ADVANCE PRAISE FOR THE WRITING WORKSHOP “There are many guides to scientific writing out there, and I read most of them in preparation for teaching a writing workshop at MIT. Barbara’s was the one I referred students to most often. It’s down-to-earth, funny, and packed with advice that extends well beyond the fundamentals of good scientific writing to topics rang- ing from reproducibility and open science to time management and work/life balance. The resources for instructors are also excellent: She has templates to help students set both short- and long-term goals and in-class exercises to help novice writers hear the differ- ence between clunky writing and writing that sings. What is per- haps most distinctive about Barbara’s book is that she conveys the sense that writing should be a kind of meditation practice: a way to stay grounded in a supportive community while engaging deeply with ideas from a place of focus and clarity. I can’t think of a better book to support new and emerging writers.” —Laura ShuLz, professor of cognitive science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology “This book is a gem. Funny, thoughtful, and humane; packed with wise advice and deep insights. This is essential reading for any academic who wants to be more prolific and write better. (Which means that it’s essential reading for all of us.)” —PauL BLoom, Brooks and Suzanne Regan Professor of Psychology at Yale University and author of Against Empathy. “This book is practical, funny, easy to use, and effective. Reading this book is like sitting down with a close friend who also happens to be a writing expert. The book provides writing advice, exercises, and motivation to get those pages written. And I speak from per- sonal experience—I used this book’s guidance to carve out time from what seemed like an unworkably busy schedule to write, and the result was an article that will be published later this year.” —Sarah LawSky, Benjamin Mazur Summer Research Professor of Law, Associate Dean of Academic Programs, Associate Dean of Finance, Pritzker School of Law, Northwestern University THE WRITING WORKSHOP Write More, Write Better, Be Happier in Academia BARBARA W. SARNECKA This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0) you are free to: Share: copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format. Adapt: remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially. The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms. under the following terms: Attribution: You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable man- ner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. No additional restrictions: You may not apply legal terms or techno- logical measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits. notices: You do not have to comply with the license for elements of the material in the public domain or where your use is permitted by an applicable exception or limitation. No warranties are given. The license may not give you all of the permissions nec- essary for your intended use. For example, other rights such as publicity, privacy, or moral rights may limit how you use the material. how to cite this book This book was printed on demand and published by the author. The reference in APA (6th ed.) style is: Sarnecka, B. W. (2019). The writing workshop: Write more, write better, be happier in academia. (n.p.): Author. Library of Congress Control Number: 2019912575 Cover and interior design by Lindsey Cleworth Penguin illustrations by Julia Majdali Facer To all scholars, everywhere CONTENTS Preface to the Print Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 * Community 5 * Practice 7 * Instruction 8 The Workshop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 * Structure your meetings 14 * Create social accountability with a shared writing log 21 * Reframe rejection 31 * Adapt and grow 39 Planning Your Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 * Think like a founder 46 * Build your individual development plan 56 * Build your term plan 62 * Build your weekly plan 68 The Practice of Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 * Question your beliefs about writing 78 * Draft with kindness 87 * Revise to continue your thinking 96 * Revise for the reader 103 Literature Reviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 * Understand literature reviews 111 * Build your reading list 115 * Read strategically 121 * Write the literature review 130 Scientific Articles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 * Understand the IMRaD structure 140 * Start by making great figures 146 * Draft an article from meta-material to methods 156 * Present and discuss your results 164 Proposals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175 * Asking for money 177 * Understand the funding game 180 * Write the proposal 185 Presentations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197 * The elevator pitch 197 * The poster 202 * The talk 204 * Practice your presentation 230 Paragraphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235 * Understand “hamburger” paragraphs 236 * Manage information flow within the paragraph 245 * Make it clear what you’re referring to 250 * Use signposting as needed 258 Sentences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265 * Understand readability 266 * Write readable sentences 272 * Understand imageability 283 * Write imageable sentences 284 Words . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291 * Choose simple and specific words 292 * Be kind to your readers 298 * Omit needless words 309 Epilogue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327 Credits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341 About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353