Step 11a: Make Revisions Suggested by your Committee

Goal:

  • In a timely manner, you make all revisions to your dissertation manuscript that are suggested by your committee.

Directions:

  • Make revisions suggested by your committee.
  • Follow APA format when incorporating all suggestions and revisions to the manuscript.

Resources:


Due Dates:

  • Committee revisions should ordinarily be completed within at least 2 weeks after the dissertation defense date.

John's Experience:

Even though he's tempted to rush through the review of his manuscript, John checks his manuscript to make sure it meets APA standards. He makes all recommended changes except one, which he strongly disagrees with. Instead of ignoring the recommendation, John contacts Dr. Sells and discusses his recommendation with him. By doing this, he avoids a delay in finalizing his dissertation manuscript as it's finalized. He also realizes that this is the ethical thing to do.



Pitfalls to Avoid:

  • Avoid the tendency to rush through this step of the process; because you're so close to the end of the process, make sure that you take the time to be thorough in your formatting and writing at this stage, rather than hurrying to complete the final document and making unnecessary errors, or writing in a less-than-scholarly manner.
  • You fail to follow through with your committee's suggestions and expected revisions; try to make revisions as soon after they're given to you as possible and use a check-off process to make sure you've made all of them.
  • If you are closed to constructive criticism and feedback, new ideas and suggestions from your dissertation committee; talk with others in your program or with your dissertation chair about any reactions you're having to constructive criticism or suggestions.
  • Don't fail to recheck your References and your in-text citations to make sure that they correspond, if you add new references (this is a common error at the revision point of the process); perform a systematic check-off process. This will reduce the amount of time it takes for the copy editor to complete the editing of your manuscript.