I need to get better at writing, and maybe you can help? Or perhaps you can learn from my triumphs and mistakes!
I am a PhD student in Food and Nutritional Sciences; I have gotten to this stage by largely ignoring writing as a skill. I felt as if my skills in science (maths, physics, etc.) were the most important aspect to improve, so I spent most of my time working on science-related skills. As a consequence my writing skills are very low relative to my other skills, hence this blog.
My idea for this blog is to journal my progress through a Ph.D., as it is probably one of the most interesting things I will ever do. But mostly, it is to practice writing and eventually get good at it.
As I am writing this I have already written several months worth of posts; originally, I was not planning on posting them, but I think that there is no downside to me publishing these posts, as the worst thing that can happen is that I get bad feedback. In this instance, it still helps me improve my writing, so it is win-win as far as I can tell.
As I have previously mentioned, I am several months ahead of this initial post and only plan to release one a week. Because of this, my writing has already improved massively, and I am embarrassed to release some of the earlier posts. However, I believe that the journey is much more important than the end so I will release all my posts un-edited.
I intend to write about more than just my thoughts on being a PhD student such as nutrition, finance, books I’m reading and general thoughts on life. So, if you would like to help me out and provide some feedback, I would greatly appreciate it.
I will remain anonymous for now.
Go here for an example of my first attempt at a blog post and here for the most recent.
If you’re still here maybe we should connect on Twitter!
As a fellow student, it is really interesting to read about your journey and how you are getting on with your PhD!
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I am about to journey on to get my masters degree, and hopefully my PhD after. Good luck!!
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I’m really glad I found your blog and I’m looking forward to reading more of it! I’m the opposite of you in a sense, because I spent my undergrad/masters in the arts and humanities and really refined my writing skills, but now I’m looking to make a switch to the social sciences, I need to completely re-learn how to write up research in a way more conducive with dealing with facts rather than theories.
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Hey thematically meandering blog is really interesting! It amazes me how consistent you are with your ideas. It’s as though you’re brain is crammed with so much of the world inside, it’s a breath of fresh air to see it all written down for everyone to see. (btw thanks for liking my posts ;))
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Writeing for me , especially with a fountain pen has been enormously therapeutic. The upside of this smartphone is that it helps with my dyslexia.
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Possibly a bit late to offer my ‘tuppence worth’; but—
—but never release a work unedited. Never~!
Dwell a pause if you need to—but you must revisit and edit.
Polish, polish, polish … and if any dolt tells you (a) don’t call folks dolts; and (b) don’t repeat yourself; thank ’em kindly and then get on with getting your message across. Transmission of thought is what it’s all about, no?
Thought, and style—ya gotta have style. Which leads us to … originality, but within bounds. People have expectations and they want something they can read—so speling four exsample is not to be triffled withe; fokls like to recernize werds more easily and simpler. Sew by editting you can catch the looser ends and tye them up. And it’s amazing what you catch when you revisit, hopefully after the tumult and the shouting dies but before the captains and the kings depart.
Good luck!
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Thanks for this usual info and for visiting my blog!
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I think getting better at writing comes with practice as we all have to start at the beginning and I think you are doing a great job.
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Best of luck with your PhD. I also work as a writing coach if you ever need help. Though you are doing absolutely fine on your own, I must say. 🙂
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I am also using blogging to practice my creative writing skills. Thank you for your interesting blog.
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As a fellow (almost graduated, fingers crossed!) PhD student, I share the joys and pains of writing. I find having spaces where you can write without too much pressure and constantly rewriting things very helpful. Good luck!
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Thanks Lady E, good luck to you too!I’m looking forward to being finished!
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I got my master’s in history at a cow college and decided that was enough. Loved your post about going to an academic conference! From what my colleagues among the grad students said about their experience it was quite similar, though a couple of them were allowed to read papers they wrote. And they went to someplace in the southeastern US, not a cool place like the Czech Republic. Guess that’s reserved for the science crowd.
Best of luck with your Ph.D. journey and thanks for liking my Thanksgiving post!
Laura
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Thanks for the like of my recent post.
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You are seemingly doing quite well?! Don’t let it worry you!!
With our World getting increasingly internationalized, most of us will tend to accept some language errors
or differences. Every language on Earth are infected by other languages, popular abbrivations etc and normal handwriting seems to be ‘out’. Where it will all end one day, I haven’t the foggiest notion (and I won’t be venturing an opinion! 🙂 )
but as long as we manage tomu8nderstend each others needs as well as languages, I believe we will be OK – for the time being . . .
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thanks for sharing your thoughts! It’s always good to know there are others out there facing similar challenges!
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Cool! Writing is fun and should be a thing you choose to do. I mean, there will often be times where you have to write, but writing is fun!
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Hurray for you! Thanks for taking time away from practicing your writing to visit my blog!
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Learning by doing is a great way to begin. Best wishes. ~Pam Young, PhD
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