Ok, I just submitted my revised Qualifying Paper. It got "Accepted with revisions to my chair" back in January and the due date of about 2 weeks. I submitted it and am feeling relatively good about it.
After I got it back, I met with my advisor and he encouraged me to write down some of the big elements/ideas of the paper down. From there, he told me to select what I feel are the 5 most relevant pieces of this subject I'm studying. Next, I should pick what are the top 1-2 elements and then do the hard part--make a decision about where I want my emphasis to be. So my QP had great content, I covered ample literature, but my problem was out of focus. Therefore, I needed to decide just what was I going to focus on. I ended up determining that it was useful for me to understand what impact my problem was having on scholars as they look to acquire research. This helped me refocus the paper and put the emphasis throughout on how scholars have experienced the change in access to research.
The draft is not perfect but it's becoming clearer just what it is that I'm looking at.
This time around was a lot less stressful as I felt the support of my advisor and that this was not a make-or-break-it moment, but really, just an opportunity to further refine before moving forward. In revising the paper, I had some amusing moments where I realized just how badly I had edited it in terms of grammar and punctuation. (Something, I'm sure readers of this blog know plenty about--I can produce but I can't always write well). So the re-read reminded me that I'm going to really need to call on my friends for some peer-editors as I move forward.
Let's take a look at this paper's evolution. Note that the links below are to the papers in Google Docs--you're welcome to click through and even comment on the document if you are so interested.
Rough (downright ugly) Draft - 12-18-2017
I referred to this as the SUPER UGLY draft--a draft that I had trouble even calling a draft because it was so incomplete. But, it is what I submitted.
Submitted Draft - 1-5-2018
This was what I submitted and it is indeed still needing some more polish. Look for my poor use of the word "excrete" and several sentences that are missing something--such as a verb, sense, or intelligence.
Revised Draft - 2-6-2018
It's still not perfect but does have a clearer focus and hopefully, less grammatical errors (maybe?).
I feel like there's good progress between the submitted and the revised draft, and that's what I need to just keep doing as I move forward. Cleaning up, focusing on more specifics, and restructuring the whole as necessary. I'm looking forward to the next steps and since completing QP, I feel there has been a significant stress lifted from my shoulders. Onward and upward!
Want to keep up with my PhD adventures? Check out any of the links below:
Sub-series specifically about the dissertation:
Did you enjoy this read? Let me know your thoughts down below or feel free to browse around and check out some of my other posts!. You might also want to keep up to date with my blog by signing up for them via email.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
After I got it back, I met with my advisor and he encouraged me to write down some of the big elements/ideas of the paper down. From there, he told me to select what I feel are the 5 most relevant pieces of this subject I'm studying. Next, I should pick what are the top 1-2 elements and then do the hard part--make a decision about where I want my emphasis to be. So my QP had great content, I covered ample literature, but my problem was out of focus. Therefore, I needed to decide just what was I going to focus on. I ended up determining that it was useful for me to understand what impact my problem was having on scholars as they look to acquire research. This helped me refocus the paper and put the emphasis throughout on how scholars have experienced the change in access to research.
The draft is not perfect but it's becoming clearer just what it is that I'm looking at.
This time around was a lot less stressful as I felt the support of my advisor and that this was not a make-or-break-it moment, but really, just an opportunity to further refine before moving forward. In revising the paper, I had some amusing moments where I realized just how badly I had edited it in terms of grammar and punctuation. (Something, I'm sure readers of this blog know plenty about--I can produce but I can't always write well). So the re-read reminded me that I'm going to really need to call on my friends for some peer-editors as I move forward.
Let's take a look at this paper's evolution. Note that the links below are to the papers in Google Docs--you're welcome to click through and even comment on the document if you are so interested.
Rough (downright ugly) Draft - 12-18-2017
I referred to this as the SUPER UGLY draft--a draft that I had trouble even calling a draft because it was so incomplete. But, it is what I submitted.
Submitted Draft - 1-5-2018
This was what I submitted and it is indeed still needing some more polish. Look for my poor use of the word "excrete" and several sentences that are missing something--such as a verb, sense, or intelligence.
Revised Draft - 2-6-2018
It's still not perfect but does have a clearer focus and hopefully, less grammatical errors (maybe?).
I feel like there's good progress between the submitted and the revised draft, and that's what I need to just keep doing as I move forward. Cleaning up, focusing on more specifics, and restructuring the whole as necessary. I'm looking forward to the next steps and since completing QP, I feel there has been a significant stress lifted from my shoulders. Onward and upward!
Want to keep up with my PhD adventures? Check out any of the links below:
- Acceptance...and acceptance
- Orientation
- Day 1
- Week 1
- First 2 Courses Completed
- First 2 Courses Finished
- Semester 2, Here We Go
- The Existential Crisis of the Week
- The Balancing Act
- Negotiating Privilege in Higher Education
- Zeroing in on Research
- Completing the Second Semester
- My Educational Autobiography
- So Starts the Third Semester
- My Educational Philosophy...for now
- PhD'ese
- And Sometimes, You Feel It
- Semester's Endgame
- Year 1, Officially Done
- Year 2, Week 1, Day 1
- Year 2, Week 1 Done!
- 1/3 Complete!?!?
- Click...
- Day 1; Semester 5
- Share and Share Alike
- Mindful and Mind-Filled
- 5th Semester Down
- Day 1, Semester 9
Sub-series specifically about the dissertation:
- Dissertation Journal #1
- Dissertation Journal #2
- Dissertation Journal #3
- Dissertation Journal #4
- Dissertation Journal #5
- Dissertation Journal #6
Did you enjoy this read? Let me know your thoughts down below or feel free to browse around and check out some of my other posts!. You might also want to keep up to date with my blog by signing up for them via email.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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