Write harder: How to write a doctoral thesis 2

One of the nicest things about re-running a previous event for the Research Hive is the mix of old and new issues raised by the audience.

On Wednesday 28 June, the Research Hive ran a repeat session of the Writing a Doctoral Thesis drop-in discussion after the original session had generated such a high level of interest.

This event brought a brand new group of researchers alongside Craig and Chris (2 of the Hive Scholars) to discuss their issues and solutions to writing your thesis. 80,000 words can feel either tiny or infinite depending on your mood and productivity on any given day and it should come as no surprise that doctoral researchers often encounter a variety of obstacles and issues when tackling it.

What the latest writing discussion has proven is that there are several common issues but that they affect researchers in different ways. Problems such as writing in an 'academic' way, organising your material to avoid feeling lost by your research results and when to stop re-writing or editing are fairly familiar conundrums to most researchers.

The interest here came in the different ways some of these manifest themselves and the different solutions researchers have discovered in combatting them.

Writing in an appropriate 'academic' way without becoming staid or dull is a problem that confronts many of us, but what about those whose first language is built around long sentences and who now find themselves being encouraged to write in much shorter statements. Do you think you can adequately sum up everything you research in sentences of no more than 6 words even in your natural language? Give it a try; I'll wait. Not easy is it? This issue of writing academically had been raised at the previous session but in that case it had been a researcher who wanted to try and take their shorter statements and stretch them out into a more recognised intellectual form. Same problem but two researchers coming at it from completely different directions.

We like to make it clear at the start of each session that as Hive Scholars we can't actually offer correct answers to the problems as there are often better ways of working for one person and another. But through offering a relaxed group setting for doctoral researchers we can attempt to offer each other our own hints and tips. In the above case the audience suggested writing in a manner which the researcher found most comfortable and then, once they have their ideas on paper they can start editing it down into fewer words if needed.


One of the recurring topics of discussion in both sessions has been knowing when to stop writing or editing a piece. Both groups recommended that discussion with your doctoral supervisor can play a big role here but there was also room for peer review and discussion. Several departments and schools within the university have sessions where doctoral researchers examine elements of each others work and can deliver feedback. Obviously the group members will have different specialist areas but all are able to discuss in general terms the process of writing and whether a chapter or a paper holds together.

And maybe if you want to test your own writing try either stretching or shortening your own sentences for a period of time. You never know what skills you might pick up.

The benefits of sharing your ideas and problems (somewhere between a discussion group and a therapy session) have been reiterated by our participants in their feedback again and again. So why not give it a go? Share the pain and the tips of doctoral research.  One way you might want to do this is through the new coffee collaboration vouchers which are now on offer in the Hive - just approach a Hive scholar with the colleague(s) you want to share coffee with and the Hive Scholar can give you a voucher worth £5 for a limited period.

Coffee Collaboration from the Hive

The thing that keeps me going when I am beavering away (well mostly beavering) in the Hive is the thought of caffeine in an hour or two.  For many coffee also offers the chance to talk through work with others in the Hive, catch up with them or just have a good moan about research!

In the interest of helping you get through your days and enjoy coffees with more of your fellow Hive colleagues, the Hive is now offering a £5 voucher for use in the Library cafe.  All you have to do is approach a Hive Scholar (see the timetable on the notice board in the Hive for their availability) with a colleague (or colleagues) and the Hive Scholar will issue you a voucher.

Enjoy the coffee and the collaborating !

Craig (Hive Scholar)

Being an Associate Tutor

Recently the Research Hive held the latest in our series of 'drop in workshops' for those doctoral researchers who are contemplating becoming Associate Tutors at the University.

Becoming an Associate Tutor is quite a big step away from being 'just' a researcher. You move out of your own research-based world and take on a responsibility of teaching undergraduate students. Of course this can be a great boon for your CV, particularly if you want to stay in academia, but it can be a daunting challenge nonetheless.

It was dealing with this new challenge that proved of greatest interest to the group of doctoral researchers who gathered in the Research Hive to discuss the matter with Karen Burrows, an AT from Media, Film and Music (MFM), and two of the Hive Scholars (ATs in MFM and History, respectively).

The discussion largely focused around the perceived 'horror' scenarios that new ATs might face; quiet students, heavy workloads, the difficulties of marking essays. Through group chat and shared experiences Karen and the Hive Scholars were able to dispel some of the the real nightmares (undergraduate students can't really smell fear) but also to facilitate some brainstorming of solutions to issues the future ATs may face.

Combatting a quiet seminar room with small group activities proved a popular suggestion as it would place the onus of interaction into the hands of the students within a smaller and 'safer' environment. Also of importance was the idea of meeting semi-regularly with other ATs on the same course (or indeed on other courses) to exchange notes, ideas and tips. With doctoral research being a fairly solitary exercise at times it can become easy to accidentally carry that mindset into teaching work, when there is a wealth of shared experiences available from your peers.

In fact it was this commonality that proved of greatest use to those who attended the drop in session. The feedback received repeatedly highlighted the positive benefits of meeting with new researchers who were about to undergo roughly the same experiences. The subjects being studied (and possibly taught) ranged from history to engineering but the pathway to becoming an AT is almost entirely inter-disciplinary. Which means if you're reading this and considering being an AT then start talking to others; those you know are ATs, those who are thinking of becoming one, those who have done it in the past. Discuss your ideas and fears and, if you want, come to the Hive and discuss them more with us.