Universities tend to go quiet in August. Additionally, fewer supervisions, fewer seminars, fewer reasons to be on campus. But for many PhD students in a phd writing group, this is when the writing happens. The pressure eases just enough to get your head down. If you’ve ever wondered what it feels like when PhDs stop working alone, August in the PhD Common Room is a good place to look.
Inside the Common Room, we’re going the other direction. August is shaping up to be our busiest month yet.
Twelve workshops across seven experts
We’re running a record number of skills workshops in August. These include a renowned session on introductions and conclusions. Within the phd writing group, Professor Jeremy Wellington returns with his popular session on introductions and conclusions. Additionally, several other topics will be featured.
Simon Pratt Adams is running a three-hour live course on developing confidence in your writing. Additionally, Anna Keuchenius leads two new workshops. One covers tracking progress through a journaling practice grounded in neuroscience. The other helps you make your inner critic work for you. These programs invite participants to practice and receive feedback. All materials are provided.
Together these offerings support practical writing improvement in August. Participants can join the workshops to strengthen their craft across diverse topics. Our aim is to support you through actionable strategies you can use right away. Whether you are revising a draft or starting a new project, these sessions are relevant.
Additionally, there’s the resilience and academic life side.
Nobody tells you how much of a PhD is managing yourself, and these sessions tackle that head on.
Jono Jackson is leading sessions on handling failure, rejection, and setbacks, and on learning to say no in academia.
Simon is also running a session on what comes after the doctorate.
For anyone wondering what the next step looks like, this session provides clarity.
And for the first time, we’re launching a methods training series. Charlie Davis kicks it off with a workshop on conducting interviews, part of a series running through to September.
Dr. Max Lempriere rounds things out with Wins and Walls, a monthly reset session for goal setting and reflection.
A new format: the Reading Retreat
Writing retreats have been part of the Common Room for a while now. This month, reading gets the same treatment. George Byrne hosts the first One Day Reading Retreat on Saturday 29 August: a full day of structured, focused reading time. If you’ve been staring at the same pile of papers for weeks, this is the space to get through it.
The One Day Writing Retreat runs on 22 August as well, for those who want a full day of dedicated writing time.
The daily drum beat
Underneath the workshops, the daily routine keeps running. Morning writing sessions at 10-11,30am. Afternoon sessions at 2-3.30pm. Half-day retreats every Monday morning with Jono and every Friday afternoon with George. Common Room Hours every Wednesday lunchtime.
It adds up to more than ten sessions a week, with around twenty people writing together online each time. That rhythm is the bit that’s hard to find anywhere else.
The Summer Research Showcase
This month also sees the community doing something new: presenting their own research. The Summer Research Showcase invites members to submit three-minute, thesis-style video presentations of their work. Submissions close on 14 August. The showcase event itself runs on 26 August.
There’s no judging and no prizes. The point is recognition. A room full of people doing different things, in different places, at different stages, all saying: here’s what I’m working on. Everyone showing their work.
Come and see
There’s a lot going on in here. If you’ve been doing your PhD in isolation and wondering whether it has to feel this way, it doesn’t.
Membership starts from £30 a month. The door is open.
0 Comments