Follow me on Twitter
My Tweetspatter on facebook
-
Recent Posts
- lockdown writing routines – a.k.a a cheer for the humble pear
- use a structured abstract to help write and revise
- meeting your readers’ expectations – a revision strategy
- a first draft in five minutes a day?
- writing for publication – finding an angle and an argument
- reading groups/journal clubs are a good idea
- help your inner ‘Creator’ and ‘Editor’ get along
- writing argument – it’s not (always) a contest
- academic writing choices – learning from blogging
- revise – by connecting academic reading with academic writing
- 2020 reflection – on book writing during the pandemic
- working up a first draft: a twelve step strategy
Copyright
Patter by Pat Thomson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at Patricia.Thomson@nottingham.ac.uk.
SEE MY CURATED POSTS ON WAKELET
LOOKING FOR POSTS ON WRITING FOR JOURNALS? REVISING AND EDITING? GIVING FEEDBACK AND REVIEWING? READING? GIVING A CONFERENCE PAPER? VISIT MY WAKES ON https://wakelet.com/@patter- abstracts academic blogging academic book academic writing argument authority in writing blogging blogging about blogging books book writing chapter co-writing conference conference papers conference presentation contribution crafting writing data doctoral research early career researchers editing ethics examiner feedback introduction journal journal article literature mapping literature review literature reviews literature themes methods chapter peer review PhD publishing reader reading research research methods revision revision strategy starting the PhD supervision Tate Summer School theory thesis time Uncategorized voice writing
Top Posts & Pages
- aims and objectives - what's the difference?
- writing a bio-note
- concluding the journal article
- blank and blind spots in empirical research
- I'm writing a journal article - what literatures do I choose?
- the literature review - how old are the sources?
- I can't find anything written on my topic... really?
- connecting chapters/chapter conclusions
- why is writing a literature review such hard work? part one
- bad research questions
Meta
Tag Archives: syntax
this, they, it, those, these – a revision strategy
One of my pet peeves is reading sentences which contain an ambiguous pronoun. The pronoun stands alone, isolated. The lonely goatherd on the hilltop. Sentences that start with, or contain, an unattached this, they, it, those, these seem to expect the reader … Continue reading
Posted in academic writing, grammar, revision, revision strategy, syntax, thesis revision, vagueness
Tagged academic writing, Pat Thomson, pronouns, revision, revision strategy, syntax, vagueness
11 Comments
starting the PhD – learning new vocabulary
Scholarly work often involves learning new words. You know this right? Sometimes it even seems that in order to be considered a scholar you have to speak in words no one else can understand. Well that’s the stereotype. But let’s … Continue reading
Posted in academic writing, English language, language, starting the PhD, syntax, vocabulary, word bank
Tagged lexicon, Pat Thomson, research, syntax, terminology, vocabulary
5 Comments
eight ways to write theory very badly
If you want to be the person who makes their reader sigh and eventually give up when they get to your theoretical ‘bit’, here’s some non-fail writing strategies. Do these and I guarantee your reader will be enervated and/or exasperated: … Continue reading
Posted in academic writing, nominalisation, primary source, reader, secondary source, syntax, theory
Tagged complex writing, nominalisation, Pat Thomson, syntax, writing theory
1 Comment
academic sentences -#wakeupreader
Academic sentences are often lengthy. They make a point and then add multiple caveats and embellishments. Some people think there is an ideal sentence length. I have read for instance that the ideal newspaper sentence is somewhere around twenty words. Perhaps a … Continue reading
Posted in #wakeupreader, rhythm, sentence length, syntax, Uncategorized
Tagged #wakeupreader, Pat Thomson, sentence length, syntax
1 Comment