PGN workshop: Decoding Ideas: Enhancing Critical Thinking, Reading and Writing in Academia

Thursday 26 Feb 2026, 15:00 → 16:30 Europe/London

online

Navigating the demands of academic reading, thinking, and writing can feel overwhelming. Knowing not just what to read, but how to interpret it, question it, and translate it into clear, persuasive writing, is a skill many struggle to master. Anne Wilson will once again help us out with that in another interactive workshop, inviting participants to examine their own approach and experiment with techniques that make critical thinking and writing more intuitive and effective.

Our workshop lead will be Anne Wilson. She is an award-winning scriptwriter, journalist, and careers counsellor with a passion for helping students and academics develop sharper thinking and more effective communication across different media.

A personal invitation from Anne:

When supervisors ask us to write more critically, they’re challenging us to display not just intellectual and analytical skills, but also an attitude, a state of mind. Yet a critical approach at this level can't be taught as a 'one-size-fits all' skill; researchers need to experiment and discover what it means to be critical, in their discipline and for their specific project. You need to feel it - perhaps even in your body - so you can recognise it in your own work.  I invite you in this short interactive session, to experience critical thinking in real time. Please have a short summary of your project to hand (your PhD or a journal paper) as we'll be using it in an activity.

Registration will close two hours before the event begins.