One area that can derail dissertation writers is that of making revisions. First, as I’ve previously mentioned, you can not write and revise at the same time. You should always try to draft as much as you can, as quickly as you can- FIRST. Then, I always suggest that you turn the draft in for feedback as soon as possible- do this before you’ve spent a lot of time editing it. Why? Because the sooner you turn it into your readers, the sooner you will accomplish two goals. 1) You will show them that you’re making progress- which is crucial to maintain their ongoing support and 2) They will read it over and tell you how they want it to be revised. Read that again- they will TELL you how they want it to be revised. When they tell you how to revise, you then, simply, need to make your revisions fit their comments. How can you do this quickly? Do it in passes. Go through the entire chapter or sections that were just returned and make notes to yourself next to each comment. Give yourself a series of cues or clues as to what changes your readers have requested. Then go back through and aim to fill in or change each section. Try to revise in 2-3 page blocks. This is usually a good amount to focus on- without overwhelming yourself. Then, as soon as you’ve worked through the entire piece- send it off again. Repeat as often as needed until you have a piece that is accepted as is. The faster you write and turn it in, the faster you will get to revisions. The faster you get to revisions- even multiple times- the faster you will obtain your Ph.D.
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