We are always happy to consider blogs and news items you’d like published on the SSI website. If you’re not sure if your article is a blog or a news item, consider the following breakdown:
Blogs | News Items |
Longer articles that reflect on something that happened or offer an opinion on a topic. Blogs are not time sensitive and may require several rounds of editing before they can be scheduled for publication. | Shorter articles announcing a publication, award, future event, or deadline. News items are time sensitive, so we require that you submit them at least 2 weeks before the deadline. |
Writing a Blog
Have you achieved something you’re particularly proud of? Have you attended a thought-provoking event or course? Do you want to contribute your knowledge and expertise to a specific topic?
Then the SSI Blog is the perfect place for you! We are always happy to offer a platform to share your achievements and activities with our wider community.
Don't worry if your draft isn't perfect yet, we are happy to review your work and help you polish it for publication. If you can answer yes to the following three questions, we want to see your draft:
Is the topic of your blog relevant or of interest to the Research Software community? | Is your blog a reflective article or a thought/opinion piece? | Is the language suitable for the audience you want to target? |
Thinking about the audience you wish to target is a useful first step. | All blogs published on the SSI website must contribute something valuable. Your post should be more than just a list of achievements or a timeline of an event or course. | Going back to your ideal audience, try putting yourself in their shoes: |
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How to write a reflective piece
A reflective piece explores an event, experience, or concept, analysing your personal thoughts, feelings, and actions rather than just describing them.
| A simple way to think about reflection is using the Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle: | |
| What happened? When and where did it happen? Who was present? What did you and the other people do? What was the outcome of the situation? Why were you there? What did you want to happen? |
| What were you feeling during the situation? What were you feeling before and after the situation? What do you think other people were feeling at the time, and how do you think they feel about it now? What were you thinking at the time and what do you think about the situation now? |
| What was good and bad about the experience? What went well? What didn’t go so well? What did you and other people contribute to the situation (positively or negatively)? |
| Why did things go well? Why didn’t it go well? What sense can you make of the situation? What knowledge can help you understand the situation? |
| What did you learn from this situation? How could this have been a more positive situation for everyone involved? What skills do you need to develop to handle a situation like this better? What else could you have done? |
| If you had to do the same thing again, what would you do differently? How will you develop the required skills? How can you make sure that you can act differently next time? |
How to write a thought/opinion piece
A thought or opinion piece aims to stir up the reader’s thoughts. It is usually speculative, with a lot of expository material, context, and the author’s analysis and opinion of new or existing ideas.
Thought/opinion pieces:
- encourage people to dig deep, think through, and discuss different philosophies;
- bring an analytical perspective to current understandings of different frameworks, philosophies, theories, and experiences;
- present beliefs, ideas, and analyses in a clearly structured and concise way.
| A simple way of structuring a thought/opinion piece includes the following elements: | |
Introduction | The introduction of a thought/opinion piece often includes an anecdote, quote, or dramatic statistic. The goal of this first paragraph is to show how you have looked closely at the topic, and found this excerpt to raise questions and issues that you want to address. |
Nutgraph | What is the subject? Why does it matter? Why should readers care? This is the ‘nutshell paragraph’ that aims to provide the reader with the context for the article. |
Exploration | What are the main arguments and assumptions? What are your opinions on the topic? Why do you care and why should others? This is where you explore the subject in more detail, revealing the depth of your research, and explain your stance on the subject. |
Ending | A thought or opinion piece should take a reader on a journey. It has a clear ending that wraps up the piece. Sometimes this will mean ending with a powerful quote, referring back to the beginning, or calling the reader to action. |
Tips for writing a blog
Keep it short.
Successful blogs are short and snappy. You want to be able to engage and entertain a web audience, so we recommend that you keep your blog posts to 500-1000 words max.
Keep it simple.
Blog posts are more casual than journal articles, so write in an engaging and conversational tone. You should avoid difficult language, long sentences and the passive voice. You can add some flair, but blogs are still written pieces and you should not write exactly how you speak.
Keep it scannable.
Most readers quickly glance at an article before deciding to read it. Split long paragraphs into two or more shorter paragraphs and break up the text with subheadings, bulleted lists, or block quotes.
Keep it engaging.
Don't make your audience wait to find out what they'll be reading about: state your theory, argument or theme from the very beginning.
Keep it visual.
Adding media to your blog can be another great way of making readers relate and feel part of your experience. Visual tools can help your reader see what you are describing and offer an interesting opportunity for formatting, structure and narration.
Writing a News Item
Are you running an event, publicising a course, announcing a publication or an award?
We are happy to publish news items that are relevant to the Research Software community on the SSI website.
To ensure your news item meets our publishing guidelines, please follow these practical dos and don'ts:
Do | Don’t |
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If you need help refining your news item, please get in touch. For news items bound to a deadline, please get in touch at least 2 weeks in advance. All other news items will be published as they best fit our publishing schedule.
Preparing your blog or news item for submission
Once your news item is ready or your blog draft is finished and you are happy for us to review it and work together to produce the final draft, ensure that:
- The draft is saved as a Google Doc;
- Your title is 60 characters or fewer;
- All images are captioned and saved together in a separate folder;
- Your author name, credentials, and professional links (ORCID, LinkedIn, GitHub, etc.) are up to date.
When everything is ready, email the links to your Google Doc and image folder to the SSI Communications Manager, Denis Barclay, at d.barclay@software.ac.uk.
References
Cabag, Y. (2021) 'Think pieces: What they are and how to write one', TCK Publishing, 8 October. Available at: https://www.tckpublishing.com/think-pieces (Accessed: 19 May 2026).
Edinburgh University Press (no date) Blogging. Early Career Researcher Hub. Available at: https://edinburghuniversitypress.com/publish-with-us/early-career-researcher-hub/promoting-your-research/blogging (Accessed: 19 May 2026).
Guardian Foundation (2024) Writing an opinion piece [Worksheet], June. Available at: https://theguardianfoundation.org/assets/files/behind-the-headlines-opinion-task-june-2024.pdf (Accessed: 19 May 2026).
Imperial College London (2022) Writing news articles. Web Guide. Available at: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/staff/tools-and-reference/web-guide/training-and-events/materials/writing-news (Accessed: 20 May 2026).
University of Edinburgh, Information Services (2024) 'How to write an engaging blog', Academic Blogging Service, 8 October. Available at: https://information-services.ed.ac.uk/learning-technology/learning-and-teaching-technologies/academic-blogging-service/introduction-to-5 (Accessed: 19 May 2026).
University of Edinburgh, Reflection Toolkit (2024) 'General tips for academic reflections', Reflection Toolkit, 15 October. Available at: https://reflection.ed.ac.uk/reflectors-toolkit/producing-reflections/academic-reflections/general-tips (Accessed: 19 May 2026).
University of Edinburgh, Reflection Toolkit (2024) 'Gibbs' reflective cycle', Reflection Toolkit, 15 October. Available at: https://reflection.ed.ac.uk/reflectors-toolkit/reflecting-on-experience/gibbs-reflective-cycle (Accessed: 19 May 2026).