the learner is writing a course paper or the comps exam, the learner should always take the time to reread, revise and rewrite. We all make mistakes in our writing. Even the best writers need editors. Once learners move into comps, their writing is evaluated by someone other than the courseroom instructor and sometimes that feedback is tough to take. When learners complete their dissertation, their work is uploaded to a database where it will be available for anyone in the world to see and to read.

Don’t limit your best writing efforts to your comps and dissertation. Practice your writing skills each time you send an email to your advisor or your mentor or to any professional connection. Take your writing seriously.