Writing is a crucial aspect of doctoral work – indeed all the scholarly work you will undertake from now on. Writing is integral to scholarship. Whether you are in or out of higher education, if you are researching, you are writing. Writing and its associated activities reading and talking, are the major ways in which […] … learn more→
Tag Archives: writing
Understanding academic writing – starting the PhD
How to finish that big writing project (and get on with your life)
Lately, I’ve been getting a lot of requests to run my workshop called ‘How to finish that big writing project (and get on with your life)’. I’m guessing it’s a sign of pandemic fatigue: everyone close to the end of a PhD just wants it to be, well – over. I feel you. I’m not sure […] … learn more→
Structuring and sequencing chunks of writing
Writers think about structure, a lot. They don’t necessarily tell that to their readers. That’s because writers often want their readers to focus on what’s been written, rather than how it’s been organised. But yes, there are loads of texts where writers play with structures and want the reader to notice. But even then they don’t always tell the […] … learn more→
How writing can improve your mental health
You may have heard that keeping a journal can help you improve your mental health and wellbeing, but you may not know how. Writing down your thoughts and feelings about your current situation and events in your life can help your anxiety levels and other aspects of your mental health in several ways. Journal writing […] … learn more→
How to teach college students to write well
“Spanish university students do not know how to write.” This is a mantra that all teachers have heard at some time. This problem, far from being trivial, can have important personal and social repercussions. Not knowing how to write can limit the labor insertion of students and the international projection of Spain in spaces in which academic and […] … learn more→
Pencils or keyboards: does the writing gesture change our relationship to the world?
To begin with, I will invite the readers of these lines to pick up a pen and write on a piece of paper “What does the writing hand do?” », That is, to experience writing intentionally and consciously of the gesture. It is very likely that, just like the more or less willing students to whom […] … learn more→
Working up a first draft: a twelve step strategy
If you are drafting, it is pretty easy to find a lot of advice about the benefits of free writing. Lots of people find that timed writing sprints help to generate content. Unstructured writing is useful to work out what you want want to say. The pomodoro sprint works really well for many academic writers, […] … learn more→
Plan to write – a controlling purpose
At some point in the writing process, most writers develop a plan. Some writers may already have, before they plan, chunks of text or a crappy first draft that needs to be beaten into shape. Other writers begin with the plan, perhaps making an outline. Regardless of the point at which the planning happens, the […] … learn more→
Are you teaching your children to write? Well start with a good read
In a second grade Primary Education classroom (7-8 years old), before confinement, students were struggling to write a story from reading articles in a digital newspaper and another on paper. The girls and boys, sitting in pairs, discussed what title to put and what content they wanted to capture in their own text while occasionally consulting […] … learn more→
When I write, I write for myself
When I write, I write for myself. I put myself on the pages. I put myself in the edits. I write so that I can understand, explain and express. I don’t know if my words will be heard, I don’t know if my words will resonate. I don’t really think about that when I write. […] … learn more→