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Bonus post: Thesis writing.

This post will be a combination of tips and tricks I have received from numerous sources, with the majority coming from Shinton Consulting and STREAM IDC staff. 

The big T

If you’re anything like me, just the word ‘thesis’ can instill a sense of dread in me. However, the best way to deal with a phobia is to face it head on, so let’s do just that, both in a literal and metaphorical sense. 

What a thesis is and what to expect…

Writing a thesis could take anywhere between four weeks to a whole year, and sometimes even longer! The worst thing you can do is compare your progress to that of others; setting a benchmark is one thing, but beating yourself into a panicked pulp because you haven’t written as many chapters as a fellow PhD/EngD won’t do you any good. The best thing you can do is have regular discussions with your supervisors on how long your thesis will take and plan accordingly. 🕖

Your thesis has to be fit for purpose (that is to pass), which means that it has to:

Satisfy the expectations of your institution and industry sponsor (if applicable).

How did you solve the problem that was proposed to you?

Contain material which presents a unified body of work that could reasonably be achieved on the basis of three years’ postgraduate study and research.

Show you have done the work and impress your examiners.

Allow your examiners to confirm that the thesis is an original work, which makes a significant contribution to the field, including material worthy of publication.

Research your examiners and quote them where possible, especially of they’re relevant to your field.

Show adequate knowledge of the field of study and relevant literature. 

Make sure you read all of the key papers in your field. 

What were the gaps in knowledge?

The ‘references’ section is very important as this sets the scene and examiners will read this. BUT, don’t have too many references. 

Demonstrate critical judgement with regard to both the candidate’s work and that of other scholars in the same general field.

Compare approaches and conclusions of others.

Note potential conflicts of interest.

Why did you use this method/approach?

Is your interpretation the only possible explanation?

Be presented in a clear, consistent, concise, and accessible format. 

Make your examiners lives easier. 

Make your viva as pleasant as can be!

Basically, you need to know why your project was important, be able to explain the key work that has already been done in the area and how it relates to your research aim. You should then be able to explain what you have done during your research and how this contributes to your field. 

Note: Keep checking university regulations! Each university should have their own code of practice for supervisors and research students, which will look something like this. 

Picture: A short summary of the above. Source: Tumblr.

Planning and writing

I’m not going to lie to you, it is not going to be easy. I have only just embarked on the journey myself and am already overwhelmed. However, with the right preparation, coping mechanisms in place, and a tremendous amount of self-discipline, we will get through. ☕

Getting started

You need to practice writing. That’s as simple as advice gets. 

You need to practice reading other PhD/EngD theses, mainly to understand what to expect, and to experience what being the audience for a thesis is like. 

Create a thesis plan… 

To start the mammoth task that is thesis writing, it needs to be fully understood and broken down into manageable chunks.

Make a plan (perhaps based on the table of contents of another thesis) of all the sections and chapters in the thesis.

Then break these into sections and keep breaking it down until you are almost at the paragraph level.

Now you can start writing!

Where to start the actual writing?

Start with the most comfortable chapter, such as a previously published paper, a set of results that are straightforward and can be easily explained, methodology/methods, etc. 

Create a storyboard for you thesis and write as if you are telling that story.

If you’re not sure what comes next, refer to previous theses and back to your plan and storyboard. 

Be ready to amend the plan for future chapters as each is completed and you become more aware of what the thesis must contain.

Remember: THINKING IS HARD, WRITING IS EASIER. 💭

Organisation

Develop and maintain a logical filing system.

Improve your back up technique; if it’s not saved in 3+ locations, it is not safely backed up.

Back up every day.

Never overwrite previous documents, just make many versions. It’s not worth the risk of losing a valuable piece of work from a copy and paste error.

Copy any key parts from your lab/note/field books as these can get lost/damaged.

Keep a file/folder of thoughts, references, etc. that you are not including in your thesis; these may be useful to refer back to for ideas and information.

