Category Archives: words

choosing your words – starting the phd

Posted on November 6, 2017 by pat thomson

Beginning academic writers often look for academic phrase banks and word lists to help them write ‘right’. The most popular of these is the Manchester Academic Phrase Bank – now also available in print. There are also general lists of … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, text work/identity work, word bank, words | Tagged academic phrases, academic word bank, academic writing, Pat Thomson, textwork/identitywork | 3 Comments

academic writers need a dictionary

Posted on April 21, 2014 by pat thomson

When I began my PhD, my partner bought me a dictionary. A very big dictionary. I wasn’t quite sure that I needed it, since I was after all an English major and I read prolifically. However I did use it. … Continue reading →

Posted in Access, Uncategorized, voice, words | 4 Comments

writing in my own words?

Posted on November 14, 2013 by pat thomson

John Field recently wrote, in his The Learning Professor blog, an interesting post about academic writing. He was particularly referring to the tendency for editors and researchers to ‘clean up’ quotations from research participants. Indeed, sometimes participants themselves felt the … Continue reading →

Posted in APA, barbarism, language, voice, words | Tagged APA, barbarism, language, Pat Thomson, voice | 12 Comments

what do words want?

Posted on November 5, 2012 by pat thomson

In writing workshops I often come across people with conference and nearly final draft papers that they do not seem able to finish. The prospect of sending them out for review and possible publication just seems too hard, perhaps it’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Margaret Atwood, reader, readership, reading, text, the page, words, writing | Tagged John Bunyan, Margaret Atwood, Pat Thomson, reader, words | 1 Comment

finished your first draft? now it’s cut and come again

Posted on October 12, 2012 by pat thomson

One of the crunch points for writers comes right after the first draft. It’s commonly understood that once the first draft is done what is needed is some editing. This is most usually thought of as minor rewriting and fiddling … Continue reading →