Writing Like a Graduate Student: Tips from Experience

So far in this series on academic writing, we’ve looked at acclimating to the world of graduate-level writing through inductive methods, like reading journal articles and dissertations in your field. I’ve also shared a few of my favorite books on academic writing, to facilitate a more deductive approach. Now, it’s time for a few personal thoughts, some things I’ve learned from experience – both my own and that of others with whom I have worked. As you’ll see, many of these tips are double-edged, with a “do this” and a “yes, but” side. Yes, good writing is good writing, but also, you have to do what works best for you, your advisor and chair, and your program.

The Tips

Get it right the first time . . . if you can.

If possible, do your deductive and inductive learning before you start to write your major graduate research project – be it thesis, capstone, or dissertation. Figure out what sections you are going to need, keep track of which source contains which information (Zotero or another citation management tool is great for this), and go ahead and set up your margins and label that table correctly right from the beginning.

But don’t get bogged down.

On the other hand, pausing to check whether you should capitalize hierarchy of needs theory or to look up exactly what bell hooks said about clarity in writing can cost you time and – more importantly – momentum. Yes, try to have a sense of the guidelines within which you are operating, but don’t let precision turn into procrastination. If you have gotten yourself into a typing groove, just make yourself a note such as SOURCE or CAPITAL? Do it right in the text, as you type, and then move on. Yes, it’s easier if you use “I” rather than “the researcher” right from the start (assuming you are using APA 7 and your chair agrees), but messiness is what a rough draft is for . . . and “Find and Replace” is a beautiful tool.

Throw it all in.

Not sure if the digression into Roger’s diffusion of innovation theory is important for your final argument? Wondering if you need a section on how you came up with pseudonyms for your research participants or how you secured IRB approval for your survey? Go ahead and write it. You can always take it out later.

But maybe don’t throw it all in.

At the same time, try not to get distracted from your goal. The clearest expression of your goal should be your research question (or questions), and it’s not a bad idea to continually ask yourself how whatever you are writing relates to that question. Then make that connection clear to the reader. If there’s no connection, maybe that information doesn’t belong in the paper.

Consider your reader.

Try to have someone in mind to whom you are writing. And maybe try to have it not be only your advisor, chair, or committee. These people are important (obviously) but thinking too much about how they will assess your writing can lead to paralysis. Instead, imagine a reader who is interested in your topic and friendly to you, someone who is an intelligent and curious human being, but without your background in your subject. Writing to this person can (a) make you sound more like a human and (b) help you identify areas where your writing might be confusing, maybe because you are assuming too much insider knowledge.

Avoid overstuffing your sentences.

Sometimes students overstuff their papers with detail and digression in an effort to make sure they hit every possible point. If this is you, see #4. Others, perhaps in an effort to sound “academic” or due to a misguided belief that more is better when it comes to verbiage, write convoluted, jargon-filled sentences that confuse the reader and don’t add any substance to the argument. For example:

The subject of digital literacy among undergraduates is one that is of utmost importance and not frequently addressed among students on the campuses of colleges and universities in the United States of America.

I made that sentence up. But I wouldn’t have had to.

Consider instead:

College students need instruction in digital literacy.

Be yourself.

Yes, you need to follow the rules and conventions of your discipline. Yes, you may use words like hermeneutic and postpositivist (which you should define, to make sure your meaning is clear to both your reader and to yourself). Yes, you will be required to produce something that sounds appropriately scholarly. And no, your dissertation will probably not be something your 16-year-old nephew wants to read. But presumably, you care about your topic, your research, and your argument. Try not to let that enthusiasm and personality get lost in the Forest of Academic Writing.

A very important concept that I did not discuss in this post is the writing process. Writing is not a one-and-done exercise, but rather an iterative (there’s an academic word for you) one. Understanding how this process works can both make you more organized and take some of the pressure off. So, I’ll share more on the writing process in the next post!