HOW IT WORKS

Comprehensive Written Exams

Comprehensive written exams are perhaps one of the most stressful challenges you will encounter in your entire graduate program. You are generally required to craft anywhere from 20 to 60 pages of scholarly text under a compressed timeline, sometimes as short as a weekend. Even under the best of circumstances, this can be a challenging task, but I can help you organize your ideas, construct an appropriate outline, and edit your document. With my help, you will be able to craft a clear and cogent response to each question in a scholarly and professional manner. 

Dissertation/Thesis Proposal

The dissertation/thesis proposal may be your first experience as the primary researcher for an advanced scholarly project, and while I am confident you have completed graduate-level projects before, you probably have not experienced anything quite like the dissertation process. Dissertation proposals usually consist of chapters 1, 2, and 3 of your project, but where do you start? How do you organize the enormous amount of research you've compiled? How do you develop research questions and hypotheses that are clear, relevant, and concise? These are valid questions that I can help you answer. I will help you every step of the way--from writing your proposal to delivering your final document. 

Literature Review

Because of the overwhelming amount of literature available surrounding any one topic, most graduate students feel overwhelmed, frustrated, and paralyzed when it comes to the art of constructing a scholarly literature review. However, the literature review is without question the heart of every thesis or dissertation; it is the wellspring out of which all scholarly activity emerges and in which all scholarly projects are grounded. I will supply you with a proven systematic technique I have created that will help you craft your literature review in a scholarly manner and empower you as an academic writer. 

Problem Statement

Every problem statement grows out of a comprehensive understanding of the literature, but it is not always easy to craft one that is specific, concise, and rhetorically sound. While developing problem statements is often an evolutionary process, it is important to get them right so that they align appropriately with the literature review and other sections of your project. The problem statement essentially serves as "the rudder" that will steer the entire course of your thesis or dissertation. I'll work with you to identify and refine clear problem statements that will help provide focus for your project and guide all aspects of your research. 

Research Questions

Sometimes in order to arrive at the right answer, it is important to ask the right questions. This is never more true than when developing research questions for your scholarly project. From your problem statement will emerge your research questions, but formal research questions must be precise. Perhaps most importantly, they provide an opportunity to examine previously unexplored areas. I'll show you how to discover, draft, and refine the specific research questions that are most appropriate for your study.

Formatting and Citations

For many academic writers, "citation" is a four-letter word. Without question, citations are tedious and time consuming. However, they are also a necessary and important aspect of scholarly research and documentation. I have years of experience both with MLA and APA formatting styles. I can also help you with Chicago style and Turabien citation styles. I'll work closely with you to make sure every source in your essay is cited absolutely correctly and that your document follows all the guidelines established by these specification documents.