Tag Archives: voice

writing more than one thing at the same time – part two, authoring

Posted on September 3, 2018 by pat thomson

There are good reasons for writing alongside the thesis. Besides contributing to the work (see first post) and your cv, there are authoring benefits. These include: the chance to learn more about academic writing the opportunity to develop a scholarly … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, academic writing voice, authority in writing, authorship, crafting writing, genre, good academic writing, writing more then one thing at once | Tagged authoring, convention, Pat Thomson, reader, thesis, voice, writing more than one thing at once | Leave a comment

what is author ‘voice’?

Posted on May 25, 2017 by pat thomson

Patter is on annual leave and is posting pre-prepared writings snatched from elsewhere. The term ‘voice’ is not as straightforward as it might first appear. Commonly used in relation to a number of art forms, it is highly ambiguous and slippery. … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing voice, Peter Elbow, voice | Tagged academic writing voice, Peter Elbow, voice | Leave a comment

voice and thinkingwriting

Posted on February 2, 2017 by pat thomson

You have probably heard, or read, that writing is thinking. But what does writing is thinking really mean? Anything? Nothing? Well, it doesn’t mean that you have to write in order to think, because of course you can think without writing. … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing voice, thinking, voice, writing and thinking | Tagged Academic writing Pat Thomson, thinking and writing, voice | 7 Comments

writing an academic ransom note

Posted on November 28, 2016 by pat thomson

I’m in Australia at present. Inevitably I’m running some writing workshops. Inevitably I’m playing with some new strategies. I really do like to try out new things to see how they work, what they might do. And one of the … Continue reading →

Posted in argument, authentic voice, authority in writing | Tagged authority, Pat Thomson, ransom notes, voice, writing workshops | 2 Comments

exorcise the inner “doctoral student” from your writing

Posted on June 8, 2015 by pat thomson

Some of us can probably remember the film The Exorcist. It was one of those “demon child” films so popular in the 1970s. It featured Linda Blair as a possessed young teen – her green-slime spitting, 360 degree swiveling head … Continue reading →

Posted in "doctoral student", academic writing, authority in writing, style, voice | Tagged "doctoral student", authority, exorcism, Pat Thomson, voice | 14 Comments

thesis to book – finding your author ‘voice’

Posted on July 24, 2014 by pat thomson

At the start of a new book, Barbara and I always think about our joint ‘voice’. We decide first of all how we are going to talk about ourselves, and how we are going to address the reader. We find … Continue reading →

Posted in voice | Tagged passive voice, Pat Thomson, pronouns, voice, William Germano | 2 Comments

thesis to book: you may need to change your writing ‘voice’

Posted on July 21, 2014 by pat thomson

Unlike thesis examiners, academic book publishers are looking for something that is, above all else, a decent read. A first book is by definition written by an author who isn’t widely known, so publishers will be particularly keen to see … Continue reading →

Posted in Helen Sword, nominalisation, signposts, thesis, thingification | Tagged Helen Sword, Pat Thomson, thesis to book, voice | 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

‘voice’ and the craft of academic writing

Posted on September 26, 2013 by pat thomson

Academics often worry about finding their ‘voice’ when writing. They feel that it’s something they ought to have. However, they also often feel that the process of getting/finding their ‘voice’ -whatever voice is – is pretty difficult when there is … Continue reading →