Pat Thomson (@patthomson.bsky.social)

Pat Thomson

@patthomson.bsky.social

Academic, educator, silversmith. Researching arts ed, school change, leaders work. Patter academic writing blog - Patthomson.net. Semi-retired. Working part-time @ U Nottingham & U South Australia. #FAcSS

3.5K followers 1.5K following198 posts

Pat Thomson

@patthomson.bsky.social

So how many academics does it take to change a light bulb? And what does this have to do with making a claim about research results? patthomson.net/2026/10/18/t...

patthomson.netthe lightbulb testI’ve got a soft spot for academic writing jokes. Here’s one. How many academics does it take to change a lightbulb? The hedger: “This paper tentatively suggests that, within the li…

Pat Thomson

@patthomson.bsky.social

3 Sept

This week on patter. Three playful ways to deal with a fierce inner critic. patthomson.net/2026/09/02/w...

patthomson.netwrite with the criticism you’re afraid ofWhat do you do if you have a bit of a writing block? Sometimes not being able to generate a sentence is the problem. But just as often it’s not – you have the ideas but something else is st…

Pat Thomson

@patthomson.bsky.social

23 Aug

This week on patter I’ve written about rereading the things you jot down in your researcher journal patthomson.net/2026/08/23/d...

patthomson.netdeveloping your research journal jottingsWalter Benjamin works on/with his notebooks Most researchers are told early on to keep a research journal. The journal is a place to record stuff – ideas, possible lines of inquiry, potential…

Pat Thomson

@patthomson.bsky.social

11 Aug

This week a little game about writerly fear of being read patthomson.net/2026/08/11/a...

patthomson.netA writing-without-fear gameDoctoral researchers sometimes suffer from lack of confidence about their writing. They can construct a sentence, a paragraph and a whole chapter. But they have difficulty when they imagine a supe…

Pat Thomson

@patthomson.bsky.social

2 Aug

This week patter has a writing strategy to integrate reflection and reflexivity. patthomson.net/2026/07/30/r...

patthomson.netreflection and reflexivity: a strategy for academic writingI wrote recently about the difference between reflection and reflexivity. Reflection looks back at what you have done and asks what you can learn from it. Reflexivity turns the lens on you, the per…

Pat Thomson

@patthomson.bsky.social

14 July

This week another take on using quotations patthomson.net/2026/07/13/h...

patthomson.netHow to use quotations – ask who is carrying the luggage…“If you’re going to quote other scholars, not as primary sources whose work you mean to analyse, but because they’ve got insights you want to support yours, make sure they’re carr…

Pat Thomson

@patthomson.bsky.social

7 July

I’ve got a bit tired of hearing that nobody at all will read your thesis. patthomson.net/2026/07/07/p...

patthomson.netpeople do read your thesisThat tweet is back. You know the one. A PhD thesis, it says, is the only book in the world read cover to cover by exactly three people: the author, the proofreader, and the examiner. The screenshot…

Pat Thomson

@patthomson.bsky.social

30 June

This week I’m looking at the difference between reflection and reflexivity. patthomson.net/2026/06/30/w...

patthomson.netwhat’s the difference between reflection and reflexivity?When you first started postgraduate study, someone probably told you that you had to be reflexive. You may even have been told to include a section on reflexivity in your thesis. No, you don’t have…

Pat Thomson

@patthomson.bsky.social

21 June

This week I’ve worked on a ROAM strategy for first drafts. It’s a strategy about readers, objectives action and impressions and draws on Bernhoff s Writing without Bullshit. patthomson.net/2026/06/21/r...

patthomson.netROAM: four questions before you draftJosh Bernoff, who wrote Writing Without Bullshit, had a suggestion for anyone about to start drafting. Work out your ROAM first. What’s ROAM I hear you ask? Well, it’s a set of ques…

Pat Thomson

@patthomson.bsky.social

16 June

A playful strategy for reflecting on data analysis decisions patthomson.net/2026/06/15/h...

patthomson.nethave a word or two with your dataWhen we work with our data we have to decide who and what gets to be in the story. A number goes in the table or it doesn’t. A quote earns half a page, a passing mention, or nothing at all. T…

Pat Thomson

@patthomson.bsky.social

7 June

On the importance of revision and learning with George Saunders patthomson.net/2026/06/07/l...

patthomson.netLove your revisionsGeorge Saunders won the Man Booker prize in 2017 with his novel Lincoln in the Bardo. Earlier that year he wrote about his revising process. My method is: I imagine a meter mounted in my forehead, …

