Category Archives: thesis

recycling your thesis text – is it self plagiarism?

Posted on September 13, 2021 by pat thomson

The term self-plagiarism is usually associated with re-using your own work, recycling slabs of material already published, cutting and pasting from one text to another, producing something which duplicates something that has already appeared elsewhere. Self-plagiarism is not the same … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, plagiarism, re-use, self-plagiarism, thesis | Tagged Pat Thomson, self-plagiarism, text recycling, Text Recycling Project, thesis | 4 Comments

“showing” and “telling” in the thesis

Posted on August 30, 2021 by pat thomson

The thesis must show and tell your examiner that its writer is ready to be called Dr. Yep. Dr (insert your surname here.) What do I mean by show and tell? Well, even if these are not the usual definitions, … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, audit trail, conclusion, introduction, literature reviews, methods, show and tell, thesis | Tagged academic writing, audit trail, conclusion, introduction, literature, methods, show and tell, thesis | 1 Comment

should you publish during your PhD?

Posted on August 23, 2021 by pat thomson

So you are not doing PhD by publication. You’re not in a country and/or discipline which expects you to publish during your PhD – yes really, some do. And you hear conflicting advice about whether publishing during your PhD is … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, publishing, text work/identity work, thesis, writing for publication | Tagged Pat Thomson, publishing during the PhD, scholarly conversation, text work identity work | 11 Comments

does a thesis conclusion have “recommendations”?

Posted on August 16, 2021 by pat thomson

I’ve seen many a thesis which concludes with a set of recommendations that arise from the research. This practice troubles me. I’ve got two basic concerns about putting recommendations in a thesis conclusion. My position may be a bit contentious … Continue reading →

Posted in conclusion, recommendations, thesis | Tagged conclusion, implications, Pat Thomson, recommendations, thesis | Leave a comment

can you say something about the “theory chapter”?

Posted on August 9, 2021 by pat thomson

I’ve been asked about writing a theory chapter. But should I say anything? I feel a bit iffy about the very idea. What to do? Take your own advice here. Write for ten minutes about a theory chapter. Write about … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, theory, theory chapter, thesis | Tagged Pat Thomson, theory, theory chapter | 2 Comments

the thesis discussion – making the move work

Posted on May 17, 2021 by pat thomson

This post comes back again at the discussion “chapter”. It seems you can never say too much about this tricky bit of the thesis. A caveat before I start. This post is written from a social science perspective and offers … Continue reading →

Posted in argument, discussion, thesis | Tagged argument, Pat Thomson, results and discussion, thesis, writing the discussion | 1 Comment

required, desirable and delightful elements of academic writing

Posted on May 3, 2021 by pat thomson

This is the time of year that I run writing workshops and courses. And because I’m preoccupied with teaching, I’m also thinking about new and different strategies for authoring and revision. Authoring and revision strategies are inter-related – heuristics used … Continue reading →

Posted in examiner, Kano Analysis, revision, thesis | Tagged authoring, examiner, Kano Analysis, Pat Thomson, revision, thesis | 4 Comments

a first draft in five minutes a day?

Posted on February 8, 2021 by pat thomson

This is a brief post. It’s a brief post about a brief strategy which helps you to get started on writing that feels a bit – well – a bit boring. It’s the five minutes a day strategy. Boring? Yes … Continue reading →

Posted in being stuck, boring writing, crappy first draft, pomodoro, speed writing, stuck points, tiny targets, writing to get unstuck | Tagged academic writing, crappy first draft, five minutes a day, Pat Thomson, pomodoro, tiny targets, writing to get unstuck | 4 Comments

plan to write – a controlling purpose

Posted on November 30, 2020 by pat thomson

At some point in the writing process, most writers develop a plan. Some writers may already have, before they plan, chunks of text or a crappy first draft that needs to be beaten into shape. Other writers begin with the … Continue reading →

Posted in argument, controlling purpose, the point, thesis, Tiny Text | Tagged academic wriitng, argument, controlling purpose, outline, Pat Thomson, Tiny Text | 3 Comments

tracking the path to research claims

Posted on January 6, 2020 by pat thomson

All researchers make claims about their work. Remember the phrase staking a claim? That’s what we are actually doing when we claim something. We are metaphorically placing a marker in a field that we are prepared to stand on, stand … Continue reading →