The top 4 academic writing questions I get asked.
Chris Rose : Royal Literary Fellow at the University of Manchester
Introduction
I am the Royal Literary Fund Fellow in Residence at the Alan Gilbert Learning Commons at the University of Manchester. It’s an impressive job title but I sometimes worry it doesn’t really describe what it is that I actually do. Put simply: I help students with their writing. All kinds of students; any kind of writing. The name’s fancy; the job is straightforward. I’ve worked with first year undergrads and final year PhD candidates; with scientists, social scientists, artists, engineers, and future business leaders. I’ve helped some students who are in real need of some basic writing skills, and others whose work is already clearly destined to get a First. Mostly, of course, the students I work with fall somewhere between those two poles.
However, whatever the student’s discipline or skill level, a number of questions come up again and again.
In no particular order, here are the four most common questions students ask me:
1. ‘Is this the right style?’
There isn’t, unfortunately, an easy answer to this question. It is part of the vexed and thorny question of what ‘academic’ writing actually is, and how it differs from any other kind of ‘ordinary’ writing.
There are many different ‘text types’ we know this: you’ll write one way if you’re WhatsApping a mate about a night out; another if you’re sending an email to your mother assuring her you’re eating properly; another if you’re writing to your tutor asking for clarification on an assignment task, and yet another if you’re writing a piece for your Substack or, say, a blog post. Academic style is no more than this ; its a different voice you put on because of who you are talking to, and what you are talking about.
So, think carefully about who you are writing for. Think of your intended reader: is this for your tutor’s eyes only? Or for a global readership? Is it for someone who is already an expert in the field and may already know the jargon? Or for an intelligent layperson who may like to learn more about your subject?
There are some old saws about academic style (never use the 1st person; always use the passive voice; use lots of jargon and technical terms) which have some root in experience, but can be ignored if we think of the key principles: accuracy and clarity.
To use a (disputed) Einstein quote:
‘make everything as simple as possible, but no simpler.’
Sometimes you will be writing about difficult, complex ideas so it may therefore be necessary to use some difficult and complex sentences, but again, always keep your intended reader in mind, make sure you say what you need to as clearly as you can.
Don’t make unfounded generalisations, and avoid cliché at all costs.
Read a lot in your field, and don’t only read for content. Note how the writers you admire or find useful write. How do they structure their essays, their paragraphs, their sentence? Which kinds of words do they choose?
There is a tendency to try and copy a perceived notion of what ‘academic style’ is, and use lots of unnecessary words. Don’t do this: avoid obfuscation. Use the best words possible, and at all times strive for clarity and accuracy. If you have written clearly and accurately, any questions or doubts about your ‘style’ will fall away.
2. ‘How do I structure an academic essay?’
The idea of the ‘journey’ may be an overused one in contemporary culture, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a useful one. While you may not be a contestant on Love Island talking about how your experiences have changed you as a person, it can be useful to think of an academic essay as a journey, with you as both bus driver and tour group leader.
First, tell your readers where you are going, and why. This is sometimes called ‘signposting.’
After that, do what you promised. Take your reader to each of the points you mentioned. Stop carefully at each one, and remind them why they’ve come here with you. Then say how this connects to the next stop.
Once you’ve done that, you’ll arrive at your destination, and your reader will have experienced the journey with you. Take a breath, look back over where we’ve come, remind us why we did this. Don’t just repeat what you’ve already done, but also note where we still need to go.
This will result in the solid ‘introduction/body/conclusion’ structure.
Think now about each of those waypoints, the places we stopped on our journey. Each one of these is a paragraph. Each paragraph should mimic that overall structure in miniature. A good paragraph can have a three-part structure: a clear topic sentence (probably best the first sentence of the paragraph, but it can be the second one) telling us where we are and what the point is, then the supporting evidence for your statement (usually a quotation, citation or close reference to something else, a clear example, perhaps, or reported research findings), and finally, support what you have just written by linking it back to the main question. Elaborate, but always keep that question or thesis statement in mind.
There are slightly different ways to structure essays depending on whether you are comparing and contrasting, evaluating, enumerating, or discussing. Keep these general principles in mind, though, and you won’t get lost.
3. ‘How do I start?’
The fear of the blank page can be a strong one, and it is one that all writers, whoever they are, always face. You will almost certainly have noticed the cursor winking at you in an accusing way, waiting for you. You will almost certainly have let yourself make a quick cup of tea, or check your email, or your Twitter, or your Instagram before you start. You will have told yourself that you need to tidy your desk, or do the washing up, or something, anything before you can start.
There are ways to avoid this. Essentially: never start with that blank page.
Make sure you come to your writing well-prepared. You will have taken notes. Write up your notes.
Free write: clear your head and set your timer for three minutes and in that time write without taking your fingers from the keyboard. Do not stop. Write anything, everything that comes into your mind relating to the question. When you’re done, much of what you have produced may be no good but some of it will be, and you no longer have a blank page.
Remember that writing is a process. The perfect essay is not in a cloud floating around near your head waiting for you to simply transcribe it. Nothing is ever perfect the first time round: from the notes, produce a plan, then a rough draft, then a second one, and so on until you’re happy. You will notice the work improve each time: writing is a form of thinking.
4. ‘When do I use a semi-colon?’
The semi-colon is a lovely, but rare, form of punctuation. It does not automatically make your writing look more academic, or more intelligent. It’s often best avoided in academic writing, and if you’re not really sure of its usage. (Remember: is it making anything more accurate, or clearer?)
Check your punctuation carefully. All those little marks may look inconsequential, but they can be enormously helpful to a reader if they’re well-used, and enormously distracting if they’re not. Many people overuse commas: when you’ve written your first draft, go back and think exactly what each comma is doing. If it’s not doing much, get rid of it. The dash — so handy in informal writing is used much less in academic writing (where, remember, we’re looking for accuracy and clarity at all times).
Think about apostrophes and please note the difference between ‘its’ and ‘it’s.’
Well-placed commas, colons and apostrophes are essential; a well-placed semi-colon, is a luxury.
