Category Archives: supervision

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

revising? try a four step approach

Many people approach revising as if it is a single shot process. They tell themselves, “I’m just going to sit down now and revise my paper”. But revising and refining a text are not one activity, they are several. The … Continue reading

Posted in academic writing, communication, revision, revision strategy, supervision | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

not letting go of the text

A couple of weeks ago I was asked if I had any advice for someone who struggled to let go of their writing – they wrote but then it was really difficult to send the writing off to their supervisor. … Continue reading

Posted in academic writing, critique, supervision, text, text work/identity work | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments

the viva and the supervisor

Last week I reached thirty two. Thirty two doctoral researchers who successfully defended their research. Thirty two Doctors let loose on the world. And two things are now on my mind. Not thirty two. Just two. The first thing I’m … Continue reading

Posted in academic writing, PhD, phd defence, supervision, supervisor, viva | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

professor of the academic dark arts

Professor of the dark academic arts. It’s a job. Yes, really. No, you never see this position advertised. But it exists. And not just in J K Rowling’s world. In real life. Professors of academic dark arts magick away other … Continue reading

Posted in academic dark arts, plagiarism, power relations, supervision, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

that bleeding thesis…

No. I’m not cussing. Let me explain why. My colleague Brigitte Nerlich sent me an email the other day. She said: I was talking to a PhD student (not one of mine) and this student repeatedly used a metaphor which … Continue reading

Posted in Brigitte Nerlich, feedback, supervision, supervisor, thesis | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

co-writing with your supervisor – do we need a code of good practice?

Yes, universities now promote the practice of doctoral researchers writing with their supervisors, but their advice and support for those involved lags well behind their encouragement. Most universities sign on to the Vancouver protocol, developed by medical researchers, which clarifies … Continue reading

Posted in academic writing, author order, authors, authorship, co-writing, ICJMA, publishing, supervision, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

the PhD supervisor is a mentor

This guest post is written  by Raquel Da Silva. Raquel is  a PhD student at the University of Birmingham at the Institute of Applied Social Sciences. Her research is about the life stories of former political violent activists in Portugal. She … Continue reading

Posted in supervision, supervisor, support | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

a double plus bad PhD experience

A few weeks ago someone posted this comment on patter. I think it’s worth reposting. As a non-native English Phd researcher, my conclusion is that doing a PhD written in English language is almost doing a PhD in creative English … Continue reading

Posted in English language, international PhD, supervision | Tagged , , | 43 Comments

writing centred supervision

I’ve been thinking recently about my own supervision practices, as well as the literatures on supervision. You’d think I’d have this sorted eh, given how much I write about writing. But there’s always lots of room for reflection, learning and … Continue reading

Posted in academic writing, supervision, supervisor | Tagged , , | 7 Comments