The Joy of Affirmation

Yesterday, one of the nursing faculty gave me a card and some homemade jam from Missouri for helping her with her dissertation. She is writing her dissertation on narrative pedagogy in nursing classes and student engagement. She has a few more revisions to go, but it sounds like her advisor really liked the draft that she just completed. Basically, I just helped her obtain the articles she needed, provided a bit of encouragement, and some writing advice. She had explained to me earlier that she was having trouble getting started with the paper because she couldn't write the introduction, and she didn't know what to say or how to start it, although she did have a thesis statement. My advice to her (and all the rest of you aspiring writers out there)?

1. Start with what you know. You don't have to start with the introduction. Write one of the body paragraphs on any idea where you already know what you want to say. As you begin to write what you know, hopefully the harder parts to write (like the intro and conclusion) will actually become easier to write.

2. If you are having trouble focusing your paper, or giving it structure, start writing the questions you are trying to answer, then answer them. As you do, your responses to these questions can become paragraphs within your paper.

3. As you go to start writing, put all your sources away, they will only muddle your mind more. Say what you want to say, and write a few paragraphs, then go back and add in examples, references, etc. This will help you clarify YOUR thoughts versus what everyone else is trying to say. This will help you synthesize all your information--putting it together in a new way.

Anyway, it was very encouraging to know that I am appreciated here, and that I was able to help someone just by doing my job.