On Writing for the Academy
Part 2
If you missed Part 1 of this post on academic writing, be sure to check it out! The following are additional tips and resources I’ve
benefited from over the past few years. Please add to the comments if you have
more to share!
Writing Groups
I am a
member of two different writing groups, and I love them! They are critical
friends who hold me accountable to making progress on my writing each week and
provide feedback on my writing as needed. I also find that in the process of
reading my peers’ work and providing feedback, as well as hearing others’
feedback, that I learn more about the process of writing. I am in both a
science education focused writing group, as well as a more generalist writing
group, and I turn to them for different purposes depending on what I’m writing.
I can’t say this strongly enough – form a writing group!
Writing Retreats
Writing
retreats are a chance to get away for a weekend (or however long) with a group
of colleagues and friends to write in community with one another. It’s great
for accountability when you share your daily writing goals with one another and
check in at meal times together. With decreased distractions, writing can be so
much more productive, and in community with friends, it’s more fun! My friends
and I always plan out meals in advance and take turns being responsible for
preparing different meals.
Books for Academic Writing
There are
a few books I’ve read since starting graduate school that have been
instrumental in developing my academic writing.
They say, I say: The moves that matter in academic writing, by Gerald Graff and Cathy
Birkenstein was required reading in my first semester, and really taught me
about the art of developing an argument and entering into an academic
conversation in your writing. I have friends who used the sentence stems in
this book when they got stuck writing their dissertations!
How to write a lot: A practical guide to academic writing, by Paul J. Silva helped
me think about managing my time for writing, and what all “counts” as writing
time. Hint: it’s not just the time your fingers are moving across the keys!
Writing your journal article in 12 weeks: A guide to academic publishing success,
by Wendy Belcher helped me get the manuscript out for publication that I
mentioned in the first paragraph. Note about this book: the title is a bit of a
misnomer. The book is designed more like a workbook with tasks for each of the
12 weeks, but it assumes you already have a draft of a paper written. So,
really, it should be called Revising your
journal article in 12 weeks!
Academic writing: A handbook for international students, by Stephen Bailey is not a
book I’m personally familiar with, but it was recommended to me by someone
whose opinion I trust! I thought some readers might appreciate this perspective.
Other Blogs on Academic Writing
I am new
to writing blogs, and I had to split mine into two because it was too long, but there is so
much to talk about with academic writing! If you’re looking for other online
resources, here are some blogs on academic writing that may be of interest to
you:
Written by Christa Haverly, fourth-year doctoral candidate at Michigan State University
Keep up the good work Christa!
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