Category Archives: academic writing

creativity and giving up on knowing it all

Posted on April 29, 2024 by pat thomson

Knowledge is said to be cumulative. We accumulate knowledge throughout our formal education. We become more learned. The logic of studying is to get more knowledge. By the time we have completed a doctorate we know a lot. Right? The … Continue reading →

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Anticipation

Posted on April 15, 2024 by pat thomson

Patter will be blogging from the QPR – Quality in Postgraduate Research conference later this week. it’s in Adelaide South Australia, and it’s QPRs 30th birthday. My keynote is done and on a stick, my what-to-wear questions resolved, and my … Continue reading →

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research as – is – creative practice

Posted on April 1, 2024 by pat thomson

It’s easy to get the idea that research is all about developing a plan, and then doing what you plan. A bit like this. Develop. At the start, you read a lot to help you work out your question or … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, creative practice, creativity, research, research as process, research bid writing | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

On MAL-attribution

Posted on March 25, 2024 by pat thomson

I was recently reviewing a paper and saw my own work cited. Very nice, you might think. However, I was cited for saying a thing that I didn’t say – a thing that I would never ever say. It was … Continue reading →

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key words – contribution

Posted on March 4, 2024 by pat thomson

The dictionary definitions of contribution are: When scholars talk about contribution it might be 3. A contribution might be a piece we have submitted to an edited collection, a text book, an anthology of cases or an encyclopaedia. But the … Continue reading →

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Why journal articles are rejected

Posted on January 29, 2024 by pat thomson

This is an old post from May 2013. I get asked about rejection a lot so it seemed worth recycling it. There are some very common reasons why journal papers get rejected, often by the editor. They don’t even make … Continue reading →

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There are no writing “rules”

Posted on January 15, 2024 by pat thomson

Look.  I don’t really want to start the new year off with a rant. But I just can’t sit on this any longer. I’m climbing onto my soap box now, taking up my megaphone and shouting. THERE ARE NO RULES FOR … Continue reading →

Posted in conventions, IMRAD, journal article | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

festive season

Posted on December 17, 2023 by pat thomson

It’s tempting to see the next little while as a space free from work, a space that gives you time to work. Well, of course you can do this if you want to, if you need to. For people who … Continue reading →

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Saving words – check your citations

Posted on September 18, 2023 by pat thomson

It’s amazing how much citations can add to your word count. Before you know it, you’ve amassed a few hundred words just filling in brackets. Of course you need citations. You can’t just leave them out. You can’t just assert. … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

too many words for my reader

Posted on August 28, 2023 by pat thomson

Some texts just read as too long. Maybe they do have a load of words – that chapter at 18k. That paper at 10k. But some chapters, papers, books and dissertations read long even if they are within word limits.  Sounds strange, … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, nouny, passive voice, reader, revision, the point, too many words | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments