Navigating Your Career

How to Improve Your Academic Writing

05 November 2026

Navigating Your Career

How to Improve Your Academic Writing

After spending months or years on a study, the findings can’t just be forgotten. They have to be written down, shared, and read by the public. In order for your results to have a far reach, though, they need to be communicated effectively. This means that your academic writing about the research needs to be clear, concise, and easily understood. It has to appeal to both scientists and the average person. But how do you achieve this balance? Firstly, writing is a skill developed through habit. Writing frequently ensures progress. Second, knowing the mechanics of what you’re trying to write, such as a research article, helps you with the language and structure of your piece. Lastly, editing your writing familiarizes you with your writing ticks, both negative and positive. It also forces you to think critically about every word you’ve chosen and if, from the perspective of an outsider, everything makes sense. Through writing, rewriting, and editing, you hone your academic writing craft. What is academic writing? Academic writing covers a broad range of publications. There are long-form works, such as books, monographs, and theses. Then there are short-form pieces, such as research articles, case reports, and reviews. Academic writing can also include data, where there isn’t any contextualizing or interpreting the information, it’s just presented. It can also include a collection of abstracts, conference reports, and other small-scale write-ups. Essentially, just because you’ve conducted a study or gathered information doesn’t mean it has to be written about in one particular format. While this is a good thing, as it keeps your options open, it can also make it tricky to navigate for early-career researchers. How do you know which kind of paper will represent your findings the best? And when you decide on a type of publication, how do you know what framework to follow? Determining your research’s publication type The first question to ask yourself is what are you trying to convey with your findings? Are you simply trying to describe your data in great detail? A summary or report would help you accomplish this. Is your intention to analyze, criticize, and compare the results? If so, a research article or monograph, depending on the length of your analysis, is your best bet. Once you know how you want your data to be presented, you can research the typical format of your chosen publication type. While you don’t have to follow a formula, it’s always best practice to use a structure that is very similar to that of other manuscripts. This is because, when it comes time to submit your academic writing to publishers, they’ll have stylistic requirements that are expected to be followed. You can either reformat your work to suit that of your chosen journal/publisher, or you can decide on your intended publisher before you begin writing. This way, you can tailor your work to their specifications as you go rather than making adjustments at the end or searching for publishers that will accept your work as is. How to write a research article Research articles are one of the most common forms of academic writing. Learning how to write one will benefit you in the long run. It’s especially helpful to understand their structure, as other forms of academic writing use similar frameworks. Typically, articles follow the IMRaD structure. This stands for introduction, methods, results, and discussion. Your paper should also include an abstract, which is a summary of the study and its main findings. Additionally, your article will always end with a conclusion. This section shouldn’t introduce any new information or perspectives. It should, however, suggest opportunities for further study. Following this structure ensures that your research is presented clearly and logically. The flow is effective, guiding the reader through the entire process. It also helps you remember what to include, so you don’t accidentally write an article with missing details. Anatomy of a paper When writing the introduction, your language should be engaging and persuasive. This is an opportunity to hook the reader. Tell them why this study is important and unique. Use short sentences that appeal to both academics and members of the public. Don’t go into too much unnecessary detail about the process and findings, as this will be covered later in the article. Excess information also has the potential to turn away readers who aren’t invested enough in the topic to care about the little things. The methods section outlines the conditions and tools of the study. It can include scientific terminology, since naming objects and species directly is important. It can also be more notelike, including brief descriptions and sentences and employing lists. The results, while using full sentences, can similarly use concise language to relay the data. It’s important that the writing in these sections are straight to the point, which means no unnecessary descriptors or complex sentence constructions. The results section usually deals with hard data, so explaining the numbers and figures without frills is the goal here. In contrast, the discussion portion can include persuasive language. This depends on the aims of your paper, of course. Much like the introduction, you’ll want to present your arguments clearly. However, since you’ll also be analyzing the data, using larger sentences that combine complex and simple language or join thoughts with punctuation will help you explain difficult ideas. Not everything can be summarized in a few words. Tips for practicing your writing Talking about and visualizing the process of writing is one thing. To actually do it is another. Not all disciplines prioritize academic writing, such as the harder sciences. This means that for some, especially early-career researchers, writing is not a daily practice. The report or paper created from your study could also be your first. So, what are a few tricks you can use to improve your writing? Writing is a skill you develop overtime. This means that one of the most important ways to practice is to simply do it regularly. But not everyone has time to make a daily habit out of writing. Whether you’re writing every couple days or weeks, the most important thing is to not let months or years pass between attempts. Brainstorming your next study counts as writing practice. Jotting down loose thoughts about your research for a few minutes a day counts, too. Writing frequently isn’t about volume or specificity, just about typing something out. Learn more about grammar and punctuation conventions. Even if you’re a native English speaker, bad habits can form over time and impact your writing quality. Find online worksheets to complete that test your knowledge. Perhaps invest in courses if grammar rules are difficult for you. The more you know about the mechanics of language, the easier it will be to spot errors and make corrections in your writing. Create a dedicated space for writing. Don’t forget to carve out time for it, too. Sometimes, a curated environment is all you need to get yourself in a groove. And when your previous set up stops working for you, a change of scenery can get the gears turning again. Find a quiet coffee shop to work in or a library. Maybe you find you’re more energetic in the mornings rather than afternoons. Make the experience of writing pleasurable to you.
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Abbygail Kroeker

