Q: What technology do you recommend to help me improve my writing?
Monique: When I am working on a piece of writing over a period of time, every time I open the document, I make a copy and rename it. By doing this, I am never afraid of overwriting or losing my work. It also helps me see patterns in my writing process – I can go back to earlier drafts (which I only do if I am stuck).
Cary: For the prose parts (this doesn’t work for equations!) try having your computer read your draft aloud to you. (For Macs, you can set up a shortcut in Preferences under Speech.) Highlight a paragraph or so and start. Don’t look at the screen; just listen. Find the places where you have difficulty following the train of thought, where things sound clumsy, and so on—and edit those.
Julie: I’ve used Endote for years but I prefer Zotero for some projects because it makes collaboration across institutions much easier. Duke libraries has put together this useful table that compares citation tools (also called bibliographic management tools or citation managers).
Meet the Writers
Monique Dufour, Ph.D. in History, is an assistant professor at Virginia Tech and Director of graduate student professional development. She runs the “You Can Write It!” program and podcast and often leads writing and teaching workshops for faculty and graduate students at Duke, where she began her career as a Mellon Writing Fellow. She is currently working on a book, Sustainable Teaching: Time Management for Passionate Educators.
Cary Moskovitz, Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering, is Director of Writing in the Disciplines in Duke’s Thompson Writing Program, as well as Director of the Text Recycling Research Project and the Duke Reader Project. He is currently working on a paper entitled: Text recycling policies in STEM author-publisher contracts
Julie Reynolds, Ph.D. in biology, is Director of Biology Writes and was one of the first scientists hired to teach academic writing in Duke’s Thompson Writing Program. She currently teaches writing-intensive courses for undergraduates and is organizes writing groups for faculty, postdocs, graduate students, and staff. Interested in joining a writing group? Email Julie.a.reynolds@duke.edu
