Most useful textbook and academic posts of the week: July 9, 2021

What are you doing to improve your writing practice this week? Are you still learning? Have you discovered new processes, tools, or ideas on which to grow? Continued success requires continued growth and development.

In this week’s collection of articles from around the web, we find tips for making writing more fun, staying motivated, and judging the trustworthiness of research (including our own). We also explore how to be a good peer reviewer, the problem with “gap” talk, and the art of the “cold call” email.

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Your inner expert

I have the good fortune to work with many highly educated, highly qualified, experts in a diverse range of fields. Masters-prepared. Doctorly-prepared. Academics and researchers that have devoted themselves to the pursuit and sharing of knowledge in the US and world-wide. Others seek their opinions and expertise. They have done significant research and published journal articles and other valued communications.

So, I could say I work with “leading experts,” “internationally recognized leaders,” or the “most important authorities.” Does this describe you?

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Most useful textbook and academic posts of the week: July 2, 2021

Why is textbook and academic authoring significant? According to Malala Yousafzai, “The content of a book holds the power of education and it is with this power that we can shape our future and change lives.” That seems like a pretty compelling significance to our work.

So how do we ensure what we produce is the best we can provide to our readers? In this week’s collection of articles from around the web we find advice on avoiding procrastination, making your case stronger, conducting research online, and the value of OER in teaching.

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You are not your dissertation

In tears on the phone, my dissertation client Aurora wailed, “Chapter 2 is destroying me! I’ll be in this article gridlock for the next 10 years! I’m just not dissertation material!”

Aurora’s heartfelt confession was not unusual. In my longtime professional practice coaching struggling dissertation students, many have admitted feeling blocked in their writing, whether it’s Chapter 2, the dread literature review, like Aurora, or another chapter that particularly bedevils them. But Aurora’s assumption that she wasn’t “dissertation material” was particularly upsetting.

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