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Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day: A Guide to Starting, Revising and Finishing Your Doctoral Thesis (Paperback)

by Joan Bolker (Author) "IF YOU ENJOY RESEARCH and writing, some of the greatest gifts life can offer you are time, space, and a good rationalization for devoting yourself..." (more)

4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (30 customer reviews)

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Product Details

Paperback: 184 pages
Publisher: Owl; 1 edition (Jul 21 1998)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 080504891X
ISBN-13: 978-0805048919
Product Dimensions: 20.8 x 14 x 1.5 cm
Shipping Weight: 114 g

Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (30 customer reviews)

Amazon.ca Sales Rank: #13,391 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
Popular in these categories:
#10 in Books > Reference > Writing > Academic & Commercial
#39 in Books > Reference > Writing > Writing Skills
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Product Description

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"Fifteen minutes!" you say. "That's too good to be true!" Okay, author Joan Bolker admits she gave her book the title Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day to get the reader's attention. And she admits that it's unlikely you'll actually finish a dissertation at that speed. As she tells her clients, however, a mere 15 minutes is much better than no writing at all when they're stuck. As a clinical psychologist who cofounded the Harvard Writing Center, Bolker has helped hundreds of writers complete their dissertations. She offers suggestions on how to create a writing addiction so that you feel incomplete if you don't write every day and stresses the need to set reasonable goals and deadlines for yourself to keep from getting discouraged. She also offers strategies for dealing with both internal and external distractions and for fending off writer's block. Even more important is the advice on some of the more awkward issues related to dissertation writing, such as how to choose your adviser carefully. (For example, when faced with the tradeoff between a famous advisor who is inaccessible and a less famous advisor who is willing to make time for you, Bolker advises, "If choosing a politically advantageous, famous advisor makes it unlikely that you'll complete your degree, it's clearly not worth it.") The book even includes a helpful appendix for advisers that could become the basis for an honest discussion of what student and adviser can expect from each other. Throughout this excellent book, Bolker acts as a therapist, cheerleader, and drill sergeant, all rolled into one.

While some of the book's advice is of interest only to dissertation writers, much of the information--on battling writer's block, for instance--is valuable to anybody engaged in writing. Rather than being filled with rules defining how to become a great writer, Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day is about finding the process by which you can be the most productive--it's a set of exercises that you can use to find out more about you and the way you write. Along the way, you'll do a bit of writing. And that's what matters, especially when you experience writer's block--as Bolker says, "Write anything, because writing is writing." With its helpful advice and supportive tone, Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day should be required reading for anyone considering writing a dissertation. --C.B. Delaney

Product Description

Expert writing advice from the editor of the Boston Globe best-seller, The Writer's Home Companion

Dissertation writers need strong, practical advice, as well as someone to assure them that their struggles aren't unique. Joan Bolker, midwife to more than one hundred dissertations and co-founder of the Harvard Writing Center, offers invaluable suggestions for the graduate-student writer. Using positive reinforcement, she begins by reminding thesis writers that being able to devote themselves to a project that truly interests them can be a pleasurable adventure. She encourages them to pay close attention to their writing method in order to discover their individual work strategies that promote productivity; to stop feeling fearful that they may disappoint their advisors or family members; and to tailor their theses to their own writing style and personality needs. Using field-tested strategies she assists the student through the entire thesis-writing process, offering advice on choosing a topic and an advisor, on disciplining one's self to work at least fifteen minutes each day; setting short-term deadlines, on revising and defending the thesis, and on life and publication after the dissertation. Bolker makes writing the dissertation an enjoyable challenge.

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Inside This Book (Learn More)

First Sentence
IF YOU ENJOY RESEARCH and writing, some of the greatest gifts life can offer you are time, space, and a good rationalization for devoting yourself to a project that truly interests you. Read the first page

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	69% buy the item featured on this page: Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day: A Guide to Starting, Revising and Finishing Your Doctoral Thesis 4.3 out of 5 stars (30) CDN$ 16.79
	14% buy How to Write A Lot: A Practical Guide to Productive Academic Writing 5.0 out of 5 stars (2) CDN$ 15.96
	6% buy Authoring a Ph.D.: How to Plan, Draft, Write and Finish a Doctoral Thesis or Dissertation 5.0 out of 5 stars (2) CDN$ 31.35
	6% buy Getting What You Came For 4.7 out of 5 stars (52) CDN$ 15.33

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Customer Reviews

30 Reviews

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

Average Customer Review

4.3 out of 5 stars (30 customer reviews)

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must have for doctoral/masters candidates, Jul 9 2004

By	Marcus Anthony (Hong Kong) - See all my reviews

I am about 70% of the way through my PhD thesis, and this book has helped me tremendously. After less than two years of part-time study (working full-time as well), I have not only written around 200 000 words of draft and edited text, but I have published three papers and have a fourth currently sumbitted. I credit most of this from the advice in Bolker's book. Sure, I adopted my own partiucular way, but I have followed much of what is in the book.

As Bolker suggests, if you write as you go, all the bits and pieces begin to thread themselves together. Simply passively reading or collecting data won't do it.

The biggest problem with this approach is that I will almost certainly finish well ahead of the minimum four years required for part-time PhD candidates at my university (the English PhD system is more arduous and longer than the American system).

I highly recommend this book for all PhD and masters students, and I only wish I'd known about it when I was an undergraduate, as it would have helped me tremendously then, also.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Gets you thinking in the right direction, April 16 2004

By	Terry Portis (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I bought this book just before I began to write my dissertation for a doctorate in counseling psychology. The main strength of this book is it helps you plan and break down the dissertation process in small steps that can be easily managed. It is easy to get overwhelmed or discouraged with the dissertation and many do. The advice in this book will help you finish. I did complete my dissertation in about two years while working full time.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Writing One Day at a Time, Feb 8 2004

By A Customer

I am in the middle of writing my masters and this book was perfect for overcoming my writers block. I can't thank the author enough for helping me through this anxiety. My favorite quote is from her daughter about focusing on "Writing One Day at a Time." This book seems to be the reverse of alcohols annonymous (where you are trying to give up an addition to drinking alcohol), instead this book seems to be about learning how to become addicted to writing every day.

Many kudos to the author for a well written book!

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Most recent customer reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't fall for the hype
If you are a Ph.D. student looking into the face of writing your dissertation and you think this book is going to help, think again, and again, and again... Read more

Published on Jan 14 2004 by Robert L. Gorena

4.0 out of 5 stars A must read for Ph.D. Candidates
This is a quick read that provides some of the best advice on controlling and writing the dissertation that I've seen. Read more

Published on Jun 26 2003 by Margaret L. FalerSweany

5.0 out of 5 stars An essential book for grad students in the humanities
This is one of the most helpful guides to writing a dissertation ever published. Bolker suggests that students write early and often as they shape their dissertations. Read more

Published on April 27 2003 by Mary McKinney

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is a gem
This book is a gem. I like it because it takes a process approach to teach people how to write. The book suggests process measures and promises that if you make sure you meet... Read more