Steve Tippins explains why strong students struggle with dissertations. Coursework asks you to show you understand existing material. A dissertation demands you prove every claim with precision and create new knowledge for scholars who don't know your work.
We have seen brilliant students who sail through coursework suddenly hit a wall when it comes to dissertation writing. They're confused and frustrated and convinced that they are not good writers. Here's what's actually happening. Academic writing operates by rules that are completely different than anything you've ever written before. In coursework writing, it's show me you understand the material. In dissertation writing, it's prove every single claim with precision and authority. So you are shifting from demonstrating knowledge to creating that knowledge. And that requires mastering scholarly discourse. So stop writing for professors who already know the MA material. Start writing for fellow scholars who need to evaluate your claims. Our dissertation help community is free. Just drop the word help in the comments below and we will send you the link. You've got this.
