Practical guidance for researchers who feel stuck, overloaded, uncertain, or delayed with writing, publishing, PhD work, supervision, or academic career decisions.
The articles below help you move from confusion to clarity — with structured, experience-based support rather than productivity pressure.
Explore practical tools, frameworks, diagnostics, and real academic writing guidance used by researchers across disciplines.
Choose the situation that best matches where you are right now. Each short tool helps you clarify the problem, reduce uncertainty, and identify a practical next step.
Define your paper focus, create a working structure, and identify your next writing step.
Decide whether your manuscript is ready to submit — or what still needs work.
Identify whether your current support system is helping your PhD progress or holding it back.
Often, we’ve been asked “What can I do to increase the chances of my paper getting accepted?” Many might think you should add more references from important people, present a super-cool new method, or be in the lucky position to base...
If you wonder whether joining an online writing community is for you, we are here to help you understand what you can expect from such a community. If you cannot find a suitable writing group and want to create your own community that...
Have you considered looking for a writing buddy for your next paper? Are you wondering about the potential benefit of having someone to talk to when crafting your manuscript? Here, we provide four reasons why it can be...
Just before the festive season, we wonder: what if Santa started a PhD position in your department? What kind of experience would he have? Why would he want to do it, and would there be anything we can learn from Santa as a fellow PhD...
Are you among those who tend to postpone career planning until later? Until you have only a few months or weeks till your current contract ends? We know that it’s not easy to map out the unknown path after your PhD completion, or once...
Take a moment and think about the following: What kind of contracts have you been working under in the past as a Doctoral Candidate, Junior Researcher, or Postdoc? How long have you been funded at a time, and how often were you...
Do you want to know how to write a perfect paper? What does a perfect paper look like? What is it doing differently? How is it written? And what topics should such a paper cover? Is it written by a genius? In this post, we will shed...
Not sure whom to include as (co-)author on a journal paper? Don’t know what defines authorship on a paper? Many rumors and reasons why someone should be an author on a paper seem to go around. Let’s get rid of the myths, and instead...
Is writing a journal paper high up on your agenda? Then one of the first questions to clarify is what you’re going to write about. What is the topic of your paper? We know identifying a topic can sometimes be a painful process....
Get to know what is behind Gunther’s drive to teach researchers how to write journal papers successfully. Find out what language, writing and creating a text means for him, and what the ups and downs in his scientific writing career...
With a PhD or a Postdoc in your bag, you’ve got many options for your career: You can stay on the academic path, or look for a job in the private or public sector. Many PhD candidates and Postdocs find it hard to make up their mind and...
It’s celebration time in the Smart Academics Blog office, as we mark post #100. On this special occasion, we want to put the success of some of our previous students centre stage! Here, we’ll celebrate five researchers who successfully...
Are you experiencing writing problems? Feeling uncomfortable when thinking about dissertation writing? Don’t let the mild symptoms of writing anxiety turn into something bigger! What might start as just low motivation can soon lead to...
Are you experiencing problems with your PhD supervisor? Are you not receiving the support you need, or have you been exposed to misconduct? Have you thought about changing your supervisor for some time, but can’t make up your mind? Are...
Experiencing set-backs is inevitable during a PhD project. But it’s how you deal with these that can make all the difference. Here, we’ll teach you how to turn your set-backs into growth, and get your PhD project back on the...
Are you afraid that you will be accused of plagiarising ideas from other researchers in your paper? Are you worried that someone else is using your work without referencing it? In this post, learn what plagiarism is and how you can...
Are you going to present your research to an audience soon? Do you want to deliver a great talk that your audience will remember? Whether you’re presenting face-to-face in front of a live audience, or delivering a virtual talk at an...
Are you going on a (summer) holiday this year? Really? You dare leave your desk and unfinished work behind? You plan to just stop working for a couple of weeks—in the middle of the year? Leaving your data unattended? Braveheart! You’re...
I recently got an e-mail from a postdoc after my course ‘How to apply for an academic staff position.’ She asked whether or not I thought it would be meaningful to set up a LinkedIn profile at her career stage in conjunction with her...
In this post, Jonathan, a doctoral researcher in human geography, provides valuable insights on how his scientific writing is stimulated by his reading. He suggests working with content blocks to build papers, and encourages you to be...
Do you know the journal you want to submit your next paper to? Or are you struggling to find the right journal? Is it hard to decide which option to choose? Or do you wonder whether there is an appropriate journal for your paper at...
If you regularly hear colleagues talking about things like Impact Factor, SJR, SNIP, CiteScore, or Google Scholar Metrics but don’t fully understand what these mean—we can help you. Here we provide a quick guide to the most relevant...
Have you been asked to review a paper for a journal? Or have your colleagues asked you for a friendly review of their manuscript? In both cases, you want to deliver a thoughtful review report that is helpful and constructive. In this...