Effective writing

Establish a routine, don’t be distracted, take breaks.

Set clear and realistic goals for each week/day. 

A GANTT chart is very good for this; use it to keep on track and measure progress.

You just gotta start. The hardest part is the beginning.

Don’t stall on details, walk away for a short break to clear your mind.

Get formatting correct from the start (check your code of practice/regulations).

Be consistent with references.

Seek help from the experts - supervisors, postdocs, online sources/training programmes etc.

Create SMART objectives for your writing process:

Specific - e.g. “I will complete chapter 3/collate all diagrams” rather than “I will make good progress”.

Measurable - e.g. “I will write 4 pages today” not “I will try to write as much as I can”.

Achievable - e.g. “I will complete the first draft for my supervisor” not “I will get it perfect before he/she sees it”.

Realistic - e.g. “I will complete the introduction today” not “I will complete a chapter a week”.

Time - it can be useful to set yourself deadlines e.g. tell your supervisor you will hand in a draft on a certain day - that way you are sure to have it done.

Finally, find a balance between being tough with yourself whilst protecting your well-being the best you can. I wrote a post a little while ago that covers managing your mental health during a PhD. Read it here. 

GIF: Anna Kendrick dishing out some top advice. Source: Tumblr.

A few more tips

Supervisor management

Establish what you want to cover in each meeting.

Keep a record of the outcomes and actions from those meetings.

Make your supervisors lives easy; they’re very busy humans.

They are unlikely to judge work unless it is presented completely (i.e. fully written with tables, figures, etc.).

Give them a neat, complete version of a chapter at a time (proof-read thoroughly and spell-checked).

It is in your supervisors interest for you to complete in good time; they are experts and will offer a lot of support.

To summarise, a good thesis:

Has an appreciation of what came before.

Focuses on the interesting and important.

Is well reasoned.

Will change the way people think.

Will teach your supervisors something. 

Has publishable results.

Is logical in presentation, analysis, and arguments.

Is well illustrated with tables, figures, graphs, summary flow charts etc.

It is worth spending a lot of time on these. 

Is written without grammatical and spelling errors.

Has an appreciation of what comes next.

I hope that the above was helpful! There are many resources out there, so get exploring if you need more advice!

I’ll soon be writing a post on how to survive your viva! So, watch this space. ✨

Photo: Make this your phone/desktop/laptop/everything background when you’re writing, I know I will! Source: Tumblr.

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you’ve gotten a bad grade. the assignment you turned in was not as good as you expected. the exam just went awful. we all know the feeling when this happens. but i’m here to help you!! don’t stress my friend everything will be okay

first of all: it’s okay!!!!!! everybody fails sometimes! i know it feels awful because you worked your ass off and now this happens. what’s important is that you don’t give up. academic success is not everything, so don’t beat yourself up too much. (also like there’s so much wrong with this system, but that’s a topic for another time)

- ̗̀ right after  ̖́-

give yourself some time to be sad, angry, frustrated, etc. talk to someone or journal your thoughts down and just get everything out. (it would be best to talk someone who isn’t in the same situation, so instead of maybe making your classmate uncomfortable, talk to somebody who will listen and give emotional support)

nobody excepts you to go right back to studying. in fact it would be better to get your mind off of things and distract yourself a bit. do something you love and relax a little.

but! don’t forget to pick yourself up again and take the next step:

- ̗̀ mindset  ̖́-

put your “failing“ into perspective. how bad is it really? is it the end of the world (no it isn’t). do you only think it’s a bad grade because you keep comparing yourself to your classmates?

don’t!!!!! compare!!!! yourself to others!!! focus on yourself. you don’t know all the other things your classmates may struggle with and your academic performance does not determine your self-worth. so what you didn’t do that good? there are so many other great things about you, believe me mwah

- ̗̀ identify the cause  ̖́-

what was the cause you didn’t do as well you expected?

did you study the wrong things? or did you study them the wrong way? were the concepts just way to complicated and you didn’t understand them?

did you panic while taking the exam?

didn’t pay attention in class?

did you not start early enough?

is your teacher just awful™?

whatever the reason try to identify it and find a solution. try to apply it the next time. but remember that there is not always a cause, sometimes things are just like they are. if that seems to be the case, just remember that it’s probably not your fault and try to continue doing your best.

