A strategy to generate text in the early stages of the PhD

"To write a thesis in a second-language, it is very helpful to break a highly complex set of processes into a series of simpler stages or sub-tasks which enable you to ‘get started’ and have a sense of accomplishment as these smaller tasks are completed. They also become aware of the key role of feedback and the essential role of revising and that there will be times at which they may need to redraft (go back closer to the beginning). Extensive drafting and feedback should also effectively reduce potential plagiarism as the writer will be receiving feedback on a continuous basis

Murray (2002) recommends a very useful strategy to generate text, particularly in the early stages of the PhD. She suggests using the following set of prompts to help student write about the context of their topic." [1]

This strategy can be used by either the candidate to motivate him/her self or by the supervisor to encourage his students getting started. it can be used repeatedly as your focus develops or alters: "

What can I write about? The context/ background to my research

"Round 1

Just write ... any thing

1. My research question is ...... (50 words)

2. Researchers who have looked at this subject are ..... (5 names)

3. They argue that ....... (25 words)

4. Researcher A argues that ....... (25 words)

5. Researcher B argues that ........ (25 words)

6. Debate centres on the issue of ......... (25 words)

7. There is still work to be done on ........ (25 words)

8. My research is closest to that of Researcher A in that ...... (50 words)

9. My contribution will be ....... (50 words)

"

(Murray 2002: 98)[2]

---

Consult your supervisor / Take a break

---

Round 2

Extend round 1

1. My research question is ...... (100 words)

2. Researchers who have looked at this subject are ..... (10 names)

3. They argue that ....... (75 words)

4. Researcher A argues that ....... (75 words)

5. Researcher B argues that ........ (75 words)

6. Researcher C argues that ........ (75 words)

7. Debate centres on the issue of ......... (75 words)

8. There is still work to be done on ........ (75 words)

9. My research is closest to that of Researcher A in that ...... (100 words)

10. My contribution will be ....... (100 words)

---

Consult your supervisor / Take a break

---

Round 3

Extend round 2

1. My research question is ...... (200 words or 2 paragraphs)

2. Researchers who have looked at this subject are ..... (15 names)

3. They argue that ....... (150 words or 2 paragraphs)

4. Researcher A argues that ....... (150 words or 2 paragraphs)

5. Researcher B argues that ........ (150 words or 2 paragraphs)

6. Debate centres on the issue of ......... (150 words or 2 paragraphs)

7. There is still work to be done on ........ (150 words or 2 paragraphs)

8. My research is closest to that of Researcher A in that ...... (200 words or 2 paragraphs)

9. research is different from that of Researcher C in that ...... (100 words)

10. My contribution will be ....... (200 words or 2 paragraphs)

---

Round 4

Round 5

....

Don't stop ...

---

Reference

1. Paltridge, B., & Starfield, S. (2007). Thesis and dissertation writing in a second language: A handbook for supervisors. Routledge.

2. Murray, R. (2002) How to Write a Thesis, Buckingham, UK: Open University Press.

#EditingPublishing #PaltridgeStarfield #ZaidAAlsmadi