115

How to Self-Edit Your Academic Writing

29 October 2026

Navigating Your Career

How to Self-Edit Your Academic Writing

Part of the writing process is rewriting. This happens on both the macro and micro scale. From looking at the bigger picture and carefully considering what works and what doesn’t, to looking at the article word by word. All of these components come together to make a clear, educational piece of academic writing. How to reach this goal, though, takes several steps. Self-editing requires more than one pass in order to perfect a piece of writing—or get as close to perfect as possible. While there are services that provide editing for you, learning how to self-edit is important. It helps you think critically about your work, improves your grammar and punctuation, and ensures that you maintain control over the content. Additionally, the better you get at self-editing your work, the more time and money you save down the line. This is because the manuscripts you submit to journals will need less intervention by the in-house editors, and you won’t need your work double-checked prior to submission. If you’re unsure where to start, we’ve provided a few jumping-off points below. What is self-editing? Editing is the process of correcting grammar, punctuation, structure, and clarity prior to publication. To self-edit is to perform this process without the help of an expert editor. Editing generally takes place after the entire project has been written. This way, there’s a clear picture of the errors within the article and of what changes need to be made. A well-edited piece is also more likely to be published, since a nearly error-free manuscript is considered to be more professional. The degrees of editing Within editing, there are different levels. There’s language/line editing, which evaluates the overall flow, structure, and readability of the piece. It looks at how sentences are constructed. Are they awkward? Do they convey their intended meaning? Do they make sense within the context of the paragraph? It also looks at grammar conventions, such as word choice, consistency in terminology, and the formalness of the tone. Language editing ensures that the writing makes sense to the reader, leaving no room for ambiguity. In scientific writing, this is especially important, since the data should be presented straightforwardly without the possibility of multiple interpretations. Proofreading is what happens after an article has been edited for clarity. This is where small spelling and punctuation errors are cleaned up, since they can be missed on the first couple passes. If the article is being submitted to a particular journal, proofreading can also include making changes that align with the journal’s style guide. This could be the English language variant (American or British) used, capitalization of terms, and whether or not numbers are spelled out. The three pass rule As mentioned in the section above, editing usually takes place across multiple passes. A pass is when the manuscript is read in full while making edits. One pass is rarely enough to guarantee an error-free article, especially if you’re self-editing. This is because our minds can easily filter out issues by correcting them while reading. If we already know what we meant to say, then the mistake won’t be obvious since, mentally, we’ve filled in the gaps. A pass for every degree of self-editing The first pass deals with the big picture. This means that language and punctuation aren’t the concern, but rather the overall structure. For example, you could rearrange sections on the first pass so that it follows the IMRaD framework. You’ll want to deeply read your arguments, trying to imagine them from the perspective of an outsider. Perhaps even at this stage, showing it to a colleague or friend will help you see where your ideas are unclear. The second pass is where language editing comes into play. Now that you know how the larger parts are working together, you can begin to go through the piece line by line. You’ll still want to pay attention to structure, but this will happen on a smaller scale. You’ll be evaluating how you’ve organized your paragraphs, their sentences, and whether or not every word and punctuation used aids clarity or makes things difficult to understand. This is also the pass where you look for tonal issues. Typically, academic articles require a formal voice. This means avoid using contractions, and spell them out where you have.
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Abbygail Kroeker

