Theresa MacPhail
Theresa MacPhail is an associate professor in the science and technology studies program at the Stevens Institute of Technology. Browse her previous columns on writing and academic work here.
Stories by this Author
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AdviceSo You Think You Want to Write a Popular Trade Book?
What to know about book proposals, literary agents, and editing if you want to write for a general audience. -
Advice
OK, I Admit It: Productivity Is Overrated
After years of doling out advice on how to get more writing done, an academic has a revelation: Sometimes it’s OK to be lazy. -
Advice
Tell Me a Smart Story: On Podcasts, Videos, and Websites as Writing Assignments
Letting students “write” in nontraditional formats could have a major impact on our classrooms. -
Advice
Are You Assigning Too Much Reading? Or Just Too Much Boring Reading?
Call me unrigorous if you like, but rethinking my assigned-reading lists has reinvigorated my classroom. -
Advice
The Tough-Love Approach to Writing
If you’re in a writing rut, look no further. It’s time for some tough-love advice for motivation. Watch this video to learn how to best use your dedicated writing time. -
Advice
The Tough-Love Approach to Writing
No, doing a little outlining or editing during your “writing time” does not count as writing. -
The Review
Why I Quit Twitter
It was time to stop disguising my social-media surfing as productivity. -
Advice
The ‘So What?’ Question
You may be convinced that your paper has a solid central argument. Here are three ways to tell when it doesn’t. -
Advice
Fictional Truths or Harmless Humor?
A story about academics, social media, empathy, and satire. -
Advice
How to Survive Rejection… Repeatedly
Across all genres of writing, the best advice on coping with the inevitability of rejection seems to be the same.
