
Throughout this course we will celebrate your progress at 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%. I really want you to succeed but you need to take action and keep going so look forward to these milestones of progress. I will see you there and cheer you on as you keep going from one milestone to the next >>
This is your opportunity to share something about yourself with the rest of the students in this course. Tell us all about your goals and what you want to achieve. You can come back to this board and add more thoughts as you go through the course and achieve your goals. Seeing all the other students in the course will also motivate you and keep you going as you participate in this community of learning.
Throughout this course we will celebrate your progress at 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%. I really want you to succeed but you need to take action and keep going so look forward to these milestones of progress. I will see you there and cheer you on as you keep going from one milestone to the next >>
own your degree by planning it with a six month plan, driving progress, and using weekly status updates with supervisors to stay on track and meet milestones.
Treat the proposal as a purposeful writing project. It links a rigorous literature review to your plan, enabling reuse, practical project planning, and contingency awareness.
Throughout this course we will celebrate your progress at 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%. I really want you to succeed but you need to take action and keep going so look forward to these milestones of progress. I will see you there and cheer you on as you keep going from one milestone to the next >>
Implement a weekly status update to sustain momentum toward your degree using a kanban-inspired format. Use red, amber, or green status to indicate progress and outcomes, not activities.
Set a steady weekly status update pattern with five bullet points to communicate progress and next steps to your supervisor. Inch by inch discipline turns daily effort into degree success.
Throughout this course we will celebrate your progress at 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%. I really want you to succeed but you need to take action and keep going so look forward to these milestones of progress. I will see you there and cheer you on as you keep going from one milestone to the next >>
Write early, write often, and write well to finish your degree; maintain a golden thread with signposting, then reinforce old before new and avoid complexity lost for reader-focused clarity.
Learn from the student success coach to plan your studies, improve writing, and build strong relationships with supervisors using a project mindset to finish your degree.
Throughout this course we will celebrate your progress at 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%. I really want you to succeed but you need to take action and keep going so look forward to these milestones of progress. I will see you there and cheer you on as you keep going from one milestone to the next >>
Join a lunchtime webinar with guest Gaby, who discusses her book how to write literature reviews and the importance of researching, writing about, and engaging with literature for academic success.
Gaby introduces herself as a published author and thesis coach, sharing her passion for literature reviews and how her book supports students in completing their theses.
Explore managing literature reviews with resource management tools like Terror, organizing sources, annotating articles, and citing them efficiently throughout your writing.
The literature review plans and sets the scene for readers by weaving global conversations around a topic, justifying your study’s relevance within the broader literature.
Develop an academic tone for literature reviews by adopting a neutral, formal voice, citing sources confidently, and building a strong academic stance from proposal to final draft.
Learn how to write analytically in a literature review by critiquing sources, recognizing gaps, and backing your arguments with courage and academic tone.
Aim for adequate representation of past and current research by including enough sources to synthesize multiple perspectives. Emphasize paragraph-level synthesis with multiple citations, prioritizing quality over quantity.
Avoid quoting the same author across paragraphs; paraphrase and weave ideas into your own words. Build a literature review with a clear introduction, smooth transitions, and a concise conclusion.
Explore the thematic and chronological approaches to literature reviews, organizing by themes or by time periods. Balance recent, up-to-date sources with authoritative older works to strengthen your arguments.
"This is exactly the jump-start I needed. Very clear and concise. It is a must do course for every postgraduate!" - Tulongeni S.
"This course was such a perfect match for my needs. Simple and practical, but yet contains so many useful techniques that i can see myself using as i embark on my PhD research journey. Thanks Peter" - Junior M.
"It was a perfect match !! I love the fact that you bring the issue of the mindset because I learned of the weekly status report from you towards the end of my studies and applied some aspects of the approach. I have tried to introduce the tool to my students without much success. I am still thinking of the best way to the next batch of my students to see the Gold in the approach. I think your approach was magnificent kindly consider publishing as book those weekly status report as I believe bot students and supervisor can find unique value that is different from our existing research methodology books." - Ignitia M.
"It was a perfect match for me. I am at a place where I am inconsistent in my delivery and work output. The course has given me a plan to work with and how to maintain a consistent pattern of output. Its detailed and concise. Grateful" - Tabea K.
"I am glad that I come across this course early on in my writing process. I will be able to plan the rest of my dissertation in a much better fashion. I would highly recommend it for anyone who is undertaking their post graduate studies regardless of their progress" - Sindi A.
"Great tone, clear and understandable content delivery. Feeling inspired and capable." - Baden
"Just the push I needed" - Calistus, "extremely instructive, very clear and concise" - Jeanette
"It was very informative and inspired me. I have recommended it to my friend and will recommend to more in the future" - Percy
This course will teach you how to take control of your academic life, get motivated, get organised and get your degree finished. At any stage of your research-based study you can apply these methods to gain the confidence you need to be a successful student in your field. Postgraduate research can be tough going, especially when you need to be self-disciplined about deadlines to make consistent progress. I'll explain key concepts and share lessons from my own journey of doing a part time PhD over four years.
You can immediately apply these techniques to enhance your relationship with your supervisor and improve your confidence and motivation. Each technique builds on the previous one to transform your outlook about your degree. Whatever your field, level or progress, this course will be useful for you; the new skills you learn will undoubtedly help you finish your degree.
Each lesson unpacks a technique that will help you to finish your degree and transform your academic performance:
The weekly status update will drive consistent delivery and help manage your relationship with your supervisor
Use Lean Kanban thinking to discipline yourself about making progress and committing to next steps
Well timed and well written discussion papers mark your academic progress and will be useful content for your final report
The importance and benefits of a well written proposal and how it positions you for success in your degree
How to balance quality and progress between different phases of your study
Approach your study like a project and understand the phases of proposal, field work, analysis and writing up
How to develop the right mindset that benefits you by taking ownership of your degree
Planning techniques, how I used them in my own degree and how you can use them to get through important deadlines
Completing this course will provide useful and practical tips and techniques to help you finish your degree. Just changing a few things in your study can have a significant impact on your overall performance, I'll show you how.