210

How to Write an Academic Manuscript

22 October 2026

Navigating Your Career

How to Write an Academic Manuscript

Sitting down at your computer to write an academic manuscript can be a daunting task. You may have done all the research, dutifully made notes about your experiment and the results, but now that it’s time to write it out, your mind is a blank. Where do you start? Are there rules you need to follow? How can you guarantee your work is understood? Thankfully, there are several steps and processes you can follow. While there are variations in form across academic disciplines and paper types, there’s still a solid foundation for you to adapt as you see fit. Here, we’ll take a look at the kinds of papers you can write, how to begin and position them, and how to improve your craft along the way. The different kinds of academic manuscripts What comes to mind when you hear the term “academic manuscript”? For most, it’s a research article. These are the papers commonly published in peer-reviewed journals, both traditional and open access alike. They summarize an experiment and the data from it and provide an overview of the findings. While they draw conclusions based on interpretations of the results, they are generally without bias or personal opinion. They exist to provide information in a clear and concise way. However, research articles are only one option when it comes to writing an academic manuscript. The form that your data and arguments take depends on what you’re trying to convey. Did you perform a deep dive on a solitary study or patient? You’ll most likely want to turn your findings into a case report, then. What if that deep dive touches on a broader subject that requires more than a single article to talk about? Then you’ll likely be looking at writing a book or monograph. Additionally, think about how you want to present the findings. Are you trying to persuade the reader? Analyze a set of data without offering a larger or controversial interpretation? Do you simply want to critique information or the literature on your chosen subject? These goals will determine what kind of paper you should develop, as not all formats will support argumentation or statistical analysis. A couple more examples Review articles analyze the literature in a particular field and/or topic. They critically evaluate writing and research on this topic and provide a perspective on the material. Abstracts are a collection of just that—abstracts. They provide an overview of a variety of papers, usually presented at a conference, and are printed together in a journal issue. Reports are similar to research papers, though they focus more on the results of a study and are usually produced by an institution rather than a group or individual scientists. Who and what are you writing for? How you frame your research may depend on the content itself, but it also may depend on who or what you’re writing for. Some academics choose a journal they’d like to submit their academic manuscript to prior to finishing or even writing their piece. If a journal only takes research articles written following a certain set of principles, then that will inform your decision. If you don’t have a specific journal in mind, focus on your intended audience or message. Are you concerned with reaching academics in a niche field over the general public? Longer format works can be beneficial in that case. Or, at least, reducing your findings into a brief paper may not be necessary. Do you want to highlight a specific part of your study? This could be the tables and figures. Perhaps the results are more important than the methodology, in which case writing a report over an article makes more sense. Many academic manuscripts will include an introduction, methods, results, and discussion sections, but some mediums are better suited to what you want to focus on.
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Abbygail Kroeker

344

Tips for Practicing Your Academic Writing

15 October 2026

Navigating Your Career

Tips for Practicing Your Academic Writing

How well a paper is written impacts its influence. For research data and findings to be understood, they need to be communicated in clear, direct language. Readers from both the public and academia should arrive at the same interpretations of a text. Writing effectively, though, requires practice. Writing is a skill that needs to be practiced. And while writing a research paper is, in and of itself, practice, more can be done between papers and during the process of writing one to get better at it. What makes writing “good”, though? And what are some academic writing tips that will help you improve? Here, we’ll answer these questions and provide you with steps to take toward bettering your work. What makes a piece of writing “good”? The definition of “good” writing changes between scientific disciplines and fiction versus non-fiction. Clear, concise writing that includes transition words and sentences, as well as a definite paragraph structure, is ideal. Specifically, sentence lengths are varied, but should stick to the shorter end of things to avoid complication. Paragraphs begin with a topic sentence, then body of the paragraph explains that topic, and the paragraph concludes with a final remark that leads into the next topic. Language should be simple. Use short, common words. Certain scientific subjects do require complex terminology, though. This can’t be avoided, since these kinds of words are crucial to the information being given and the accuracy of the text. However, ensuring that the language around your jargon clear helps keep the piece’s difficulty balanced. Ultimately, that’s the heart of all academic writing tips: balance. The differences in writing for humanities and social sciences vs. STEM Within academic writing, there are variations in the needs of social sciences and STEM subjects. While STEM discourages the use of first-person, such as “I think”, humanities topics are generally based in theory rather than hard statistics. This makes it okay for writers to sometimes use this kind of language. However, third person is generally considered to be more formal and conveys a lack of bias. Additionally, humanities and social sciences papers can use more flowery prose, meaning their language doesn’t have to be as direct as within STEM. Math equations can’t be described in a poetic way, after all. They are matter of fact. While both deal with research, their approaches are different, meaning there are different standards for the writing.
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Abbygail Kroeker

