Talking Around Texts in Writing Research: A Bakhtinian Approach to Writing a Doctoral Dissertation Proposal

• In Event: 25.083 - MTCC Roundtable Session Eight
  In Roundtable Session: 25.083-10 - Curricular Skill Development in Graduate Education

Abstract

This qualitative study investigates how a doctoral candidate navigates the process of writing a research proposal for her dissertation and to what extent dialogic relationships facilitate her accomplishing the task.

I use Bakhtin’s (1981) concepts of ‘authoritative’ discourse and ‘internally persuasive’ discourse to explore how the doctoral candidate interprets the languages and expectations of others in her discipline and forms her own voice.

I gather data from a University of Ottawa doctoral candidate in political science and her supervisor. I collect the: 1) participants’ oral accounts of literacy practices associated with proposal writing, 2) proposal written drafts, 3) emails exchanged between the doctoral candidate and her supervisor about the proposal written drafts, and 4) doctoral candidate’s journals.

Author

• Zinat Goodarzi