The Researchers' Writing Podcast

Thanks for tuning in for another episode of the Researchers’ Writing Podcast! I often ask researchers which section they find hardest to write and the section that is named most often is the Introduction section! I hear things like “My introductions are very long and generic and I end up with lots of references.” or “I find it difficult to write succinct paragraphs.” or “I overexplain and my Introductions are loooooong.” I think a lot of researchers aren’t using the Introduction section effectively and so that’s why today I want to talk you through the 7 mistakes I find scientific authors make when writing the Introduction section for their research paper. In this episode, I’ll talk about: (02:10) What researchers struggle with in Introduction sections (04:35) Mistake 1: Not including the element of tension (09:25) Mistake 2: The Introduction section is too long (14:00) Mistake 3: The paragraphs are too long (16:40) Mistake 4: The sentences are too long (20:05) Free writing training at researcherswritingpodcast.com/free (21:05) Mistake 5: The first sense of your Introduction section is boring (23:50) Mistake 6: There’s no flow in your Introduction section (26:40) Mistake 7: Using too many synonyms in your Introduction section (31:08) Listener question: Are longer or shorter blocks of writing time better? Podcast host: Anna Clemens, PhD Video and audio editing: Jason Rivera Join our free training to learn more about the Journal Publication Formula at researcherswritingpodcast.com/free. Get tips on how to write every section of your paper and increase your chances of getting published in top-tier journals.

In this episode, I’m talking to Geetika Chauhan who is a PhD student at the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw and a member of the Researchers’ Writing Academy. Geetika works in the field of geophysics and joined the Academy because, as she told me, both she and her PI got fed up when she was on the tenth draft of her first journal article with no end in sight. After she joined our academic writing program she started with a fresh draft and after just two rounds of revisions and two months’ work in total, her PI approved and submitted the paper. Geetika talks about how she was concerned that this course would just join the pile of other online courses she had bought and never looked at. But how – once she was a member – she was surprised by the engaged community, which helped her to actually take and implement the course. (01:10) Introducing Geetika Chauhan (03:20) Geetika’s struggles before joining the Researchers’ Writing Academy (RWA) (06:01) Geetika’s concerns before she joined the program (07:45) What helped keep Geetika engaged and committed to the program (10:32) Free training for researchers (go to researcherswritingpodcast.com/free) (12:18) How Geetika’s feelings Geetika around writing have changed (14:22) Geetika’s favourite part of the RWA Podcast host: Anna Clemens, PhD Video and audio editing: Jason Rivera If you’re interested to join the Researchers’ Writing Academy and learn how to develop a structured writing process to get published in top-tier journals time-efficiently, then I highly recommend watching my free writing training as the first step at: researcherswritingpodcast.com/free.

Welcome back! This is part 3 of our 3-part mini-series on making time to take an academic writing course. In part 1 of the series (Episode 7), we talked about looking at deeper reasons (limiting beliefs and unhelpful stories you tell yourself) for why you’re not making time to take a writing course. In part 2 (Episode 8), we looked at actionable strategies you can employ today to carve out time to take a writing course. In this part 3 of the series, we are going to look at practical techniques that will help you supercharge your motivation once you enrolled in a writing course such as the Researchers’ Writing Academy. You’ll get more out of any course that you signed up using these motivation-boosting techniques and also it will also be way more fun!  Thank you to all the Researchers’ Writing Academy members who let me share their examples and experiences in this episode. Good luck with getting your whole brain aligned and making time and freeing up energy to take a writing course!  In this episode, I’ll talk about:  (01:00) Recap of part 1 and part 2 of this series (02:55) Technique #1: Keep your “why” top of mind (06:05) Technique #2: Incorporate learning into existing routine (habit stacking) (11:50) Technique #3: Stack taking lessons with writing (13:23) Free writing training at researcherswritingpodcast.com/free (14:20) Technique #4: Accountability and community (19:58) Technique #5: Dedicate a notebook to the course  (22:46) Technique #6: Turn taking the course into a ritual (29:29) Listener question: Can I use the Journal Publication Formula for writing my dissertation?  Podcast host: Anna Clemens, PhD Video and audio editing: Jason Rivera And if you’re ready to invest your time and energy into acquiring the skill of writing papers for top-tier journals time-efficiently, then I highly recommend checking out my free writing training: researcherswritingpodcast.com/free.

