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.

You are not your dissertation Read More

Most useful textbook and academic posts of the week: June 25, 2021

Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows once said, “I think you learn more if you’re laughing at the same time.” Right or wrong, it never hurts to laugh and can add to the experience. In fact, emotions of many kinds are essential elements to our learning and academic writing efforts.

In this week’s collection of articles from around the web, we see examples of emotion as it affects word choice, research strategy, racism and social justice issues, and more.

Most useful textbook and academic posts of the week: June 25, 2021 Read More

12 Authors share practical advice with TAA conference attendees

As an exclusive bonus for attendees at TAA’s 2021 Virtual Textbook & Academic Authoring Conference, twelve textbook and academic authors have shared practical advice through a series of “How To” videos on topics relating to scholarly writing, time management, productivity, publishing, online presenting, and more. Each video is a brief 5 to 10-minute segment packed with information to move your writing practice forward.

We’d like to thank the following authors for sharing their expertise.

12 Authors share practical advice with TAA conference attendees Read More

Most useful textbook and academic posts of the week: June 18, 2021

Many textbook and academic authors are recognized as the experts in their field – and for good reason. They have not only taken the time to learn the content in the discipline, but they have added to the knowledge base and published work to help others develop their own level of expertise. But when have we learned enough?

Hopefully our collection of article from around the web this week can help you learn something new to increase your mastery as an author.

Most useful textbook and academic posts of the week: June 18, 2021 Read More

TAA’s virtual conference kicks off tomorrow!

Are you excited to be part of TAA’s Virtual Textbook & Academic Authoring Conference this year? The conference will kick off with a half day of programming on June 18, and presentations continuing June 21-24 and will feature a variety of session formats as well as networking opportunities.

All presentations will be hosted on Zoom, with 30- and 50-minute session formats welcome. Our Zoom formatting will allow for audience voice and video participation, chat features, break out rooms, question and answer formats, panel presentations, and more.

TAA’s virtual conference kicks off tomorrow! Read More