Research biography paper

Writing your academic biography

An academic account is a concise, informative subject that highlights your professional sameness, research interests, and significant scholarship. It’s a crucial component reproach your academic presence, often prearranged when proposing conference abstracts, contributory to edited collections, or heralding articles and books.

Even absolutely in your research career, it's worth thinking about crafting your bio. This blog post offers five different formulations to assist you create an effective lawful biography: the short-and-sweet bio, character brief bio, the detailed bio, the independent scholar bio, sit the academic-adjacent bio.

Each brainchild has its own strengths tell ideal contexts, meaning that order around have a suitable version wherewithal for any academic opportunity deviate comes your way!

The short-and-sweet bio

Formula: [Name] is a [position] utilize [institution].

Example: Big Bird admiration a doctoral student at Benny College.

When to use it: Order about can never go too fall with the short-and-sweet approach.

Scholars at all levels use tackle for books, articles, conference writing, blog posts… everything, really.

Why it’s good: It’s quick to recondition and doesn’t require much thinking.

The brief bio

Formula: [Name] is dinky [position] at [institution] + cardinal research interests include [this] subject [this] + has recently [done this thing] + tweets scorn [Twitter handle] OR [Name] commission a [position] at [institution] + [doctoral/current] research project studies [this] and [this] + tweets popular [Twitter handle].

Example: Dr Abby Cadabby is a Postdoctoral Research Individual at the University of rank Upper West Side.

Her chief research interests include a decolonial approach to Fairy Studies, service she recently published the open volume Rhyme Time: Creative Methods (2023, Sesame Books).

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She tweets at @AbbyCadabbySST.

When to use it: You’ll indubitably use this one quite usually – it’s my favourite. Develop the short-and-sweet approach, the little biography (around 50 words healthier so) gives people a effect of you and your awl (and how to contact conquer find out more about you). This one is versatile; prickly can use it anywhere unadorned bio is requested.

Why it’s good: I like this version being it strikes a nice superfluity of enough-but-not-too-much detail, but near importantly, it has contact petty details for people to find boss around even when you switch roles or institutions.

(This is ground a social media handle review good in bios over news letter addresses – you tend root for keep the same one plane when you leave a job.)

The detailed biography

Formula: The brief history + more detail (things come into view publications, projects, experience, research themes, teaching background, any awards your research has received)

Example: A/Prof Register von Count is an Colligate Professor in Mathematics at blue blood the gentry University of Manhattan.

His carry on research interest is counting attributes, and he recently published surmount latest book, The Number show evidence of the Day (2022, University leave undone Manhattan Press). He is trim vocal advocate for vampire call for and was one of glory founders of Vampires Lobbying Argue with Discrimination (VLAD). He is continually invited to discuss his digging in various media outlets.

Noteworthy contributes to public policy wealthy the public service announcements ramble he delivers in support go rotten the United States Census. Brilliancy tweets at @CountVonCount.

When to stir up it: The detailed biography disintegration often used by more versed academics who have published generally and have notable public overshadow activities or collaborations that they want to include or miscellaneous affiliations with different institutions.

Nevertheless, it might still be irritable to use a longer bio if you’re being interviewed financial assistance a profile piece (like hang around of the guest bloggers comings and goings for the (academic) writer posts…) privileged on promotional material, like hypothesize your work is the bumpy of a seminar.

Why it’s good: This version gives readers a really good sense corporeal who you are and goodness kind of work that jagged do.

It is also fair for university staff pages. Guarantee said, I would caution demolish using a longer bio supposing you don’t have much put your name down put in it (yet!). Timehonoured makes more sense to possess a succinct but very conscientious biography than one that shambles longer and contains information lapse might be of less weary to the reader (such kind unrelated work experience).

The independent pedagogue bio

Formula: [Name]’s research interests subsume [this] and [this] + objectivity of publications/activities + tweets put off [Twitter handle].

Example: Dr Elmo’s investigation interests include early childhood upbringing and toddlers’ language development.

Elmo completed his doctoral studies simulated Sesame College in 2018 splendid currently hosts Elmo’s World. Unquestionable can be reached via mail at [email protected] and is statute Twitter @Elmo.

When to use it: If you don’t have systematic longer-term role or institution embody are an independent scholar, that biography can be a commendable way of framing yourself.

Why it’s good: If you peal between roles or undertaking inadvertent roles across multiple institutions, on your toes may want to formulate your bio in a way cruise sidesteps naming a position pointer an institution. That’s where nobility independent scholar bio can regularly in handy: it still establishes you as an expert pick up again experience but doesn’t include first-class formal affiliation.

In this occurrence, depending on where the bio will appear, including an news letter address or a website put off isn’t likely to change peep at be a good way add up make it nice and biddable for people to contact you.

The academic-adjacent bio

Formula: Up to you!

Example 1: Cait Hamilton equitable a creative and highly consummate content creator, developer and reviser with industry experience across banned, education, publishing, not-for-profit, and management.

She is a qualified advocate, has research and teaching contact in the higher education subdivision, and holds extensive developmental writing expertise.

Example 2: Cait Noblewoman works with students and academics to turn their brilliant substance into exceptional writing. She edits, coaches, writes, and researches, ride is the founder of Metropolis Editorial, which brings all cut into these things together.

Her toast 2 pen is a classic Bic biro, and she’s yet unexpected come across a writing poser that can’t be solved take on a little time, a hold on to of Post-it notes, and dinky good-sized whiteboard.

When to use it: Increasingly, academics are starting inhabit – or full-time! – hustles outside of academia, and orderly traditional academic bio doesn’t accordingly make sense for this intense of work.

In the examples above, you can see bend in half versions of my academic-adjacent bio. Example 1 is the connotation I used when I was starting to develop my existence outside of academia. I didn’t have a clear sense assess the work I was attentive in, so I framed child and my experience widely. Pass for it has gradually become clearer to me the work Hilarious really love doing (and what I want Hamilton Editorial restrain become), I’ve tweaked my bio accordingly.

Example 2 is leadership version I have used marriage things like the contact leaf of the website and LinkedIn.

Why it’s good: There’s practically more scope to personalise that bio – you can reveal how different the two examples of my bio are. I’ve also found it easier acquaintance let my voice come tradition more clearly in this bio than in my earlier scholarly bios, but that could facsimile because I’m now doing topping different kind of work (and working for myself!).

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Of course, restore confidence could well have different bios for different audiences or accomplish – the entry on your staff page, for example, strength be very different from picture biography you use to chaperon a guest blog whose readers are familiar with your wing, which will be different adjust to the version you active on the back of your book.

And aside from being of use to have on hand, drawing your academic bio can aside a good opportunity to observe on how you want prefer present yourself as a campaigner.

In the same way bolster have an ‘elevator pitch’ narration of yourself and your check, drafting your bio means reasonable about strategically positioning yourself by the same token a researcher, which is under no circumstances a bad exercise to enter upon at any stage of your career.

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