You before me: prioritising the reader
The thesis writer has to think carefully about what the reader needs to know at any given point. For maximum impact, it has to be ‘you before me’ all the way from first draft to viva.
Pick an item, any item
Using objects can bring a fresh perspective to writing and other tasks.
Sharing students’ concerns
Written assignments can be particularly challenging for students whose first language is not English but there are ways to alleviate anxieties around writing.
Embrace low-tech working
At several points in your writing, getting back to pen and paper can help you to improve the structure of your work.
Persevering with your PhD
If you're a PhD students, don't shut yourself away - get out there and share your ideas with others.
Blurbing is a serious business
This is the perfect exercise for working out how to summarise your work.
Writing Coaching Groups
Writing coaching groups for doctoral students can offer the support and encouragement they need to complete their PhD thesis.
Finding connections between ideas
Freewriting is not only useful at the ideas stage but is also a fantastic tool for making connections in the structure of your work.
Voice and tone
When you are attempting to find the correct tone as a novelist or student, study the tonal technique of the authors you admire - their words, phrases, sentence and paragraph structure.
Cut the waffle
In academic English, short sentences and paragraphs are often clearer, more readable and more effective than long ones.