- ̗̀ solutions  ̖́-

ha you thought you have to figure out the solution all by yourself. but i’m here to (hopefully) help you.

don’t be afraid to talk to your teacher/prof! most of the time they want to see you succeed, so maybe there is something you could do to improve the grade or you could try to tackle the issue you have/had.

find a study method that suits you and make it a routine. there’re so many helpful posts on here (just search up “study tips”) so there is to 100% something that works for you.

study schedule? some people do better with one, some don’t. with one, you can exactly plan out when and what to study for the upcoming tests, so you’ll be able to improve your grade. also, try to plan in when you’re going to revise hard topics again or the ones you didn’t understand if there were any.

do your homework and assignments! they help so much with improving your grade and the teacher/prof sees that you’re willing to make an effort.

join a study group or visit a tutor. they are a great way to find help and make you remember that you’re not alone and that there’s a solution to everything.

be a pro at exam taking. i’ll maybe do a separate post on that because there is so much i could say, but the most important thing is: be positive. give yourself a pep talk and don’t stress. you got this.

okay, that’s everything i have to say! i hope i could help u a bit <3 remember: you got this!!

Declutter Your Life

I’ve resolved that every Wednesday, I will write a masterpost about self care and living clean and happy lifestyles. Mainly because my blog is devoted to that too, besides being a studyblr, but I hardly ever post original content about it, so hereeee we go. :)

Plan first

Make a list of areas you want to tackle

Or items you want to go through

Set how long you’ll clean

And a little reward for yourself when you’ve reached that goal

Envision what you want your space to look like at the end

Set aside three baskets or areas: one for things to keep, one for things to trash, and one for things to donate/sell

House

There are just some ideas of things to get rid of or pare down. Feel free to add your own. :)

Bedroom

unnecessary pillows on your bed or extra blankets

monsters under your bed

chargers, wires, etc. that go to devices you don’t have anymore or that are broken

old devices, phones, ipods

books you felt kinda eh about while reading them

copies of books or CDs

old notebooks

sticky notes that have lost their stickiness

broken pencils

markers that have dried up

any art supply you don’t use

scrap paper that’s gotten too small

scrap yarn that’s gotten too small

old art projects

unfinished art projects

papers

candles w/o any smell

Scentsy-type stuff w/o any smell

Closet

clothes that don’t fit

all of those clothes you save for your “ugly days”

shoes that hurt that you don’t even like the looks of

underwear with holes (or blood stains - ya feel me, girls?)

socks without a matching pair

socks with holes

bras that are even looking tired

copies of clothes, like multiple white t-shirts

jewelry you don’t wear

childish jewelry

broken jewelry

Bathroom

hygiene products past their expiration date

faded towels

bottles with only a few drops of product left

worn out toothbrushes

hairbands that have lost their elasticity

congealed nail polish

makeup you regret buying

Digital Life

Social Media

Unfollow people, be merciless, make your social media a place of positivity

unfriend toxic people (see the next section)

go through your own posts and delete anything you regret posting

take social media breaks

Computer

upload all of your photos to Google photos or flickr or photobucket or onedrive or whatever, or even a CD, then delete them from your memory

also back up important documents or just things you want to keep to something else and delete them on your computer

go through and sort everything into files

delete any programs you don’t use

Phone

clean out your pictures, upload them to cloud or whatever

delete all of the apps you don’t use or need

go through your contacts and delete the people you don’t want to contact anymore

delete old text message conversations

give yourself a new background too, something clean and simple

Relationships

Get rid of those people who are toxic in your life, mute notifications from them, unfollow them on social media (you can unfollow someone one facebook without unfriending them), don’t answer them often

make an effort to interact with people face-to-face rather than through text or the internet

decide who you want to actively invest your energy in

School

make a study schedule

prioritize your schedule – study the hardest subjects the most

remember that grades are important

also remember that grades aren’t everything 

(pls don’t fire me from being a studyblr)

if you can’t get everything you need to do done in 24 hours without sacrificing 8 hours of sleep and a bit of time for yourself, then you’re doing too much

