An upgrade report has two jobs, and you have to do both. What it is, how to write one, and where doctoral researchers tend to get stuck.
Category Archives: academic writing
Someone’s already published on my topic – now what?
A new paper on your PhD topic doesn’t mean someone’s done your PhD. How to read it, find your difference and turn it into a contribution.
So what? How to make your argument visible in your thesis
My PhD supervisor wrote ‘so what?’ in the margins of almost every chapter. I hated it. Here’s what it really meant, and how to make your argument visible in your thesis.
Dealing with feedback: A practical approach for PhD students and researchers
this post is about the practical rather than the emotional labour involved in dealing with feedback on your research writing
Why am I not writing?
Monday morning: a client began our session with ‘I know you’re not my therapist, but…’.
That’s right. I am NOT a therapist and nor do I try to be. But sometimes we need to explore the reasons that the writing isn’t happening (maybe now is not the time to write). Or why the words are flowing but just not getting out the door (often the hardest part).
Writer’s block? Try this unblocking exercise
This unblocking exercise always leads to animated discussion and lots of brilliant suggestions whenever I’m working with classes of writers.
Your thesis is a genre (and that’s good news)
Your thesis is a genre, with stages, a goal and expert readers. Once you can see the pattern in your field, you can write it.
Why a vision board isn’t the answer to finishing your book (or why habits trump goals).
Do you have writing dates? Why a vision board isn’t the answer to finishing your book (or why habits trump goals).