In today’s episode we’ll continue our mini-series on making time to take a writing course with part 2 out of 3 parts in total. Even if you aren’t planning on taking an academic writing course or program such as the Researchers’ Writing Academy right now, the strategies I’m sharing today are so universal, they will help you carve out time for other things too. Maybe you struggle to find time to write? Whatever you want to carve out time for, you’re in the right place. In the last episode, I introduced you to a technique to look a bit deeper into why you may be procrastinating on investing in your writing. Today, I want to share 7 proven and actionable strategies that have helped other researchers just like you to make time to invest in taking an academic writing course. I know, I know, it feels like you really don’t have a minute to spare to do anything else but the work you already have on your plate. If you don’t feel like you have enough time to take a writing program, then you’re not alone. It’s in fact the most common reason researchers give us for why they aren’t enrolling in the Researchers’ Writing Academy, our online academic writing program. BUT without investing time, you won’t learn the skill of writing a compelling paper that stands a chance to get published in a top-tier journal. And without investing time, you won’t learn a new writing process that will make writing a paper so fast that you can submit your paper in 8 weeks or less after analysing your data. Here’s what I’ll be talking about in this episode: (02:45) No time to join a program? (08:50) Strategy #1: Be clear on your priorities (11:21) Strategy #2: Time blocking (14:15) Strategy #3: Decrease frequency of regular meetings (17:01) Strategy #4: Reduce your email load (24:44) Free writing training at researcherswritingpodcast.com/free (25:47) Strategy #5: Stop or strictly limit using social media and set personal boundaries (28:54) Strategy #6: Time and energy tracking (31:54) Strategy #7: Say “no” more! (36:50) Listener question: How do I start tackling a drawer full of half-finished manuscripts? Podcast host: Anna Clemens, PhD Video and audio editing: Jason Rivera Want to dive deeper? We have a free training on how to write clear, concise, and compelling papers from start to finish using a structured and time-efficient writing process. Head over to researcherswritingpodcast.com/free to save your spot now!

I know, I know, you have SO much on your plate as an academic, especially if you are an Assistant Professor, that writing papers is often pushed to the evenings and weekends. Because all those other tasks and projects come with deadlines and have other people waiting or depending on you. Whereas for taking professional development to uplevel your writing skills or for actually writing papers, there often isn’t any external accountability – let alone deadlines. The problem is: When we don’t somehow make time to develop our writing skills, our writing won’t change. We won’t learn how to get published in top-tier journals. And we won’t learn how to make the process of writing take less time. So it’s a matter of investing time now to save time in the future and to get published consistently for the rest of your career. I think the strategy to make time for both learning how to write and the writing itself is three-fold: 1) developing intrinsic motivation, 2) learning actionable strategies to implement in your work week and 3) supercharging your motivation with practical techniques. Today, we’re tackling the first part of the equation: how you can ignite your intrinsic motivation! And in the following two episodes, we will dive deeper into the other two parts. Intrinsic motivationIt’s a topic that I think we don’t talk about enough. Having motivation to do something is incredibly powerful because once you have it, you aren’t relying on external forces like deadlines or other people to make time to (learn how to) write. I would go so far to say that when you are intrinsically motivated to do both, you will become unstoppable! When we really want to do something, we make it happen, we find pockets in our schedule, and we manage to not burn out because it energises us!  In this episode, I’m sharing an amazing reflection technique I learned from leadership advisor and author Victoria Song that will help you become aware of more subconscious blocks that are currently keeping you from investing in your writing. In the listener question segment, I answer the question how to know when to publish in a mid-tier journal and when to aim for a top-tier journal. Happy listening!  In this episode, I’ll talk about: (01:30) Not having enough time to write (03:50) Importance of investing in your writing skills (04:55) Strategies to make time to develop your writing skills (09:42) Free writing training at researcherswritingpodcast.com/free (10:34) Practical 2-step exercise to overcome your writing-related blocks  (18:45) Listener question: Top-tier vs. mid-tier publishing Book mentioned: Bending Reality: How to Make the Impossible Probable” by Victoria Podcast host: Anna Clemens, PhD Video and audio editing: Jason Rivera Ready to invest in your writing skills? We got you! We recommend taking our free video training that gives you the birds-eye view of the Journal Publication Formula at researcherswritingpodcast.com/free.