219

How Posting Promotes Open Science

01 October 2026

Navigating Your Career

How Posting Promotes Open Science

Social media is a valuable tool. These platforms are public, generally free to access, and focus on networking. They are designed for writing and sharing ideas, reading the works of others, and talking about them. This is similar to open access publishing and open science. Digital, transparent, and free communication for the sake of knowledge sharing. And, importantly, the advancement of science, too. As social media becomes more important to academics, it’s necessary to consider what it can do outside of online and social engagement. For instance, how can posting on social media further the open science movement? How can it make scientific data easy to understand for the public? And, importantly, how can it improve the reach and diversity of research? Here, we’ll take a look at a few of the benefits of being active online in the academic community. What is open science? Open access publishing refers to making research free and accessible to the public. Open science broadens this outlook. It encompasses the entire research process, the data, and its reproductions. The goal of this initiative is to not only be transparent about how and where data is coming from, but to ensure that studies can be replicated globally. This means that academics in countries with less resources, such as in the Global South, can follow proven methods to conduct studies. This wastes less time and funds. It also allows important research to be performed in typically neglected areas. Additionally, it gives all academics the opportunity to contribute their findings to the overall discussion. They can provide differing points of view that recontextualize and expand upon these works. Posting in layman’s terms So, how does posting on social media contribute to this movement? For starters, social media requires posts, whether they’re text based or include graphics/videos, to be understandable to the general public. This means text should be free of scientific  jargon, as this performs better by reaching wider audiences. Wordcount limits prevent posts from being too long, meaning text has to be brief and to the point. This eliminates room for overly scholarly language or dense walls of text. Videos and infographics are popular with social media users and algorithms. Visual mediums improve the engagement with and understanding of scientific ideas. Being able to see what’s described is helpful, after all. All of this means that posts, by their very nature, are for the people rather than just the niche academic communities they belong to. When information is presented briefly and clearly, it makes scientific findings easier to follow. People who wouldn’t typically have access to this knowledge can find it freely. And when they do find it, they can read and talk about it with academics and other social media users. Science becomes approachable via social media. Social media keeps everyone up to date Timeliness has always been important in academia. Being able to quickly share findings and gather feedback is a large part of why we have open access journals and a variety of publication forms, such as preprints. Removing barriers to information means that results can be produced faster. For certain subjects, such as medical research, time is of the essence. Social media has given the world at large the ability to share information immediately. As soon as a news story breaks, thousands of people are talking about it globally. Sometimes, users posting videos or live updates of an event are how news stories break.
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Abbygail Kroeker

