Demotivation, Confidence, and Recognition in the Dissertation Writing Process

Abstract

This paper is an account of a tutoring experience offered to a doctoral student at a Colombian Writing Center. It offers a vision of the practice according to the needs of a specific profile. The experience of the accompaniment in the writing of the student's doctoral thesis, which was recorded in 114 tutorials, will be described in detail. This account will give an account of three specific moments that evidence the progression in the writing of the thesis and will be characterized as three distinct states of the writing process of the accompanied student. The first moment, called Demotivation, reflects the manifest difficulty of successfully completing the doctoral thesis. The second moment, called Confidence, will show the changes in her writing from selected samples of the text before and after receiving the tutoring; and the third moment, Recognition, details the influence of the progress of her writing process in her professional life up to obtaining a national award related to her research. This account is intended to be of interest to support similar processes in other writing centers or programs, as well as to serve as a reference in the creation of future research projects.