During my 20 years at universities, I have met a lot of talented students who fail because they have no skills in writing. Moreover, I’ve seen some much less talented young people (I see one of them in the mirror every day) have done well because they learned how to write.
It all starts in graduate school, where a real transformation occurs. People are switching from taking courses to writing. The stars of the classrooms – the people everyone admired and looked up to – are not so cool anymore. Conversely, a few ordinary students – those who did not care about pleasing the professors by making every task in the assignment – are suddenly sending their articles to journals, publishing their works, and growing into professional academics.
The reason for their transformation is not complicated. It is writing.
Many professional writers have talked repeatedly that writing is hard work, and that’s true. Unfortunately, requirements for writing in most university subjects are so low that student doesn’t write their own assignments; they just search: “pay for someone to write my essay”.
This post is all about useful information on scholarly nonfiction writing that (I hope) helps students to write less badly.
- Writing requires practice.
You can get better and faster by only improving your writing skill. If you were going to give a speech at an important professional conference, would you wait for it and then speak unprepared. No, you would be preparing most days before the event. You might start by choosing the material and then training in front of the mirror. If you want to be better, write as much as you can. Do not expect that an external-review report will help you to enhance your writing.
- Set effective goals.
The plan to write for four hours without a break is a delusion. The task to complete four double-spaced pages assignment is a goal. After you have written four pages, try to do something else. Go to meetings, prepare for class, and study. If later in the day you want to write some more, great. But if you don’t, then at least you’ve done something.
- Try to write interesting content; don’t just turn in a paper.
Most students do not think that their essays should be interesting. They are focused on grades as if the essay assignment is not related to ideas writing. Paradoxically, if all you are thinking about are grades, you may not receive the highest ones. It is easier to write about something when you are interested in the subject you are writing about.
- Do not do all the work at the last moment.
Many clever students convince themselves with pathetic lies like, “I will write my best essay the last night.” It is not true – face it. You cannot write better under the pressure of a deadline. I’m not saying that you are not smart. Just understand that you cannot make an important contribution to a profound problem in the middle of the night just before the exam.
Real writers think of their works for hours, wrestling with their ideas. They discuss ideas with experts over dinner, ask questions, and go for long walks. And then write some part of the creation.
Don’t feel bad if your writing skill is not perfect and isn’t promptly applicable. You will get ideas as long as you write.
Writing is like magic because a writer can produce in the mind of some other person, distant from him, a picture of his ideas.
- Everyone’s unwritten work is a work of genius.
The more work is unwritten, the more genial it is. We are all familiar with those talkative graduate students that have all the answers. They are telling you what they will write about and how brilliant it will be. This being said, holding a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other in some bar. Years pass, and they still have the same answer. It never stops because they are not actually working on anything. In reality, when you are actually writing and working hard on the assignment, you will feel stupid, inadequate, and tired. In case you don’t feel like that, then you worked not so hard. So, do not worry when someone asks you, “What you are working on?” and you cannot explain anything. You just have no time to practice your answer like the guy with the beer and a cigarette.
- Complete the puzzle.
Think of your essay assignment as an answer to a puzzle:
- “A and B start with the same assumptions but reach opposing results. How?”
- “There are three problems in the assignment, but surprisingly, all are the same problem. I’ll tell you why.
- “Theory proves something. But in practice appears something else. Is the theory wrong, or is there another factor we have missed?”
Do not follow these formulas too closely, but they will help you to present your work to an audience of listeners at a lecture.
- Reserve your most productive time for writing.
I am a “morning person,” so I write early in the day. Then I spend the rest of my day doing paperwork, teaching, or having meetings. Some could be a “night person” or something in between. Just emphasize the most productive work for writing. Do not put away writing for later. Just squeeze all your things; the writing will be better with a clear head.
- It is hard to create profound thoughts.
Many students get confused because they cannot find the analytical advantage of the question in the essay assignment. Then they stop writing. Do not rush! The thing is that you may spend quite a lot of time just focusing on your thoughts. It is always hard to refine assignment questions, determine terms, or know your argument will work until you have written it all down and read it a few times.
- Your most compelling thoughts can be wrong.
Or they may not be completely correct. It is funny when new graduate students think they know what they will write for their dissertations. Almost all academics were changing their mind about doing research and writing about it. They make their conclusion by doing, and sometimes, they learn that all their thoughts are wrong.
- The first drafts are not always good.
Edit your work as many times as it needs. Give other people to look at it. One of the big advantages of graduation is that we are passing through all this together. Moreover, we all know the disadvantages of not having a very clean eye. Exchange papers with mentors or peers. And if you are tired of your own writing, read someone else work. Do not be afraid to be criticized or rejected.
If you feel that you have written enough and composing a paper is pretty easy for you, you can earn good money as a writer. The sources like Payforwriting are always looking for those who write well. So, following these tips, eventually, you can make writing a career.
