Skip to main content
Category

PhD life

The art of writing PhD thesis acknowledgments: A guide for economics students

By English writing skills, PhD life, Tips

Blue baseball hat on top of a black Tudor bonnet to symbolize writing PhD thesis acknowledgments reflecting the author’s personality

After more than a decade spent copyediting and proofreading PhD theses for economics students, I can say that, in general, doctoral candidates view writing thesis acknowledgments as either a formality or a celebration of finishing thesis writing. Between the two extremes lies a unique opportunity to show your personality, strengthen your professional network, and enjoy the “warm glow of giving”—all without the constraints of academic writing.

In this long blog post, I’ll examine the seemingly trivial topic of writing acknowledgments to help you make the most of this thesis section. I aim to achieve two goals. The first is to change your opinion about the importance of PhD thesis acknowledgments. The second is to help you write memorable acknowledgments you can be proud of even when the euphoria of finishing your PhD is gone.

Although all the examples here are from economics theses, my tips should be useful for writing acknowledgments in any other academic field. Read More

Should you quit your PhD?

By Inspiration, Lessons learned, PhD life

Academic cap in the garbage bin to represent the decision to quit your PhD

Maybe a major event happened in your life that reshuffled your priorities. Or you’re thinking about switching careers and no longer need an advanced degree. Or maybe you’ve been offered a great job that won’t leave you time to continue your doctoral studies.

In any of these scenarios, answering the question “Should I quit my PhD?” shouldn’t be too hard for you.

But if you’re like many doctoral students, you’re considering quitting your PhD because you no longer love your research, you still haven’t got the data or funding you need, your doctoral advisor ignores you, or you feel your research is going nowhere.

In these other scenarios, “Should I quit my PhD?” is a difficult question. To find the right answer, you first need to examine a lot of things. These include your reasons for choosing to pursue a doctorate in the first place, your reasons for wanting to quit, your alternatives, your economic situation, and much more. 

Having been in your shoes, I know how hard it is to make the right decision. The following information is meant to help you decide what you should consider before you make a choice. Read More

How a PhD student procrastinates

By Funny stories, PhD life

  Desk with papers, PC monitor, stapler, and pens as an image of how a PhD student procrastinatesFill in the blanks: “Instead of reading this, I should be______”. Yes, you’re probably procrastinating: postponing doing what you should be doing only to do other things, useful or useless.

Procrastination is not the same as laziness, which is the lack of action. Procrastination is often packed with action. And when you’re a PhD student, procrastination disguises itself as busywork—what looks like work, feels like work, but is not useful work—more often than you think. Here’s an example of how a PhD student procrastinates. Read More