![\"\"](\"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Academic-Writing.jpeg\")
Writing is a crucial aspect of doctoral work \u2013 indeed all the scholarly work you will undertake from now on. Writing is integral to scholarship. Whether you are in or out of higher education, if you are researching, you are writing. Writing and its associated activities reading and talking, are the major ways in which we make sense of what we are doing. Writing is how we communicate results, ideas and interpretations to others.<\/p>\n
But there is \u201cstuff\u2019 that can get in the way of writing.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s very easy to compare yourself as a writer to your peers. Perhaps they write more than you do. They never seem to fret over a blank screen. They seem supremely confident, whereas you feel very uncertain. But you already know that comparison is really unhelpful and unhealthy. Appearances can be very deceptive. Don\u2019t give in to the temptation to make yourself feel inadequate. Everyone has their own writing history which has led them to the doctorate, and everyone has different approaches to and experiences of writing.\u00a0The reality is that there are many writing routes through to the thesis. The important thing is that you find your pathway, the one that works for you.<\/p>\n
If you have a tendency to look sideways at other people\u2019s apparent writing successes, then just remember this. If you have made it into a doctoral programme, you are by definition good enough at academic writing. Throw any notion that you can\u2019t write out the window, now. If you already think you are good at academic writing, that\u2019s a fantastic start. You\u2019re here, so you are.<\/p>\n
The doctorate is the time to build your own repertoire of writing approaches. But these new strategies may be not exactly what you\u2019ve been doing up till now. Scholarly writing is not quite the same as you\u2019ve done to get here, and that you will do from now on. For a start it\u2019s ongoing. And it\u2019s also different. Let me explain this a bit more.<\/p>\n
You may have developed some writing habits that stood you in good stead in your previous study and perhaps professional work. They may not stretch to the kinds and volume of writing you now have to do.<\/p>\n
The PhD is a long haul.\u00a0\u00a0There are not a lot of deadlines. Your institution will set a few milestones and your supervisor will try to get you to plan and set regular goals \u2013 these are often built around writing. Setting goals is important because you can\u2019t leave things to almost-the-last-minute in the doctorate \u2013 you need to be building up your knowledge and know-how throughout your candidature.<\/p>\n
The PhD is a lot about information work \u2013 gathering \u201cstuff\u201d together, storing and labelling it so you can find it again, cultivating and working it so that it grows and changes over time.\u00a0\u00a0Writing is your friend in this endeavour.<\/p>\n
At the start of the PhD you will need to become much more systematic at using writing to support your reading \u2013 in tasks like note-taking, summarising and synthesising. It can help to keep a reading journal and\/or another kind of document or journal in which you record your developing ideas. So you do have to write, and write regularly.<\/p>\n
If you find the volume of PhD writing difficult then there is advice and support to help. You can use voice-to-text software, which is improving all the time. You can join a regular Shut Up and Write session, or start one of your own. You can join one of the increasing number of online writing rooms. And you are now likely to be able to access writing workshops in your university.<\/p>\n
However, this writing also needs to help you to move away from being a \u201cstudent\u201d.<\/p>\n
I said earlier that scholarly writing was different from the writing you\u2019ve done up till now. And it\u2019s not just about volume, frequency and regularity. It\u2019s also about the kind of writing you need to do.<\/p>\n
Scholarly writing is not the same as undergraduate or taught course writing. The thesis, just like journal articles, chapters and books, is different from essay writing. In an essay the student\u2019s job is to say everything there is to know about a topic. The good taught university student can reasonably expect good marks for coverage and clever interpretation, and outstanding grades for giving a brilliant answer to the question someone else has set.<\/p>\n
But as a researcher, you now have to argue and persuade \u2013 you write in relation to your topic, you use literatures and evidence to support the case that you are making. So getting practice at writing for another reader \u2013 your supervisor \u2013 is very helpful. Helpful if you can see this writing for your supervisor as learning how to become scholarly, rather than a performance you have to get right. When your supervisor comments on your writing, it is not about whether you are correct or not. Their comments are designed to support you to make the shift to thinking and writing as an expert, as an authority.<\/p>\n
You generally don\u2019t get to know how to write as if you are expert straight away. So do be forgiving to yourself it this doesn\u2019t all jell at once. It\u2019s learning \u2013 it takes time.<\/p>\n
And the academic writing you do is based in your particular discipline. Every discipline has a load of writing conventions, particular terminology and hidden rules you need to know about. Getting on top of these \u201chidden\u201d aspects of writing happens over time. But your supervisor is likely to be very helpful here too, they can make these covert practices more explicit.<\/p>\n
However, it\u2019s good to know that academic writing generally isn\u2019t just one homogenous thing \u2013 even the most apparently stodgy disciplines can encompass various genres and styles of writing. While a few rules, such as citation to acknowledge when you\u2019ve used other people\u2019s work, rarely go away, there is often more room to move in academic writing than is sometimes acknowledged.<\/p>\n