The craft of writing CPD series at Solent

1. Finding your voice in the battle
between productivity and creativity
Tansy Jessop & Claire Saunders
SLTI CPD Workshop
13 February 2018
@solentlearning

2. Your Writing BASE
www.writersdiet.com/base
Behavioural
habits
Emotional habits
Social habits
Artisanal habits

3. Three title variants
1. Question: Will patriarchal management survive in
the 21st century?
2. Summary of thesis or purpose: “The relationship
between eating bananas and fainting
3. Two-part-title with a colon: Fine cloth, cut carefully:
co-operative learning in Zambia

4. Think about your research
• Think about a piece of research and writing you are
working on. On your own, write down three
variants of a title: question, summary, colon.
• Share your titles with your partner and suggest
edits.
• How does chatting about it help you?

5. Three ‘social writing’ prepositions
•Writing for others
•Writing with others
•Writing among others

6. Writing for others
The phrase I had in mind as I wrote my book was
that I wanted mathematicians to agree with it and
my wife to understand it
(Bill Burton, University of Auckland)
I write for nurses and try to make contact with the
deep humanity of what they do
(Trudy Rudge, University of Sydney)

7. Writing for others: thinking outside the
box
1. Principle of cross-training
2. Identify the dominant way
writing is in your discipline.
Write down features of
what it looks like.
3. In groups share as many
ways of expressing ideas as
can think of on flipchart

8. Expressing yourself
ideas

9. “I’ve seen nothing”

10. Writing with others

11. The good
• Smashes writer’s block
• Plugs conceptual gaps
• Strengthens collegial relationships
• Expands stylistic horizons
• Books you hate, read by others!

12. The bad
• Who does what: writing by committee?
• Who gets the credit: hierarchy, power & pointless
battles
• Clashing styles
• Waiting for Godot (or your co-author)

13. The beautiful
• Accountability, nagging and
Hyper- productivity

14. Writing among others
• Writing groups
• Critical friends
• Journal reviewing
• Mentoring
• Writing retreats

15. References
Becker, H. (2007) Writing for Social Scientists. Chicago. University of Chicago
Press.
Boice, R. (1990) Professors as Writers: A self-help guide to productive writing.
Oklahoma. New Forum.
Grant, B. (2006) Writing in the company of other women: exceeding the
boundaries, Studies in Higher Education, 31:4, 483-495.
Harland, A. (2015) Writing for Publication Workshop, University of Winchester.
Jessop and Penny (1999) A story behind a story: Developing strategies for
making sense of teacher narratives. International Journal of Social Research
Methodology. 2:3. 213-230.
Richardson, L. (1990) Writing Strategies: reaching diverse audiences. Thousand
Oaks. California. Sage.
Sword, H. (2017) Air & Light & Time & Space: How successful academics write.
Cambridge MA. Harvard University Press.
Sword, H. (2013) Stylish Academic Writing. Cambridge. MA. Harvard University
Press.
Sword, H. (2013) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQsRvAVSVeM
Sword, H. (2009) Writing higher education differently: a manifesto on style,
Studies in Higher Education, 34:3, 319-336.