Between bouts of hating what we write, we may secretly admire our creations. And we’re entitled to. But there’s a difference between these feelings and excessive love of our own words. Such love blinds us to editorial blunders, judicious cutting, and revision, and reduces the possibilities of publication. [Read more…]
Three unmistakable signs you need to revise
October 4, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Join us 11/3 for the TAA webinar, ‘Plan, Propose & Publish an Edited Book’
October 24, 2016 By Leave a Comment
Want to publish a book, but lack the content for a full manuscript? Consider creating an edited book! You can include your own material, as well as chapters by other scholars.
Join us Thursday, November 3 from 3-4 p.m. ET for this one-hour webinar, “Plan, Propose & Publish an Edited Book”. Writer and editor Janet Salmons will share strategies she learned by creating edited books, contributing chapters to numerous edited books, and serving on editorial review boards. She will provide an overview of the entire process, from proposal through final review.
[Read more…]
5 Web tools to help you manage and organize citations
July 21, 2016 By Leave a Comment
When it comes to academic writing, it is important to be diligent about collecting and organizing sources that will support your statements. The success of the overall project is often determined by the organizational skills you show during the research stage, and if you lose track of the sources of your ideas, you may also end up inadvertently committing plagiarism.
The following five tools can help you manage your sources and organize citations in accordance with whichever citation format you follow. [Read more…]
5 Key principles to building clear text transitions
February 16, 2016 By Leave a Comment
A common weakness in novice academic writing is a 
lack of flow; for readers, this lack of flow means they can’t easily see how one thought follows from another. To combat this problem, we need to learn how to make effective transitions between sentences. Such transitions are usually managed in one of two ways: through transition words or through evident links in the text. Both strategies have a role to play, but novice writers, unfortunately, often see transition words as their main way of moving from sentence to sentence. [Read more…]
The most useful textbook & academic writing posts of the week: May 28, 2015
May 28, 2015 By Leave a Comment
“The scariest moment is always just before you start.” –Stephen King 
I cannot say with certainty that, “the scariest moment is always just before you start.” I have to think that I am not alone in thinking the scariest moment is right before submitting the final draft. As a perfectionist I always strive to get it perfect, yet in writing (and most everything in life), I know that it will always have errors. An extra comma or two are almost always inevitable. If you too face the internal struggles of perfectionism and knowing that it will never be perfect, than you will appreciate a few of this week’s articles below. Maybe you are more of the 95-percenter (see The Thesis Whisper’s The last 5%) and the perfectionism struggle does not apply. Fortunately for you there are many other great articles this week that are well worth the read. 😉
Happy reading and, as always, happy writing! [Read more…]
The most useful textbook & academic writing posts of the week: May 1, 2015
April 30, 2015 By Leave a Comment
The semester is rapidly coming to an end, with some of
you already finished. Have you given thought to your summer writing goals? Do you write more or less during the summer months? I love this quote, “Write until it becomes as natural as breathing. Write until not writing makes you anxious.” I’m not really sure if writing will ever feel as natural as breathing, no matter what amount of writing I do. However one thing is for sure: not writing does make me anxious. I have to get the thoughts out of my head and onto my computer screen (and sometimes paper). It’s like the throbbing pain in your knee, slightly annoying and always at the back of your mind. But, the only way to cure it is to keep moving, keep running, or it gets worse. Just like the only cure for that anxious feeling of not writing is to keep writing. I’m curious what you think: Is writing as natural as breathing for you? Does not writing make you anxious? And as always, happy writing! [Read more…]
The most useful textbook & academic writing posts of the week: March 6, 2015
March 5, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Wednesday was National Grammar Day.
Twitter was abuzz with grammar haikus, pet peeves, and funny cartoons. It’s a day filled with fun to remember all we love, and maybe hate, about grammar. Why you ask is National Grammar Day different than say any other day? No one explains it better than Dennis Baron in his article, “Why is National Grammar Day different from all other days?”
So without going on and on, and in fear of making too many grammatical errors, I leave you to read all the great articles I’ve gathered for you this week. Happy writing! [Read more…]
Tip of the Trade: Be strict about the type of editing that is suitable for each stage of the revision process
January 8, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Advice about academic writing often stresses the iterative nature of the writing process; the creation of an effective final draft generally requires multiple drafts and extensive revision. A crucial corollary to a commitment to extensive revision is an acceptance that revision mustn’t be allowed to go on indefinitely. Otherwise, a certain mania can set in: any draft can always be other than it is. After a certain point, we have to ask ourselves about diminishing returns and about the very real possibility of messing up what is already working. [Read more…]
The most useful textbook & academic writing posts of the week: New Year’s Edition
December 31, 2014 By Leave a Comment
It’s a new year, which means new goals and 
resolutions. I’m sure during this past week you’ve put some thought into what writing milestones and goals you want to reach in 2015. What are you doing to ensure that you stick with those habits to reach your end goal? In other words, what will you change about your writing habits from last year to see success in this new year? Share your goals and resolutions in the comments below. The best way to be inspired is to share with others. Happy New Year and happy writing! [Read more…]
