Category Archives: style

is academic writing changing?

Just the other day. Just the other day someone asked me if I thought that academic writing was becoming more ‘authentic’. I didn’t really understand what this meant. But then I got it – ‘authentic’ writing was when academic writers … Continue reading

Posted in good academic writing, Helen Sword, reader, style, style and structure | Tagged , , , , | 18 Comments

a book about style and form

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

style, tone and grammar – native speaker bias in peer reviews

This is a guest post from Dr Randi Stebbins. Randi is Director of the University of Iceland Centre for Writing. Peer review is a central part of academic publication. The process of back and forth between authors and reviewers is … Continue reading

Posted in English language, grammar, journal article, peer review, reviewing, style | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

exorcise the inner “doctoral student” from your writing

Some of us can probably remember the film The Exorcist. It was one of those “demon child” films so popular in the 1970s. It featured Linda Blair as a possessed young teen – her green-slime spitting, 360 degree swiveling head … Continue reading

Posted in "doctoral student", academic writing, authority in writing, style, voice | Tagged , , , , | 14 Comments