231

Emailing Academics: How to Start the Conversation

17 September 2026

NetworkingNavigating Your Career

Emailing Academics: How to Start the Conversation

A myth portrayed by the internet is that, by following each other, we’re somehow all connected. This is true to a point, but connection can only truly come from interaction. Likes, shares, and follows will only get you so far when you’re trying to build a digital network. They especially don’t outright showcase a desire for communication. In academic and corporate circles, discussion is necessary for connection. So, even with the perceived closeness social media has given us, how do we reach out to those we want to work with? How do we know when we’re crossing boundaries or being unprofessional? And how do we use online communication to share our research and create new relationships? Let’s break down the art of talking online so that you can confidently approach anyone in any format. Choose your medium There are a few ways to start the conversation: comments, direct messages, and emailing. Comments are great for showing your expertise and personality. Additionally, algorithms prefer profiles that leave comments. It shows that you’re an active user and helps establish your interests and desired community. Find posts that appeal to your research. Maybe you’re the one who’s crafted a post about your interests and ended it with a question, sparking a conversation. Posting comments helps you and your work get seen in overcrowded online spaces. Besides, digital networking isn’t always about one-on-one connections—the smaller discussions matter, too. As for direct messaging and emailing, these have a similar purpose: you have something to pitch and would like to offer your services or request help from someone you think is a good match. You could also be looking to expand your digital network and view them as a potential employer or collaborator. Regardless, the intention behind your communication is more personal and direct. While each of these methods requires a slightly different mode of communication, the underlying theme is the same: use a professional, friendly tone. Be aware of these digital networking conflicts Tone is easily the most difficult part of digital networking. Comment sections can feel casual, so it’s not hard to get caught up in their quick nature and be less thoughtful with your replies. Maybe you’re not proofreading as deeply. Maybe you’re not paying attention to everyone’s contributions to the conversation. Either way, there’s more opportunity to slip into a dialogue that is less professional. When it comes to direct messaging and emailing, what starts as genuine can slowly become pestering. Remember to allow people time to respond to your messages—there is and isn’t an appropriate time to follow up. Direct messaging is useful for contacts you’ve made through social media, such as SciProfiles, and can be the bridge that helps you ask for their email. However, that does mean there is less familiarity between you and the person you’re contacting, so keep that in mind in your opening messages. Introduce yourself, keep your pitch brief, and make sure to mention something from their profile so they know you’ve done your research. Email is a whole other story, which we’ll tackle in the next section. In general, though, keep your communication topical, well-researched, and overall polite. Don’t let the informalities of social media make you too comfortable in conversation. You want to be confident, but there’s a balance. Email etiquette for first messages and beyond Nobody wants to receive an email that is clearly a template. People are busy, messages pile up, and when they finally get to the stack, they want to know that their time isn’t being wasted. The best and earliest way to set the tone for your sincerity is to be direct and factual. Mention who you are, if you’ve met (and if not, mention something about their work that you have in common), and make your request. Introductions are necessary online, even if you follow each other’s profiles. If you haven’t met previously, letting the other person know this isn’t a random email goes a long way. Look at their past work, who they know, and what they’re interested in. Use this information as a means of establishing that you’re not a bot or sending off impersonal messages. And, importantly, this information should align with your reason for reaching out to them in the first place. If you first met at an event, such as a conference, a follow-up email to re-establish your connection is important to solidifying your budding working relationship. The cold approach Cold approaches are intimidating. You aren’t guaranteed a response, and even with the perfect pitch, your message may go unread. However, there are a lot of benefits to taking the leap. You never know when you may add another connection to your digital network this way, and hopefully, transform your online relationship into a real-world one. While we’ve discussed why templated emails are a no-go, other important etiquette includes: A professional subject line (no spelling mistakes, incorrect punctuation, or inconsistent capitalization) that is short and sweet while also interesting enough to rope the reader in; Body text that is perfectly proofread and free of errors; Triple-checking that you’re writing to the right email address; An email signature. Overall, you want to present your reason for emailing them concisely, and emphasize the value behind a potential collaboration. What do you bring to the table? Where can you improve a research area, a digital network, or a work environment? Grab their attention, and prove yourself in order to keep it. Persistence is key to growing your digital network It can be nerve-wracking send off the first message or comment. It can be even more so if you don’t get a response. There is a polite way to follow up, though. In fact, following up is a necessary skill in academia and the workforce at large. The reason why someone didn’t respond is not worth worrying about. We don’t know if they were busy (they likely were), didn’t see the message, or, unfortunately, didn’t want to. Trying to fill in that blanks leads to making unnecessary and potentially harmful assumptions. And regardless, you still have a second chance, even if they didn’t offer it up to you verbally. Because you’re taking a shot in the dark, though, tactfulness is very important. Do wait a while before sending a secondary message. Give people a week or two to get back to you. Once that time has lapsed, send a brief message. Keep it light, reiterate your intentions, and perhaps throw in a bit of news. Maybe the person you’re reaching out to just had an achievement, or the company you’d like to work with hit a milestone. Don’t ask why they haven’t responded. You don’t want to create a conflict. Circling back to the topic of tone, it’s hard to perfectly communicate it online. So be wary that you aren’t accusing the person you’re messaging or coming across impolitely. If your second attempt is also ignored, it’s safe to leave it at that. Knowing when to walk away is crucial to digital communication. The first message is the hardest Whether you’re responding to a comment thread, sending a direct message to someone you saw on SciProfiles, or cold emailing a fellow academic, sending a message easier said than done. Remember that the person on the other side of the screen is just like you: they had to start at the bottom, search for connections, and potentially face rejection along the way. But the more you put yourself out there, the more natural it becomes. Practice is just another form of persistence, and persistence is how you develop your digital network.  
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Abbygail Kroeker

