Search Results for: questions approach

what’s all this reading about then – starting the PhD

When you begin the PhD you will be told to read, and read a lot. But you’ll find not any old approach to reading will do. It’s a particular kind of reading that’s expected. So it’s important to get a … Continue reading

Posted in literature mapping, literature review, PhD, reading, Reading, starting the PhD | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

line editing – learning from editors

If you are writing a book, it is highly likely that the publisher will send your manuscript to an editor. Most academic publishers these days do not engage editors who do a lot of developmental and structural work. So it … Continue reading

Posted in line editing, revision, revision strategy | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

what does ” connect your work to an ongoing conversation” mean?

We often hear that writing about your research is, or ought to be, joining a conversation. Other people have discussed your topic before and your writing needs to connect with that conversation. And “the conversation” actually means the published literature. … Continue reading

Posted in connecting, conversation, literature reviews, literature themes, literatures paper, meta discourse | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

my supervisor expects me to keep revising – why?

I often hear doctoral researchers asking this question. They’ve sent their supervisor some writing. It’s come back with feedback and suggestions and maybe actual corrections. The doc. researcher has attended to all of these and sent the revised text back … Continue reading

Posted in doctoral experience, doctoral pedagogies, revision, supervision, thesis revision | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

can you say something about the “theory chapter”?

I’ve been asked about writing a theory chapter. But should I say anything? I feel a bit iffy about the very idea. What to do? Take your own advice here. Write for ten minutes about a theory chapter. Write about … Continue reading

Posted in academic writing, theory, theory chapter, thesis | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

why journal articles are rejected #2

Here’s the thing. Journal Editors say that one of the major reasons that papers are rejected is when the writer is not clear about their point, and their argument. Accepted journal articles have a point to make. They work with … Continue reading

Posted in argument, journal article, rejection, the point | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

trouble finding a writing angle? try cubing

You have research results. You want to write something – a book, a chapter, a paper. You’re in a field where there is already an active conversation. You’ve done an analysis which seems to repeat what is already out there. … Continue reading

Posted in cubing, free-writing, ideas clarification, the angle | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

revising – mark up your text to achieve focus

There’s so much to say about revising. Even though I’ve just published a book on revising – shameless plug – I still have things I want to say about it.   The key message in the book is that revising effectively … Continue reading

Posted in annotation, revision, revision strategy | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

why journal articles get rejected #1

Some journal articles never get sent out for review. They are rejected at the outset by the Editor. Why is this? Well, there’s a short and a somewhat longer and a very extensive answer to this question. The short answer … Continue reading

Posted in choosing the right journal, editing a journal, journal, journal article, journal editor, rejection | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

cutting and pasting early text into the thesis – part 2.

So you are writing your thesis about the research that you have done. And what you write now is is likely to be a little different from the expanded proposal you wrote to confirm your candidature. And a little different … Continue reading

Posted in literature review, revision, thesis, thesis revision | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment