Category Archives: writing

seven reasons why journals reject papers

Posted on May 20, 2013 by

I’ve written about rejections several times, and most of this is scattered throughout the blog, so I thought it might be helpful to amalgamate the most important points together. All in one place. There are some very common reasons why … Continue reading →

Posted in journal, premature publication, publishing, refereeing, rejection, writing, writing research | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

should you, could you, would you… co-write with your supervisor?

Posted on May 13, 2013 by

It’s not hard to find a horror story or two about the PhD researcher who wrote something with their supervisor only to find when it was published that they weren’t given credit for the work. The supervisor put their name … Continue reading →

Posted in co-writing, journal, supervision, theft, writing, writing research | Tagged , , , | 12 Comments

writing by speaking – enter the Dragon

Posted on February 4, 2013 by

I’ve recently been fiddling about with voice recognition software. Not surprisingly, it’s made me very self-conscious about the actual process of writing. I’ve been writing on a computer for a long time. I made the shift more than twenty years … Continue reading →

Posted in crafting writing, speaking, voice recognition software, writing | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

a lit review thinking tool – christmas present two

Posted on December 10, 2012 by

Working with literatures is a complex task. It is one of the places where doctoral and early career researchers come unstuck. One of the very many reasons that it’s problematic is, in my view, because there is not sufficient discussion … Continue reading →

Posted in literature mapping, literature review, literature themes, note-taking, scholarly primitives, thinking tool, writing | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

just write – then plan, and write again – in #acwrimo and beyond

Posted on November 28, 2012 by

Someone asked me the other day whether I thought ‘just write’ was a good idea. It is something that I support, although always with the caveat that it doesn’t work for everyone. I call this ‘writing along the way’ because … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, acwrimo, just write, Peter Elbow, writer's block, writing, writing research | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

what do words want?

Posted on November 5, 2012 by

In writing workshops I often come across people with conference and nearly final draft papers that they do not seem able to finish. The prospect of sending them out for review and possible publication just seems too hard, perhaps it’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Margaret Atwood, reader, readership, reading, text, the page, words, writing | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

writing the thesis from day one is risky

Posted on October 25, 2012 by

I was reading a final draft of a thesis written by one of the doctoral researchers I was working with. I’d just started and the text was going along very nicely indeed until I reached the end of the first … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, dissertation, identity, literature review, thesis, voice, writing | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

finished your first draft? now it’s cut and come again

Posted on October 12, 2012 by

One of the crunch points for writers comes right after the first draft. It’s commonly understood that once the first draft is done what is needed is some editing. This is most usually thought of as minor rewriting and fiddling … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, editing, revision, rewriting, words, writing | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

academic travel diary: a narrative to find the way

Posted on September 28, 2012 by

Another conference season is just about over. This year I wasn’t very adventurous and just went to one. It was in Spain. A long while before the event my friend Jill and I decided to rent a house and stay … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, Anthony Paré, narrative, writing, writing as heuristic | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments