Writing

Get to grips with academic writing

Does essay writing trip you up? Do you struggle to know how you’re meant to write? Are you annoyed by gaps in your understanding?

The Guardian says that the change from A-levels to a university degree is too much for many students. Essay requirements are overwhelming.

photo by katiew
photo by katiew

Echoing many people I’ve spoken to in the past, Daphne Elliston told the Guardian:

“…putting my own words into academic language was hard. And it was difficult to believe I was entitled to my own opinion or to disagree with all these academics who’d done years of research.”

You don’t have to write insanely academic language. Rather, you’re meant to create an argument. Your job is to research, assess and reach your own conclusions.

But how? Where do you start? Here are some considerations for tackling essays:

  • Write in whatever order you like – It’s not a linear process. Kate Brooks at UWE says the process is more cyclical: “do some research, draft a bit, read some more, think, consider what you’ve written, redraft.”
    You can write before you research, you can build a conclusion before an introduction, and you can make random points as you go along and reorder those points at a later stage. Your writing route is flexible. Nobody needs to know how you put it together. The end result is all they’ll look at. And all they care about!
  • Consider your opinion throughout – From start to finish, be aware of what you think. Take the essay question the moment you’re given the assignment and ask yourself how you would answer it. Write a paragraph straight away, before you do any further reading. After some research, has your opinion changed? When you’ve finished writing, has your opinion changed? Keep asking yourself what *your* opinion is.
  • Feel free to stop reading – Academic research can go on and on. And on. As an undergraduate, you don’t need to obsess forever. With a load of ideas and a grip of core texts on reading lists, there’s no need to relentlessly search for every last scrap of data and every opinion ever made. That’s impossible. And you’re not expected to mention all this stuff anyway. There’s no science in knowing when to stop. However, if you’re starting to feel overwhelmed with information and don’t have any of your own writing to show for it, you can probably stop reading…
  • Select the best examples – With all this research done and a trillion ways to say the same thing, pick the clearest, most relevant references to make your point. Leave the others to your references only. The simple act of referencing shows you are aware of it.
  • Don’t feel offended – Some departments introduced compulsory modules on writing at degree level. However, some students found this offensive, according to the Guardian piece.
    After completing A-levels and getting good grades, it may feel strange to start all over again. While some students sense an overwhelm from the beginning, others think the process is just a continuation. By stubbornly refusing to discover more about the academic writing process, some students will miss out.
    Be open to learning. Even if you were entirely comfortable all along, give yourself a pat on the back for being so awesome. Not many people reach that level of awesome so quickly. 🙂
  • Discuss the writing as you go along – If possible, grab some time with your tutor (either virtually or physically) to discuss your draft essay. It shouldn’t take long to find out where you’re headed. There’s no need to be specific. Your job is to make sure you’re on the right track before you commit more time.
  • Work in small bursts, over a long period of time – The difference between a First and a fail may come about solely because of the way you use your time. There has long been a tendency to leave essays until a day or two before they are due in. A risky move.
    By waiting until the deadline, you have no option but to write in a linear fashion. Research also goes out of the window. We’ve not even got on to the amount of stress you’ll feel with nothing written and only a short space of time left. This is one of the most common methods of writing essays, but also one of the craziest. Do you really want to take that risk?
  • Think critically – As Daphne Elliston says, it’s hard to accept you have any right to an opinion worth anything compared to acclaimed academics and prolific authors. But you do. On top of that, you are able to disagree with what these published writers have said. So long as you back up the argument with reason and other references, you can argue however you like. I find that one of the most enjoyable parts of the writing process. 😉
  • Use your own voice – YOU are the author of this essay, not someone else. An overactive vocabulary is pointless. Sounding clever and being clever are two different things. Simple language can be just as powerful when you have a solid argument.
  • List the points you want to make – Plan as simply as you can. Get some bullet points down with 4, 40 or 400 things you want to discuss in the essay. The number doesn’t matter; it’s the active consideration that’s crucial. This basic plan will get you thinking right away and will even help shape how you research. The search for references and quotations is much easier when you have an idea of what you’re looking for.

If you want to explore the academic and essay writing process even further, here are some other things you can do:

Your writing will improve as you go along. When you encounter a problem, make an active effort to overcome it. Gaps in your understanding are not weaknesses, they are merely challenges. We all face these challenges every day. Even academics with years of research have to overcome gaps in understanding. That’s why they are academics. If those gaps didn’t exist, there would be nothing left to learn!

Why You Are Better Than Robotic Willpower

There are many tools around that make sure you’re only doing what you’re meant to be doing. Let’s say you’re supposed to be writing. To help you stay writing, there’s software that cripples your Internet connection, that removes your social network access, and that generally takes control of what you can and can’t do.

photo by jakedobkin

photo by jakedobkin

Instead of willpower, you can set tools to force you away from temptation.

But this is damaging.