In this episode, we are talking about my very favourite subject: Storytelling – and how to do that in a scientific paper. You have probably had someone say to you at some point: “your paper should tell a convincing story”. But… what does that actually mean? “Story” stands for so many different things: Re-telling an anecdote, the plot of films, movies, books, or making something up. What “story” means in the context of scientific papers is hardly ever defined, which leads to both an impossible to reach goal post and misunderstandings. One of those misunderstandings is that telling a story in your research paper equals packaging weak or irrelevant data in pretty wrapping paper and putting a ribbon on top –  or in other words, overselling a study by hiding behind fancy words, flowery language and a narrative. But that’s not what I’m about to teach you. I’ll show you a framework that uses storytelling in a way that makes your paper easier to read by getting across to your reader why they should care about your research WITHOUT overstating its importance. Storytelling may also seem childish to you and imply having to oversimplify your research. Shouldn’t the focus of writing a scientific paper be using precise and and accurate language instead of creating a page-turner? Well, the Scientific Storytelling Framework I’m guiding you through in this episode will help you do both: It won’t help you to dumb it down but to spell it out! Timestamps: (01:50) Defining storytelling in research papers (03:08) Common misconceptions and myths surrounding storytelling in academic papers (08:00) Problems I see in scientific papers (10:10) The Scientific Storytelling Framework (or see it in this (17:48) Free writing training at (18:42) Applying the Scientific Storytelling Framework to your paper (24:53) Listener question: How can I avoid self-doubt and procrastination in research and writing? Podcast host: Anna Clemens, PhD Video and audio editing: Jason Rivera If you’re interested to join the Researchers’ Writing Academy and learn how to develop a structured writing process to get published in top-tier journals time-efficiently, then I highly recommend watching my free writing training at: as the first step.

In this episode, I’m talking to Dr Kate McAlpine who is an alumna of the Researchers’ Writing Academy! Kate is a pracademic – which means she’s both an academic and a practitioner – and her work is centered around preventing violence against children.  We talk about what she got out of the Researchers’ Writing Academy, which elements of the program (it’s comprehensive, you know!) made the biggest difference to her and how she made time to take the program. It’s a must listen if you are considering becoming a member! If you would like to learn more about Kate’s very important work, please check out the links below:  https://www.drkatemcalpine.co.uk/  https://www.citizens4change.net/  https://www.connectgo.co.uk/  (01:10) Introducing Dr Kate McAlpine (04:50) Kate’s struggles before joining the Researchers’ Writing Academy (RWA) (07:08) How did you approach starting the program inside the RWA? (08:30) Kate’s concerns before she joined the program (09:45) What has changed for Kate since she joined the RWA (12:30) Changing the feelings Kate had around writing (16:30) Kate’s experience with co-writing sessions (18:00) Getting papers published and Kate’s writing output (20:00) Favourite aspects of the RWA (22:00) Recommendations on who the RWA is for and things to consider if you’re thinking about joining the RWA (27:13) Free training for researchers (go to ) (28:13) Listener question: Is the process for writing qualitative papers and quantitative papers (or even mixed methods papers) different? Podcast host: Anna Clemens, PhD Video and audio editing: Jason Rivera If you’re interested to join the Researchers’ Writing Academy and learn how to develop a structured writing process to get published in top-tier journals time-efficiently, then I highly recommend watching my free writing training as the first step at:

As most researchers, you are probably either already using ChatGPT and friends to help you with your academic writing or you are wondering if you should! In this episode, I’m sharing my view on using generative AI to write scientific papers – which is (spoiler alert!) probably a bit more critical than what you normally hear. I’m analysing the 3 central hopes, or goals, that we have for generative AI when it comes to writing scientific papers: 1) saving us time, 2) increasing the quality of our writing, and 3) enhancing our creativity. And I have a bit of a hot take on what I think scientists and researchers should focus their time and energy on. 🔥 But I’m not saying to completely avoid using generative AI! To me, the question is more what to use it for and how to use it. So, at the end of the episode, I’m leaving you with 8 specific recommendations for using generative AI in your writing and research. In this episode, I cover: (2:00) Definitions of generative AI and LLMs (4:15) The hopes/goals of why we use generative AI for science writing (6:28) My views, warnings, and analysing those hopes/goals of why we use generative AI when writing (21:51) Free training for researchers (go to researcherswritingpodcast.com/free) (22:52) My recommendations on how to use generative AI (29:03) Listener question: Should I send a pre-submission inquiry to the journal editor before submitting my article? Podcast host: Anna Clemens, PhD Video and audio editing: Jason Rivera And if you’re ready to invest your time and energy into acquiring the skill of writing papers for top-tier journals time-efficiently, then I highly recommend checking out my free writing training: researcherswritingpodcast.com/free

