TEA BREAK
There’s More Than One
I first read the 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 series when I was in third grade. I would have been around 8 or 9 years old. (Why yes, I was a precocious child, thank you for asking). This was long before the movies, and I fell head over heels in love
Everybody Lies
“Everybody lies.” Anyone who has seen Hugh Laurie’s performance as the acerbic, misanthropic doctor on the television show 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 will be familiar with this refrain. It’s something that I found myself thinking about when I worked at EPSRC. It’s not that researchers lie exactly … but sometimes the truth 𝘤𝘢𝘯
A Question of Scale
A friend recently held a housewarming party and sent around a list of potential gifts if people wanted to bring anything. One of the items caught my eye. A medium vase. She said she had a small one already, so a medium one would be helpful. The problem? I had
Lessons from Improv
A few months ago I found myself at an event where we did an improv exercise to combat the post-lunch slump. In addition to helping everyone stay awake after a tasty meal, the goal of the activity was to show the power of communication. The only problem was that my
ECRs: What’s in a name?
Dan Allwood and I agree about most things when it comes to clear communication and writing a competitive grant proposal. Dan likes to joke that we speak with one voice, like the Borg. However, there is one thing that we don’t exactly see eye to eye on. The term “early
ACEING ACADEMIA: Week 4 Review
Please note: The ACEing Academia series was originally published on LinkedIn. Each category is represented by a suite from playing cards to reflect the “ACEing” theme, with each week ending with a brief review There is no such thing as a perfect grant proposal (or academic paper). But there are things that you
ACEING ACADEMIA #16: Be Consistent
A competitive grant proposal is clear, credible, and compelling. When it comes to ACEing Academia and avoiding common errors in communication, there is another C to add to the mix. Consistency. Applicants must ensure that their proposal (or paper) is consistent from beginning to end. This includes the format used
ACEING ACADEMIA #15: Avoid Extremely Long Sentences
The problem highlighted by this next ACEing Academia tip is an incredibly common way researchers tend to write which, in turn, has a tendency to make the reader grumpy because the sentence can go on and on so the reader is unsure how it began and what the main point
ACEING ACADEMIA #14: Avoid Needlessly Complex Language
Beyond using more words than necessary (ACEing Academia #10), it’s not unusual for researchers to fall into the trap of sesquipedalianism. What is sesquipedalianism you ask? It’s using long (and often obscure) words in speech or writing. The literal definition combines “sesqui” (one and a half) and “ped” (foot) to
ACEING ACADEMIA #13: Use Appropriate Evidence
Most of the tips I’ve been sharing as part of the ACEing Academia series can be used beyond grant proposals: throwing them into any type of academic writing will result in greater clarity for everyone involved. However, this next piece of advice is perhaps the most proposal-specific recommendation so far.
SUPER TROUPER: Who (or what) is in the spotlight?
🎵 Tonight the super trouper lights are gonna find me🎶 Shining like the sun (super trouper)🎵 Smiling, having fun (super trouper)🎶 Feeling like a number one (Apologies in advance for the earworm.) Did you know that a super trouper is a type of spotlight? I only learned this recently myself,
ACEING ACADEMIA: Week 3 Review
Please note: The ACEing Academia series was originally published on LinkedIn. Each category is represented by a suite from playing cards to reflect the “ACEing” theme, with each week ending with a brief review Am I allowed to say that January is flying by? It certainly feels like that as I look back