(How-we-write series no. 2) In this post, Nico, a PhD candidate in Glaciology, reports how the COVID19 lockdown has taught him a more satisfying way to write papers. From being scared of deadlines and rushing to write papers in...
Many PhD candidates are suffering from isolation due to COVID-19 related restrictions. Whether this means you can’t travel, can’t meet other PhDs, friends or family, or you can’t even access your institute or lab – most PhD...
(How-we-write series no. 1) In this post, Zoe, a researcher, reports a fascinating story about her stance on academic writing. Starting from a position of dissatisfaction with her writing method, she discovered a regular writing...
Are you like Hanna, one of our course participants, who asked herself how she could structure her PhD work days? Are you looking for any proven strategies how and when to plan your days? In this blogpost, we show you 6 steps for...
Is your PhD work not running quite as smoothly as you wish? It may be down to one or more unproductive habits or attitudes you have unknowingly adopted. Here, we’ll describe how a lack of focus, lack of initiative, loss of control, or...
Are you in the process of switching jobs? Is your PhD coming to an end and you’re eyeing that first postdoc position? Or preparing yourself for an advanced research position, or becoming an assistant professor? Due to ongoing...
Do you feel that some of your time is wasted with pointless activities? Wishing you could make better use of your working hours to move your research and your career forward? Here, we discuss the most common time-wasters for...
Are you missing out on encounters with your PhD supervisors while working off-campus? Feeling more lonely, and low in motivation to progress with your work? Why not arrange more encounters in an online-space? We suggest two great...
The co-authorship of supervisors on papers of their PhD students is a hot topic in academia. Should they be included or not? All sorts of rules, conventions, and rumours seem to exist. Let’s clarify a few of them here! 1. Why...
2 February 2021, by TRESS ACADEMIC Many authors struggle with paper-writing because there are a few crucial decisions they haven’t made before they begin.Then, everything seems difficult and complicated, and it feels like you...
When working with co-authors on a joint paper, the order of authors as listed on the paper needs to be set. Naturally, several authors might want to claim the prestigious first position as theirs. If you feel that it should be you who...
Do you need a new academic position any time soon? Here, we help you by breaking down this major task into three phases, and give you a time-line according to which you can organise your own job search. From preparing a cover letter to...
This year was different, and the festive season will be quite different as well! In earlier years, the free days during the holiday season gave loads of possibilities to meet friends, visit concerts, cinemas, and museums, to pop into...
2020 has shown us all how important it is to have good friends that help and motivate us when needed. With the festive season just around the corner, you may wonder “What can I give to my best academic friend?” Should it be something...
Is dissertation writing high on your list of things to do, but you just have no time to write? Do you think it might be too early in your PhD to get started on writing the dissertation? Here, we present five common excuses for why...
Are you uncertain if you are ready to submit your PhD dissertation? Or hesitant to wrap up your work and move your project to the finish line? You might be stuck in the wrong mind-set, or not sure if you’ve enough material, or simply...
Do you feel overwhelmed by the amount of tasks waiting for you? No idea what to turn to first? We’ll help you gain clarity over your endless list of PhD tasks, and decide what is most important to focus on. Let us help you regain...
Do you struggle to maintain a private life while studying for a PhD degree? Is your PhD expanding indefinitely at the expense of everything else? We know how it feels to be overworked and out of balance. In this post we show you 6 ways...
If you’re not a regular participant in video conferences or live video-based online courses, you might wonder what are the dos and don’ts of these classes? We’ve taught hundreds of participants in our live-online courses held on Zoom,...
Do you look for excellence in every piece of work you do? Do you want to write the perfect email, the perfect paper, the perfect job application? In this blog post, we tell you why it is sometimes better to go with a less perfect...
Are you aware of how much a good co-supervisor can influence your PhD process? Did you know that many PhD students can add co-supervisors throughout their PhD? Not sure who you should pick? Here, we outline the process for finding the...
13 October 2020, by TRESS ACADEMIC Writing productivity is at the heart of your academic performance. If you want to be a good academic scholar, recognised by peers, and have an impact on your research field and society, being a...
Are you sitting in front of your laptop with the best intentions to write your paper, but it just isn’t happening? You just don’t get anything written? You’re getting frustrated and angry about your lack of productivity, and this...
What is the worst thing that can happen to your paper? Getting rejected? Oh yes, this is a scary thought and you don’t want it to happen to you. But being frightened of the process and scared of the outcome of peer-review doesn’t bring...
If you struggle with writing a paper, we’ve got some help for you. Here, we show you how to optimise your writing environment, writing process, and the paper itself so that it will be far easier to produce your paper. You will see that...
Musicians do it, athletes do it, actors do it: They exercise the skills they need to perform well in their jobs. Writing is a skill as well. If you want to become a prolific scientific writer, you need to train your writing muscle....
As a newbie in the journal publishing world, you might have many questions on writing a paper and getting it published. Here, we list short answers to 20 common questions that PhDs and Early-Career Researchers often have before they...
