Expert Advice for Capstone Writers

The dissertation or doctoral study can seem like an impossible task. You’ve never tackled such a large and complex project before. But here you are with your committee’s approval and before you, the Form and Style Review.

While it may seem like an impediment to progress, the Form and Style Review can be helpful. The editors know APA and Walden style very well; they have edited many capstone studies. Yet it may be hard not to take the edit personally. Reading and trying to follow the editor’s close review of your final draft can be an emotional experience. Try to keep in mind that the goal was not to judge the writing, only to improve it. (After all, the work you publish on ProQuest will represent you for the rest of your career.)

If you can spare the time, set aside the document for a few days. Let your mind adjust to the idea of writing a revised draft. See if you can get psyched up to begin the process. Remember that writing itself is a process of discovery and that to revise—“to ‘see again,’ to look at something from a fresh, critical perspective”—is in the nature of writing. Everyone needs to write multiple drafts. But it takes courage (and time) to “see again,” to reexamine your work and edit it. Here are some ideas that might make your task a little easier.

1. A Form and Style Review includes tracked changes and comments. If you haven’t worked with these functions before, you can find guidance on the Writing Center website at http://writingcenter.waldenu.edu/446.htm.
2. Be sure to work on the edited draft. Don't try to transfer changes to another version because the process is likely to introduce errors.
3. To switch off the comment balloons on changed formatting: for Word 2003, go to Tools > Track Changes > Show > Formatting; for Word 2007, click on the Review tab > Track Changes > Change Tracking Options. 
4. To restore the lines that connect comment balloons to the text: For Word 2003, click on Tools > Options > Track Changes. Then check the box that says “Show lines connecting to text.” For Word 2007, click on the Review tab > Track Changes > Change Tracking Options. Then check the box that says “Show lines connecting to text.”
5. As you begin reading, you can quickly make a lot of progress by using the Accept Changes option.
6. You might find it useful to use Word’s find-and-replace feature. It can speed up the process of, say, fixing a misspelling throughout the document.
7. Have your dissertation checklist (or rubric), your template, and your APA Publication Manual handy.
8. Try printing your work to better see what the issues are and how they might be resolved. Reading the printed page can feel more settled than reading the screen version. For some writers, reading paragraphs aloud can help reveal what changes are needed.
9. Look over the review slowly and carefully. Don't start editing until you have paged through the entire document. That way, you can get a sense of how much and what kind of work will be needed.
10. Don't forget that your editor did not edit the entire work—only Chapter 1 and a few pages at the start of each of the other chapters. The issues pointed out there are very likely to be found in the other chapters of the study. You’ll need to review those pages with Chapter 1 in mind. (Sometimes an editor will find an issue in the last chapter. If so, be sure to see if that issue appears in any of the previous chapters and then fix it.)
11. Try listing the steps in your revision process (proceed in whatever way works best for you); it could help make the process more manageable. You also might get some ideas from your editor’s cover letter.
12. Go slowly. Tackle just a handful of pages at a time. Or tackle one issue at a time. Start with a task that seems easy—formatting?—something you know how to do. (This helps build up confidence.)
13. Consider working on two different fronts—writing and formatting. Writing revisions can take a lot of energy. APA and formatting take less. If you take a break from editing and do a little formatting, you might find that you can work longer and make more progress.
14. Save work on the abstract for the last, when your sense of the project is most accurate and complete.
15. Finally, keep in mind that you are not alone. You have three sources of help: your editor, your chair, and the Writing Center’s website.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tim McIndoo, who has been a dissertation editor since 2007, has more than 30 years of editorial experience in the fields of medicine, science and technology, fiction, and education. When it comes to APA style, he says, "I don't write the rules; I just help users follow them."