Real Academics Blog

Dear Real Academics, You may or may not have heard of The Minimalists  (but it's more likely you have at least heard about them since they currently have an audience of 20 million viewers!). Joshua and Ryan's story has, for several years, intrigued me. Despite having high paying jobs and lots and lots of material things, they both craved meaning and a sense of freedom from the weight of work stress and material things to manage. So, they made radical life changes leading to becoming The Minimalists. You can read more about them in the link above (but first, finish reading below- ha!). What I most like about Joshua and Ryan's version of the minimalistic philosophy is that it focuses, not just on having less  stuff, but on making room for more of what is important.  The question then becomes, what is most important? I don't claim to be a philosopher, but this is a critical life question. Once you answer this question, you then need to ask yourself, "What do I need...

Dear Real Academics, Not too long ago, a friend with great taste recommended we watch Disney's Encanto . (If you have not watched it, I do highly recommend it. The music, animation, colors, and story are fabulous). The animation is set in Colombia, and the characters eat something called "arepas con queso". I know what "con queso" means (i.e., with cheese), but I had never heard of an "arepa." So, you can imagine my delight when I wandered into a bakery this weekend and saw they had arepas!  Arepas are like thick tortilla/biscuits. If you are familiar with Mexican cuisine, they are kind of like gorditas, but not so greasy (or tasty! lol). The closest thing I can think of in terms of American cuisine is like little corn bread you can stuff with ingredients. Here is a picture of my arepa con queso and shredded beef. My point in sharing this bit of new discovery is to share something you've probably heard before: It's good to try new things (given...

Dear Real Academics, This week I wanted to reflect on some practical points I've learned about working with clients seeking assistance with  academic writing and research. Even if you don't have "clients," I think these tips are helpful in working with other academics/people in general, be it peers or students. (1) Be prompt and organized in your communications. People feel more secure when they know they are being heard and recognized and that you have some plan in place. Waiting over a week (or even months -- yes, this has happened to me) for someone to reply to an email request or text may signal that the non-responder simply does not care. (2) Be grateful. It takes a lot of guts to share writing and/or research with someone. Make sure to thank anyone for trusting you with their writing and/or research. And, be grateful that you have something you can share. It is truly a privilege -- at least it is for me -- to teach someone something that I've learned from g...

Dear Real Academics, When my husband was in graduate school, he took a course in the Department of Visualization at Texas A&M University. One of the course topics was about the difference between "looking" and "seeing". I am NO expert, but my understanding of this distinction is that "looking" is a physical act and "seeing" is a mental process of perception. I was reminded of the existence of this conceptual distinction when my husband and I watched a movie based on the life of Louis Wain this weekend ( The Electrical Life of Louis Wain on Amazon Prime with Benedict Cumberbatch in the lead role).  I knew little to nothing about Louis Wain. In a nut shell, I learned how Wain used his creative drawing ability to bring life and humor to readers through drawing cats. He also helped people in Victorian England warm up to the idea of keeping cats as pets (nice!). In the film, Louis' wife at one point compliments him for his ability to "lo...

Dear Real Academics, This past week I was figuratively running. I have a very big project to complete, and I was talking to one person and then to another and trying to put all the pieces together. The problem is, the pieces were stubbornly just not coming together. Needless to say, I was feeling quite frustrated and quite tired.  Has this ever happened to you? You feel as if there is a mad rush to get something done and everyone around you is running and you are running, too, but you feel as if all the effort is not getting you anywhere? I decided to go for a walk with my puppy in the crisp air and warm sunshine. After the walk and some quiet prayer, I understood I needed to:  Stop running.  Stop striving.  Still move forward, but stop rushing.  This understanding was confirmed by one of the project constituents who called and said that maybe I needed to slow down. The confirmation continued with a wise friend from church in his 70's. (Actually, the advice i...

Dear Real Academics, It's the month of "love", and today I want to reflect on feelings. Regardless of what messages exist regarding feelings (e.g., go with your heart; don't trust your feelings), feelings are real and are part of being human. Feelings can also affect our writing and work productivity, so it's helpful to learn ways to manage them. This week I want to talk about some things you can do in the event you are feeling down. Perhaps you've heard some bad news or are going through something difficult -- whatever the reason or length of the issue, how can you still be productive and/or restore productivity when feeling down? Photo by Lukas Rychvalsky: https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-standing-near-lake-670720/ Here are four ideas to manage negative emotions and keep up productivity: (1) Go for a walk/move. Weather permitting, go for a walk (or run). Or move somehow. Exercise can help clear the mind and relieve stress associated with negative emotion....

Dear Real Academics, In this post, I want to share three common mistakes I see in academic writing, especially among beginning academic writers. The purpose of doing so is to help you improve your academic writing and/or provide a tool so you can help others. I have frequently made (and still make -- especially when drafting!) these mistakes. Now that I've had more experience as an academic writer, though, I am aware of these common mistakes and know how to fix them. So, whether you are a seasoned academic writer or not, read on; and please share this post with anyone who may benefit from this information. Common Mistake #1:   So and So Says I call this the "so and so says" mistake because it uses the following structure to start a paragraph (and, often, the sentences that follow): "Author and Author (Date) state that...." and "According to Author (Date)...." and "Author (Date) says..." Writing structured in this manner is frankly boring to r...