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Category Archives: Writing
Is there a book you want to write?
Writing a book is overwhelming to contemplate and enormously satisfying to complete. How did I find the time? First, it was a book I have been wanting to write for more than 20 years, so the time it took was … Continue reading
What I learned from reading my book aloud
There is a difference between written and spoken language that is hard to define. I think there is less of a difference in English than in some languages, but it still exists. To make your writing clear, I think that … Continue reading
Posted in Writing
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Do not love your writing
I paused in the piece I am writing about Ruth Park Woods, a scrap of forest only 23 acres large along a fetid creek and behind small businesses of Olive Boulevard. There was a paragraph I particularly liked but it … Continue reading
An easy productivity tip: don’t stop at a stopping place
You know the feeling. Four ideas are juggling in your brain and you need to get them down on paper. They shift around as you struggle for the best order, put in transitions, and write your paragraphs. After all, you … Continue reading
Do not fix the English when you review a manuscript for a journal
How easy it is to go into edit mode when you read a manuscript. After all, once you fix the English, the science is easier to understand. But then you might start wanting to move paragraphs around and get sucked … Continue reading
Posted in Helping others, Managing an academic career, Writing
Tagged copy editing, reviewing, time management
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Why you need a one day writing retreat
Have you found a way to avoid the tasks that snow you under and get your important but not urgent work done? It is something that I struggle with daily. I am kind to myself and understand that some days … Continue reading
How to read a scientific paper
Do you remember when you read your first scientific paper? For me it was hard. Some parts I did not understand. Other parts were interesting. The structure seemed odd, with a narrative that did not flow. I read it from … Continue reading
Active learning in research perspectives and science communication
Science is a lot more than measuring and testing ideas. It is a rich social endeavor with its own language, its own standards, its own ethics, and its own literature. Undergraduates miss out if they do not learn this. But … Continue reading
Teaching effectively and efficiently: abstract writing
Are you happy with how you teach writing? Do you have a trick? The only tricks I have are to give good examples and to have students write a lot. Beth Fisher at a Wash U writing workshop convinced me … Continue reading
Posted in Teaching, Writing
Tagged abstracts, Active learning, posters, teaching, writing
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Have you figured out how to make a graphical abstract?
Figures make papers easier to understand. I love it when a paper has a flow diagram of what exactly they did, especially when they also say why. I don’t know why, but figures stick in ways that pure words do … Continue reading
Sociobiology 