Walk this Way: Comparing Dissertation Writing to Modeling

by JoAnn Foley Markette, Ed.D.

Growing up, didn't we all want to "be cool"? While the names of the coolest change with the times, the influence phenomena remains tightly in tact: throngs mimic the elite due to admiration for their success, their looks, their general raison d'être.

From sports to celebrities to that social media influencer with the seemingly perfect life, we pay attention. Somehow, they are doing things right, and we want it too. Many surreptitiously--or not not so secretly--start to modify their own looks, actions, and attitudes to follow suit with the hopes that we, too, will "be cool".

Many will enter a doctoral program, but all will not graduate. "Cool" is that signed dissertation. What can doctoral students do to leverage their odds of walking across the stage? Scour ProQuest for exemplar dissertations and model your work after them; think of those published dissertations as social influencers.

Mimic their dissertation organization. Examine their writing style. Follow their example paragraph-by-paragraph! Maybe even contact them and ask for pointers. Most will be flattered and will be happy to give advice.

On the flip side, modeling is vastly different from plagiarizing, which is academic theft. Do not--under any circumstances--copy material from someone else without properly citing it. Instead, read their published dissertation with the intent to understand what you need to do so that you can mold you own content into their proven strategies.

For your convenience, this video will demonstrate exactly how to find those exemplar dissertations--as well as peer-reviewed research articles to use in your dissertation:

APA citation: Markette, N. & Markette., J. [Dr. Markette]. (2021, December 7). How to Use ProQuest - 3 Quick & Easy Ways || Dissertation Research. [Video]. https://youtu.be/DelsGHUNOqI

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