On training to write academically

Our higher education institutions lack serious teaching opportunities in academic writing.

In early 2016, a researcher enrolled as a PhD student at Kathmandu University joined the third academic writing workshop I was offering at Martin Chautari. As was required of all applicants, she submitted the draft of an article she was putting together for publication as part of her application. That draft was part of the doctoral dissertation she was writing. Her application was accepted, and she was sent the workshop guidelines (some aspects of which are discussed below). In February 2016, we started the first class session of the workshop by discussing someone else’s paper that was more ready for review and commentary by all the participants. As soon as the amount of work required in the six-month workshop—revising one’s own draft several times and thoroughly commenting on the papers of others—became obvious, she dropped out of the workshop, saying she needed to focus on her own dissertation writing.