Best tip to stay decluttered: Learn to say no.

link to free pdfs

I’ve been collecting pdfs over the years and I put them all in this google drive folder. I divided them into literature and theory and then by language: english, spanish, basque, italian, portuguese, turkish, russian and french.

anarchism | biography | black people & liberation | capitalism | colonialism (& gender) | disability | economics | education, pedagogy | feminism (& marxism, womanism) | grenada | health, eating disorders, fat studies | history | imperialism (& medicine, science) | incarceration | islam | israel & palestine | judaism | leftism, antifascism | lgbt, sexuality, gender | linguistics | maoism | marxian economics | marxism | ngo-ization | peru | philosophy, sociology | postcolonialism | psychiatry | psychology | race, racism | translation (& lgbt issues & colonialism) | trauma & recovery | turkey

last updated: 02 march 2021

I have some spicy goals for tomorrow.

What can you do when you feel completely wiped out or you’re strapped for time, but your home is a mess beyond any acceptable living standards? Here are some things you can do to improve your living space without having to expand all the energy required for a thorough cleaning.

1. Manage the floors

Start with putting items of clothing where they belong. Fold and store away clean clothes, put what is dirty in your laundry basket or bag. If that is too much for you, put everything in a designated spot so most of the floors are not littered with them.

Pick up your trash. If there is anything on the floor that belongs in the recycling bin or the trash, put them there.

Sweep or vacuum where dirty. You don’t have to do the whole thing. Just focus on the dirtiest visible spots: the entrance, around the dining table and in the kitchen tend to be typical ones for me.

2. Manage the kitchen

Put your dishes in soapy water. If you don’t have enough energy to do the dishes, fill your sink with hot water and put in a generous amount of dish soap. That way, the dishes will be easier to clean when you have the energy to do them.

Wipe your counters. Just use a rag or whatever, and don’t focus on making it spotless.

Throw away expired food. Don’t let it litter your refrigerator.

3. Manage the bathroom

Put used towels in the laundry. Fresh towels make you feel cleaner.

Clean the toilet bowl and sink. These are the two most visible dirty things in the bathroom and they don’t take a lot of time to clean.

Rince your shower. You don’t have to clean it. Just rince the walls and the inner shower curtain so it looks a bit fresher.

4. Manage surfaces

Put dishes in the sink and throw away expired food and trash. If you tend to eat at your desk or in your living room, it’s easy to forget to put away those dirty dishes.

Throw away useless paper. It’s easy to let it litter your workspace.

Wipe visibly dirty surfaces. If you eat at your desk or in your living room, it is likely you rarely think of cleaning those places.

5. Practice self-care

You don’t have to do everything on this list. It’s okay to only do the least time/energy-consuming things and leave the rest for later or prioritize an area that has more impact on your well-being than others.

Don’t forget to move around, sleep and eat as much as you need to. These are your basic human needs and neglecting them will impair your performance.

Clean yourself, too. If you don’t have the energy for a shower, baby wipes or a face cloth wet with soapy water will make you feel fresher without requiring a full shower. Dry shampoo is also a life-saver if your hair tends to get oily.

Sometimes we can feel overwhelmed by the amount of things to do. Don’t forget that you can always break down these tasks into smaller ones that you can do during pomodoro breaks or other short breaks while you’re studying! Take it one step at the time and stay within your limits.