Does “play a role” still play a role in your writing? : eloquentscience.com

Ever seen these phrases in science writing?

X plays a role in Y
X plays a key role in Y
X plays a secondary role in Y

Why is this construction often vague and what can be done to improve it?

Make your writing more concise and precise.

eloquentscience.com/2026/02/does...

#AcWriMo #scicomm

Cut, Paste, Create: Using Zines for Academic Writing I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how we approach academic writing – and more specifically, how much of the writing process happens away from the keyboard. During a recent works…

Another blog post - from one of my #AcWriMo workshops. All about using Zines to help with your academic writing stephaniezihms.blog/2025/12/02/c... @thesiswhisperer.bsky.social @roseychang.bsky.social @drhelenkara.bsky.social

#AcWriMo Starting a bit late for a December-long writing focus, but catching up on writing at least 250 words/day. Today's count: 534 so far on a food scientist's experiment with custard pie and rats to prove pie is good food.

The #AcWriMo focus was on academic writing. But we share news about research in other ways too! How about interactive documentary videos? Storytelling and social fiction? Learn more, find examples in this new post on my Substack newsletter, When the Field is Online! tinyurl.com/yc4pbyyj

Happy Tuesday! I’m thoroughly enjoying a magical, unicorn day of no meetings 🤩For Day 2 of my make-up #AcWriMo ⬇️, I already made progress on a grant proposal and reviewed 2 manuscript drafts. Taking a real break for lunch 😋 then more writing. Who else is having a productive day? #AcademicSky

Text reads: My unpublished papers from a previous project getting together with the unpublished ones from a new project. Image: the teenage mutant ninja turtles shaking hands with the power rangers

#AcWriMo might be over but the academia / writing / research memes continue. A familiar vibe for many of us, I imagine... #academicsky #academicchatter #PhDchat #resdev #highered

Last day of #AcWriMo and I finished half of my goals this month. I met some of my 3rd goal and finished the revisions to the introduction and Chapter One of my book Gendering the Saeima. We have been snowed in so sadly no coffee pics this weekend but my dog Scarlett doesn't seem to mind! 📚

a cartoon drawing of a person using a laptop with the words write written around them ALT: a cartoon drawing of a person using a laptop with the words write written around them

Happy Thanksgiving break, #AcademicSky! Hope you’re getting well-deserved rest. We were halfway through November before I realized that I made (and abandoned) #AcWriMo plans - wrote a lot, but not on what I intended to. Trying again for December. Anyone up to join an AcWriMo redo? #Acwri 

So. The dismal finish to my #AcWriMo adventure. I think I recognised last Friday that this was not going to happen for me and just stopped making the time for it this week. There have been legitimate claims on me every day, and the pockets where I could write, my motivation was absolutely drained.

Four images of Taika Waititi, each with part of a quote that reads: "Sometimes, writing is opening up your laptop, looking at a blank page on 'final draft' for about 8 hours and then feeling sad and then closing it. And that's still classified as writing."

If you've had any tough days during #AcWriMo, I highly recommend adopting Taika Waititi's expansive classification system for writing. Another handy tip from the academia / writing / research meme stash. #PhDchat #academicsky #academicchatter #highered

Might have gone a little overboard with my Ukrainian chocolate reward for finishing our article as part of #AcWriMo. Made a quick trip out to the Ukrainian Village in Chicago during our free afternoon for Model UN and also got varenyky and medovik for dinner from the deli! 🇺🇦

Completed a few #AcWriMo revisions to my book manuscript Gendering the Saeima while traveling with students for Model UN. I had a lot of fires to put out this trip but I am almost done revising the introduction. Every bit of progress is one step closer to getting this book published! 🇱🇻

Kathleen Volk Miller, author of "Teaching Writing Through Journaling," shares her best writing advice for #AcWriMo. ✍️

Find resources: https://bit.ly/4qAtftU

#WritingTips #Writers

Need weekly writing inspiration? Sign up for the free newsletter at ChristinaGessler.Substack.Com
#AcademicSky #BookSky #5AMWriters #AcWriMo

Heya! Checking in! How’s #AcWriMo going for ya?

Heya! Checking in! How’s #AcWriMo going for ya?

Shout out to anyone else working on edits this #AcWriMo - and a great chance to share one of my fave #resdev cartoons from the academic / writing / research meme stash. #academicsky #academichatter #PhDchat 🎈

Goal for #AcWriMo week 4:

*Paper 1 reviewer comments are DONE ✅
*Discussion section Paper 2 still ongoing! 😮‍💨

"Talking to Writers" author Dean Nelson shares his best writing advice for #AcWriMo.

📚 How do you get writing inspiration? 💙

#Writers #WritingCommunity

This week: two goose eggs and minimal words down on "productive" days, but there was good reading and note taking. #AcWriMo

Could not love this more. 😍 And I can't believe I was wearing mine at the same time. And @jod999.bsky.social is wearing his today (Day 2 of the retreat)! #AcWriMo

Vibes for day three of a three day writing retreat. #AcWriMo #highered #academicsky #academicchatter #PhDchat

Did not check in for the morning coal face - maybe worried about jinxing myself? But amidst other tasks, also got 403 words down plus 850 in notes on a book I was reading that will need to be included in the project. Feels a bit more like progress. #AcWriMo

Person sitting on a plane, writing something on a laptop. They are wearing headphones and tucked under the headphones is a handwritten sign on bright orange paper that says: "Please do not talk to me. I have no self control and will talk to you the whole flight and I really have to finish this paper. Thank you.

Mentioned this pic to our writing retreat folks, yesterday. A good option for trying to write in shared office spaces, too! 😅(alternatively, put a post-it on your own forehead if you are - like me - your own biggest distraction) #AcWriMo #highered #academicsky #academicchatter #PhDchat

It's day two of a three-day writing retreat and this morning I'm feeling very AcWriMoNious! With huge thanks to @tseenster.bsky.social 🙌 #AcWriMo #highered #academicchatter #academicsky #phdchat

Wondering why I bother. 138 words up, and they were tough ones. Plus all the jigsaw piece moving and staring at the screen, one hand stroking my beard. #AcWriMo

How's your #AcWriMo going? For some extra motivation, explore our collection of writing books, author tips and more!

📚 https://bit.ly/4qAtftU 💡

#Writers #WritingTips

Next on my #AcWriMo goals list are the revisions to my book Gendering the Saeima: The Politics of Women's Representation in #Latvia. The reviews came back a few weeks ago and they were mostly favorable so now I get to start the long revision process on Latvian independence day! 🇱🇻

Returning to the chair as the new day starts, building on nothing from the day before but trying again. I'm not sure what the public accountability edge of #AcWriMo is giving me in terms of this specific project, but these posts are at least a log of what an academic's work life looks like.

Day 1 of a 3-day writing retreat down! Did I end up singing the theme to super mario bros to everyone left in attendance for the wrap up reflections. Yes, yes I did. #AcWriMo