Academic writing, much like any other form of writing, is a demanding endeavour that requires patient and diligent hard work. It can take the average scholar up to two or three years to learn and sharpen the various skills and intellectual proficiencies associated with good academic writing.
Now, although polished academic writing skills and techniques can only be developed and mastered over time, there are a few practical guidelines that can help you accelerate this process. With this in mind, here are 5 of the biggest academic writing myths that you must absolutely steer clear of:
- Myth #1: Academic writing is a linear process
There is much discussion about good academic writing practices, with many scholars and educators often talking about the various merits and demerits of a certain writing process. In fact, a quick internet search can fetch you numerous results that proclaim to teach you ‘everything you need to know about academic writing’. However, many writers still find themselves stumped when it comes to writing their academic papers. The reason for this is pretty simple – writing is not a linear process.
Unfortunately, there is no explanatory diagram or step-by-step flowchart that you can follow in order to become a seasoned academic writer. Instead, the actual writing process involves constantly modifying your work, jumping between multiple sections of your paper in order to make it more coherent. So, if you ever find yourself editing and re-editing your thesis statement midway through writing your paper, fret not – you are not the only one.
- Myth #2: Writing skills are more important than reading and researching skills
Writing skills go hand-in-hand with reading and researching skills. To improve upon one of these areas, you will invariably have to improve upon the others too. Even if you possess good writing skills, it does not necessarily mean that you will become a good academic writer in case your reading and research skills are not up to the mark. After all, you first need to be able to fully understand what you are reading in order to interpret it and paraphrase it successfully.
So, a good idea is to always begin by understanding the aim and scope of a given academic assignment, followed by researching it thoroughly. Once you have understood the general idea and have sufficient and relevant matter at hand, it will be easier to intuit and write the rest of the assignment with common sense, practice and some helpful guidance on good academic writing practices.
- Myth #3: An introductory writing course is enough instruction
Some scholars, and even educators, for that matter, believe that an introductory writing course is enough to arm oneself with the required know-how towards writing an academic paper. However, nothing could be further from the truth.
Writing is a lifelong endeavour that involves constant learning and improvement. Assuming that a mere introductory course will make you a better academic writer is just folly on your part. A certain instruction course might be able to help you with a specific assignment, but this does not mean that it will provide relevant assistance with your next assignment too. So, be prepared to work hard on every assignment that you receive over the course of your academic tenure, rather than wrongfully assuming that you have learnt everything by attending a single introductory writing course.
- Myth #4: Good grammar is good writing
Some individuals are convinced that drilling grammar into their assignments is an easy fix towards attaining desired outcomes. While grammatical correctness is indeed important, it is definitely not the ‘be-all’ and ‘end-all’ of academic writing. After all, good writing is about more than just good grammar. Most importantly, it is about achieving a desired effect upon the target audience. A well-written academic paper should be able to clearly communicate its intended message to the reader.
So, concentrate on your grammar to a fair extent, ensuring that your academic paper is devoid of glaring mistakes that would render it incoherent. However, equal attention should be paid towards assessing the assignment tasks and guidelines appropriately, and conducting your research accordingly.
- Myth #5: Writing perfect first drafts
Many scholars are guilty of having too many expectations from early drafts. However, it is unrealistic to expect that you will write a perfect academic paper on your very first attempt. If you try to do so, chances are high that you will either overwork yourself trying to achieve the near-impossible task of creating an immaculate first draft, or you will get frustrated and give up altogether.
Remember, there is hardly anyone who writes perfect first drafts. The sheer scope of subjects, genres and fields of study present means that writing different academic papers requires a different approach each time. For instance, a scholar who has written an exceptionally good academic paper on English Literature might not necessarily turn in a well-written paper on Psychology too. So, do not beat yourself up if that first draft is not up to the standards you have set for yourself. With concentrated effort and study, you will gradually improve as an academic writer indeed.
Conclusion
Ultimately, academic writing can appear to be quite intimidating for most to even begin with. Moreover, the aforementioned myths can hinder scholars from appreciating and learning this art to an even bigger extent. Ideally, this article should be successful in debunking these harmful myths to give you a more comprehensive understanding of academic writing – and how you can excel at it.