Doug Belshaw asked via Twitter:

http://twitter.com/dajbelshaw/statuses/60691447883632641

I responded:

While software like Quiet Hours will automatically switch off email and social apps for you to get on with more important tasks, it’s not all roses and butterflies:

  1. You stop working naturally – The forced nature of your work can scupper creative thinking. There’s nowhere else to go, but you’re made very aware of the fact. Choice is more open than force, so aim for that as often as possible.
  2. It feels like a punishment – Where’s the fun in removing all distractions so clinically? There’s a fine line between giving yourself a bit of peace and pissing yourself off.
  3. A ‘no ifs, no buts’ approach is restrictive – Need to quickly look something up for a reference? Well you can’t. I tried a ‘no ifs, no buts’ practice in the past, but quickly stopped. When you’re busy working and find your restrictions stop you working, it’s a bigger distraction than everything else put together. I didn’t end up screaming, but it was a close thing…
  4. Tools can’t eliminate the problem of forgetting what you were meant to be doing – I’ve walked away from writing something in order to find a quotation in a book. Half an hour later, I’m still looking through books and I suddenly remember what my initial purpose was. A five minute job took much longer than necessary. An automated shut-down tool will remove a couple of these problem points. However, it won’t stop the problem itself.
  5. You may end up believing that you cannot rectify these problems manually (i.e. yourself) – The more you rely on tools to kick you into shape, the less you’ll be in touch with your own talent and power to push on.

There’s nothing wrong with using software to help eliminate distractions. But reliance on software is dangerous. You have the power to do it yourself:

  1. Keep a to-do/task list – An easy way to train yourself to concentrate on what you’ve set yourself.
  2. Leave plenty of time for important tasks – Left until the last minute results in panic. You may be totally focused on the task, but the deadline hovering over you like a guillotine blade will be more than enough distraction.
  3. Do things in small chunks – Rather than commit to an hour on an essay, try to work for just ten minutes. Then take a minute or two off to check social networks and other distractions. Multitasking doesn’t work, so try ‘minitasking’ as an alternative.
  4. Keep ‘valid disruptions’ in check – I’ve said before, “disruptions aren’t always unwelcome, even if they are disruptive”. Be aware of this and you can work more effectively. Give yourself time to spend on the good stuff and mix it up with your other work. There’s nothing like a bit of variation!

What do you think? Would you rather automate the process of removing distractions? Do you feel better when you have control yourself? What tips do you have to stay focused?

How fonts help (and hinder) your writing

Your academic outfit is a big deal.  Every element related to learning impacts upon you in some way:

  • Time of day;
  • Location;
  • Lighting;
  • Output method (pen & paper, laptop, etc.);
  • Ambient sound;
  • Music (or lack of);
  • Disturbances;
  • Company;
  • And so on.

I give my study setup a lot of consideration and have always been aware of how my attitude changes, depending on my circumstances.

It seems that I overlooked one important element that alters perspective on productivity…Fonts.

photo by vial3tt3r

photo by vial3tt3r

Fonts, the styles of writing you see on screen and on the printed page, are not only useful for layout and pretty structure.  They have another special power.

Your workflow and approach changes greatly depending on the font you use on screen. Fonts bring a new dimension to your writing.

This all came about when I read about the different printing costs between different fonts.  The most efficient font is apparently Century Gothic.  And, as Ampercent mentions, “The more pleasing a font looks at the screen, the less tempted someone will be to print it.  This will save both ink and paper”.

In which case, you should be able to take the logic further to aid study.

When reading, different fonts alter effectiveness and motivation, leading the reader to believe something is more difficult than it really is.

Therefore, your own engagement with text as you type probably makes an impact.

The more pleasing a font looks on screen, you’d hope it would help your own output too.  As you type, you watch the text appear on screen.  You’re engaging with the text.  You’re creating.

Until recently, I didn’t try using different fonts to see if they made a difference to my writing.  But once I changed font to Century Gothic for printing purposes, I noticed a change in how I viewed the text.

After some (still ongoing) experimentation with different fonts, I found that my workflow changed.  Sometimes I wanted to write more and more and more and…

Depending on the typeface, the text suddenly let me open up further with ease.  Even on work that I considered complete.  Quite an eye opener.

I’m amazed I didn’t pay much attention to font use for productivity in the past.  It’s not like I’ve ignored fonts.  Yet I didn’t ever think far enough to imagine a simple change of font could noticeably change my relationship with the text on screen.  Neither did I think certain fonts would let me tap away at the keyboard and enjoy the writing process more.

If you haven’t got enough fonts, or want to experiment with a wider range, a good place to start is Addictive Fonts.  The site showcases all sorts, including:

That should be plenty to be getting on with.  I’m sure that the most effective fonts differ from person to person, so find out what works best for you and enjoy!

I’m curious.  How affected are you by fonts?

How to read around a subject

When tutors suggest you ‘read around’, what do they really mean?  When you get a reading list with hundreds of books on it, where do you start?

