Category Archives: conference

conference tips – the old-school handout

Posted on August 19, 2019 by pat thomson

We’ve all been to that conference session where the presenter puts up a slide with a really complicated table. Or a very dense set of quotations. They don’t do this to deliberately confuse people or give them eye strain – … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, conference, conference presentation, handout | Tagged acwri, conference, conference handout, Pat Thomson | Leave a comment

flip your presentation format

Posted on July 22, 2019 by pat thomson

Conference presentations. We almost always have one coming up somewhere. So we are often thinking about how best to organise what we have to say. Now, there’s a lot written about conference presentations and what can go wrong with them. … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, conference, conference presentation, default, powerpoint | Tagged conference, conference presentation, default structure, flip the format, Pat Thomson | 11 Comments

going to a huge conference

Posted on April 8, 2019 by pat thomson

I’m at a conference. A huge, utterly ginormous, gobsmackingly giant North American conference. As only the North Americans can do. It takes up a whole downtown conference centre and the meeting rooms of two additional hotels. The five-day conference runs … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, conference, conference app, conference presentation, conference survival tips | Tagged big conference, conference survival tips, Pat Thomson | 8 Comments

academics behaving badly – calling out the Cleverclogs

Posted on April 30, 2018 by pat thomson

Continuing the occasional series on bad academic behaviour. The Drs Cleverclog are well known in academic circles. A very large extended family of know-it-alls. At least one of them makes their presence known at every conference, meeting and large academic … Continue reading →

Posted in academic dark arts, academic writing, badly behaved academic writers, conference, conference questions, Dr Cleverdick | Tagged academic life, badly behaved academics, conference, Dr Cleverdick, meeting, Pat Thomson | 3 Comments

live blogging academic writing – an un-conference

Posted on April 9, 2018 by pat thomson

This week I am running an academic writing course at The University of Iceland. Ive been running academic writing courses here for some years but usually I just do a week long programme about writing a journal article. This time … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, conference, conference abstract, Conference blog, unconference | Tagged abstract, academic writing, conference, conference paper, Pat Thomson, unconference | 3 Comments

a conference paper? it may be five texts, not one…

Posted on October 16, 2017 by pat thomson

Conference season begins again. Well it certainly seems that way – there are lots of calls around for papers, workshops and posters. A conference paper seems like an easy thing to do. Just write the abstract, then write the actual … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, conference, conference abstract, conference format, conference papers, conference presentation | Tagged conference abstract, conference paper, Pat Thomson | 3 Comments

choosing a conference

Posted on September 4, 2017 by pat thomson

I’ve recently been asked how new PhDers ought to go about choosing academic conferences. Here goes… Because conferences are discipline specific, you really do need to talk with your supervisor and your peers about which are the best conferences to … Continue reading →

Posted in conference, conference dinner, conference format, conference presentation, networking | Tagged choosing a conference, conference, network, Pat Thomson | 6 Comments

viva? conference presentation? it’s all about the ‘improv’

Posted on August 24, 2017 by pat thomson

So it’s one of those academic occasions when you have to present yourself and your work – to people who are there to judge you. Think the viva. The interview panel. The first encounter with a new class. The conference … Continue reading →

Posted in conference, conference presentation, conference questions, conference survival tips, improvisation, rehearsal, Uncategorized, viva | Tagged conference presentation, improvisation, Pat Thomson, rehearsal, viva | 6 Comments

conferencing your way through doctoral research

Posted on November 19, 2015 by pat thomson

This is a guest post written by Julia Molinari. Julia teaches English for Academic Purposes at The University of Nottingham. Her PhD examines what is ‘academic’ about academic writing. Julia tweets as @serenissimaj and blogs as Academic Emergence What follows … Continue reading →

Posted in conference, Julia Molinari, PhD | Tagged choosing a conference, Julia Molinari, PhD | 7 Comments

post conference reflections – on networking and “reporting back”

Posted on May 22, 2015 by pat thomson

As always, after coming home from a conference I’m in a swirl of muddled ideas. I have some obligations to contact people and send things, and there’s some further follow up work to do. I’ve also inadvertently been thinking about … Continue reading →