The PhD Writing/Outlining Cycle | Weekly Vlog 2
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- čas přidán 2. 02. 2024
- Episode 2 of my PhD vlogs! Thanks for all your comments on my previous video, it's good to know I'm not alone in my struggles! Let's overcome imposter syndrome and write our dissertations together!!
Kaelyn Grace Apple's video on PhD planning: • Plan My Entire PhD Dis...
I think it’s amazing that you are doing this series. I’ve been watching your videos for a while and they are great! I am two semesters into the start of a masters/phd program and it’s part time. I also hear all the little nasty voices that fill me with doubts and imposter syndrome and being part time makes it so much harder it seems. But although we can’t control the voices coming into our heads, we can control how we are reacting to them. What you are doing is an excellent way to combat the doubts! You rock, keep going!
Only halfway through the vlog but just wanted to take a second just to say I really admire you putting this out there. And all of your stresses and concerns you've expressed so far are
Hi Morgan,I wanted to let you know how grateful I am for the positive impact you've had on my life. Your videos have been instrumental in helping me break free from a phase where I felt incapable of doing anything. As a second-year PhD student, i have been and still struggle with mental exhaustion, a sense of being stuck, and overwhelming anxiety that has hindered my ability to carry out the tasks essential to my studies but your guidance has been nothing short of heroic in navigating through these challenges. 🙏🏻💚
I agree about the necessary of "consistency" planning. I'm currently working on my master's thesis, Planning for me is a way to make me feel I have control, control my overwhelm and strategize what action I need to take. Some of the time if I start writing without even able to see it through or have clear plans I end up more anxious and hard to concentrate.
I like this new series which shows the real ups and downs of writing. The 'writing in the fog' is a true struggle! When I struggle feeling my writing doesn't flow, someone told me sometimes it's so hard to write with so much literature living in your head. The more you read the more expectations you want your piece to sound a particular way. And when it doesn't it's so frustrating. He then draws an analogy to cooking. Is it a really a flow issue or are you trying to overspice your dish ? Sometimes it is ok to leave it bare . You can season it later on , or maybe you don't need to at all. It's fine the way it is, proceed to the next dish. You got this Morgan!
I really appreciated and very much related to your mentioning constant movement between writing and planning. I would also add a third element, which is reading.
Hi! I'm at the beginning of my phd and you were one of the people that showed me that I could maybe do this, too! And I'm using Obsidian too - I just put my entrire vault folder into my university's equivalent of dropbox/google drive, so it synchs easily with everything without paying for Obsidian. Maybe that'll work for you too!
Hi, Morgan! I'm loving these series, and I couldn't relate more to your writing process. I'm in my 4th year (masters but I'll transfer to PhD), and currently working on my 4th chapter. Although we have a very structured research methodology in my area (Computer Science - stance detecion in social media), there are still some things that are very blury and it's a constant back and forth.
I'm 11.5 weeks away from my due date 0_0 and writing a thesis, for most of us, is not easy. If you're doing a PhD as an experienced specialist in the field, then that experience would be very different. For many, a PhD is about learning to do research, as well as learning to write better. I understand the inclination to plan but I have felt the same "fog" you describe and I think that's just how it is. While each area of study will have its own preferred structures, the theses I've seen have had similar layouts. Ch1 = justification of the study, Ch2 = background, Ch3 = methodology, Ch4 = methods, Ch5 = results/findings, Ch6 = discussion, Ch7= additional integration with literature maybe, Ch8 = quality and limitations, Ch9 = conclusion and list of recommendations if applicable. I dare say the earlier chapters would be the most similar between different fields of study, as it is a logical layout. I think just put it all down and get it out of your head, then start moving the pieces around and refining it. You can then try reverse outlining.
Thank you, Morgan, for your excellent materials. You introduced me to Obsidian! I use Syncthing to connect my Obsidian on the desktop and tablet. It will not be as smooth as Obsedian sync, but it is free and it works. Thanks
Regarding planning and that unfortunate comment on Kaelyn's video: in the humanities planning is so so important, and I find myself constantly planning and re-planning my ongoing chapters. Because our research is solely based on the written word, it is important to constantly check on our structure, the flow of our argument, etc., hence the major role of planning and moving things around constantly. I'm writing a chapter right now and for the past couple days all I've been doing is re-planning my chapter and moving my writing around in order to make it make more sense (and also to help me develop my argument better by helping me see connections, lack in flow and evidence, etc.). So I completely agree with you! Planning is fundamental to writing.
your intro is so nice! also, ive seen people in your comments give unsolicited advice too. you're doing it at the times and in the ways you're meant to. its nobody else's business. loving your vlogging series :) hope each of your weeks is even better than the last!
Usually when I'm going back and forth with my writing, I just record myself explaining my thesis like a lecture or something like that. Saying out loud adding frases like "the first idea" or "after that" to really mark the transitions really helped me. Planning helps a lot too, but I feel that a little of "chaotic criativity", mixing different ways to make sense of my ideas do make me feel more confident and more certain of my writing. I love your videos and they are really inspiring me to go back to my master's degree (which I gave up, research is really difficult in Brazil most of the times), so thank you! Best of luck to you, Morgan. ❤
I get you!!! I’m having the same issue. The organization of the chapters and the narrative I want to provide. Thanks for doing this series. I’m getting inspired to keep going. 🙌🏼 We can do this!!!!❤
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It's been a while since I've seen one of your videos, good to see you pressing on and doing it with such amazing nails. :) Mine are broken and bitten - submission in 4 weeks! 😂😂
Beware those voices. : ))))))
I'm just an undergrad, so I mightn't know what I'm talking about. But my professor once said that: "[o]n reading it through you should find that the introduction is already there [and] the conclusion is already there [...]." I think that in the humanities and arts, the structure of the texts we write emerges to a greater extent than in the sciences, where it often is more clearly defined from the beginning. While it is of course a hermeneutic-circle type thing - where the chapter influences the writing and the writing influences which chapter it is in - perhaps it would be useful to decide on chapters later, once the text is more fully written? Perhaps you will find that the chapters are "already there".
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I am on my final year masters project. My project is a bit overwhelming for me right now and I'm just trying to be on it one day at a time. Seeing your video is really timely for me and I appreciate your honest approach. It gives me hope. Thank you for sharing your experience. I will keep tabs on your post because it is practically motivating.