Book picks similar to
Professors as Writers: A Self-Help Guide to Productive Writing by Robert Boice
writing
academia
academic
non-fiction
The Scientist's Guide to Writing: How to Write More Easily and Effectively Throughout Your Scientific Career
Stephen B. Heard - 2016
The Scientist's Guide to Writing provides practical advice to help scientists become more effective writers so that their ideas have the greatest possible impact.Drawing on his own experience as a scientist, graduate adviser, and editor, Stephen Heard emphasizes that the goal of all scientific writing should be absolute clarity; that good writing takes deliberate practice; and that what many scientists need are not long lists of prescriptive rules but rather direct engagement with their behaviors and attitudes when they write. He combines advice on such topics as how to generate and maintain writing momentum with practical tips on structuring a scientific paper, revising a first draft, handling citations, responding to peer reviews, managing coauthorships, and more.In an accessible, informal tone, The Scientist's Guide to Writing explains essential techniques that students, postdoctoral researchers, and early-career scientists need to write more clearly, efficiently, and easily.Emphasizes writing as a process, not just a productEncourages habits that improve motivation and productivityExplains the structure of the scientific paper and the function of each partProvides detailed guidance on submission, review, revision, and publicationAddresses issues related to coauthorship, English as a second language, and more
Syllabus: Notes From an Accidental Professor
Lynda Barry - 2014
She believes that anyone can be a writer and has set out to prove it. For the past decade, Barry has run a highly popular writing workshop for nonwriters called Writing the Unthinkable, which was featured in The New York Times Magazine. Syllabus: Notes from an Accidental Professor is the first book to make her innovative lesson plans and writing exercises available to the public for home or classroom use. Barry teaches a method of writing that focuses on the relationship between the hand, the brain, and spontaneous images, both written and visual. It has been embraced by people across North America—prison inmates, postal workers, university students, high-school teachers, and hairdressers—for opening pathways to creativity.Syllabus's takes the course plan for Barry’s workshop and runs wild with it in her densely detailed signature style. Collaged texts, ballpoint-pen doodles, and watercolor washes adorn Syllabus’s yellow lined pages, which offer advice on finding a creative voice and using memories to inspire the writing process. Throughout it all, Barry’s voice (as an author and as a teacher-mentor) rings clear, inspiring, and honest.
Aliens and Alien Societies
Stanley Schmidt - 1996
Teaches writers how to use real scientific knowledge of our universe to create more convincing extraterrestrial life forms in their science fiction or fantasy novel.
New Dark Age: Technology and the End of the Future
James Bridle - 2018
Underlying this trend is a single idea: the belief that our existence is understandable through computation, and more data is enough to help us build a better world. In actual fact, we are lost in a sea of information, increasingly divided by fundamentalism, simplistic narratives, conspiracy theories, and post-factual politics. Meanwhile, those in power use our lack of understanding to further their own interests. Despite the accessibility of information, we’re living in a new Dark Age. From rogue financial systems to shopping algorithms, from artificial intelligence to state secrecy, we no longer understand how our world is governed or presented to us. The media is filled with unverifiable speculation, much of it generated by anonymous software, while companies dominate their employees through surveillance and the threat of automation. In his brilliant new work, leading artist and writer James Bridle excavates the limits of technology and how it aids our understanding of the world. Surveying the history of art, technology, and information systems, he explores the dark clouds that gather over our dreams of the digital sublime.
Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed
James C. Scott - 1998
Why do well-intentioned plans for improving the human condition go tragically awry?In this wide-ranging and original book, James C. Scott analyzes failed cases of large-scale authoritarian plans in a variety of fields. Centrally managed social plans misfire, Scott argues, when they impose schematic visions that do violence to complex interdependencies that are not—and cannot—be fully understood. Further, the success of designs for social organization depends upon the recognition that local, practical knowledge is as important as formal, epistemic knowledge. The author builds a persuasive case against "development theory" and imperialistic state planning that disregards the values, desires, and objections of its subjects. He identifies and discusses four conditions common to all planning disasters: administrative ordering of nature and society by the state; a "high-modernist ideology" that places confidence in the ability of science to improve every aspect of human life; a willingness to use authoritarian state power to effect large- scale interventions; and a prostrate civil society that cannot effectively resist such plans.
Uncommon Sense Teaching: Practical Insights in Brain Science to Help Students Learn
Barbara Oakley - 2021
Uncommon Sense Teaching applies this research to the classroom for teachers, parents, and anyone interested in improving education. Topics include:- keeping students motivated and engaged, especially with online learning - helping students remember information long-term, so it isn't immediately forgotten after a test - how to teach inclusively in a diverse classroom where students have a wide range of abilitiesDrawing on research findings as well as the authors' combined decades of experience in the classroom, Uncommon Sense Teaching equips readers with the tools to enhance their teaching, whether they're seasoned professionals or parents trying to offer extra support for their children's education.
