Responsible for providing courses for research postgraduates?
Now, more than ever, research postgraduates are expected to publish, for their own career and to satisfy their university and their sponsors. Trevor Day has helped many hundreds of research postgraduates enhance the power of their writing to achieve academic success.
Trevor designs and facilitates tailor-made courses. Trevor designs and facilitates tailor-made courses. Two-day on- or off-campus retreats are popular, with Trevor working on his own or in collaboration with another colleague. Also in demand are his half-day or one-day workshops. All can be transformed for the online environment as two or more 90- to 120-minute sessions, with supporting online one-to-one tutorials where appropriate.
Trevor runs various versions of this course, tailoring it to specific academic disciplines and the needs of the university. With his background as a scientific writer and social science researcher, and with extensive coaching and teaching experience across faculties, Trevor has a deep understanding of different disciplinary requirements. On this course he deals with the practicalities of thesis-planning and writing, from structure and argument, to writing style. Coverage can include carrying out literature reviews and using technology, but above all, he inspires students with practical approaches to managing and empowering their writing.
Developing a strong publication record is vital for early career academics. Drawing upon his own research and practice, and that of many colleagues with whom he has collaborated, Trevor takes participants on a journey from which they emerge with a range of strategies for:
- selecting academic journals or other publications to meet their needs and aspirations
- approaching editors and publishers in ways that increase the chances of successful publication
- writing their publication with specific purposes in mind to better engage their target audience
- gaining constructive feedback from others and handling any criticism in a constructive manner
- monitoring their work through the publication process and developing a publication strategy
Such courses explore what research postgraduates need to do to tailor their writing to new audiences. It includes:
- how to apply a powerful planning tool to any important written communication
- clearly identifying your purpose in writing for a given audience
- ‘stepping into the shoes of the reader’ to identify their needs and expectations
- tailoring writing style, structure, argument and format for specific purposes and to engage particular audiences
- creating a powerful coherent visual communication that works on many levels
- how to check whether this has been achieved
Reading is one of the most time-consuming aspects of academic research. Any ways of making the process more efficient yield great dividends. As an academic researcher and professional writer Trevor Day has radically improved his own reading strategies. He shares his wide range of techniques and strategies on this course, which has already helped thousands of students and staff to enhance their reading productivity. Coverage includes:
- the true nature of reading for academic writing
- how to apply modern understanding of the reading process to make your academic reading more flexible and efficient
- how to read an academic paper in different ways to meet your specific needs at the time
- how to minimise note-taking for maximum benefit
- applying holistic strategies and techniques to enhance your reading skills and increase your productivity