Pat Thomson

@patthomson.bsky.social

1 June

A bit of serious fun patthomson.net/2026/06/01/h...

patthomson.netHow to be Reviewer 2Everyone in academia knows Reviewer 2. You ‘ve probably received their comments. You may even in a dark moment, have been them. This post is a practical guide to achieving full Reviewer 2 status. I…

Pat Thomson

@patthomson.bsky.social

25 May

Thinking about your post thesis plan? These three words can help patthomson.net/2026/05/25/k...

patthomson.netKey words – dissemination communication, sharingDoctoral researchers are sometimes asked in their viva what their plans for dissemination are. Gulp. But this is a question worth thinking about. It’s not a trick question. Examiners are genu…

Pat Thomson

@patthomson.bsky.social

18 May

This is a question that’s been bothering me lately patthomson.net/2026/05/18/w...

patthomson.netwho should be checking for AI generated references?Graham Kendall studies academic publishing. He recently ran the numbers on what peer review costs the UK higher education sector. His calculations are worth quoting: “In the UK…

Pat Thomson

@patthomson.bsky.social

10 May

This week Dr Rachel Lehner-Mehr talks about turning her doctoral thesis into a scholarly book patthomson.net/2026/05/10/f...

patthomson.netFrom thesis to monographThis is a guest post written by Dr Rachel Lehner-Mear. She has recently published a book reporting her doctoral research on mothers and primary school homework. There’s nothing quite like holding y…

Pat Thomson

@patthomson.bsky.social

3 May

This week I’m revisiting coherence But in research design patthomson.net/2026/05/03/k...

patthomson.netkey word – coherence in research designCoherence in research design is not the same as coherence in academic writing, although the two are related. Research design coherence is sometimes described through the metaphor of a red thread, o…

Pat Thomson

@patthomson.bsky.social

27 Apr

This week I look at what it means for scholars to write concisely patthomson.net/2026/04/26/k...

patthomson.netkey word – coherence in academic writingGratuitous pic of my dog Ted. A coherent piece of writing is one where the parts connect to the whole. That sounds obvious, but it can be difficult to achieve. That’s partly because the whole is su…

Pat Thomson

@patthomson.bsky.social

20 Apr

This week patter has been reading about knowledge production as place making patthomson.net/2026/04/20/p...

patthomson.netplacemaking and the academic writerI’ve just read a paper about epistemic placemaking. Epistemic placemaking is equipping and arranging places for knowledge work. The paper suggests that students might actively co-design t…

Pat Thomson

@patthomson.bsky.social

12 Apr

What does ‘concise’ mean in academic writing? patthomson.net/2026/04/12/k...

patthomson.netkey word – concisionConcision is not the same as brevity. A short piece of writing can be wasteful with its words, and a long piece can be meaning-full right to the last sentence. Getting concise is about getting clea…

Pat Thomson

@patthomson.bsky.social

6 Apr

Academic writing and procrastination revisited patthomson.net/2026/04/06/i...

patthomson.netin defence of procrastinationProcrastination often gets a bad rap in academic writing advice circles. It’s generally seen as a problem to be managed, a symptom of anxiety or perfectionism. In other words, it’s a pr…

Pat Thomson

@patthomson.bsky.social

30 Mar

This week I’m looking at forwarding, a key aspect of working with literatures patthomson.net/2026/03/30/f...

patthomson.netforwarding – writing with other people’s textsWe’ve probably all read papers where the writer has treated the literature as something to be surveyed and reported. the result often takes the shape of the dreaded laundry list, where the writer p…

Pat Thomson

@patthomson.bsky.social

22 Mar

Where does the idea of writing as thinking come from and what’s it actually mean … patthomson.net/2026/03/22/t...

patthomson.netthe process of writingPeople often refer to writing as thinking without necessarily knowing where and how this idea developed. It is in part from Linda Flower and John Hayes who published a paper in 1981 offering a…

Pat Thomson

@patthomson.bsky.social

16 Mar

Vale Habermas and academic writing patthomson.net/2026/03/15/w...

patthomson.netwhat’s Habermas got to do with academic writing?Jürgen Habermas died on Saturday 14 March, 2026 in Starnberg, near Munich. He was 96. The news has been moving through academic social media in the way these things do, with people sharing half-rem…

Pat Thomson

@patthomson.bsky.social

16 Mar

Vale Habermas and academic writing patthomson.net/2026/03/15/w...

