Some tips for academic writing
Each year, my Ph.D. students struggle with writing in one way or another. Academic writing is an adjustment for almost everyone, and many students think it has to be unnecessarily complicated. As a way to set my expectations and minimize anxiety, I give them a list of tips that I call “Writing for Dr. Bingham,” though of course, it could simply be called “Tips for Academic Writing.” It certainly applies well beyond grad school.
Proofread. This may seem obvious, but it bears repeating. Of course a mistake or two will slip by every so often, but by your professor (or a journal editor) reads your paper, you (and probably one or two of your colleagues) should have read your work and there should be few, if any, errors. Try reading your paper out loud – you’ll be surprised how many errors you can catch that way.
Use active voice wherever possible. It will make your writing clearer and more effective. Using first-person/“I” in your work is perfectly acceptable, and indeed, is preferred, especially in discussing your research design and what you did in the course of the research. It is also in alignment with APA format. If you can add “by zombies” to the end of a clause or sentence, it’s too passive.
Don’t rely on quotations from other research unless absolutely necessary. Paraphrase instead. Do not use an excessive number of quotes from other researchers/scholars. By excessive, I mean more than one or two. Don’t rely on others to do your writing for you; paraphrase instead (and cite, of course).
If you must use a quote, integrate it properly. When using a quote, introduce it, and then explain it. Don’t leave it to speak for itself. (E.g., “An important primary contradiction inevitably occurs within the Object of activity. According to Engeström and Sannino (2010), ‘the Object is simultaneously a manifestation of future goals and the current reality of the activity system’ (p. 6). In other words, the Object is both how it is conceived of by individuals at any given moment, and also how it has developed over time in a particular activity system.”) See how the quote has been introduced AND explained? Quotes should also never end a paragraph.
Provide your readers with a roadmap. As part of the introduction of any academic paper or article, you should include a roadmap. What I mean by this is that you should have a brief paragraph that explains your purpose and what you are going to do in the remainder of your paper. (E.g., “In this paper, I clarify the connection between my own definition of theory and the generation of theory. I first discuss an appropriate definition for theory, after which I describe the general process of grounded theory and provide an educational issue to which grounded theory can be applied. Lastly, I delineate the application of this methodology in a hypothetical study. I conclude with an evaluation of grounded theory as a methodological approach to generating theory.”)
READ. Reading the work of other scholars is unequivocally the best way to become a better writer. You can follow the structure of other articles to help you structure your own work. You will learn various strategies to conduct studies and organize reports by actually reading them. Even more importantly, you will learn what questions to ask.
Define your terms. Always provide definitions for specialized terms (e.g. qualitative “memoing,” phenomenology, etc.). Many qualitative terms are used interchangeably or defined differently by different people, so it’s important that you explain your use of a term, and cite appropriately.
Organize your paragraphs for clarity. Start each paragraph with a topic sentence. Ask yourself, what is the point I want my readers to get from this paragraph? Then provide supporting evidence for that point, and conclude your paragraph.
Always cite relevant scholarship. Be sure to cite relevant scholarship every step of the way. Never make an unsubstantiated claim or make a statement without citing the work it came from.
Avoid colloquial language, idioms, and clichés.
Don’t end sentences with a preposition. I know that’s how everyone talks, but try not to do it in your writing. “Who did you go to the movies with?” should be “With whom did you go to the movies?”
Don’t anthropomorphize. Don’t personify inanimate objects in your academic writing (i.e. Don’t write “This paper explains…”, write “In this paper, I explain.”)
Use the Oxford Comma. The Oxford comma is the last comma in a list of things. For example: Please bring me toast, eggs, and orange juice. The Oxford comma comes right after eggs. This isn’t really a hard and fast rule as it is not technically incorrect to not use the Oxford comma, but still…you should. It’s clearer. In the sentence above, for example, without the Oxford comma, the sentence could read as if you are asking eggs and orange juice to bring you toast.
Avoid rhetorical questions. This is not a strong writing approach and should generally be avoided. After all, who do you think is going to answer the question? Case in point.
Don’t be overly complicated. “Academic” does not necessarily mean verbose and complex (though I can understand why you might get that impression). Be clear and concise and don’t pad your writing with a lot of “fluff.” Say what you need to say to support your points, but don’t be excessively wordy. Also, pay attention to page limits.