I had my final thesis committee meeting last Thursday and I couldn't be happier, my chair and other committee members were very firm with my PI (who was acting out as always) and I finally got the go ahead. I'll defend, hand in my dissertation and prepare to submit a paper
. Now I really have to get down to business and WRITE. Any tips?
Start getting stuff on paper now - do not put it off any longer. Writing a dissertation takes time - several solid months of writing. Leave plenty of time for your PI to read through first drafts. Your PI will probably prefer it a chapter at a time spread over a couple of months.
ReplyDeleteDon't be tempted to do too many more experiments - make writing your priority.
Communicate with your committee and dispel any doubt they might have. You should already have convinced your committee members that you are ready graduate, and the defense should be nothing more than a formality.
Write your paper first as a chapter in your dissertation. Formating it for publication will involve taking out some of the details you want to include in your dissertation (mostly in methods section!).
This is the best part of you graduate career. Have fun writing.