Managing Your Thesis or Dissertation: A Workbook for Graduate Students

Many graduate students are overwhelmed with the process of writing such a large and complex document. Managing Your Thesis or Dissertation helps the reader map out their project in order to understand what they need to do, when, and how, by applying the eight project management concepts listed below to the process of academic writing: Drawing out your ideas and their connection to each other in a concept map, Analyzing the scope of the project, Identifying tasks to be done, Creating the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), Identifying the critical path, Making a Gantt chart to organize the work, Understanding ownership of the project, Using your resources. Managing Your Thesis or Dissertation: Features a workbook section that invites students to make maps and charts to guide and plan their writing. Presents ideas to help balance the many roles graduate students play in addition to student (parent, research assistant, full-time worker, etc.), including tips for time management. Introduces suggestions for overcoming procrastination, perfectionism, and over-identification with one’s writing. Showcases a formula to follow again and again when writing a larger piece of work. Features tips that all graduate students should know; a self-editing guide, and tips for getting the most out of texts that are dense and dry.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Step 1: Find the Beginning So Where Is the Beginning? Building Your Map           Project Management Principle #1: Creating a map Get Going Graduate Student Tip: The literature review as a party Step 2: Get Focused What Can Go?           Project Management Principle #2: Analyzing the scope of the project Get Going Management Skills: A Top Ten List Graduate Student Tip: What a thesis/dissertation really is Step 3: Identify Tasks The Academic Writing Process: 40/20/40            The First 40            The Middle 20            The Final 40            Project Management Principle #3: Identifying the tasks Get Going Graduate Student Tip: Are you a nouveau graduate student? Step 4: Organize Your Tasks             Project Management Principle #4: Creating the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)             Project Management Principle #5: Identifying the Critical Path Get Going Graduate Student Tip: Are you demonstrating academic integrity? Step 5: Make a Plan              Project Management Principle #6: The Gantt chart Get Going Graduate Student Tip: Take Control of Feedback Step 6: Follow your Plan              Project Management Principle #7: Ownership              Project Management Principle #8: Use your resources Get Going Graduate Student Tip: Self-editing strategies References Appendix Extra mind map pages Extra Gantt chart pages Gee (2001) storyboard Feedback chart Self-editing checklist