Many students think there is a right time to start writing. This is not the case - writing happens throughout. But, you need to ensure that it does happen and is focussed on something. In a sense there is writing for doing, writing for thinking, and actually writing the PhD thesis. The short answer to the above question is that you start writing when you have something to say. For example: You have worked out your methodology. This is a good time to write a draft methodology chapter. Remember you will probably need to modify it later but doing it now will help you think it through and spot any gaps or weaknesses. A written section like this also gives you a concrete basis for discussions with your supervisor-- to receive feedback and to ensure you are on the same wavelength. In fact, many students find the methods chapter the easiest one to write and that writing it early in the PhD builds confidence to tackle the more demanding sections. You've been reading 'around' the topic and are starting to build up a picture of this field of research and where your study fits. It is a good idea at this time to begin writing a preliminary review of the literature. Especially if you are establishing and justifying your theoretical framework, it is essential that you write about this and get it read and discussed with your supervisor. Somewhere along the way you will start getting a clear picture of the whole thesis, but you can't carry it all in your head. However you can, and need to, carry something shorter--and an abstract is ideal for this. You could see this abstract as a tool to control the flow of ideas throughout your thesis. A well written abstract links in a logical way the reasons for the research, your aims, how you went about achieving them and their significance. Unless you write something down it is easy to think that you know what you are going to say. We've known students who think that something will be the centrepiece of their thesis but, once written, this part turns out to be of only marginal importance. Writing is a test of your understanding and it forms a solid basis for moving forward or revealing the gaps in your work. There is every reason to begin it early.

	Making sense of the literature.
	Making sense of the literature - first pass.
	Making sense of the literature - second pass.
	Making sense of the literature - final pass.
	Developing a picture of the thesis as a whole.
	Writing the literature review.
	Keeping your research focussed.
	Seeing the plot emerge.
	Writing an abstract.