Welcome to Academic Writing Club!

Academic Writing Club was created to share free resources for academic authors, particularly first-generation or emerging scholars who need additional support. Here you’ll find short articles and videos on how to improve your academic writing. If you’re ready to take your academic writing to the next level, join our Writing Club to enjoy timely updates and discounts on paid services and courses!

Explainer Videos

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Article Alignment: How to Get Your Draft On the Road
Article Alignment: How to Get Your Draft On the Road

All components of a research article need to be “aligned” and moving in the same direction. In this video, I talk about problems of alignment before discussing ways to fix this common problem!

How to Manage Your Time on Writing Projects
How to Manage Your Time on Writing Projects

In my least favorite video among graduate students, I talk about how good time management leads to good writing. And you don’t need a fancy office or a lot of time to complete your academic writing projects!

What a Typical Book Publishing Timeline Looks Like
What a Typical Book Publishing Timeline Looks Like

Book publishing takes longer than you may think! In this video, I talk about the four phases of the typical book publishing timeline, from starting a book proposal to the book being published.

Podcast Episodes

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Academic Writing Talk Episode 8: How to Make an Academic Argument
Academic Writing Talk Episode 8: How to Make an Academic Argument

An argument makes a piece of academic writing more than just a set of data and claims. In this podcast, I talk about how to strengthen your argument by drawing on the Toulmin Model of argumentation.

Academic Writing Talk Episode 7: Platform Studies and Interdisciplinary Scholarship with Jim Malazita
Academic Writing Talk Episode 7: Platform Studies and Interdisciplinary Scholarship with Jim Malazita

In this week’s episode I interview Jim Malazita, author of the book “Enacting Platforms,” coming out on July 2 in MIT Press’ Platform Studies series, about how he shaped a killer book proposal and approached interdisciplinary scholarship.

Academic Writing Talk Episode 6: How Do you Write With Authority?
Academic Writing Talk Episode 6: How Do you Write With Authority?

Early career academics often get papers rejected by reviewers who fail to recognize them as peers. Often this happens because they’re not writing with authority. In this episode, I talk about this problem and offer suggestions for how to get on their good side!

Explainer Articles

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The Opportunities and Pitfalls of Academic Self-Publishing
The Opportunities and Pitfalls of Academic Self-Publishing

Why might academic authors want to crowdfund and self-publish a book? In this article, I reflect on my experience funding a book with Kickstarter and then going deeper into academic publishing. The decision depends on your professional goals and interest in doing it all yourself.

“Argument Clinic”: How do you Recognize and Make an Argument in Academic Writing?
“Argument Clinic”: How do you Recognize and Make an Argument in Academic Writing?

Every piece of academic writing needs an argument. But what makes for a good argument? In this article I write about how to recognize and find arguments in academic writing.

How to Write a Conclusion: All Academic Books Must End
How to Write a Conclusion: All Academic Books Must End

It’s not you. Academic book conclusions are difficult to write, a difficulty that can be traced to the writing process itself. Here’s how you can write excellent conclusions, along with a few examples!