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 Start at Your Beginning
The best way to learn how to write papers is first to read papers. Everyone needs models of excellence. When you read an article in the literature, make an active attempt to look at the structure and form of the article. How did it flow? What were the various sections? How did they relate to each other? Your papers should be as good as you can make them at this point in your development, but they should not be any better than that. Identify your point of departure, and respect it. Don't compare yourself with others. Start at your beginning, find out what you need to do to advance yourself, and then do it. Know Your Audience
You need to know the intellectual context and customs of your audience. Find a target journal or two in which you want to publish your paper. Then examine the journal articles to see the style of the papers that are published. Tailor your writing style to fit those journals. Also look at the editorial board of the journal. If you can, cite an editor's work in your paper, but make certain that you do that skillfully. If you have acquaintances or teachers who are on the editorial board, talk to them about how to get your paper published in the journal. How Do You Know That?
I have found the following maxim absolutely essential in writing: How do you know that? A reader of your paper deserves to know where you got the information that you are reporting. That is the essence of scholarship because it opens the door to questioning conclusions based on the evidence for them. If any paragraph in your paper reads as though you originated the material, you must tell the reader that, saying perhaps that your personal experience led you to the following observations and conclusions. If you are not the originator of the material and your paragraphs read as though you are, then your writing style is wrong. You must write so that the reader can easily identify the source of information, whether that is from you or from a citation source such as a journal article. What It Doesn't Take
It doesn’t take a giant intellect to criticize someone else’s work. It is far, far easier to criticize than it is to create. When we refer to critical writing, we mean to evaluate thoughtfully with a view to building on someone else’s foundation, not tearing down a foundation. Your intellectual products should be crafted so that you are building the foundation for the next evaluator. What It Feels Like
Achieving acceptable scholarship and writing effectively are difficult tasks. If you're miserable in the process, that's the correct feeling to have. The joy and satisfaction are in the outcome, not in the process. Aim for the outcome, and tell yourself that if you're miserable along the way, you're doing it right. Don't stay stuck, however. If you need assistance to get unstuck, ask for it. Don't Make Excuses
The following two excuses are never acceptable: (1) Oops. I forgot, and (2) Oh. I didn't know. Own up to your shortcomings and overcome them. It's Never Finished
Find a famous journal article in the literature. There will likely be something wrong with it somewhere. Look at a funded grant proposal. It won't be perfect. There are milestones in your work. Bring your work to a level that is the best that you can do at that time, and then move on to something else. Perfecshun doesn't exist (p > .05).
E-mail: Henry Emurian |