In the humanities and social sciences, the success of a doctoral thesis depends on how well the individual tasks of its preparation are executed - that is, how you create an initial plan, how you work on the drafts of the text, how you make revisions, corrections, reordering, and upgrades to your material, and how the final text you submit is shaped.

The development of these skills is as important as other factors that influence a doctoral thesis - research ideas, your hard work, and supervision from the academic staff. Drawing on his extensive experience, Patrick Ndanlivi emphasizes the key principles that will help you successfully navigate the dilemmas faced by every writer.

At the same time, he provides numerous practical guidelines and tips that you can try and adapt to your own needs and the style of your specific field of study. The suggestions contained in the book apply to all types of doctoral dissertations.

This book covers all aspects of preparing a doctoral dissertation:

• formulating central research questions;
• designing the sequence of chapters;
• organizing chapters and smaller tasks;
• writing with clarity and a professional style;
• managing the writing process;
• using tables and graphs;
• overall coordination of the dissertation text;
• submitting the dissertation;
• handling the final oral examination;
• publishing articles in journals, and the dissertation itself as a book.

[Excerpt from a publisher or edition presentation text]