Inspecting Chapters

Pick a chapter in the middle of your thesis. Have a quick read and then consider the following questions for a few minutes each:

1. What does this chapter add to your thesis?
2. What did you learn from doing the work?
3. How did you feel writing this chapter?
4. How did you feel reading it now?
5. How many typos or other mistakes have you found?
6. How many times did you think “I wish I could change that!”?
7. What else from your research did you think about when reading it?
8. What do you think your examiners might make of it?

Some of those questions might seem odd or unfair – but probably not as unfair as some of the questions you might ask when you doubt your progress or capability!

Doubts and worries are a part of being human but you can decide what you’d like to give your attention to. Not every question is worth your time. You can decide where to put your focus.

Find ways to ignore questions which only hinder your prep and confidence. One approach would be to focus on more helpful questions. In my opinion, questions 1, 2, 7 and 8 are probably the most helpful questions in the example above!