331

Your Social Media Profile as a Resume

12 August 2026

NetworkingNavigating Your Career

Your Social Media Profile as a Resume

Now more than ever, your social media profile is the ticket to your future. Whether you’re trying to promote your research or are applying for jobs, employers and businesses are searching your name. Your posts, your pictures, and your profiles are part of your resume. Regardless of whether you’ve carefully crafted your social media to represent yourself professionally, it’s being taken into consideration along with your education and experience. That doesn’t have to be a bad thing, though. Leveraging your profile is simple. And importantly, it’s effective. By platforming your experience, publications, and future goals, you’re telling your potential employers and networks who you are and what you have to offer. You are in control of your image, and you can use that power for success. Resume creation 101 Before you can begin working on your profile, you should learn the basics of building a good resume. Profile templates on social media platforms will keep your content readable and uniform, so no need to worry about choosing the right font. Additionally, the necessary information will be sectioned and ordered for you. What you need to focus on is the writing itself. Keep your sentences short and factual. Use descriptive, active language and avoid fluff, especially adjectives and adverbs that end in “-ly”. These are considered to be flowery words that do not add to your writing. Avoid being too stylistic, too. Be clear, not poetic. That doesn’t mean you can’t add your personality to your profile—just stick to anecdotes and fun facts over complex adjectives. Importantly, update your resume constantly. If it adds to your credentials, even if it was a temporary position, it’s worth mentioning. Thankfully, updating your social media profile is instant. This means your digital resume will always be current. Setting up your social media profile When it comes to setting up your profile, fill in everything. For example, with SciProfiles, you’re asked to create a short bio, title, and add keywords related to your expertise and research. The more information you have, the more searchable you are. It’s especially important to include a profile picture. Over half of our use base only clicks on posts made by accounts with profile pictures. Not only does a picture add credibility to your posts, but it also tells other users that you’re a real person. We’d like to assume we aren’t talking to bots online, but fake profiles are common and they are everywhere. Choose a photo of yourself that is professional, well lit, and/or of you doing work in the field. Also be sure to link your publications (if you have any) using your ORCID number, DOIs, and any BiBTex files. Having open access work at the ready ensures that whoever is looking at your page can get the full picture of you. If you have other social media profiles, a website, or a blog, share them, too. It’s about maximizing the visibility of your name, answering a potential connection or employer’s questions proactively, and boosting engagement across all your social media. With a wide variety of links and pages, too, you’ll be able to better express your personality. Since all social media platforms require different levels of professionalism, by tailoring your digital resume to each platform’s needs, you have more ways to show who you are. Update, update, and update your profile again Social media has given us all the opportunity to consistently show our progress in real time. Between making posts about our opportunities and current work and adding achievements to our profiles, keeping our network in the know has never been easier. So, take full advantage of the quickness of the internet. The moment you complete a job, internship, research project, etc. tell the world. Make it a permanent spot on your profile. To show that you’re always growing and working is to show future employers that you can adapt to new challenges and are eager to help. If you feel like opportunities aren’t coming your way, don’t hesitate to skill-up on your own. If you have the time and resources, considering taking courses that will add to your academic skillset. Find volunteer positions within your scientific community—just because something isn’t paid doesn’t mean it isn’t valuable. Obtain certifications for the jobs you’re after (if this is possible to do without belonging to a company or institution, of course). Be proactive by looking for the gaps in your experience and research and doing your best to fill them with the resources available to you. And with every task and certification completed, add it to your profile. Make a post to share your accomplishments. It’s not bragging, it’s highlighting what your assets are. Above all else, frame your experience and knowledge as a solution to your future employer’s problems. How are you going to benefit their workforce? How will you diversify their corporate culture? You are an addition, and additions should always be improving what they’re being added to. So long as you stay active and continuously update your social media profiles, the opportunities you’ve been looking for will find you. Put your best foot and profile photo forward, and you’ll see results.
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Abbygail Kroeker

