Instant access | self-paced course
A Guided Roadmap for Writing Chapters 1-5
The Chapter Clarity Series is a complete, self-paced course designed to guide you through writing the five core chapters of your dissertation with clarity, confidence, and intention.
You'll get:
5 downloadable chapter templates (PDFs for Chapters 1-5) showing you exactly what to write in each section
Video walkthroughs for each chapter breaking down how to structure your argument, literature review, methodology, findings, and discussion
Section-by-section writing guidance grounded in care and community accountability, with field note prompts to keep you connected to your values
Lifetime access to all course materials, including future updates
Hey, Sis I'm Dr. Jamelia Harris...
I kept wondering: How does anyone actually write a dissertation without someone showing them how?
How do you write a literature review that's intentional and builds community—especially when not many people have studied your topic? How do you write methodology when you're doing scholarship with people, not just on them?
The generic examples I found didn't speak to the kind of research I was doing—work grounded in care, reciprocity, and accountability.
I had to figure it out on my own.
So I did. I pieced together what each chapter should do, stayed true to my commitments, and finished. I earned my Ph.D. at UCLA and went on to receive a book contract at a major publishing company!
But it shouldn't have been that hard. If any of this sounds familiar, you're not alone.
This course is for you if:
You're ABD and stuck on where to start with Chapters 1-5
You're doing community-engaged, justice-oriented research and generic templates don't align with your values
You need a clear roadmap that shows you what to write in each section
You want guidance grounded in care and community accountability, not just academic conventions
You're ready to stop staring at blank pages and start writing
Chapter One is where you build your case and establish the foundation for your entire dissertation. This guide helps you articulate why your inquiry matters, who it matters for, and what's at stake. You'll learn how to name what's missing in the research, introduce your theoretical framework, and craft a purpose statement that anchors everything that follows. This chapter is about inviting your reader into the intellectual and political urgency of your work while staying grounded in your commitments to the communities and issues you're centering.
• Clear guidance on structuring your introduction and establishing context
• Strategies for identifying and articulating gaps in the literature
• Framework for connecting your theoretical lens to your research questions
• Tools for writing a compelling significance section that honors your values
• Step-by-step outline for building a cohesive Chapter One
Chapter Two is where you build scholarly community through intentional citation practices. This guide helps you move beyond the pressure to "prove you've read everything" and instead shows you how to curate meaningful conversations with the thinkers, scholars, and communities whose work grounds your study. You'll learn to organize literature thematically, identify points of connection and tension, and position your work within existing scholarship. This chapter treats citation as an act of care and resistance, helping you make visible the voices that have shaped your thinking while naming what remains underexplored.
• Framework for approaching citation as love praxis and intellectual community-building
• Guidance on transparent literature selection methods
• Strategies for organizing literature thematically (not just chronologically)
• Concrete example using Dr. Jamelia's scholarship
• Tools for connecting your contribution to existing conversations
• Reflection prompts on values and commitments guiding your citations
Chapter Three is where you show how you'll honor the people and communities you're studying while staying true to your values. This guide helps you write methodology as a love letter to your participants, moving beyond technical descriptions to articulate the relational, political, and ethical dimensions of your research approach. Whether you're doing qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods work, you'll learn to ground your methodology in principles of care, reciprocity, and justice. This chapter demonstrates that rigorous research and community accountability aren't opposed—they strengthen each other.
• Framework for connecting your methods to your values and commitments
• Guidance on explaining research design across methodological approaches
• Strategies for centering participant voice and honoring community expertise
• Tools for addressing validity/trustworthiness through a justice lens
• Section-by-section outline for building a complete methodology chapter
• Reflection prompts on research as love practice
Chapter Four is where you present your findings as sacred testimony, honoring participant voices while maintaining analytical rigor. This guide helps you move beyond "objective data presentation" to create space for participant wisdom to be heard with dignity and complexity. Whether you're sharing qualitative themes, quantitative patterns, or mixed methods insights, you'll learn to center the people behind your data while building clear, systematic analysis. This chapter demonstrates that scholarly interpretation and community accountability strengthen each other.
Framework for centering participant voices while presenting rigorous analysis
Guidance on organizing findings thematically across methodological approaches
Strategies for including rich participant voice without extraction or oversimplification
Tools for connecting findings to theory while honoring participant expertise
Section-by-section outline for building a complete findings chapter
Reflection prompts on presenting findings as an act of community love and accountability
Chapter Five is where you step into your power as a scholar and claim your intellectual authority. This guide helps you interpret your findings and position your work as a vital contribution to scholarship and social change. You'll learn to articulate what your research means, connect participant wisdom to broader theoretical conversations, and position your work's implications for policy, practice, and justice.
Framework for interpreting findings while remaining accountable to participant wisdom
Guidance on articulating theoretical, methodological, and empirical contributions
Strategies for connecting your research to implications for justice and social change
Tools for addressing limitations as invitations for continued scholarship
Section-by-section outline for building a complete discussion chapter
“The chapter summaries, tools, and resources provided by Write Your Dissertation, Sis have been powerful supplements to my program. Although I am grateful for the general outline my university provides for the five chapters, it lacks the culturally nuanced elements essential for Black-centered research. The Chapter Clarity Series has allowed me to amend the outline provided by my program to include a more culturally nuanced approach while maintaining the required elements. That level of alignment and intentionality has been invaluable.”
Doctoral Student in Philanthropy
"This course helped me shift how I approach my research. I love the focus on building community with intention through citation. Sometimes recommendations from professors don't fully resonate with how you want to carry your research, and that can be difficult. Adding a methods section on how I selected my literature helped me cement my research as interdisciplinary—something that wasn't recommended to me before, but I'm excited about it! The prompts also helped me move away from the pressure of my work having to be 'perfect' and toward centering the explorative nature of my research."
PhD Candidate in Sociology
"The Chapter Clarity Series gave me the structure I needed to finally move forward. I came in feeling pressure to 'write the book' as an interdisciplinary Black Studies scholar, and it was keeping me stuck. Returning to Dr. Jamelia's chapter series and templates gave me the exact structure my brain needed. Once I started using them, I had this real aha moment—I finally felt like, 'Okay, I know where I'm going and what I'm doing.' What I appreciate most is that her materials meet me where I am. Her videos, outlines, and templates help me move from outline to draft in a way that feels manageable."
PhD Candidate in American Studies
If you have any additional questions, you can email us directly: drjamelia@writeyourdissertationsis.com
You get five comprehensive chapter templates (downloadable PDFs), video walkthroughs for each chapter, section-by-section guidance, and reflection prompts to keep you connected to your values. Everything is designed to help you write Chapters 1-5 with clarity and confidence.
Each chapter includes a 10- 12 minute video walkthrough and a downloadable template. You can watch all five videos in an hour, but the real work is in applying what you learn to your own writing. This is a working course—use the templates as your guide while you draft, revise, and build each chapter at your own pace.
While my work centers Black women, the Chapter Clarity Series is designed for anyone doing critical, justice-oriented scholarship. The templates and guidance are grounded in principles of care, community accountability, and reciprocity—applicable across methodologies and disciplines.
The templates are flexible guides, not rigid prescriptions. I show you the core architecture of each chapter and encourage you to adapt based on your committee's expectations and your field's norms. The principles stay the same; the structure can shift.
Lifetime access. You can work through the course at your own pace and return to the materials whenever you need them.
The course works across methodological approaches. Each chapter includes guidance for qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods scholars. The focus is on grounding your work in care-based principles, regardless of your methods.
Right now, the course is only available as the complete bundle. This ensures you have the full roadmap and can see how each chapter builds on the others.
After purchase, you'll receive an email from Podia with your login link. You can access all course materials immediately—videos, templates, and resources—right from your dashboard.
No. All sales are final. Because this is a digital product with immediate access to all course materials, we do not offer refunds once you enroll.
Before purchasing, we encourage you to review the course description, curriculum overview, and free resources on our website to ensure this course is the right fit for your needs.
Meet Your Coach
Award-Winning Scholar, CEO of Write Your Dissertation, Sis
Dr. Jamelia Harris is an award-winning researcher, scholar-activist, and CEO of Write Your Dissertation, Sis, whose work centers Black feminist care and legacy-building for Black women scholars.
A Spencer Foundation grant recipient, American Association of University Women Fellow, and finalist for the AERA Outstanding Qualitative Dissertation Award, she brings both lived experience and deep expertise to her coaching. Her dissertation is currently under contract with a major academic press. After earning her Ph.D. in Education from UCLA and completing a postdoctoral fellowship at Rutgers University, Dr. Jamelia now serves as Senior Research Director at a national race and gender justice nonprofit. She is also a coach for the AAUW Level Up program, supporting emerging scholars and professionals in their career journeys.
Today, she leads Write Your Dissertation, Sis, where Black women scholars finish their work, protect their peace, and write toward legacy on their own terms. She has supported over 200 scholars in completing dissertations, securing fellowships, and building aligned academic lives.