Weave a narrative thread—in 3 easy steps
We cannot resist the lure of a good story. A desire to see a narrative also permeates many areas of academia.
Who is the protagonist?
Deciding who is the protagonist helps you tell your story with greatest impact.
How to stay motivated
When writing your thesis, you may find that you go through moments of disengagement and even be tempted to give up. If this happens, try to reconnect with your passion for the subject.
Pictures make words
Max Adams During workshops with undergraduate, graduate or doctoral students, I use images – anything from films to works of art – to help them to develop their sense of story and visualise its shape. In great art, as in…
Inspiration plus perspiration
Creativity is a core feature of writing in the sciences as well as the arts.
The story of your research
The principles of storytelling can be successfully applied to academic writing to make your research more compelling.
How is academic writing like writing for children?
Heather Dyer I am an academic writer and a children’s author. On the face of it, these two forms of writing are at opposite ends of the spectrum. But actually, they have a lot in common. • They’re both about…
Seeing the obstacle as a gift
If you stumble across an obstacle in your writing, see if you can embrace it and incorporate it into your work;
The role of the protagonist
One of the most successful tools for doctoral students is to envisage the role and nature of the protagonist: that is to say, the character (or discipline; or theory; or interpretive paradigm) that undergoes the most profound change during the course of the work.
Learning to listen
However good your skills are, they are no use unless you can communicate them clearly to others.
