At LSE, PhD students have several progression markers to ensure that their research is on track and to provide them with formal feedback to shape the remainder of their journey. The Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science has two such targets for progress in the run up to the submission of the thesis – an extended essay for first-year students and an upgrade viva for second-year students.

As a first-year student, my essay was due last year on the first day of the Winter Term. My department registers students as MPhil candidates in the first instance and the progression markers provide the decision criteria for upgrading to the PhD status. And so, my essay was an important factor for my PhD progression. Here’s how I went about it.

Understand the requirement

The essay is a detailed articulation of your research plan and how your research is important to the on-going work in your area of interest. It needs to outline what your contribution will be, why this is necessary, and how you will go about it. In essence, the essay has to be a detailed literature review that discusses your topic and the current state of affairs therein and how your research ideas make a worthwhile contribution. It also has to be a comprehensive proposal outlining your research plan along with clear timelines.

Create a blueprint

After you understand the brief for the essay, creating a blueprint detailing how you’ll meet the requirements provides a good framework. To do this, I went back to the proposal I had submitted with my application and highlighted the parts that would be included in my essay. I also referred to additional readings I had done after I had submitted my application. After this, I created a brief outline for my essay that was tailored around my topic and shared it with my supervisor for feedback. I then incorporated the inputs and finalised the blueprint for my essay.

Read, read and read

To nail the literature review, I ensured that I had thoroughly read up on the topic. I read about the history of my topic, seminal works, since its origin to trace the evolution, multiple theoretical perspectives, and finally, I read more recent work to gain perspective on current dialogue in the field. Such extensive reading helped with: drawing up the relevant viewpoints for my research, discovering new perspectives that can inform my work, arguing my case better on how my contribution is important, and integrating my work into the literature. Pro tip: make notes as you read, highlight, add comments to the texts. You’ll read many texts and it is easy to lose track of the important bits.

Start writing

While it is easy to get caught up in all the reading, it is also important to get started with the writing before it gets overwhelming. My essay was supposed to be 6,000 words long. After I’d read the seminal works in the area, I started writing my essay. I did not follow a linear order and wrote parts of the essay that I corresponded to my readings. That way, I did not have to constantly switch between subtopics. Also, my notes were very helpful during the writing process. Pro tip: if you do not follow a linear pattern while writing, re-reading your draft several times helps ensure that your writing flows logically from one point to the next.

Seek feedback

Make sure you plan your writing in such a way that you leave ample time to seek feedback from your supervisor(s) and incorporate their inputs in your work. It helps to gain perspective on whether you’re on the right track. Don’t procrastinate on seeking feedback thinking you will refine it further before sharing it. All your first draft needs to be perfect is to be complete. Once, my first draft was complete I sent it to my supervisors and received valuable inputs that helped me in refining it. Pro tip: be proactive, your supervisor is more likely to provide feedback when you ask for it.

That’s how I wrote my essay over three months. While it seemed slightly intimidating initially, it was nonetheless a thought-provoking exercise that provided clarity for my research.