100 Ways to Improve Your Writing: Proven Professional Techniques for Writing With Style and Power
Gary Provost - 1985
Filled with professional tips and a wealth of instructive examples, this valuable, easy-to-use handbook can help you solve any and all writing problems.
Teaching at Its Best: A Research-Based Resource for College Instructors
Linda B. Nilson - 1998
This thoroughly revised edition includes the newest portrait of the Millennial student; current research from cognitive psychology; a focus on outcomes maps; the latest legal options on copyright issues; and how to best use new technology including wikis, blogs, podcasts, vodcasts, and clickers. Entirely new chapters include subjects such as matching teaching methods with learning outcomes, inquiry-guided learning, and using visuals to teach, and new sections address Felder and Silverman's Index of Learning Styles, SCALE-UP classrooms, multiple true-false test items, and much more.Praise for the Third Edition of Teaching at Its BestEveryone--veterans as well as novices--will profit from reading Teaching at Its Best, for it provides both theory and practical suggestions for handling all of the problems one encounters in teaching classes varying in size, ability, and motivation."--Wilbert McKeachie, Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, and coauthor, McKeachie's Teaching TipsThis new edition of Dr. Nilson's book, with its completely updated material and several new topics, is an even more powerful collection of ideas and tools than the last. What a great resource, especially for beginning teachers but also for us veterans!"--L. Dee Fink, author, Creating Significant Learning ExperiencesThis third edition of Teaching at Its Best is successful at weaving the latest research on teaching and learning into what was already a thorough exploration of each topic. New information on how we learn, how students develop, and innovations in instructional strategies complement the solid foundation established in the first two editions."--Marilla D. Svinicki, Department of Psychology, The University of Texas, Austin, and coauthor, McKeachie's Teaching Tips
Scientific Writing and Communication: Papers, Proposals, and Presentations
Angelika H. Hofmann - 2009
This unique all-in-one handbook begins with a discussion of the basics of scientific writing style and composition and then applies these principles to writing research papers, review articles, grant proposals, research statements, and resum�s as well as to preparing academic presentations and posters.FEATURES:A practical presentation carefully introduces such basic writing mechanics as word choice and word location, sentence structure, and paragraph organization before moving into manuscript planning and organizational strategies. Extensive hands-on guidance for composing scientific documents and presentations then follows.Relevant and multi-disciplinary examples taken from real research papers and grant proposals by writers ranging from students to Nobel Laureates illustrate clear technical writing as well as common mistakes that one should avoid. Examples are drawn from a broad range of scientific disciplines including medicine, molecular biology, biochemistry, ecology, geology, chemistry, engineering, and physics.Extensive end-of-chapter exercise sets provide the opportunity to review style and composition principles and encourage readers to apply them to their own writing.Writing guidelines and revision checklists warn scientists against common pitfalls and equip them with the most successful techniques to revise a scientific paper, review article, or grant proposal.Annotated text passages bring the writing principles and guidelines to life by applying them to real-world, relevant, and multidisciplinary examples.Clear, easy-to-follow writing style is understandable to both native and non-native English speakers; special ESL features address problems faced by non-native English speakers.Eight chapters on grant writing demonstrate how to write successful grant applications and how to avoid the most common application mistakes.Covering all the facets of communication that scientists need to master, Scientific Writing and Communication: Papers, Proposals, and Presentations is ideal for a wide range of readers--from upper-level undergraduates and graduate students to postdoctoral fellows, faculty, and professional researchers--in the life sciences, medicine, psychology, chemistry, and engineering.
The People's Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age
Astra Taylor - 2012
But how true is this claim? In a seminal dismantling of techno-utopian visions, "The People's Platform" argues that for all that we "tweet" and "like" and "share," the Internet in fact reflects and amplifies real-world inequities at least as much as it ameliorates them. Online, just as off-line, attention and influence largely accrue to those who already have plenty of both.What we have seen so far, Astra Taylor says, has been not a revolution but a rearrangement. Although Silicon Valley tycoons have eclipsed Hollywood moguls, a handful of giants like Amazon, Apple, Google, and Facebook remain the gatekeepers. And the worst habits of the old media model--the pressure to seek easy celebrity, to be quick and sensational above all--have proliferated online, where "aggregating" the work of others is the surest way to attract eyeballs and ad revenue. When culture is "free," creative work has diminishing value, and advertising fuels the system. The new order looks suspiciously like the old one.We can do better, Taylor insists. The online world does offer a unique opportunity, but a democratic culture that supports diverse voices and work of lasting value will not spring up from technology alone. If we want the Internet to truly be a people's platform, we will have to make it so.
