Faculty
Liv Gish, PhD, Independent consultant, Nordic Writing Academy
Mirjam Godskesen, PhD, Independent consultant, UNWIND
Course coordinator
Liv Gish
Course content
Prerequisites
To benefit the most from this course you need to be writing on a specific text during the course. It can be your thesis, a journal or conference paper, a report, or your study plan. It just has to be a project that you can spend at least 9 hours writing on during the week.
Aim
To introduce PhD students to writing tools that can help to become more productive writers.
Content
This course introduces tools to become a more productive writer and create a sustainable writing practice, but also offers time to actually write on your own text while being at the course. We start the week by discussing why writing can sometimes be so challenging and introduce writing goals as a core technique to get started and break down the writing task.
Then different approaches to writing are introduced:
1) Why it is important to separate the writing phases - so you focus either on creative writing or revision and not at both at the same time.
2) The IMRAD structure is the conventional storytelling structure in science, but we will dive a little bit deeper into storytelling to investigate how you can make your writing more compelling.
3) You get hands-on tools to different approaches to revision.
4) Peer feedback is an effective way to get another set of eyes on your text, we will practice peer feedback.
5) We finish the week by introducing writing snacks, an efficient tool to get some writing done even if you only have 20 minutes at hand before your next meeting.
Overview of course contents:
• Productive writing – 9 writing slots where you work on your own text during the week
• Different approaches to the text
• Storytelling
• Revision of text
• Peer feedback
• Writing snacks
Please bring computer, charger, pen, and paper.
Teaching Style
The course alters between short presentations, group discussions and writing on own text. Participants also get an opportunity to be coached during the course if difficulties with writing emerge. In between we will do some small stretches and brain exercises to keep up the good energy.
Learning Objectives
After this course the PhD student is able to:
• Set realistic writing goals
• Apply strategies to write on a regular basis
• Differentiate between creative writing and revision
• Apply storytelling principles in scientific writing
• Provide and receive peer feedback
• Reflect on own writing process and practice
• Be aware of your state of mind and how it influences your ability to write
Course Literature
No mandatory reading is required for this course. However, if you are curious, the following list of books explain some of the principles and tools used in the course:
• Peter Elbow (1998) Writing with power
• Rowena Murray (2017) How to write a thesis
• Rowena Murray (2019) Writing for academic journals
• Joan Bolker (1998) Writing your dissertation in fifteen minutes a day – a guide to starting, revising, and finishing your doctoral thesis
• Gardiner and Kearns (2012) The ABCDE of writing: Coaching high-quality high-quantity writing, International Coaching Psychology Review, Vol. 7, No. 2
Level
PhD
Language
English
Course time:
Monday 19 June: 9:00-15:00
Tuesday 20 June: 9:00-12:00 (Suggested individual work from 13:00 to 15:00 e.g. time for analysis and reading to support further writing/or set-up meeting with supervisor/co-authors if needed)
Wednesday 21 June 9:00-15:00
Thursday 22 June 9:00-15:00
Friday 23 June 9:00-15:00