Pat Thomson

@patthomson.bsky.social

8 Mar

Academic writers often feel uncomfortable but that’s often OK Here’s why patthomson.net/2026/03/08/g...

patthomson.netgetting comfortable with being uncomfortableGood academic writing means sitting with a discomfort that never entirely goes away. It’s not a discomfort that comes from having nothing to say. Most of us have more than enough ideas crowding the…

Pat Thomson

@patthomson.bsky.social

2 Mar

Avoid reader déjà vu The difference between abstract and introduction. patthomson.net/2026/03/02/n...

patthomson.netnot an echo chamber: abstract v. introductionImagine a doctoral researcher finishing their introduction. They’ve carefully crafted the opening pages that situate their research question in the existing literature. Then they turn to write the …

Pat Thomson reposted

Toby Greany

@tobygreany.bsky.social

27 Feb

New blogpost announcing launch of our Sustainable School Leadership report: "Without greater attention to sustainable leadership the White Paper vision might never be fully realised." @patthomson.bsky.social @twperry1.bsky.social @uonsoe.bsky.social sustainableschoolleadership.uk/2026/02/27/s...

sustainableschoolleadership.ukSustainable School Leadership Final Report PublishedThis week we have launched the final report from the Sustainable School Leadership research project at the end of our 3 year mixed methods study across England, Northern Ireland and Scotland, funde…

Pat Thomson reposted

Toby Greany

@tobygreany.bsky.social

25 Feb

The final report from the Sustainable School Leadership project is out! A 3-year study across England, Northern Ireland & Scotland, funded by #esrc #educationresearchprogramme Available here: www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/gro... @patthomson.bsky.social @twperry1.bsky.social @samfr.bsky.social

nottingham.ac.uknottingham.ac.uk

Pat Thomson reposted

UoN Education

@uonsoe.bsky.social

25 Feb

The final report is now available for the Sustainable School Leadership project led by @tobygreany.bsky.social with @patthomson.bsky.social @twperry1.bsky.social and Mike Collins. sustainableschoolleadership.uk

Pat Thomson

@patthomson.bsky.social

21 Feb

Riffing as a strategy for academic writing, good for clarifying ideas patthomson.net/2026/02/21/r...

patthomson.netriffing your way to meaningIn blues, jazz, and music that traces its roots to those genres, the riff is a repeated chord progression or set of notes that ties a song together. A guitar riff returns again and again in a song …

Pat Thomson

@patthomson.bsky.social

16 Feb

This week patter talks about peer review as cruel optimism patthomson.net/2026/02/16/t...

patthomson.netthe cruel optimism of peer reviewA relation of cruel optimism exists when something you desire is actually an obstacle to your flourishing. It might involve food, or a kind of love; it might be a fantasy of the good life, or a pol…

Pat Thomson

@patthomson.bsky.social

8 Feb

Include a writing retreat in your 2026 plans patthomson.net/2026/02/07/w...

patthomson.netwhy go on a writing retreatI’ve been thinking about all the writing that I need to get done this year. There’s three book contracts, yes three, and a host of papers which are undoubtedly going to need revising. Looking…

Pat Thomson

@patthomson.bsky.social

30 Jan

I’m often asked if it’s OK to put citations in abstracts. Here’s an answer patthomson.net/2026/01/30/s...

patthomson.netshould abstracts have citations?When you’re deep into writing a journal article, it’s easy to feel that every claim needs immediate validation, every statement must be backed up by a citation. This impulse becomes par…

Pat Thomson

@patthomson.bsky.social

22 Jan

It’s important to recognise and celebrate small academic writing successes patthomson.net/2026/01/22/s...

patthomson.netsmall successes countThere’s a particular kind of exhaustion that comes from staring at a word count that’s meant to reach 80,000 or 100,000, knowing you’re only at 12,000. Or from looking at a journa…

Pat Thomson

@patthomson.bsky.social

14 Jan

Endings can be tricky for academic writers. Take a lead from flash fiction patthomson.net/2026/01/13/e...

patthomson.netending wellDon’t be tricksy. As with all stories, don’t play tricks on the reader. Don’t bring a rabbit out of the hat at the last moment. If there is a big reveal, make sure it’s planted well in advance. Don…

Pat Thomson

@patthomson.bsky.social

8 Jan

So it begins … on the usefulness of starting at the beginning patthomson.net/2026/01/08/b...

patthomson.netBeginning wellOne of the most paralysing questions for academic writers is often the simplest: where do I start? For early career researchers staring at months of data, dozens of theoretical sources, and a loomi…

