Research Guides: Comparative Literature: Faculty / PhD resources

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Writing a thesis or dissertation

Are you a graduate student approaching the thesis or dissertation-writing stage? Here are a few books from our collection about the process. You can find more books on this subject by searching the NYU Libraries' catalog for the subject heading Dissertations, Academic -- Authorship -- Handbooks, manuals, etc.

How to Write Essays and Dissertations: A Guide for English Literature Students by Alan Durant; Nigel Fabb
ISBN: 9781315835471

Publication Date: 2015-10-30

This guide reveals the distinct set of skills, conventions and methods of essay and dissertation writing. Taking students through the various stages of writing, from planning to final submission, it offers specific guidelines and a lively, detailed commentary on actual examples of student work at each stage.
Writing Well and Being Well for Your PhD and Beyond by Katherine Firth
ISBN: 9781000936124

Publication Date: 2023-09-12

Prioritizing wellbeing alongside academic development, this book provides practical advice to help students write well, and be well, during their PhD and throughout their career. Katherine Firth offers expert guidance on developing a writing practice and avoiding burnout, providing strategies and insights for developing a sustainable writing career beyond the PhD thesis.
Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day by Joan Bolker
ISBN: 9780805048919

Publication Date: 1998-08-15

Joan Bolker, midwife to more than one hundred dissertations and co-founder of the Harvard Writing Center, offers invaluable suggestions for the graduate-student writer. Using field-tested strategies she assists the student through the entire thesis-writing process, offering advice on choosing a topic and an advisor, on disciplining one's self to work at least fifteen minutes each day; setting short-term deadlines, on revising and defing the thesis, and on life and publication after the dissertation.

A selection of books on academic writing and publishing

The Book Proposal Book by Laura Portwood-Stacer
ISBN: 9780691216621

Publication Date: 2021-07-13

The scholarly book proposal may be academia's most mysterious genre. You have to write one to get published, but most scholars receive no training on how to do so--and you may have never even seen a proposal before you're expected to produce your own. The Book Proposal Book cuts through the mystery and guides prospective authors step by step through the process of crafting a compelling proposal and pitching it to university presses and other academic publishers.
The Dissertation-To-Book Workbook by Katelyn E. Knox; Allison Van Deventer
ISBN: 9780226825816

Publication Date: 2023-11-07

So, you've written a dissertation. Congratulations! But how do you turn it into a book? Even if you know what to do when revising your dissertation, do you know how to do those things? This workbook by Katelyn E. Knox and Allison Van Deventer, creators of the successful online Dissertation-to-Book Boot Camp, offers a series of manageable, concrete steps with exercises to help you revise your academic manuscript into publishable book form.
Getting It Published, Third Edition by William Germano
ISBN: 9780226281544

Publication Date: 2016-04-08

Today there are more ways to publish than ever, and more challenges to traditional publishing. This ever-evolving landscape brings more confusion for authors trying to understand their options. The third edition of Getting It Published offers the clear, practicable guidance on choosing the best path to publication that has made it a trusted resource, now updated to include discussions of current best practices for submitting a proposal, of the advantages and drawbacks of digital publishing, and tips for authors publishing textbooks and in open-access environments.
How We Write: Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blank Page by Suzanne Akbari
ISBN: 9780692519332

Publication Date: 2015-09-11

This collection is not about how TO write, but how WE write: unlike a prescriptive manual that promises to unlock the secret to efficient productivity, the contributors talk about their own writing processes, in all their messy, frustrated, exuberant, and awkward dis/order. The contributors range from graduate students and recent PhDs to senior scholars working in the fields of medieval studies, art history, English literature, poetics, early modern studies, musicology, and geography.
Revise: The Scholar-writer's Essential Guide to Tweaking, Editing, and Perfecting Your Manuscript by Pamela Haag
ISBN: 9780300243673

Publication Date: 2021-03-23

Writing and revision are two different skills. Many scholar-writers have learned something about how to write, but fewer know how to read and revise their own writing, spot editorial issues, and transform a draft from passable to great. Drawing on before and after examples from more than a decade as a developmental editor of scholarly works, Pamela Haag tackles the most common challenges of scholarly writing.
Stylish Academic Writing by Helen Sword
ISBN: 9780674064485

Publication Date: 2012-04-02

Elegant data and ideas deserve elegant expression, argues Helen Sword in this lively guide to academic writing. For scholars frustrated with disciplinary conventions, and for specialists who want to write for a larger audience but are unsure where to begin, here are imaginative, practical, witty pointers that show how to make articles and books a pleasure to read--and to write.
Write No Matter What: Advice for Academics by Joli Jensen
ISBN: 9780226461847

Publication Date: 2017-04-28

With growing academic responsibilities, family commitments, and inboxes, scholars are struggling to fulfill their writing goals. A finished book--or even steady journal articles--may seem like an impossible dream. But, as Joli Jensen proves, it really is possible to write happily and productively in academe. Write No Matter What draws on popular and scholarly insights into the writing process and stems from Jensen's experience designing and directing a faculty writing program.

Ask UP: Your questions about academic publishing answered!

Ask UP: Authors Seeking Knowledge from University Presses
Ask UP is an online resource devoted to explaining how university presses work, developed by the Association of University Presses and hosted by the NYU Press. Users can use the "Ask A Question" feature to ask questions about university-press publishing, or browse frequently asked questions from others.

Questions about copyright? Visit the Copyright research guide

NYU Libraries copyright research guide

What does the copyright law allow you to do (or not do) with copyrighted material? Whether or not the question is asked in an educational context, copyright law is very complex. In order to guide you through copyright and fair use questions our Director of Scholarly Communications and Information Policy, April Hathcock, has put together a research guide to assist you in determining what you can and cannot do with copyrighted material.