Top Mistakes To Avoid While Writing Your PhD Thesis

Will you be writing up your PhD thesis soon? Avoid these eight mistakes and the writing process will be much smoother.

1. Starting too late

With a project as big as a PhD, it can feel like there's always more work to do, and always more time before you have to start writing. But the earlier you can start, the less stressful writing up will be. Even if you just start making notes or jotting down a few bullet points of issues you want to raise in your thesis, this will be very helpful when you start writing in full and you're not left staring at a blank page. Try writing small sections of a few hundred words per day to get you into the zone without becoming overwhelmed.

2. Being a perfectionist

PhD students often feel as if their thesis needs to be the pinnacle of their career, and that it has to be the perfect expression of all of the work they have done over the years. But focusing too much on making your thesis perfect will stop you from getting it written at all. Accept that there will be flaws in your thesis, and that there will be some questions which you can't answer, or some issues which you can't overcome. That's okay! You want to make the thesis as good as you can, while still ensuring that it gets finished.

3. Doing more research

Too much research? Surely there's no such thing! Well, in fact, there is a time at which you need to stop reading new articles, books, or sources, and to focus on your write-up. If you have come to the end of your PhD, then you already have all the knowledge that you need to write your thesis. You don't need to collect even more information; you need to focus on getting what you already know down onto the page.

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4. Trying to write up in one draft

The secret to successful writing is to not spend hours worrying about making each word you write perfect the first time around. Instead, get a rough draft finished as soon as you can, and then gradually edit and re-draft over several iterations. One you have a draft, you can see your thesis in context and start making changes to make it better. Editing an already-existing document is so much easier than writing from scratch!

5. Not taking feedback

Once you have a draft, you should solicit as much feedback as you can. Your supervisors, colleagues, and friends can all give you useful feedback, even if they are not specialists in your field. When you receive feedback on your thesis, it can be hard to accept if it is critical. If you find it hard to hear feedback without being defensive, try waiting 24 hours between receiving the feedback and acting on it. You'll usually be much more receptive once a day has passed.

6. Forgetting about formatting and paperwork

Formatting might not seem to be terribly important, in the grand scheme of things. However, it does take time to get your thesis into an acceptable format for submission and printing. In addition, there is probably a pile of paperwork which you will have to hand in to your university. You don't want to scrabbling to get everything finished at the last minute, especially if you are already stressed. Leave yourself a few days to sort out all the formatting and paperwork, so you don't have to rush.

7. Trying to do your own proofreading

It's tempting to think that because you spend so much time writing your thesis, you will spot any spelling or grammar errors. But actually it is almost impossible to proofread your own writing accurately. Rope in some people to be your proofreaders – they don't need to be specialists in your field, so this is a great role for your family or friends to help you out with. Ask them to check just the spelling and grammar in your thesis, give them a week or two if possible, then you can add in their corrections before submission.

8. Not taking care of yourself

Even if everything goes as well as possible, writing up your PhD thesis is still a hugely stressful time. It's understandable that you'll be more focused on your work than anything else. However, it's important that you take care of yourself during this period too. In order to do your best work, you need to make sure that you are eating and sleeping enough, and that you get away from your desk or office at least occasionally. This will help you to focus and not to burn out while you're writing up.

Good luck with writing up!