Proposing, Writing, and Filing Your Thesis or Dissertation

You’ll find the most comprehensive information about thesis and dissertation writing in published books. A range of sites, however, do provide advice that is more extensive than mere lists of the document’s components and directives to “revise” and “be concise.”

We’ve listed the most useful sites below in the following categories:

GWC Support

The UCLA Graduate Writing Center offers dedicated workshops on writing dissertations and dissertation proposals/prospectuses. Keep an eye on current workshop offerings. During the summer, dedicated boot camps support dissertation proposal/prospectus writing and dissertation writing. Keep an eye on the summer dissertation program page for further information. If you are a master's student, check out our offerings for master's thesis and capstone support. Read more about UCLA GWC dissertation/thesis support.

In addition to specific workshops and programs, we encourage dissertators to participate in writing groups and retreats. Making regular writing appointments can also facilitate progress (look for writing consultants who are listed as PhD candidates, i.e., have advanced to candidacy, since they are also at the dissertation stage).

Writing Your Proposal or Prospectus

Prospectus Writing: The Yale Graduate Writing Lab has an advice pages on prospectus writing in different disciplines as well as real examples

Writing Thesis and Dissertation Proposals: A detailed document for proposal writers in all disciplines, developed by Penn State’s Graduate Writing Center.

Dissertation Proposal Resources: The University of Texas at Austin has a website with real dissertation proposals from a variety of fields, which may be useful for understanding possible options for organization and other aspects.

Resources for Proposal Writers: An annotated list of books and websites compiled by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center.

Locke, L. F., Spirduso, W. W., & Silverman, S. J. (2007). Proposals that work: A guide for planning dissertations and grant proposals (5th ed.). SAGE Publications.

Writing Your Thesis or Dissertation

Resources for Dissertators: An annotated list of books and websites compiled by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center.

Dissertations: Resources and tips from UNC Chapel Hill’s Writing Center from their dissertation boot camp. Website also includes resources for writing groups, workshop handouts, and other links.

Bolker, J. (1998). Write Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day: A Guide to Starting, Revising, and Finishing Your Doctoral Thesis. Macmillan.
This is one of several “write your dissertation” guides on the market, and it’s one of relatively few that gears itself toward writers of all disciplines. Bolker here is part career counselor, part writing coach, and part therapist. She seems particularly interested in the ways that graduate students block themselves from completing the dissertation through fear, ambivalence, procrastination, etc. We assign chapters 3, 4, and 8 (drafting and revisiong) in many of our dissertation programs, and the whole book works well as a general reference on the dissertation writing process, although some issues might require more specialized help for individual writers.

Carter, S., Guerin, C., & Aitchinson, C. (2020). Doctoral writing: Practices, processes and pleasures. Springer.
This book is based on well-received blog (now repository) with a major section on dissertation writing. The book synthesizes years of blog posts offering practical advice to both doctoral students and their faculty advisors on how to approach doctoral research and writing. The book is available as an e-book through the UCLA library.

Casanave, C. P. (2014). Before the dissertation: A textual mentor for doctoral students at early stages of a research project.University of Michigan Press.

Casanave, C. P. (2020). During the dissertation: A textual mentor for doctoral students in the process of writing.University of Michigan Press.

Clark, I. (2006). Writing the successful thesis and dissertation: Entering the conversation. Prentice Hall Press.
In this book, Clark explains the dissertation as an academic genre and provides tips on the stages of developing and writing the dissertation. Some of the writing strategies may be oriented more towards the humanities and social sciences, but the book offers excellent advice on writing process issues that is helpful to graduate students in all fields.The book is available as an e-book through the UCLA library.

Single, P. B. (2009). Demystifying dissertation writing: A streamlined process from choice of topic to final text. Stylus Publishing.

Zerubavel, Eviatar. (1999). The clockwork muse: A practical guide to writing theses, dissertations, and books. Harvard University Press.
Working from the premise that "It is methodicalness and routinization. . . that help us produce theses, dissertations, and books," (3), this short book presents a detailed process for coming up with a realistic writing schedule and deadlines. Zerubavel explains management strategies for long writing projects: scheduling regular writing time, making outlines, setting realistic expectations, adhering to deadlines, etc.

Filing Your Thesis and Dissertation

UCLA Thesis and Dissertation Filing Requirements: This PDF file contains all the official details about preparation and submission of a thesis or dissertation so that it will be accepted by the UCLA Division of Graduate Education. Read it carefully! You should also attend a filing workshop, which presents much of the information in the PDF, before you plan to file (we recommend attending the quarter before you plan to file), so keep an eye on the workshop schedule.

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