Drafts
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Proofread by Reading Aloud
After you’ve written a draft, it is a good idea to proofread. If you read your text aloud, you will HEAR what does not sound right. If you trip over what you’re reading, chances are it needs to be revised. Additionally, by reading aloud, you are more likely to see grammar and spelling errors.
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Cruising Social Media Isn’t Going to Help You Finish Your Project
Facebook. Instagram. Pinterest. Face Time. Skype. Linked In. Web browsing. Email. Instant messaging. Google Hangouts. Game of Thrones. Solitaire. Every possible way to put off a task can be found on the Web. For most of us, these handy distractions are fully available and calling our names from the computer or mobile device on which…
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Cite Your Sources to Give Credit Where It Is Due
When writing scholarly work, you must cite sources. Make sure to format the citation for the correct style (MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.) Have a current edition of your stylebook, as every few years the associations update their stylebooks and the rules can change. You can check online at the Purdue OWL (https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/) for current MLA…
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Maintaining Work/Life Balance
When you made the decision to attend Graduate School to pursue an advanced degree, you surely knew that you were taking on an enormous task. Still, you may have been unprepared for the sheer amount of work required and the number of competing interests pulling you in opposite directions. It’s easy to look at other…
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When You’re Stuck, Take a Walk
Writer’s block comes in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes it’s a little brain-blip, where it seems impossible to think anymore and your brain itself seems to hurt. This experience of writer’s block is fairly easily handled. Usually taking a short break will do it. Many (many) years ago in college, we used to call this…
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Every Piece of Writing has an Audience. Who is Your Audience?
When you sit down to write, consider for whom you are writing. If it is a scholarly piece of writing, you want to address other scholars. This audience would have a similar background and a knowledge base that allows the reader to come to your writing at a certain level. If you are writing for…
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Beware of Plagiarism
If you’re the kind of person who is reading these blogs on the Defend and Publish website, you’re the kind of person who works hard to write well. You’ve probably struggled to come up with a clever turn of phrase. Maybe you’ve spent weeks alone in your University’s library trying to locate the evidence you…
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Not all Comments are Created Equal
When you receive comments, whether from your dissertation committee or a journal, keep in mind that a reviewer’s purpose is to submit comments. However, the motivation for each comment can be confusing. Sometimes the comment is representative of what the reviewer is thinking at that moment. Sometimes the comment is a reflection of your committee’s…
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Sit Down and WRITE!
When you have a long project, like a dissertation or scholarly book, you are writing, it is best to have writing rituals that will keep you on track. Most writers who are successful in their work write daily and schedule the time into their day to make sure they can focus on the task ahead.…
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When a Messy Desk is a Messy Mind
Between coursework, research projects, teaching responsibilities, and – hopefully – a personal life, dissertators are juggling a lot of balls. In those busy situations, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and start feeling out of control. We don’t feel like we have time to finish and clean up from one task before moving on to the…