205

Finding a Mentor in Academia

11 June 2026

NetworkingNavigating Your Career

Finding a Mentor in Academia

A career in academia requires a lot of time, energy, and commitment. Particularly for early-career scholars, finding a mentor in academia to offer support and guidance can make a big impact on a person’s career and professional development. A mentorship in academia can be a very meaningful relationship for early-career scholars. Their academic advisor can help manage and navigate different aspects of their personal and professional life from the perspective of someone who has already gone through it. This article explores what a mentor is, the importance of mentorship in academia, and what the various roles a mentor can take on are. It also offers some strategic steps as you begin your search for a mentor, including determining goals, doing research, and reaching out for an initial point of contact. Whether you are participating in a mentorship program, or pursuing a more informal arrangement, both can have a significant impact on your professional development. Mentorship in academia In general terms, a mentor is typically a more senior individual in a particular field taking a person with less experience under their wing. Essentially, the mentorship relationship brings together two people, the mentor and mentee, with differing experience levels. A strong mentorship supports a junior scholar’s professional development and personal growth. There are high expectations for scholars to conduct and publish research, as well as teach and present at conferences. A mentor acts like an academic advisor to help junior scholars through these processes. A mentorship relationship can be an official, formalized professional relationship between a more and less experienced scholar. Some institutions and departmental programs offer a mentorship program that you can apply to take part in. In other cases, mentorships may be more informal. You might connect with someone through virtual or in-person networking or by meeting at a conference. Putting in the time and effort to develop different professional relationships can open the door to an academic mentorship. Depending on the situation and the people involved, a mentorship can be a long-term and rewarding professional relationship. In other cases, mentors may offer to collaborate only on certain projects. The importance of mentorship in academia A mentorship in academia helps to nurture intergenerational connections. For early-career scholars, the importance of mentorship relates to academic advice and professional development received from more seasoned members of their field. This kind of relationship can greatly shape a person’s perspective and career moving forward. Mentorship gives junior scholars the opportunity to learn from those more senior in their field in a more personal, one-on-one setting. As scholars at different stages of their careers are brought together, a mentor provides historical knowledge, guidance, and perspective. Mentors can offer a variety of supports and insights, including personal and professional career advice. As a result, those taking new steps, like applying to conferences or submitting their first paper to peer review, can be more prepared. Undoubtedly, those newer to academia also have much to share, bringing with them a different perspective and ideas for innovation. This intergenerational knowledge sharing can be hugely impactful for all involved. It’s worth noting that not everyone in academia is looking for mentorship, or to be a mentor. Some people you interact with may be keen to collaborate, whereas others prefer working independently. And some simply don’t have enough time or energy to take on any more responsibilities. Finding a mentor Knowing the importance of mentorship in academia can make finding an academic advisor an intimidating task. It’s important to be intentional and strategic in your approach. If you are serious about finding someone to provide you with academic advice, there are a few steps to take before you make initial contact. Keep these in mind as you begin your search. Determine your goals To start the process of finding a mentor, take some time for self-reflection. Brainstorm some ideas of what kind of work you have already done and would like to pursue. What are your goals for this mentorship?  What kind of collaboration would be best for you to help achieve your professional goals? Think about what kind of mentor would be best for you, from different angles. Don’t only think about leading experts in your field. Consider different aspects of the working relationship, like personality fit and work style, as well as important practicalities like location, availability, and access to funding. You might already have someone in your sphere, like a supervisor, advisor, or co-researcher, who could be a great fit. Do your research Once you have a sense of what kind of academic advisor you would like to help you achieve your goals, you can start to research what opportunities may be available. Do some online searching to see if there are any official mentorship programs offered at your institution. If not, are there other opportunities you could pursue? Are there scholars in your department that you already know who might fit the bill? Do you have a professional contact in common that you could ask to make an introduction? Networking and actively reaching out to your academic connections can offer a lot of insights. Finding the right academic advisor may take a bit of time. Those you reach out to simply may not be available or able to work with you. It can be disappointing to receive a “no,” or to receive no response at all. But that doesn’t mean that someone else wouldn’t be excited to mentor you, and they may even be a better fit. Reach out When you do reach out to a potential mentor, you want to make a personal connection, but keep it professional. Potential mentors will want some key things about you before they consider working with you. In an initial message, you should briefly explain your interests, experience, and goals as they relate to the person you are reaching out to. Provide clear and concise points. Be strategic, but also be honest about your skills and capacity. One way to find a mentor is to “cold call” a scholar through an initial email message. There may also be instances where reaching out over social media, through their professional webpage, or even in person if you have the opportunity, works just as well. Stay in touch After you make an initial successful connection in your journey to finding a mentor, make a plan to stay in touch to continue building the relationship. Follow up promptly. Be available to answer any questions or concerns that may arise. And don’t be discouraged if finding a mentor takes a bit more time. As your career continues to grow, new opportunities will arise and your professional circle will expand. And SciProfiles is a perfect place to start your research, and even to reach out and make a connection with potential mentors.
Zoë GrossZoë Gross
Zoë Gross

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Three Tips to Getting Published as a Young Academic

