Tag Archives: Pat Thomson

writing on the fly

New year, new me. Well probably not. But 2023 me has been in a new place, working away from home and from the office. And I’ve been reflecting on what I want and need in order to write. I’m quite … Continue reading

Posted in corollary work, mobile work | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

on alt writing

I was recently asked why I didn’t write more about other forms of writing. Why I so often wrote and blogged about the “gold standard”. Did I not think other ways of writing were important? Well yes I do, but … Continue reading

Posted in alt texts | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

does the find-a-journal beta service work?

You may have noticed that a big journal publisher is offering to help you find the right journal for your paper. It’s got a beta version of a “journal suggester” as part of its “how to publish your research” web … Continue reading

Posted in choosing the right journal, journal | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

academic writing knowhow – setting the scene

That first sentence. Your first thought. An opening gambit. Setting the scene. Attracting the reader. Aaargh. Starting a new piece of writing can be daunting. It’s no wonder that so many writers worry about how to begin. But academic writers … Continue reading

Posted in Locate move | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

the end of AcWriMo – now what?

It’s the end of the officially designated month of academic writing. I must confess to being a bit dissatisfied with what I’ve done. I do seem to have written a lot. But it’s been more like – some of this … Continue reading

Posted in academic writing | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Are long sentences always bad? #AcWriMo

Academic writing is often characterised as a load of long sentences packed full of complex ideas. It’s not surprising then that you often read and hear advice that says you can help readers make sense of your text by making … Continue reading

Posted in acwrimo, Joe Moran, long sentence, sentence | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

not writing as usual #AcWriMo

A lot of writing advice focuses on how to be more productive. Write more. Write fast. Write often. Write regularly. Write better. Do we really need this? Well, probably. Writing is important for getting a job, getting a promotion, getting … Continue reading

Posted in acwrimo, experiment, pleasure | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ten quick ideas for refreshing your writing #AcWriMo

It’s nearly November. And that means its AcWriMo. Academic Writing Month. The idea of Acwrimo is to use the month of November to make major headway on a big writing project. Or to kick start a writing project. Or to … Continue reading

Posted in academic writing, acwrimo, creative writing | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

one key thing about making notes

There’s a lot of advice out there for doctoral researchers about how to take notes. Templates. Questions to ask. Visual queues. Mnemonics. It’s great to look at all of these and see what works for you.  But regardless of whether … Continue reading

Posted in field notes, note-taking, notebook | Tagged , | 1 Comment

small scholarly worlds

Despite our globally connected digital world, we still primarily live in “small worlds”. Well, that’s according to George Siemens (2004). Small worlds are generally populated by people who have similar interests and knowledges, Siemens says. However, each small world can … Continue reading

Posted in connectivism, george Siemens, literature mapping, literature review, literature reviews, networks | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments