The Writing Workshop: Write More, Write Better, Be Happier in Academia

by Barbara Sarnecka

Research is all about writing, but most PhD programs don't teach students how to produce the writing needed to get a PhD, publish research, or win fellowships and grants. Plus, the academic environment can feel as cold and harsh as the South Pole. But just as penguins form social huddles to survive the Antarctic winter, researchers can form writing groups to help them learn how to write more, write better and be happier in academia. The Writing Workshop tells you everything you need to know about forming and running a successful writing group, and provides invaluable tips on how to become better at and more comfortable with academic writing. Written by a professor of Cognitive Sciences at the University of California, this friendly guide is aimed at early-career researchers such as PhD students, postdoctoral scholars and new faculty members. Chapter topics How to form and run a writing workshop; how to plan research and writing projects over the long (one to five years), medium (ten to fifteen weeks), and short (one week) terms; how to establish and maintain a regular daily(ish) writing practice; how to write a literature review, research article, funding proposal or presentation; and how to revise for clarity at the document, paragraph, sentence and word levels. There are templates to help students set writing goals and log their writing practice, plus in-class exercises to help writers learn to hear the difference between effective and ineffective writing. Running through the book is the theme of well-being, and the idea that creativity comes from self-compassion rather than self-punishment. Writing is not only a way of producing scholarly output, but also a way of thinking, learning and generating new ideas. A regular writing practice grounded in a supportive community is something that every early-career scholar deserves and, with this book, it's something every early-career scholar can have.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Science

Kindle Edition

Published October 21, 2019

Reviews

[Emma Choi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book and highly recommend it to anyone in academia! Tis truly a game changer.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

The central thesis of the book is that writing is essential for an academic career. Therefore, the book is not only about how to write, but also about how to be a good researcher. This includes advice on maintaining work-life balance, combating procrastination, participating in writing groups, etc. The author makes an effort to support the reader, making the book an invaluable PhD resource.

The writing advice itself includes many well-known tips (avoid the passive, start the paragraph with a topic sentence...). Importantly, however, the author makes clear that these tips are not set in stone and provides counterexamples — cases when a particular strategy doesn't apply. For instance, prior to reading the book, I struggled with the advice that every paragraph should start with a topic sentence. This bar seemed so high that I would either ignore this tip or feel guilty that I wasn't a "good enough" writer. I was extremely relieved to see the book describe examples of paragraphs that don't start with a topic sentence, either because the topic is preceded by a transition sentence or because the paragraph itself is a transition. Instead of being didactic, the book provides me with a wide range of technical tools I can use to improve my writing and psychological tools to (hopefully) make the process less stressful.

[Thomson Muriyadan · Rating 5 out of 5]

What makes this book stand apart is how it is extremely cognisant of the lived realities of academics - their social lives, anxieties, doubts, desperation, responsibilities outside of academia while addressing the core habits and conditions that allow for better writing. It is not a book about writing alone. It is about creating and being part of a community of practice that promotes getting better at writing.

This is a key difference between this book and any other book about writing which tends to be technical and talks of writing as being a process that needs to be followed rigorously to get replicable results. This book, on the other hands, addresses many other aspects of an academicians life (from graduate student to somebody with tenure) and gently suggests ways to develop healthier ideas about writing and habits that may work. It also has specific techniques like other books but what I like about this is that it considers the reader to be more human and more than just somebody who wants to develop a craft. It has something for everybody in academia!

[Nays · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really helpful guide to academic writing. Would recommend for anyone looking to improve their writing or get into a regular writing practice.

[Clarissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Writing, for me, can be anxiety inducing- especially since I started my PhD program. I’ve always enjoyed writing, but the pressure to write the ~perfect~ manuscript, grant, etc. has made the writing process extremely daunting. This book helped me reframe my approach to writing, made the process more enjoyable, and increased my productivity.

10/10 would recommend to any academic.

[Jan van Gemert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend for all academics.

[Sequoia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely a must-read for every graduate student or postdoc or junior faculty. It is so helpful, written so gracefully, and all in the way she preaches -- concrete and imageable. When I read it, these words come to me again and again: "may you be healthy; may you be happy; may you be at ease "-- this is a book that you read at ease -- that you know it ain't be easy, but what and how you can still control some of it, together, with your writing buddies.

Can't recommend it enough to all of my fellow colleagues, my old struggling self and all her fellow graduate students and postdocs.

[Sierra Eisen · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible resource for academics looking to write better and saner! I loved the blog and was thrilled to read the book version! For fans of the blog, the book includes lots of added stories and advice. Following Dr Sarnecka's methods, I'm now in multiple writing groups and regularly use an IDP and a shared writing log and have never felt more confident in my writing!

[Kasper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book on academic writing for beginners and experts alike. Straightforward in many places but very good tricks like inverse outlining and better connections between paragraphs. And there is an open source version at https://osf.io/n8pc3/

[T · Rating 5 out of 5]

This should be required reading for all graduate students. I wish I’d read it in grad school.

[Xuan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A life-changing book for young academics.

[Melissa Hicks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved, loved, loved this book! Motivating, useful, insightful. I MUST incorporate it into my existence!

[Bianca Aldrich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great reading! So easy and fun to follow.

[Alicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

very clear and helpful

[Vita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant book! I wish this author wrote more books to support early-career academics. We need books like this.

[Elfriede Diestel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very helpful tips and tricks to help you start writing regularly! The authors style is fun and lighthearted making this an easy read!

[Michele Minervini · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some useful tips to boost confidence in the writing process, mostly for beginner writers. "Your research is only as good as your ability to communicate clearly".

[Darla Bonagura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book as part of a writing group and it was incredibly helpful. I actually want to have my undergraduate students read some of it.

[Plain Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great Resource for a first year PhD student