 

photo by Valentina_A

photo by Valentina_A

Reading around covers a lot of ground and is important for undergraduate work:

“Reading will be a crucial element of your study in higher education…There is a much greater expectation and requirement, if you are to be successful, to read more independently and more widely than you may have previously.”
Studying and Learning at University – Alan Pritchard (p28)

So, reading needs to be ‘independent’ and ‘wide’.  Let’s go further:

“University work needs more than simple reproduction of facts.  You need to be able to construct an argument and to support this with evidence.  This means that you need to draw on the literature that you have read in order to support your position…What is important is to present a tight, well-argued case for the view you finally present as the one you favour.”
The Smarter Student – Kathleen McMillan & Jonathan Weyers (p226)

What you say must be backed up.  That’s where reading around comes in.  Your aim isn’t to get a unique view on the world.  That’s almost impossible.  You need to refer to what’s already out there, which is why you can’t rely on a small number of sources unless you’re content with a bare pass (or worse).

Here’s what reading around does for you:

  • Reading around helps you fill in the missing gaps you didn’t realise were there;
  • Reading around lets you know the subject, rather than just the facts;
  • Reading around is like filling up a jar in stages.  You start with big rocks of information.  When the big rocks fill the jar, you can still put in small stones of detail that fall between the big rocks.  When the small stones fill the jar, you can still put in fine sand of specifics to fill in the smallest, unclaimed areas in the jar.

How do you start reading around?  Here are a few ways:

  1. Read more than the key texts on reading lists – When tutors list ‘further reading’, ‘extra’ texts, or ‘suggested’ materials, they aren’t giving you anything that’s surplus to requirements.  The purpose of further reading is so you can learn more, not to read more stuff you don’t need to know;
  2. Highlight research that considers similar issues and explore their findings – You are discovering what has gone before.  How have we reached where we are today?  Is research still going on, or have we reached a dead end?  What is influential and why?;
  3. Don’t rely on textbooks alone – Read up online, in journals, in textbooks, in the news, and so on.  Check for the most recent research going on, even if that means no more than a quick Google Scholar search for papers in the last year or two;
  4. Find links between your subject and another field – If you stick to your subject alone, you can’t appreciate the bigger picture.  How does your subject impact upon others and vice versa?;
  5. Don’t think ‘answers’, think ‘questions’ – You’re finding what fits with your argument and how matters can move forward or be explored further.  Research wouldn’t be necessary if we had all the answers;
  6. Check bibliographies of the most useful books – When you find a corker of a book, or you rely heavily on a general textbook, the bibliography and references within can help in the same way a tutor’s reading list does.

Reading lists are detailed for a reason.  For first years especially, they need to show variation, given that students will be coming from many backgrounds and with varying levels of understanding around the subject.  You’re not expected to read everything from cover to cover. You’re not even expected to check every single title out.  But you are expected to use the list to explore and make your own discoveries.

Some books will sing to you like beautiful music, while others relentlessly scream nonsense at you. If a book’s content confuses you, don’t despair.  It doesn’t mean you don’t understand the subject; it means the book isn’t a good fit for you.

To get an idea of how a book or article speaks to you and if it’s important to your research, check out:

  • Chapter titles;
  • Abstracts;
  • Introductions;
  • Conclusions;
  • Headings/Sub-titles
  • Lists, activities, images & tables;
  • First & last paragraphs of chapters.

If certain texts aren’t available in your library, make reservations and remember to do some quick and easy online research about the book.  You can often find a lot of content long before you get your hands on the text.

Whatever you’re studying, a lot of reading is involved.  With so much out there, you may be stuck for a starting point.  John Kay explains that there’s no point in making a specific plan at times like these.  Just jump in:

“When faced with a task that daunts you, a project that you find difficult, begin by doing something.  Choose a small component that seems potentially relevant to the task.  While it seems to make sense to plan everything before you start, mostly you can’t: objectives are not clearly enough defined, the nature of the problem keeps shifting, it is too complex, and you lack sufficient information.  The direct approach is simply impossible.”
Obliquity: Why our goals are best achieved indirectly – John Kay (p175)

Kay’s point can be taken further.  You may worry that you couldn’t possibly read everything.  If you’re meant to read around, how can you do that when there are millions of potential reads?

The answer is to read enough and know when to stop.

How are you expected to know that?  Well, there’s no magical answer to finding a time to stop.  However, as you read around and research, there comes a time when your viewpoint is more confident and you have plenty quotations, references, similar views, and so on.  At this point, it’s pretty safe to start.

If you need to go back later, then do it.  Reading around doesn’t happen in one sitting.  It’s an ongoing process throughout your degree.

Part of the reason why you’re given reading lists in the first place is so you can see what is already viewed as important in your field.  You’ll see the big names, be introduced to the crucial concepts, be handed the most influential texts, and get an idea of what authors/books other academics have heavily referenced.

Reading around gives you a chance to be independent in your research, whilst being pointed in the right direction so you don’t veer too wildly off topic.  There’s no trickery or punishment involved, even if you do feel overwhelmed at first.

As with most things, the more you practice, the more you’ll get into the swing of things.

What experiences have you had with ‘reading around’?