Academic Coaching Blog — Writing

At present, there's an ad on TV that lists all the things that AI can do. One of them is "write your kid's school essay".  It's an ad for home repairs and the claim is that AI can do nearly everything except fix your plumbing. That's concerning, and many experts are sounding the alarm about the overreach of AI.  It has given me much pause for thought about my work and whether I should hang up my editing pen. But I'm stubborn and hopeful and I'm going to keep offering old-fashioned writing help with a pulse, I don't like being...

The short answer is Yes!  Coaching a student in their academic work is very much like coaching an Olympic athlete. 

Has your professor ever written a margin note in your dissertation that says, "This writing is too dense.  Fix it"? There are some professors that explain what they mean. But more often than not, you're expected to think it through on your own and try to do what they want. Often the problem is you're using sesquipedalian words--and you didn't even know it.  So,  first, let's understand "dense" academic writing?    Sometimes, when you're reviewing the literature for your research topic, you may come across a journal article that is difficult to read.  The sentences are long and you struggle to...

I've just written a LinkedIn post about being authentic in writing, and not relying on AI to do the writing for you.  For those of you who aren't registered, here's the actual posting too. I want to post about authenticity today because I see the threats to that all around me. For example, I just watched some media coverage of Tilly Norwood. Never heard of her? Well, there's a link below to just some of the coverage of this AI-generated actress, who looks so real that there's even talk of her getting representation by an agent. So to get back...

So your thesis or dissertation draft has been submitted to TurnItIn, and the report says you used a lot of AI.  Even if you didn't actually use AI, a certain style of writing can raise red flags when software is used to look for content that is not original.  Supervisors and examiners may also think that the writing is not your own authentic work if it's too formulaic. Here's a short video I recorded, to offer three tips for changing the way you present your content, so that it doesn't sound AI-generated: Get in touch if you're having trouble using...