The writing workshop

369 Pages·3.376 MB·English

ADVANCE PRAISE FOR
THE WRITING WORKSHOP
“There are many guides to scientific writing out there, and I read
most of them in preparation for teaching a writing workshop at
MIT. Barbara’s was the one I referred students to most often. It’s
down-to-earth, funny, and packed with advice that extends well
beyond the fundamentals of good scientific writing to topics rang-
ing from reproducibility and open science to time management and
work/life balance. The resources for instructors are also excellent:
She has templates to help students set both short- and long-term
goals and in-class exercises to help novice writers hear the differ-
ence between clunky writing and writing that sings. What is per-
haps most distinctive about Barbara’s book is that she conveys the
sense that writing should be a kind of meditation practice: a way
to stay grounded in a supportive community while engaging deeply
with ideas from a place of focus and clarity. I can’t think of a better
book to support new and emerging writers.”
—Laura ShuLz, professor of cognitive science,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
“This book is a gem. Funny, thoughtful, and humane; packed with
wise advice and deep insights. This is essential reading for any
academic who wants to be more prolific and write better. (Which
means that it’s essential reading for all of us.)”
—PauL BLoom, Brooks and Suzanne Regan Professor of
Psychology at Yale University and author of Against Empathy.
“This book is practical, funny, easy to use, and effective. Reading
this book is like sitting down with a close friend who also happens
to be a writing expert. The book provides writing advice, exercises,
and motivation to get those pages written. And I speak from per-
sonal experience—I used this book’s guidance to carve out time
from what seemed like an unworkably busy schedule to write, and
the result was an article that will be published later this year.”
—Sarah LawSky, Benjamin Mazur Summer Research Professor
of Law, Associate Dean of Academic Programs, Associate Dean
of Finance, Pritzker School of Law, Northwestern University
THE WRITING
WORKSHOP
Write More,
Write Better,
Be Happier
in Academia
BARBARA W. SARNECKA
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how to cite this book
This book was printed on demand and published by the author. The reference in APA
(6th ed.) style is:
Sarnecka, B. W. (2019). The writing workshop: Write more, write better, be happier
in academia. (n.p.): Author.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2019912575
Cover and interior design by Lindsey Cleworth
Penguin illustrations by Julia Majdali Facer
To all scholars,
everywhere

CONTENTS
Preface to the Print Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
* Community 5
* Practice 7
* Instruction 8
The Workshop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
* Structure your meetings 14
* Create social accountability with a
shared writing log 21
* Reframe rejection 31
* Adapt and grow 39
Planning Your Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
* Think like a founder 46
* Build your individual development
plan 56
* Build your term plan 62
* Build your weekly plan 68
The Practice of Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
* Question your beliefs about writing 78
* Draft with kindness 87
* Revise to continue your thinking 96
* Revise for the reader 103
Literature Reviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
* Understand literature reviews 111
* Build your reading list 115
* Read strategically 121
* Write the literature review 130
Scientific Articles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
* Understand the IMRaD structure 140
* Start by making great figures 146
* Draft an article from meta-material to
methods 156
* Present and discuss your results 164
Proposals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
* Asking for money 177
* Understand the funding game 180
* Write the proposal 185
Presentations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
* The elevator pitch 197
* The poster 202
* The talk 204
* Practice your presentation 230
Paragraphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
* Understand “hamburger”
paragraphs 236
* Manage information flow within the
paragraph 245
* Make it clear what you’re referring
to 250
* Use signposting as needed 258
Sentences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
* Understand readability 266
* Write readable sentences 272
* Understand imageability 283
* Write imageable sentences 284
Words . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
* Choose simple and specific words 292
* Be kind to your readers 298
* Omit needless words 309
Epilogue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327
Credits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353