Mushtaq Bilal, PhD Profile picture
Nov 26, 2022 7 tweets 3 min read Read on X
5 books that will help you build healthy academic writing habits (so you can write a lot and publish a lot):
1. "The Clockwork Muse" by Eviatar Zerubavel

Great advice on how to organize your writing process in terms of time.

A-Time: reserved for writing new material
B-Time: for "mechanical" tasks like compiling bibliography, etc.
C-Time: meant for house chores The Clockwork Muse: A Practical Guide to Writing Theses, Dis
2. "How to Write a Lot" by Paul Silvia

It will teach you how to build a sustainable writing schedule.

Also contains tips on how to start a writing group with your friends and colleagues. How to Write a Lot: A Practical Guide to Productive Academic
"Write Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day" by Joan Bolker

(Talk about a clickbait title before clickbait was invented 😂)

By far my favorite book on the process of academic writing ♥️

Contains excellent advice on writing zero and first drafts. Write Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day: A Guide to
"Writing Your Journal Article in Twelve Weeks" by Wendy Laura Belcher (@WendyLBelcher)

It's an excellent workbook and if you follow it you will have written a journal article in 12 weeks.

Dr. Lisa Munro (@llmunro) regularly runs a writing workshop based on this book. Writing Your Journal Article in Twelve Weeks: A Practical Gu
5. "The Elements of Academic Style" by Eric Hayot

Not for beginners, this book is primarily meant for advanced grad students and faculty with some writing experience.

Contains wonderful advice on the mechanics of academic prose and how to hone your scholarly voice. The Elements of Academic Style: Writing for the Humanities b
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More from @MushtaqBilalPhD

Oct 6
Libgen, Sci-Hub, and Z-library had millions of pirated academic books and papers.

So, they were shut down. We shouldn't use them anyway.

We should help billion-dollar academic publishers get richer.

Anyway, here's how to access these libraries:

Don't do this!
1. Don't go to open-slum[.]org.

Because there you will see links to LibGen, Anna's Archive, Z-Library, and Sci-Hub.
2. Don't click any link because that will open your desired library.

Don't type the title of a book you want to read because it might show up.

Look at this, someone has pirated my own book. I'm livid!
Read 5 tweets
Sep 16
Zotero is the best citation management software. It's free and doesn't monetize your data.

But many folks have a hard time starting out on it.

Here's a step-by-step tutorial to get you started on Zotero:
1. Go to zotero[.]org and click on the "Download" button.

Download the app and install it on your computer.
2. Click on Zotero Connector and add it to your browser.

Zotero Connector is available for Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari.

Pin the Zotero Connector to your browser by clicking on the puzzle-like icon in the top-right corner.
Read 14 tweets
Sep 3
Small businesses can't hire expensive desginers for fancy logos and branding materials..

Genspark AI Designer @genspark_ai can help you with it.

It generated a logo for my coaching business and branded presentation templates — with a single prompt:
1. Go to and ask it to design a logo for your business.

I asked it to design a logo for my academic writing coaching business. It did a wonderful job. genspark.ai/ai_designer
2. Once it generates a design, you can edit with a simple prompt.

Click on the logo and ask Genspark AI to change its background or font color.

And it will do the needful.
Read 6 tweets
Sep 2
ChatGPT has a great feature called Projects, which you can use to make it a reliable research assistant with no hallucinations.

Not many academics seem to be using it though.

Here's how to make ChatGPT Project your research assistant:
1. Open ChatGPT and click on "New Project" in the left taskbar.

Choose a name for your project and click on "Create project."
2. Once you've created a project, you will see two options: Add files and Add instructions.

Click on "Add instructions" and type in details about your research project.

Be precise and to-the-point. You can also ask it to not respond to questions related to your project.
Read 9 tweets
Aug 16
Chat Academia now offers a FREE plan.

• Brainstorm research questions
• Run searches across multiple databases
• Generate literature maps
• Extract relevant information from papers

Here's how to use Chat Academia for free: A red rectangle highlights the free plan on Chat Academia's pricing page.
1. Go to and click on "Get started."

Select the free plan. chatacademia.com
2. Select "Research Gap Finder" and click on "Create session."

Type in the topic of your research project.

It will give you a list of potential research quesions. Go through them and select one you find more intersting.
Read 7 tweets
Jul 26
An updated list of 60 apps for academic writing and research:
Finding Research Gaps

• Research Kick
researchkick[.]com/start
Pricing: $9/m, $99/year

Intergrating AI with Academic Databases

• Chat Academia

Pricing: $15/mchatacademia.com
AI-Powered Search Engines for Researchers

• Scite Assistant
scite[.]ai/assistant
Pricing: $20/m, $120/year

• Consensus
consensus[.]app
Pricing: $11.99/m. Free plan with limited features.

• Semantic Scholar
semanticscholar[.]org
Pricing: Free

• Scinapse
scinapse[.]io
Pricing: $39/m. Free plan with limited features.

• Evidence Hunt
evidencehunt[.]com (for biomedical sciences only)
Pricing: €120/year. Free plan with limited features.
Read 20 tweets

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