Scientific writing: a writer-based approach
Writing clearly and efficiently is not easy, yet it can be learned. Here I sketch my writer-based approach that helps you develop your writing skills. It focuses on the writing process and personal...
View ArticleLet’s burger it! The art of paragraph writing
Carefully designed paragraphs are the key to well-structured and easy-to-read texts. If you feel like your manuscripts are hard to understand and lack a flow and logical structure, learning the art of...
View ArticleSpeeding up the revision process: strategies, problems & solutions
The revision phase of scientific writing can feel overwhelming: many things need to be fixed at different levels. But where do you start? And how do you proceed? If your revision process is chaotic and...
View ArticleHow to be an antifragile writer
Writing is a demanding activity that takes a lot of focus. If only we would never get disturbed, if only we could always stay in the flow! Does your productivity suffer when you don’t have the perfect...
View ArticleWhat type of writer are you?
Does writing come easy to you or do you struggle with every sentence? Do you plan & outline first, or do you prefer to write away and see where you get? There are two opposite approaches to writing...
View ArticlePainless way to scientific writing expertise
Wouldn’t it be great to get excellent writing skills without much effort? If you believe that no pain means no gain, I have good news for you! You can develop your scientific writing skills with ease —...
View ArticleHow to read and understand scientific articles when you are not a scientist —...
You are not a scientist, but sometimes you wish you could read and understand scientific papers? Maybe you never dared. Maybe you don’t know how to approach it. And maybe you already tried, but found...
View ArticleHow to read and understand scientific articles when you are not a scientist —...
You would like to read and understand scientific papers even though you are not a scientist? That’s surely possible — if you know how to approach the complex and deeply specialized scientific...
View Article10 habits that helped me finish my PhD
Doing a PhD is a long-distance run where you don’t know when (and if) you get to cross the finish line. Moreover, you are running through a misty landscape, unsure for long stretches where you are and...
View ArticleFreewriting: write your science clearly, easily and with joy
Bottom-up writers do it instinctivelly, top-down writers can learn it to combat the writer’s block. Freewriting is a simple tool that will not only improve your scientific writing, but also sharpen...
View ArticleHow to structure sentences for a better flow in your writing
Do you long to write sentences that are easy to understand and flow smoothly like a river? Your scientific texts don’t need to feel choppy and your readers don’t need to struggle. Using the appropriate...
View ArticleSix principles for writing a better first draft faster
Do you feel like scientific writing is a long, draining process? Maybe you are a perfectionist who struggles with each sentence and questions every other word. Or you can write down a draft quickly,...
View ArticleHow to gain & keep focus for writing
Our ability to focus is a precious resource. And in this distracted world, it’s becoming increasingly rare. There are too many things pulling at our attention: too many articles to read, too many talks...
View ArticleInterview with Prof. Matthias Rillig
Prof. Matthias Rillig is an outgoing person with a big genuine smile, defeating the stereotype of an uptight always-serious scientist. He is the head of a large and lively research group “Ecology of...
View Article11 tips for boosting your writing productivity
All scientists need to write — and we need to write a lot. Whether it’s a proposal, research article or a thesis: there is always some kind of writing project waiting to be completed. But scientific...
View ArticleHow to write a whole research paper in a week
Writing up a full research article in a single week? Maybe you think that’s impossible. Yet I have done it repeatedly, and so have students in my courses. This is an exceptionally joyful (even if...
View Article10 ways for non-native speakers of English to develop scientific writing skills
English is not your mother tongue and it makes you feel overwhelmed in grad school? You need to read & write in English, but feel insecure about it? Reading seems to take ages and you are dreading...
View ArticleHow to write precisely
Above anything else, scientific writing has to be precise and accurate. But it’s not an easy task to write precisely about complex topics. Here, you will find a general strategy how you can achieve...
View ArticlePeer feedback: Secret ingredient for quick progress with your writing
Do you struggle with producing clear and compelling texts? Do you feel like your writing is lacking something, but you don’t know what? Do you wonder whether the revisions you just introduced really...
View Article8 rules for effective peer feedback in a group
Group feedback is an especially powerful form of peer feedback. When several peers feedback a single text at the same time, the author gets more comments and the feedbackers learn from each other. But...
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