Academic Writing Blog 

If you’ve ever searched "dissertation help" at any point in your graduate school journey (most people do somewhere between midnight and 2:00am), you know what comes back is a mixed bag. -Academic Editing services -Writing mills -Tutoring platforms -Coaching programs -Statistical consultants The options are real, but so is the confusion about what any of them do, what is legitimate, and what could get you into serious trouble. This post is an attempt to cut through all of th

Hiring an academic editor is not like hiring a proofreader for a business report. The stakes are different. The document is different. And the market for academic editing services is crowded enough that the wrong choice can cost you time, money, credibility and confidence you cannot afford to lose.

Scholarly writing can be a daunting task! You need skill to share expert knowledge of complex ideas in an understandable way to an audience that, often, lacks the same level of knowledge about the topic. Typically, little sympathy exists for the person who needs to be reminded of critical writing fundamentals. Beyond the occasional grammar error or stylistic faux-pas that surfaces in lengthy documents, scholarly writing should be clear, coherent and polished.

Nobody tells you that getting into a graduate program and knowing how to write within the program are two completely different things. You earn your spot. You show up. But, somewhere in the first year, it becomes clear that the writing you were praised for as an undergraduate (and sometimes, for doctoral students, as a master's student) does not translate to graduate study. The expectations shifted, but nobody handed you the new rubric.

By Jessica with contributions from writing coach Vernetta K. Mosley, PhD A particular kind of silence happens when you open a blank document and cannot type a single word, not because you don’t know what to say, but because some part of your brain has already decided that whatever you write will not be good enough. You have the knowledge. You have the education. You even have some success. Still, you sit convinced that the moment someone reads your work, they will see throu

remember the first time I did my dissertation proposal for my committee. Let me rewind. I remember the long nights, the countless meetings, the revisions, and my committee chair giving me glowing feedback, claiming, "They will approve it in the room." I didn't know we were in a bubble. I didn't realize my chair wasn't thinking beyond himself or the words in front of him. Quickly, the bubble popped that day in 2023 when I received feedback from the rest of my dissertation com

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, stagnant, unmotivated, stressed, frustrated, confused or a number of other debilitating negative emotions, you should seek hired support.

Many research studies reference the United States or agencies with that name included. When editing, we often see the word used in a...

Academic writing has general rules and styles that apply to all disciplines and specific ones for particular disciplines. Scientific...

Reading is essential to developing as a scholarly writer. When reading academic documents, you want to read for comprehension, but you...

People who have taken a public speaking class or training know to remove/limit filler words like “umm” when presenting. However, many...

The word "these" can be used in more than one way: as a pronoun or an adjective. Since pronouns replace nouns, “these” should replace a...

As a writing coach, I often get challenged on grammar rules, especially concerning comma usage, based on the remark, "But, that doesn't...

People often mistakenly use the pronouns "that" and "which" interchangeably. However, a grammar rule determines when a writer should use...

Many budding scholars seek to elevate their word use when writing. An easy way to implement a scholarly tone is to replace a phrasal verb...

Making subjects agree with verbs is a rather simplistic writing task; nonetheless, the English language has several rules that can make...

Most people use pronouns correctly because they replace nouns; however, relative pronouns cause problems for some writers. "That" and...

As a writing coach and editor, I recommend two simple ways to for scholars to develop a more academic tone. One is to read constantly...

Using the proper verb to represent the action of a sentence is central to presenting a focused, concise message. At times, verbs can...

At some point in their educational or professional careers, most academic writers will do some form of collaborative writing, whether for...