Achieving the top educational degrees requires not only time and patience but also a fundamental command of the written language. Beyond the basic Bachelors degree, you will have begun to see what is involved with post-graduate success. By the time you get past the Masters degree and begin your doctoral studies you should have the basic skills for the most important part of obtaining your Ph.D (Doctor of Philosophy).
Whatever topic you are studying it will be required to write a doctoral thesis or dissertation. It is within this document that you will convince a review board that you are an expert in your field of study. Writing your Doctoral thesis involves much more than accurate content and good grammar. While this plays an important role in your success, following the procedure that you present your thesis is of equal if not greater value.
You begin your work on the doctoral thesis by creating a synopsis of what your work will entail. This is presented to the thesis committee and you will be required to answer a multitude of often seemingly unrelated questions until they are convinced you have a good idea for your writing.
Your doctoral thesis will involve a great deal of research to fill the content of your thesis. It is commonly rumored that no one including your final dissertation committee will ever actually read the book you have written, however, one should be prepared for anything and make sure you have everything correct regardless. The guidelines and restrictions on the format of your doctoral thesis make very specific demands on its presentation. The type style, margins, type of paper (if you are submitting it in the traditional printed format) and spacing are rigidly enforced.
In the last ten years it has become more acceptable to present the doctoral thesis in the Portable Document Format (PDF) for digital ease of transfer. The same guidelines will apply in all ways except the cotton content of the paper. With the growing inclusion of web content being allowed as research material, the guidelines have been set up to control this aspect as well. There are specific file types and hyperlink options that are permitted and others that are banned or must be presented in a specific way. Make double sure to study the specific requirements set forth by the review board you will be going in front of.
Just as you had to stand and defend the idea for your doctoral thesis, once it has been completed and submitted you will have to go through this process of question and answer defense of your work again. You may then be required to rewrite some part of the thesis. It is rather like a rinse and repeat procedure until the advisers on your review board are pleased with the final outcome of your work.
Once passed, you must submit finished printed copies to a list of your field’s top professionals and leaders. This is to get your name known by those in the field of endeavor that you are wishing to join. Some review journals will only require a summary of the doctoral thesis for publication rather than the whole work. Once again you must be very careful to get the format exactly right.
After this point, you will be given your degree and the right to be addressed as “Doctor” and be considered a learned professional leader in your area of expertise.
