Tag Archives: academic writing

dogs and cats and rabbits and..

Posted on February 17, 2020 by pat thomson

This week I’m working on book proofs. And right at the start, in “prelims”, I noticed an acknowledgement I’d made. I’d written: Charlie, our surly and eccentric elderly poodle, needed to be put outside at regular intervals; she ensured that … Continue reading →

writing home and away

Posted on February 3, 2020 by pat thomson

I’m working away from my desk, as my out of office assistant puts it. But I’m still very much working. I’m writing out of place. I don’t have my usual working set up. And not just for a couple of … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, academic writing as work, office, space, writing routine | Tagged academic writing, desktop, out of office, Pat Thomson, routine, space | 7 Comments

I’m writing a journal article – what literatures do I choose?

Posted on January 27, 2020 by pat thomson

I’m often asked about the literatures sections of journal articles. Not your literatures based paper of course but your standard empirical paper. They only want a short section! I can’t cram everything I’ve read into a few paragraphs – how … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, journal article, literature review, literature reviews | Tagged academic writing, journal article, literature section, Pat Thomson | 2 Comments

academic writing is visual

Posted on January 20, 2020 by pat thomson

Writing is a visual medium It may seem odd to say that writing is visual. Writing – and academic writing in particular – is about words and what they say isn’t it? Well of course it is. But the way … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, font, layout, margins, text, visual | Tagged academic writing, font, layout, margins, space, text, visual | 2 Comments

planning a paper

Posted on November 18, 2019 by pat thomson

Last week I was in Norway running a three part workshop on planning a journal article. The workshop was based around a Tiny Text abstract. As a planner myself, I use Tiny Texts for sorting out the contribution argument … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, argument, contribution, journal article, planning, planning a paper, Tiny Text | Tagged academic writing, argument, contribution, journal article, planning | 7 Comments

the revision cave

Posted on October 28, 2019 by pat thomson

Well, my current book is nearly done. But I was wondering, the other day, why writing a book never gets any easier. I’ve written quite a lot of books. This one is actually the twenty fourth, although about eight of … Continue reading →

Posted in academic book, academic writing, book writing, revision, thesis revision | Tagged academic writing, book, book revision, emotional labour, revision, thesis revision | 7 Comments

when you’re older than your professors

Posted on October 21, 2019 by pat thomson

This is a guest post from Dr Noelle Sterne. Noelle runs a coaching and editing practice and in 2015 published Challenges in Writing Your Dissertation: Coping With the Emotional, Interpersonal, and Spiritual Struggles. Marlene was one of the brightest … Continue reading →