How to plan, draft, write and finish a doctoral thesis or dissertation

144 ◆ AUTHORING A PHD
Three steps provide the foundations for remodelling:
– Write out the chapter heading in full, and then all the
subheadings in full as they come up, in the same font as
used in the chapter. It is best to do remodelling with pen
and paper, and not on a PC. (There are a couple of specialist
PC packages which might assist authors doing extensive
remodelling, especially people whose research already uses
a lot of interviews or case study materials. 11 )
– For each paragraph in the chapter, write a one-line summary
of what it says. Try to express the argumentative core of what
the paragraph says. Be cold-bloodedly realistic, or perhaps
downright cynical or sceptical. For instance if a paragraph
only says a bit more on a point already made, express that
judgement in your summary line. It is very important not to
let these summaries lengthen out beyond a single line.
– Number all the paragraph summaries in sequence from the
beginning to the end of the chapter.
You should now have a drastically summarized version of what
your chapter says, one that records all the key points being made
within one or two pages. This view should be much more accessible
and comprehensible than your previous impression of the
chapter.
With the couple of pages showing this chapter skeleton on
the desk in front of you, begin a series of basic checks:
◆ Is the chapter structure simple (good) or complex (bad)?
◆ Is the argument pattern clear and logical (good) or
unclear (bad)?
◆ Do the current sections and subsections divide up the
chapter text evenly (good) or unevenly (bad)? Even division
shows up because each section or subsection has much
the same number of component paragraphs as the
others at the same level.
◆ Does the chapter’s argument have a developmental or
cumulative feel about it (good) or does it by contrast seem
recursive and repetitive (bad)? You need to follow a ‘say it
once, say it right’ philosophy, gathering together closely
related points which can be handled at one place in a
full-force way, not dissipated across different bits of the text.