The Image of the City
Kevin Lynch - 1960
Lynch, supported by studies of Los Angeles, Boston, and Jersey City, formulates a new criterion -- imageability -- and shows its potential value as a guide for the building and rebuilding of cities. The wide scope of this study leads to an original and vital method for the evaluation of city form. The architect, the planner, and certainly the city dweller will all want to read this book.
2,000 to 10,000: How to Write Faster, Write Better, and Write More of What You Love
Rachel Aaron - 2012
This is the book explaining how, with a few simple changes, I boosted my daily writing from 2000 words to over 10k a day, and how you can too."Expanding on her highly successful process for doubling daily word counts, this book, a combination of reworked blog posts and new material, offers practical writing advice for anyone who's ever longed to increase their daily writing output. In addition to updated information for Rachel's popular 2k to 10k writing efficiency process, 5 step plotting method, and easy editing tips, this new book includes chapters on creating characters that write their own stories, practical plot structure, and learning to love your daily writing. Full of easy to follow, practical advice from a commercial author who doesn't eat if she doesn't produce good books on a regular basis, 2k to 10k focuses not just on writing faster, but writing better, and having more fun while you do it.
How College Affects Students: Volume 2 - A Third Decade of Research
Ernest T. Pascarella - 2005
The authors review their earlier findings and then synthesize what has been learned since 1990 about college's influences on students' learning. The book also discusses the implications of the findings for research, practice, and public policy. This authoritative and comprehensive analysis of the literature on college-impact is required reading for anyone interested in higher education practice, policy, and promise3/4faculty, administrators, researchers, policy analysts, and decision-makers at every level.
The Science of Overcoming Procrastination: How to Be Disciplined, Break Inertia, Manage Your Time, and Be Productive. Get Off Your Butt and Get Things Done!
Patrick King - 2018
Become a productivity machine and achieve your goals in record time. Procrastination is the monster that we are always running from, but not always successfully. It lurks around every corner, and can completely sabotage your life. But you can learn to defeat it every time. Stop wasting time. SAVE time and learn how to build momentum.
The Science of Overcoming Procrastination
is a deep dive into our tendency to push things until the last minute possible. It uncovers the biological and evolutionary science behind procrastination, and how we can beat these instinctual drives to triumph in our career and personal life. A plethora of studies are analyzed and put into illuminating contexts. Best of all, it’s a book of scientific solutions boiled down to everyday usefulness. You’ll be able to apply insight from this book immediately to slay your procrastination monster and get ahead of the pack. Eliminate stress, anxiety, and overwhelm over falling behind or failing. Patrick King is an internationally bestselling author and entrepreneur. His writing draws of a variety of sources, from scientific research, academic experience, coaching, and real life experience. He has battled the procrastination monster his entire life and brings proven techniques to you. Discover discipline, willpower, and motivation that works for you. • A scientific and biological overview of your procrastination habit. • Warning signs to monitor your work ethic. • Psychological tactics to trigger your brain to productivity. Overhaul your approach to productivity and output. • How to structure and schedule your life to safeguard against procrastination. • Simple yet effective tactics to get off your butt and into action. • How to beat analysis paralysis and other causes of mental freezing. Get more done in less time so you can enjoy your life. Become the most reliable person you know. Break your habit of missing goals and letting people down. The ability to defeat procrastination is the ability to accomplish exactly what you want and gain access to wherever you want to go. Live your life instead of avoiding it!
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Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success
K.M. Weiland - 2011
But when properly understood and correctly wielded, the outline is one of the most powerful weapons in a writer’s arsenal. Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success will: Help you choose the right type of outline for youGuide you in brainstorming plot ideasAid you in discovering your charactersShow you how to structure your scenesExplain how to format your finished outlineInstruct you in how to use your outlineReveal the benefits:Ensures cohesion and balancePrevents dead-end ideasProvides foreshadowingOffers assurance and motivationDispel misconceptions:Requires formal formattingLimits creativityRobs the joy of discoveryTakes too much timeEven if you're certain outlining isn't for you, the book offers all kinds of important tips on plot, structure, and character. Includes exclusive interviews with Larry Brooks, Elizabeth Spann Craig, Lisa Grace, Dan L. Hays, Jody Hedlund, Carolyn Kaufman, Becky Levine, Roz Morris, John Robinson, and Aggie Villanueva, answering important questions:Can you describe your outlining process?What is the greatest benefit of outlining?What is the biggest potential pitfall of outlining?Do you recommend "pantsing" for certain situations and outlining for others?What's the most important contributing factor to a successful outline?