Tag: Doctoral education

Writing together, but not always at the same time: Rethinking doctoral writing groups in digital spaces

Authors: Elham (Ellie) Manzari, Michael J. Henderson and Lynette Pretorius. Imagine joining an online doctoral writing group. You share a draft, discuss your ideas with other researchers and receive feedback almost immediately. The conversation helps you clarify an argument you have been struggling with, and you leave the session feeling more confident about your writing.
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Call for abstracts for our doctoral journeys book!

Authors: Xiaofang Lainie Shang, Mandy Salisbury, and Lynette Pretorius We are seeking chapter contributions for a forthcoming edited book titled Was It Worth It? A Journey to the West: Becoming a PhD Graduate and Beyond. This book aims to explore how doctoral graduates understand the meaning and value of their doctoral journeys. The book will be
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What does success really look like for an international PhD student?

Authors: Maxi (Huy-Hoang) Huynh and Lynette Pretorius. Note: We also acknowledge the other co-authors of our paper, as it was a truly collaborative project: Sandeep Khattri, Zhiheng Zhou, Redi Pudyanti, Abdul Qawi Noori, and Huizhen Nan. Doing a PhD is often seen as a journey of growth and achievement, but have you ever stopped to ask what
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Learning how academia really works: what doctoral students discover beyond the PhD handbook

Authors: Sandeep Khattri and Lynette Pretorius. Most doctoral students begin their PhD expecting to learn how to conduct research. They read the literature, design a study, collect and analyse data, and aim to contribute new knowledge to their field. On paper, the path to becoming a scholar appears relatively clear: map the literature, master the
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Becoming a scholar together: why doctoral writing groups matter

Authors: Abdul Qawi Noori, Michael J. Henderson, and Lynette Pretorius. We often imagine doctoral writing as a solitary endeavour. The image of a PhD candidate working alone, a lone ‘genius’ wrestling with literature, writing drafts, chasing deadlines, and decoding reviewer comments, still dominates academic and public culture. When writing stalls or publications don’t succeed, we
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Reclaiming our words: how generative AI helps multilingual scholars find their voice

Authors: Lynette Pretorius and Redi Pudyanti. Acknowledgement: This blog post extends our presentation at the Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia (HERDSA) Conference 2025. We acknowledge the other co-authors of our paper, as it was a truly collaborative project: Huy-Hoang Huynh, Ziqi Li, Abdul Qawi Noori, and Zhiheng Zhou. As the South African
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Psychological capital in the PhD

Author: Lynette Pretorius. Hi there! Have you ever wondered what it really takes to thrive during a PhD? For over a decade, I’ve worked closely with graduate students, helping them navigate the academic and emotional hurdles of this journey. Along the way, I’ve seen a lot—students overwhelmed by isolation, stress, and uncertainty. Many come to
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The power of collaborative writing and peer feedback in doctoral writing groups

Authors: Basil Cahusac de Caux and Lynette Pretorius. Have you ever wondered how doctoral students can navigate the challenging journey of academic writing? For many, the answer lies in the strength of community and the power of collaborative feedback. Our recent paper explores this very subject, examining how doctoral writing groups can transform the academic
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Benefits of doctoral writing groups

Author: Lynette Pretorius. For many years now, I have been working to improve the experiences of PhD students. One practice I’ve found particularly useful is incorporating collaborative and peer-based learning through doctoral writing groups. My work with writing groups started way back in 2013 and, over more than a decade, I have further refined my
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