My academic writing classes start with skeptics and usually end with converts. The path between can be uncomfortable.
Some participants hate writing. Some have had bad past experiences, which they describe as "frustrating" and even "traumatic".
My students sometimes feel that applying the principles[^1] of clear writing conflicts with them developing their own personal writing style.
We can resolve this conflict if we think about our stages of learning. I particularly like using the ancient Japanese concept of Shuhari.
Academic writing can be hard--hard to read and harder to write. But does it have to be?
What rule states that academic writing should be heavy and exhausting to read?
Can your structure be simple, even if your subject matter is complex?
Will readers understand your complicated topic better if they first have to untangle a complicated structure?
Can academic writing be easy to read? Even, dare I say it, enjoyable?
How often do you stop to reflect on the purpose of your research and the purpose of the article or book you are writing?
Photo by Ian Schneider
Why are you doing that research? What is your ultimate reason for writing that article?
Or maybe
Let's talk about comparisons.
Comparisons, or comparative sentences, are a blind spot for many academic writers, but especially those for whom English is not a native language.[^1]
Academic writing can and should be clear and easy to read.
In my experience, academic writers only need a few strategies to drastically improve the quality of their text. Will you start using these strategies?
Let's break the cycle of long, complicated, hard-to-read prose. How do you write about your research clearly? It takes effort and focused attention, but if you understand a few basic ideas, it does not have to be so hard.
Most higher education is focused on content, not on form, yet the form that the content takes determines its accessibility and its impact.
To improve your writing, learn these three strategies first:
November marks academic writing month, and we have just launched ReallyWrite, a platform dedicated to improving your writing skills.
We want to help you with your writing and get valuable feedback at the same time.
You're deep in your research and you're excitedly writing a paper to share all the details with the world. But how can you make the biggest impact?
Most of us are so involved in our text that we forget to pay attention to the other player in this game: the reader. We find it hard to stop and think about where our reader is, what our reader is thinking of, and what our reader needs. Instead, we focus on ourselves: "What do I want to say here?" and "What do I find important?"
If you are only focused on yourself, you will not be seeking to communicate in a way that makes sense to your reader.
Many readers struggle to read academic articles. But you can make a difference by making your article easy to read and thus increasing its reach.
There is one basic way to improve your writing skills: shift your perspective.