Thesis and Dissertation Consultations

Thesis and Dissertation Consultations Image

Graduate students working on their thesis or dissertation proposal, prospectus, or draft, or on a long paper (15+ pages) or article for publication may schedule sessions with the Writing Center's Thesis and Dissertation consultants. These consultants are PhD students or advanced masters students trained to work with advanced graduate writers.

While thesis/diss consultations are offered in both synchronous and asynchronous formats, the first appointment with the thesis/diss consultant must be in a synchronous format—that is, in person or on Zoom. Your initial conversation allows the consultant to learn about your project. 

Working with a writing consultant can complement the feedback you receive from your faculty advisors and your peers. A writing consultant can

  • Share strategies for planning, organizing, drafting, revising, and editing
  • Share strategies for maximizing writing productivity
  • Help you identify and use the conventions of writing that are specific to your field
  • Provide a sounding board for you to work out your ideas
  • Provide feedback from the perspective of an educated general audience

Unlike other writing center sessions, thesis and dissertation consultations provide time for consultants to read your draft before they meet with you. Writers submit their draft by 9am on the day of the session, direct the consultant's attention to specific elements of the draft, then meet with the consultant for 45 minutes. Consultants can read between 7 and 20 pages, depending on the material and the roughness of the draft. If your draft is lengthy, please indicate the pages you’d like the consultant to prioritize.

To make an appointment, register with the Writing Center, log on to the schedule online, and navigate to the Thesis/Diss schedule. Attach your draft to the appointment form by 9am on the day of your appointment, and tell the consultant which elements of the draft you'd like them to focus on. You may take advantage of one T/D session per week. 

If you have questions about thesis and dissertation consultations, please email Jessie Wiggins at jwiggi@gmu.edu.

Thesis and Dissertation Consultants

Angela Barajas is a PhD candidate in the Cultural Studies department. Angela has taught in the Integrative Studies department for four years, focusing primarily on visual culture and society. Her dissertation research involves understanding the intersections of fanship, digital community, and merchandise. She has completed fields (qualifying exams in the form of extensive literature reviews) in culture & political economy and digital communities. Angela holds an M.A. in Sociology from the University of Texas at Arlington. She has presented work in the forms of papers and presentations at the Mid-South Sociological Association Annual Meeting and at the Southern Sociological Association Meeting. At the Mason Writing Center, she supports graduate writers working on their thesis, dissertation, and other academic projects. Angela is a tabletop gamer, trained in sword fighting, a violinist, and avid consumer of mass media.

Caitlin Hartweave is is a PhD candidate in the History department, studying American history with a focus on gender and gender-non-conformity in the 18th century Atlantic world. Her dissertation research seeks to broaden our understanding of gender in the past by identifying and investigating recurring language and tropes in gender-non-conforming narratives. With a minor field in digital history, she has previously worked at the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media and taught The Digital Past: History in the Digital Age, an upper-level undergraduate course in the History department. She holds an M.A. in History from George Mason University and a B.A. in History and International Relations from the College of William & Mary. Prior to Mason, she also taught high school English, History and AP Economics at Killington Mountain School in Vermont. At the Writing Center, Caitlin is a Thesis/Dissertation Consultant, working with graduate writers on their theses, dissertations and other academic projects. 

Jessie Wiggins is a PhD student in the Writing and Rhetoric program studying the rhetorics of health and medicine. Her dissertation research is on blood and vaccination, analyzing rhetorical practices of hesitancy and the resulting clinical implications. She holds an M.A. and B.A. in Writing, Rhetoric & Technical Communication from James Madison University. She is a qualitative researcher with experience as a survey methodologist for a community health non-profit. At the Writing Center, Jessie serves as the Graduate Writing Coordinator, consulting with graduate students on their theses, dissertations, and other academic projects. She has experience with writing proposals for funding, conducting surveys and interviews using qualitative methods, and preparing conference submissions and manuscripts.