Pat Thomson

@patthomson.bsky.social

8 Dec 2025

Following on from last week I have a few pointers for writing about your researcher positionality patthomson.net/2025/12/07/w...

patthomson.netWriting About Your Researcher PositioningSo you know what researcher positioning is and why it matters. Now comes the practical question: how do you actually write about it in your thesis? This is where many doctoral researchers get a bit…

Pat Thomson

@patthomson.bsky.social

1 Dec 2025

A short guide to researcher positioning patthomson.net/2025/11/30/w...

patthomson.netwhat is “researcher positioning”?You’ve probably come across the term “researcher positioning” in methods texts or heard it thrown around in doctoral seminars, and perhaps wondered what al the fuss is about. Posi…

Pat Thomson

@patthomson.bsky.social

24 Nov 2025

This week on patter The difference between methods and methodology. A short explanation patthomson.net/2025/11/23/m...

patthomson.netmethodology v. methodsMiss Marple, the quintessential ethnographer If you’re a doctoral researcher, you’re often expected to understand the relationship between methodology and methods from the get go. These two t…

Pat Thomson

@patthomson.bsky.social

18 Nov 2025

This week a very short guide to writing a thesis or research problem statement patthomson.net/2025/11/18/t...

patthomson.netthe problem statementMost research proposals, dissertations and funding bids start off with some kind of problem statement. A research/thesis problem statement needs to do several interconnected things to work well. At…

Pat Thomson

@patthomson.bsky.social

9 Nov 2025

Three strategies to link paragraphs and improve the flow of your academic writing. patthomson.net/2025/11/08/t...

patthomson.netthree ways to link paragraphsOne of the things that separates just OK academic writing from really good academic writing is how smoothly it flows. You’ve probably read papers where every paragraph feels like a fresh star…

Pat Thomson

@patthomson.bsky.social

2 Nov 2025

Research aims and objectives aren’t the same thing but are related It helps to understand the differences and connections patthomson.net/2025/11/01/r...

patthomson.netresearch aims vs. objectives – what’s the difference?You’re finally sitting down to write your research proposal and you’ve hit that section where you need to outline your aims and objectives. You stare at the page. Aren’t these bas…

Pat Thomson reposted

Ros Edwards

@rosedwards.bsky.social

30 Oct 2025

Free access

Ros Edwards@rosedwards.bsky.social

If you teach research methods, this is an amazing resource for inspiring approaches 🤩 www.ncrm.ac.uk/resources/tr...

ncrm.ac.ukSparking ‘Aha’ Moments: A Resource for Teaching Research MethodsNCRM delivers research methods training, produces learning resources, conducts research and supports methodological innovation

Pat Thomson

@patthomson.bsky.social

26 Oct 2025

Doing a PhD can feel like wandering through a forest with no map. You’re constantly questioning whether you’re smart enough, working hard enough or heading in the right direction. If you’re feeling this way, you’re not alone. More importantly, you’re not broken. patthomson.net/2025/10/25/b...

patthomson.netBuilding confidence during your PhDDoing a PhD can feel like wandering through a forest with no map. You’re constantly questioning whether you’re smart enough, working hard enough or heading in the right direction. If yo…

Pat Thomson

@patthomson.bsky.social

19 Oct 2025

Two research terms to get clear on, contributions and significance patthomson.net/2025/10/19/r...

patthomson.netresearch contribution vs significanceIf you’re a PhDer, you’ve probably heard these terms thrown around in seminars, thesis committees, and paper reviews: “What’s your contribution?” and “Why is thi…

Pat Thomson

@patthomson.bsky.social

15 Oct 2025

Hi Les Will Email you

Les Back@academicdiary.bsky.social

@patthomson.bsky.social I stumbled on the review you wrote of Academic Diary, Pat. Thanks for such a thoughtful take. I have been thinking again about form working on a new project. Feels like the world of HE is a very different place now. Be great to be in touch again. Warm best wishes.

Pat Thomson

@patthomson.bsky.social

11 Oct 2025

If you’re writing a discussion and conclusion it helps to know their relationship difference between claims and conclusion patthomson.net/2025/10/11/c...

patthomson.netclaims vs contributionsIf you’re deep in the throes of doctoral work, you’ve probably had that moment where someone asks you about your “contribution to knowledge” and you freeze up like a deer in…

Pat Thomson reposted

Thesiswhisperer

@thesiswhisperer.bsky.social

7 Oct 2025

Can you help us boost this signal? UTS colleagues are doing a governance project to talk back to the consultant led 'reform' of their university. Please repost!! UTS people please have your say! docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...