Tips for Practicing Your Academic Writing

How well a paper is written impacts its influence. For research data and findings to be understood, they need to be communicated in clear, direct language. Readers from both the public and academia should arrive at the same interpretations of a text. Writing effectively, though, requires practice.

Writing is a skill that needs to be practiced. And while writing a research paper is, in and of itself, practice, more can be done between papers and during the process of writing one to get better at it.

What makes writing “good”, though? And what are some academic writing tips that will help you improve? Here, we’ll answer these questions and provide you with steps to take toward bettering your work.

What makes a piece of writing “good”?

The definition of “good” writing changes between scientific disciplines and fiction versus non-fiction.

Clear, concise writing that includes transition words and sentences, as well as a definite paragraph structure, is ideal. Specifically, sentence lengths are varied, but should stick to the shorter end of things to avoid complication. Paragraphs begin with a topic sentence, then body of the paragraph explains that topic, and the paragraph concludes with a final remark that leads into the next topic. Language should be simple. Use short, common words.

Certain scientific subjects do require complex terminology, though. This can’t be avoided, since these kinds of words are crucial to the information being given and the accuracy of the text. However, ensuring that the language around your jargon clear helps keep the piece’s difficulty balanced.

Ultimately, that’s the heart of all academic writing tips: balance.

The differences in writing for humanities and social sciences vs. STEM

Within academic writing, there are variations in the needs of social sciences and STEM subjects. While STEM discourages the use of first-person, such as “I think”, humanities topics are generally based in theory rather than hard statistics. This makes it okay for writers to sometimes use this kind of language. However, third person is generally considered to be more formal and conveys a lack of bias.

Additionally, humanities and social sciences papers can use more flowery prose, meaning their language doesn’t have to be as direct as within STEM. Math equations can’t be described in a poetic way, after all. They are matter of fact. While both deal with research, their approaches are different, meaning there are different standards for the writing.

Why writing quality is important for research

The point of a research article is three-fold: to explain your study and its findings, to share this data with the broader scientific community, and to educate the public.

This means that a research paper can’t only be accessible to academics within your field. While their approval is important, especially since your research could influence their next study or build on their research, the goal of open science is to remove barriers to knowledge. This means that the average person should still be able to engage with and understand your work as much as possible.

The more people that can read your work, the more likely it is to be shared. If you plan to publish your work in open access, this is especially true. The reach of your work improves its impact, its citation rate, and the likelihood that funders will find your paper and want to work with you.

Communicating your ideas clearly also helps prevent misinterpretation.

What is an academic writing practice?

When you’re not actively writing a paper, how can you make sure you don’t lose your writing skills? Practice is one way you can work on this. Writing requires frequency in order to be maintained. It’s a habit and a talent that can only be developed with time and commitment.

Practicing writing isn’t just about the writing itself, but also about creating an environment where writing is possible. When do you have the most time to write? Is it in the morning before work? Do you have the most energy in the afternoon? Or are you a night owl? What conditions do you need to write? Some people require a proper desk set up and others prefer the kitchen table or a seat at their local café. The specifics are different for every person.

There isn’t a right time and place to write, there’s only the time and place that works for you.

Academic writing tips

Here are a handful of useful tips:

1. Create a writing schedule. For academics, writing daily may not be an option or even necessary. However, that doesn’t mean months should pass between writing attempts. Make time to write, even if you’re writing loose thoughts about a topic. Perhaps you want to brainstorm a new subject of study. Or maybe you want to begin drafting a paper but are stuck: skip tackling the introduction first and choose a different section to freely write about. You could use the content later or not at all. The point is, you got the gears turning.
2. Read other academics’ research. Learning what does and doesn’t work may be easier when you use other people’s work as an example.
3. Study up on grammar and punctuation conventions. Even if you’re a native English speaker, it’s easy to develop bad writing and speech habits without realizing it. Find worksheets online and complete them semi-regularly. You can also look at examples of your past writing and take note of mistakes you commonly make that aren’t getting picked up by spell checkers.
4. Have others proofread your work. Sometimes we gloss over errors in our work because we know what we were trying to say. Getting a second or third perspective on your work can help you identify areas that need improvement. Additionally, fielding questions from your readers can also aid you in finding the weak spots or lack of clarity in your arguments. If you’re particularly unsure about your writing quality, you can always pay for editing services.

 Tips to beat writer’s block

Writer’s block can derail any writing practice. It can feel impossible to simply write through it, especially when the subject matter you’re dealing with is technical.

There are a few more academic writing tips you can apply to hopefully overcome the block:

• Change your environment. Just because you usually write at your desk doesn’t mean you can’t take a walk to the library and work there for the day. Sometimes getting out of the house or temporarily out of the routine is a needed change of pace.
• Take care of yourself. If you feel like you’re constantly stuck, it may be that your personal needs are falling to the wayside. You can’t write effectively if you’re exhausted and hungry. Make sure you’re not skipping meals and getting enough sleep each night.
• Reread what you’ve previously written. Looking over what you have so far can not only help inspiration strike, but it can also encourage you to think about your work critically. Writing doesn’t always have to be about putting something new down on the page, but engaging with your work on a deeper level. Read your paper aloud. Look for awkward phrases and incomplete ideas and be honest about whether or not every sentence is necessary.

Don’t let a bad day or two stop you from writing. No matter how much you practice, writing is not a linear journey. Some sessions will be better than others, but so long as you write something, you are working towards improvement.