If you have spent any time reading advice or ‘how to’ books on writing a thesis at any level, you will almost certainly have come across some version of this concept: the ‘knowledge gap’. And you will likely have been told that you have to create a research project or study that will find knowledge … Continue reading Contributions to knowledge and the ‘knowledge gap’
Category: argument
Book writing: making space for the ’emerging argument’
Argument. I have written a lot about that over the past few years. If you are a postgraduate student, you have probably heard that word many times, and as a supervisor, you are probably always looking for ways to explain to your students more clearly and effectively ways to make strong arguments. In this post … Continue reading Book writing: making space for the ’emerging argument’
Knowledge: claims, contributions and confidence
Going through my blog stats recently (one of my many procrastinations last week), I noticed that my post on what a contribution to knowledge is has garnered many hits in the last 2 years especially. That a doctoral study has to make a novel contribution to the researcher-author's field is one of the main things … Continue reading Knowledge: claims, contributions and confidence
Creating a coherent text: ‘sign-posting’ your argument
Readers of this blog may know that a big part of my work-life is reading and commenting constructively on other people's writing - PhD scholars, postdoctoral fellows, peers. I spend hours each year immersed in people's words, ideas, arguments and theses. And, while this work is difficult, and can be really draining of my own … Continue reading Creating a coherent text: ‘sign-posting’ your argument
What does it mean to ‘sound academic’ in your writing?
I have been reading a lot of other people's writing lately, which has kind of sapped my own creative energies. However, it really has got me thinking about a few issues related to helping other people to improve their writing, which I'll share over a few posts. This one is about 'sounding academic', and what … Continue reading What does it mean to ‘sound academic’ in your writing?
