Chance conversation with Tim Fawns

I bumped into Tim Fawns on the way into work. We had a useful conversation about the difficulty of drawing a piece of research or work to a close. I mentioned that the word count from this blog is far greater than the running total (or limit) for the dissertation. We talked about that. And here am I writing about it, adding further words.

Anyway, some wise words from Tim (in no particular order):

• it's necessary to have a clear idea of what you're trying to do and to draw things to a close
  
• it's not about showing the reader all the things you've read - it's about talking about relevant stuff in an interesting way
  
• try not to do too many things or cover too many bases - that makes it harder for the reader. Depth over breadth.
• a dissertation is not a Phd (and Tim would know as he's done both)

That's helpful.