Category Archives: academic writing

the end of AcWriMo – now what?

Posted on November 26, 2022 by pat thomson

It’s the end of the officially designated month of academic writing. I must confess to being a bit dissatisfied with what I’ve done. I do seem to have written a lot. But it’s been more like – some of this … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Ten quick ideas for refreshing your writing #AcWriMo

Posted on October 31, 2022 by pat thomson

It’s nearly November. And that means its AcWriMo. Academic Writing Month. The idea of Acwrimo is to use the month of November to make major headway on a big writing project. Or to kick start a writing project. Or to … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, acwrimo, creative writing | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

unlearning who you are and what you know? starting the doctorate

Posted on August 1, 2022 by pat thomson

No-one arrives at a doctorate as a blank slate. Everyone brings with them particular histories – we have life experiences and personal pathways which are classed, raced, gendered; work experiences and sometimes long professional careers; as well as educational histories. … Continue reading →

Posted in 'mature' doctoral researcher, academic writing, identity, mature age PhD, outsider, professional doctorate, scholarly identity, starting the PhD | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

forced rest

Posted on July 18, 2022 by pat thomson

You know all that advice which says Take a break. Turn off your email. Go somewhere you can’t connect. Well this. Except it wasn’t planned that way. Suddenly and with no warning, patter finds herself out of contact with the … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing | 3 Comments

how to talk about writing…

Posted on July 11, 2022 by pat thomson

Everyone who talks about writing has to use language that people can relate to and understand. Of course. Duh. Sometimes this means using terms that are already in circulation – like pomodoro and shut up and write. while these terms … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, Larry McEnerney, reader, talking writing, value | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

a book about style and form

Posted on July 4, 2022 by pat thomson

I read at least one book about writing every month. Because nobody sends me these for free, this means I buy at least one book about writing each month. I know you are imagining my bookshelves, but rest easy, most … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, Amitava Kumar, form, style | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

tackling writer’s block

Posted on March 28, 2022 by pat thomson

It’s pretty common for writers to get stuck with their writing. Most people of course find a solution of some kind. Eventually. Sometimes the stuckness goes away, apparently by itself. But sometimes the writer finds something else to work on. … Continue reading →

Posted in being stuck, stuck, writer's block, writing to get unstuck | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

familiarity and peer review

Posted on March 7, 2022 by pat thomson

I’ve been doing some literature work. Now don’t get me wrong, I love literature work. But I am finding it all a bit same old same old right now. All the papers read the sme, even though they have different … Continue reading →

Posted in familiarity, genre, mere exposure effect, peer review | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

dislodging stuck writing

Posted on February 5, 2022 by pat thomson

Do you have a bit of writing that is stuck? I don’t mean you can’t get any words down on the page. I mean you have some writing where you just can’t work out what to do next. You think. … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing | 1 Comment

Should academics do unpaid work to share their research? if so, when and how? 

Posted on January 24, 2022 by pat thomson

This is a guest post from Dr Anna Bull, Lecturer in Education and Social Justice at the University of York and co-director of research and campaign organisation The 1752 Group.  My comments on Twitter seemed to resonate with a lot of … Continue reading →

Posted in "free work", academic writing, Anna Bull, impact | Tagged , , | 5 Comments