Reflections on writing and identity: exploring the role of qualifying exams in the sociocultural development of doctoral students

This qualitative study focuses on critical incidents identified by three U.S. PhD students as they reflected on the process of writing qualifying examinations. This study is couched in sociocultural conceptions of literacy, which view the qualifying exam as a social practice. Extending previous research of doctoral student writing and utilising a form of critical incident analysis, we found that navigating (1) the writing process, (2) claims to...