Rachel Toor
Columnist
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Rachel Toor is a professor of creative writing at Eastern Washington University’s writing program, in Spokane, and a former acquisitions editor at Oxford University Press and Duke University Press. Her most recent book is Write Your Way: Crafting an Unforgettable College Admissions Essay, published by the University of Chicago Press. Her website is Racheltoor.com.
Stories by this Author
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AdviceHow to Be Yourself on the Page
You may understand the power of first-person writing, but can you wield it gracefully? -
Advice
Scholars Talk Writing: Roxane Gay
“Allow yourself to be terrified to take risks and take those risks anyway.” -
Advice
Can the ‘Pitch Deck’ Help Academics?
You can opt to bore your audience silly with dense PowerPoint slides — or, you can adapt a popular business technique to better make your case. -
Advice
Take Your Words From Lecture to Page
What compelling lecturers do, and how their techniques can translate to good writing. -
Advice
7 Tips for Scholars on Writing for Nonacademics
To reach a wider audience, try to unlearn a few habits. -
Advice
Grammar Lessons From a Former Adjunct Turned ‘Public Grammarian’
A lively new book tackles the Oxford comma, the “unjustified vilification” of “me,” and other language matters. -
Advice
Scholars Talk Writing: Patricia A. Matthew
“The failure to support new scholars with stable university positions is the biggest threat to research innovations.” -
Advice
I Wrote a Book in 30 Days. And You Can, Too.
There is no easy street when it comes to writing, but this strategy may help you finish. -
Advice
How a Former Academic Reinvented Herself as a Novelist
A Ph.D. in English who “tumbled off” the tenure track shares how she forged a new career writing fiction. -
Advice
The Power of the Pitch
How to land an idea isn’t a skill we spend much time honing in ourselves or our students. But we should.