This episode is for all you non-native English speakers (those who have English as their second, third, fourth… language) who struggle with writing papers in English. You may have massive imposter syndrome (that maybe has been fueled by feedback you’ve gotten from reviewers) and you don’t feel confident writing at all. This episode is also for you native English speakers (who have English as their first language). You too might be struggling with writing papers even though you speak English in your daily life, have gone through school, college, university in English. You feel like writing papers should be fast for you but instead it takes you a long time to organise your thoughts and your data into something coherent. In the end, you might not be happy with what you produce and you may end up getting rejected more often than not. Whether English is your first or second language, in this episode, I want to invite you to shift your writing mindset. The writing struggles you are experiencing may not have all that much to do with your English language proficiency. Which means: You might be trying to solve the entirely wrong writing problem. (01:20) Are you a non-native English speaker? (05:10) My hot take about writing papers as a non-native English speaker (or native English speaker!) (07:25) 3 writing skills I find more important than being a native English speaker (08:20) Free video training for researchers (go to researcherswritingpodcast.com/free) (09:16) Learning how to efficiently and effectively structure your paper (12:35) Listener question: How can I write during times of teaching and admin load? Podcast host: Anna Clemens, PhD Video and audio editing: Jason Rivera Whether English is your first or second language, this free writing training was created for you: researcherswritingpodcast.com/free

If you’re struggling with the writing process to produce a scientific paper, you are not alone! The most common issues I see researchers have with the process of writing papers are that: a) they don’t know where to start (and then start with the wrong thing), b) they procrastinate because they aren’t sure what the exact steps of the writing process are (so that writing becomes an emotionally draining task because we keep second-guessing ourselves), c) the writing process is highly inefficient because of a lot of back and forth with co-authors (and editing nightmares like that don’t only waste time but also drain your energy and morale) Luckily, there actually is a much better, more efficient and more enjoyable way to write papers and I’ll walk you through the process step by step in this episode. It’s the exact same process I’m teaching inside the Researchers’ Writing Academy, our online academic writing program. And our members confirm: This 4-step streamlined writing process is a game changer! We are also introducing a new segment: the listener question! Today, I answer the question of what you can do when you just don’t feel motivated to write. Happy listening! In this episode, I’ll go through: (01:25) Struggles Researchers have while writing (10:35) Step 1: Develop the story (14:18) Step 2: Outline for flow (19:05) Free video training for researchers (go to ) (19:52) Step 3: Write clearly and concisely (28:06) Step 4: Package for publication (32:34) Listener question: What do you do when you’re not motivated to write? Podcast host: Anna Clemens, PhD Video and audio editing: Jason Rivera Join our free training to learn more about the Journal Publication Formula at . Get tips on how to work with co-authors, manage your writing process, and increase your chances of getting published in top-tier journals.

Welcome to the very first episode of the Researchers’ Writing Podcast! Researchers are expected to write scientific articles fit for top-tier journals with little or no training. Whether you’re struggling with desk-rejection, aren’t reaching wide audiences or would like to write papers that actually get read, then this episode is for you! I outline the five most common and severe mistakes researchers make when writing scientific research articles. By avoiding these pitfalls, you will make your writing clearer, more concise and more compelling! In other words, you’ll create an article that is logical to read, well structured and that presents a clear and coherent story around your data. In this episode, I cover: (05:55) Mistake #1: Neglecting the element of tension (08:21) Mistake #2: Ignoring the broader impact of your findings (11:20) Free training for researchers (go to ) (12:30) Mistake #3: A too brief discussion (15:40) Mistake #4: Lacking flow (19:05) Mistake #5: Using unnecessarily complicated language Podcast host: Anna Clemens, PhD Video and audio editing: Jason Rivera Want to dive deeper? We have a free training on how to write clear, concise, and compelling papers from start to finish using a structured and time-efficient writing process. Head over to to save your spot now!

Introducing, the Researchers' Writing Podcast. Hosted by Anna Clemens, PhD, this podcast is for all researchers in the sciences who want to write clear, concise and compelling papers time-efficiently so you can publish your research in a calm and steady way. In this podcast, we talk both about how we can write higher quality papers and how to make the process of writing less hard. Stay tuned for our first release of episodes coming in the next couple weeks!