This might sound familiar to anyone who is writing a dissertation: The experiments went well, the data has been collected and analyzed, the literature research is complete, and the results are respectable. At this point, a good dissertation could be the capstone on all the hard work of the past few years. But many doctoral candidates put off getting started, or they find that they get bogged down in the writing process. They feel overwhelmed by the task of summarizing their research in a readable and meaningful text. But there’s no way around it. Anyone who wants to earn a doctorate has to commit their research findings to paper, either in a monograph or in multiple articles published in scientific or scholarly journals.

That’s just what 14 doctoral candidates at the Dahlem Research School at Freie Universität Berlin are doing now, on a sunny Friday. They are sitting together with partners or in groups of three, deeply engaged in discussing the texts they have written over the past few hours and days. It’s the last day of Writing Week, a writing workshop where they learn to structure writing processes more clearly, overcome writer’s block, and make progress, chapter by chapter. Where do I start? How should I start a new paragraph? And how do I make sure not to lose the thread of my argument? Writing coach Anselm Spindler helps doctoral candidates with all of these questions, explaining not only which writing techniques are helpful, but also how to manage their time effectively.

High demand

The regular Writing Weeks are one of five modules offered by the Graduate Studies Support Program, which the Berlin University Alliance has established to support doctoral candidates from all four alliance partners on their career journeys. Aleksandra Skoric from the Dahlem Research School at Freie Universität Berlin came up with the idea and also organizes the Writing Weeks, which are held four times a year. “There is very high demand for this service. The workshop fills up every time, and other prospective participants end up on the wait list,” she explains. The week-long workshop is intended to give candidates time and space to focus on writing together. Through dialogue with each other and the guidance provided by an experienced writing coach, they learn to reflect on their own writing and work efficiently and with motivation. “It really works great with a partner or as part of a group,” Skoric explains.

Felix Schott is one of the doctoral candidates who have managed to snag a spot in the workshop, making use of this option. He is writing a dissertation in law, specifically international and constitutional law. “The workshop is a good time investment,” he says. “I’m learning things I can use not just for my dissertation, but also for many other projects.” He knows the feeling of not really making progress with writing, that sense that everything is tough and laborious. “When that happens, it’s helpful to pause and take time to reflect and really consider the best way to structure your work.” He took the Writing Week event as an opportunity to do just that and ended up adding a number of pages to his dissertation.

A good writing atmosphere is important

“The workshop always kicks off with a few keynote talks on the most common topics where people need advice,” Skoric says, describing the content of the Writing Weeks. The tendency to put off what is often perceived as a chore, finding the right structure for the paper, and publication options are all covered, along with writing a concise abstract or summary. One positive side effect of the writing groups, Skoric explains, is that doctoral candidates learn to think outside the box, moving beyond their own field of research and developing ideas for interdisciplinary research projects. “That’s one of the objectives of the Graduate Studies Support Program: From the first module to the last, it creates stable networks that continue well beyond the doctoral phase itself,” she notes. The Writing Week idea also gave rise to another initiative that is especially helpful in supporting candidates during the writing phase: the Writing Café. Each Thursday, doctoral candidates meet online to work on their dissertations together and get individual advice from the writing coach who is also participating.

“Stick with it, and create a good writing atmosphere for yourself,” Schott says as a tip for everyone who is in the same situation as him and trying to conclude their doctoral projects. As for what constitutes an optimal atmosphere for writing, that varies between individuals. “For me, it helps to reduce potential distractions, get together and write with others, and take coffee breaks together in between periods of focused writing.”