Linguistics

Surviving Academic Writing in English – Phrasebanks, Thesauruses, Grammar Checkers, and Editing Services (Updated 2023/01/20: Wordvice 10% discount link)

A guide from someone who struggled with academic English writing — covering content strategy, paper structure, Academic Phrasebank, synonyms, collocations, grammar checkers like Grammarly, and manuscript editing services.

"I Hereby Renounce" — The Meme and Speech Act Theory (Starting from Li Mei-Chen's Thesis Withdrawal)

During the 2020 Kaohsiung mayoral by-election, KMT candidate Li Mei-Chen became embroiled in a plagiarism scandal and held a press conference to "announce her renunciation" of her master's degree. This post uses the linguistics concept of a declaration — a type of speech act — to examine whether her announcement actually worked, and why it spawned a wave of internet memes.

Language Is Fun — A Linguistics Podcast (語言好好玩)

I host a linguistics podcast called Language Is Fun (語言好好玩) under Mirror Fiction's audio platform Mirror Voice. The show covers linguistics, language education, and indigenous/heritage languages — using everyday examples to explore the fascinating stories hidden in language.

MOST Overseas Scholarship Guide (3): Pre-Departure Preparations — NTU to Kyoto University

Once you've been awarded the MOST 千里馬 grant, there's still a lot to handle before you leave. This post shares my experience from the 2017 application and 2018 departure, covering the process for a NTU doctoral student going to Kyoto University: visa applications, school registration status, dormitories, and collecting the grant.

MOST Overseas Scholarship Guide (1): Eligibility and How to Apply

The MOST Overseas Project for PhD Research (千里馬) offers up to NTD 900,000 per year for doctoral students to conduct research at international institutions. This guide covers eligibility requirements, application timeline, required documents, and key things to watch out for.

MOST Overseas Scholarship Guide (2): Getting a Recommendation Letter from an Overseas Professor

This post covers the two key recommendation letters you need for the MOST 千里馬 application: a domestic letter from your supervisor, and an acceptance letter from an overseas professor. How do you find the right overseas institution? What should your inquiry email say? Here's a guide plus an email template.