Academic Coaching Blog

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...

The message said "I'm a doctor!!!"  It was from another successful candidate whose dissertation was accepted and who passed her oral defence.  I love getting those messages, but this one was particularly rewarding. Although nobody becomes a doctor immediately after a defence (there's paperwork and a formal graduation approval and ceremony to go through first) this candidates was delighted to be at the end of the journey and I'm happy to celebrate with her.   We had worked closely together for quite a while to address the fact that TurnItIn had rated her thesis at over 80%, which is truly excessive. ...

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...