The muse finally visited you and you worked furiously to finish your draft—a work of pure, unadulterated genius. And as your focus comes back down to this earthly plane, you look back over your masterpiece: a massive, differentiated block of text. Crap. Paragraphs. You forgot paragraphs. So you take a deep breath and start going […]

Don’t be offended, but the most important parts of your writing might be the ones that have the least to do with your actual research. Results generally write themselves. Introductions rely on texts that already exist. The real art in academic writing is in how you relate ideas to one another—the most important parts are […]

You’re taking a well-deserved break from drafting your article. It’s time for a solid binge of streaming content. But one series is too slow. Another has way too much going on at once. You need a show with a good balance of fast-paced material and slower, more rewarding pay-offs. Pacing. It’s how a story uses […]

1)  Introduction: a)    Why do we write? (1)  Writing is a technology to extend the reach of our ideas. (2)  It’s also a major part of how you advance your career. (a)  You will be expected to do more and more of it, while other obligations pile up. You’ll be writing proposals on top of […]

If "the aim of the paper is to deconstruct..." why not say, "this paper aims to deconstruct..."? Even better, why not just "this paper deconstructs..."?

Which would you rather put in your mouth: A leavened wedge of pulped love apple and deliquescent curd? Or a slice of cheese pizza?