28 May 2026

Navigating Your Career

Three Tips to Getting Published as a Young Academic

It is always challenging to be at the beginning of your career—young academics often feel like they have a great deal that they need to prove. In fact, many of your mentors, teachers, and in some cases “now-colleagues” have already established their own reputations. Publish or perish, as the saying goes. It is critical for you to contribute to the academic world so that you can start to make an impact on your field. Right? Getting published means a lot of different things to a lot of different people, even in the world of academic publishing. For some, this might mean a conference paper. For others, it might mean a full-length book or monograph. Yet, for the majority of people it means to getting research published in a reputable academic journal of some kind. Even “which journal” can be a complicated question as well (and we’ll touch on this shortly). Here, we’re going to go over three different tips to help young academics to get published. As with most things, these aren’t silver bullets. They are best practices that can help you to make informed and logical decisions to start to navigate the publishing world to help your career. Why academic publishing matters It goes without saying that academic publishing is a critical part of the academic space as a whole. The research that gets published in journals and books help to inform and grow research spaces. In 1675, Sir Isaac Newton said that “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants”—the work that preceded his own was critical to his own success. In addition to the vast contributions that research makes to any given field. the cumulative nature of science and research means that today’s results are tomorrow’s breakthroughs. At a personal level though, academic publishing contributes to the career of an academic in many ways. For example, getting research published can directly impact your career through your ability to get specific jobs or grants from institutions. Getting tenure often relies on (though not exclusively) a strong publishing history. The academic world is very challenging, and getting tenured isn’t easy. Young academics are at a disadvantage in this sense because they don’t often have extensive publishing histories. To help, here are three tips to keep in mind: Know the academic publishing landscape for your field; Figure out where you want to get published; Target and focus on the goal. Let’s touch on these all in a bit more detail. Understanding the academic publishing landscape as a young academic There’s a good chance that, as a young academic, you’ve heard certain journal names over the years. Perhaps you’ve read articles from those journals in your own career. Debatably, one of the most famous academic journals in the world is Nature—and for some people, getting published in this journal is a professional goal for them. But getting published in this journal is immensely challenging, even for seasoned academics. Aside from the different journals, there are different types of journals. Do you want to be published in a traditional journal or do you want to pursue open access publishing? Unlike open access publications, traditionally published articles can be gated behind paywalls. But publishing in open access can incur a cost to the authors (usually paid for by the funds that also paid for the research). While institutions are usually the ones that pay the article processing costs associated with open access, there are still questions of reputation that come up. It is worth noting that open access publishing has been around for decades and that not all concerns are valid at this point. Needless to say, there are many elements to academic publishing, and while some might be news to you, they might not all matter. Still, this is part of your journey. Learn about the different types of publishing (and the different types of open access as well) and see if this matters to you in your publishing journey. What does your academic field look like? Not all academic fields look the same. In fact, because of the wide range of resources allocated to different fields, they might be very different. From the money available to a department, to the costs associated with open access publishing, the dollar value can vary greatly. Generally speaking, highly competitive fields (biology, robotics, and other similar “hard sciences”) tend to have quite a few resources. The humanities, however, tend to have less. This also is reflected in the cost to publish in open access, where publishing a humanities research paper might cost five times less than a science paper. Learn about your field and understand the landscape. In particular, you might want to consider what differences exist to better understand how they matter to journal publishers. Which are the big journals? Which are the ones you should avoid? By understanding which are competitive journals for you to consider, you can start looking at our next tip. Figure out where to get published Getting published in the academic publishing world can take a bit of time. But, now that you understand the landscape a little bit more, you can start to narrow down your options. Prof. Mauro Giudici, in an article about considerations for writing and submitting manuscripts makes the following recommendations: 1) Checking the aims and scope of the journal; 2) Assessing the quality of the journal, based not only on the bibliometric indicators, but also on the quality of the published papers and the international recognition of the editorial board; 3) Performing a sincere and genuine assessment of the innovative content of the work to be submitted; 4) Checking the types of papers that are published by the journal. As we noted above, understanding the landscape matters, but the journals themselves matter as well. Are they a good fit for your article? On the one hand, you want to make sure that your article matches because you want it to get accepted, but a journal that will take any article (even if they don’t match the scope well) might be a journal to consider avoiding. Target and focus on the goal Now that you’ve selected your ideal journals, you need to get more specific. Look at the journal submission requirements. Examine what expectations are placed on you as the author of an article. Do you need to do editing on the research or will that be covered later? Will submitting using a template provided by the journal increase your odds of acceptance (which is different from getting published)? Many journals have submission guidelines. These guidelines may have “red lines” in them, which can eliminate your manuscript from consideration regardless of the content or quality of your work. Learning a little bit about what these types of guidelines are to increase your chances of success. Another tool to consider would be a lay summary. While these are not mandatory for many journals, having one might help an editor to understand the importance and value of your work. Finally, one of the most important things to do is to keep focused. Rejection doesn’t mean that your research is not valuable. In fact, many rejections have nothing to do with the actual research itself. This is why it is important to have a list of potential journals to submit to. Stay focused. Keep at it. At the end of the day, you’ll be successful if you put in the effort.
DMD.J. McPhee
D.J. McPhee

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