Reviewing, assessing, evaluating...

Over the last few years I estimate that I have spent roughly 3-4 days per month reviewing documentation for external bodies. This estimate excludes all the internal reviewing tasks that accompany any admin responsibilities but it includes:

• reviewing bids for funding bodies, mostly for ESRC and ICAEW
• reviewing papers, for journals and conferences
• reviewing book proposals, for publishers
• assessing promotion applications, for other universities in the UK and abroad
• reviewing course validation documents, for other universities and for professional bodies
• reading and examining PhD theses, for other universities in the UK and abroad

All part of the job. Some of these tasks are quite rewarding (some even attract small payments!). I have read some fascinating work from which I have learned a great deal and which has sometimes prompted me to think differently about my own research. I've seen occasional funding bids which have been so well put together, and cover such interesting topics, that I've almost been tempted to contact the researchers to ask if I could work with them!

But I've also had to read a great many poorly written documents, where I have struggled to follow an argument or even understand the content. Two types cause me the greatest trouble.

It is very depressing to read poorly constructed funding bids where the applicants have clearly not read the funding body's instructions about presentation or, more fundamentally, about the type of projects which the body will support. Some of these come from well-established scholars who should surely know better. Sometimes the research question is of great importance and a study should certainly be pursued - but the people who have applied to undertake it don't appear to be competent to do so.

And promotion applications can be particularly frustrating. Occasionally, candidates oversell themselves and take credit for activities that have clearly been initiated and implemented by others, but much more frequently people undersell themselves.

I think we can all improve the way in which we write. This is the book that I recommend to students.  Although it's designed for postgraduates, it can be usefully read by anyone seeking to improve their writing, and their reading, because the two activities are so closely interlinked. I've been lucky enough to benefit from attending two workshops run by the authors and as a result I think I read more efficiently, write more effectively and - I hope - review more helpfully.


Get it here.