To do authoring at doctoral level is to become a qualified (and hopefully published) academic writer. It involves acquiring a complete set of 'craft' skills, a body of practical knowledge that has traditionally been passed on by personal contacts within university departments from supervision to students. A basic theme of this book is that authoring skills are a crucial element to completing a successful doctorate. They are fundamental in achieving a coherent, joined-up argument for your thesis. Proficiency in authoring can also help you meet the requirements of 'originality' and making a substantive contribution to the development of a discipline, which are still key criteria for awarding a doctorate in good universities