Developing and Strengthening Writing Skills – Written by Genia Nizokorodov

In grad school, robust writing skills are a necessity. A strong writing style will not only help you with completing course work, publishing journal articles, and defending your thesis, but will also ensure that you are able to provide concrete feedback to your students on their own work.

Writing, like any other skill, requires practice. Honing the ability to write in a clear and engaging style can be an arduous process. It’s also a skill that can always be improved. Even a strong writer can benefit from additional revisions and writing suggestions. Below I’ve included a few tips for developing and strengthening your writing skills.

1) A good outline takes you a long way. Always begin the writing process with a written outline. The outline doesn’t have to be complex. A simple framework of which sections should appear in a particular order, along with a few sentences about what each section contains, may be enough.

This outline should be revised or re-written as you move into various stage of writing. If you find yourself stuck, I would suggest discussing your paper focus and argument structure with your peers. Having to explain your work helps you articulate your ideas and to double-check that the order in which you are presenting your argument will make sense to the reader.

Halfway through your paper – especially if you a struck – I would recommend writing a new outline. Your ideas and your paper focus might have evolved over time. This process allows you to take a step back and examine your paper as a whole.

2) Write every day. Even if it’s for only 30 minutes, set up a designated block of time. The writing does not have to be perfect. The first step is to put words on the page. Some days, this may feel easy. Your ideas are fresh, and you’ll hit a stride. Other days, you might find yourself staring blankly at the computer, not sure of where to proceed. Again, the trick here is to fall into a writing routine and to practice describing methodologies or theories that are useful for your research focus.

If you have no upcoming deadlines or assignments to complete, practice summarizing a book chapter or an article that you’ve just read, or wet work that you’ve completed. This will not only start to build an annotated bibliography for you, but will also allow you to experiment with different writing styles and find the one that works for you and align with expectations of your research field.

3) Develop an eye for what effective writing looks like. Read as much as possible, especially the literature in your field. You are recommended to read at least one paper relevant to your research focus every day, or at least 5 papers a week. Flag papers or books that you felt were particularly helpful in your understanding of the subject. For these papers, examine the structure and the presentation of the central argument and findings.

4) Try to get multiple sets of eyes on your work. Once you start producing publication drafts, dissertation chapters, or grant/fellowship statements, try to receive regular feedback from your peers and from you mentors. The most important set of eyes, of course, are those of your advisor. I would strongly recommend also reaching out to your peers, as they can provide a unique perspective to your work.

Sometimes, we get so close to our own work and our own ideas, it is difficult to know whether we are leaving the reader to make assumptions about our own work. Be sure to also show your work to peers unfamiliar with your research topic. This will help you learn how to describe findings, theories, and conclusions in a way that is robust, yet accessible. Ask your peers to evaluate whether your conclusions are clear.

5) Accept that first drafts are not meant to be perfect. Do not spend hours agonizing over every word of your first draft. You will have time to revise your work later. The primary purpose of a first draft is to try to get your main ideas on the page, and to flush them out as best you can.

6) Edit your work ruthlessly. You’ve taken an immense amount of time and effort to get to a first or second draft. As you start to review your work, you may feel attached to your writing. However, you have to try and step back and examine your paper as someone reading it for a first time. Take a few hours or a few days time away from your paper. Let the ideas sit. Once you’re ready to review, go through the whole document, paying attention to both structure and clarity. Pretend that you are helping a dear friend with their own work – leave physical comments in the document, writing notes to the “writer” with concrete suggestions for a revision. A few questions you should ask yourself as you are going through the paper:

a) Does my paper have a clear focus? The central idea of your paper should be immediately clear within the first paragraphs or pages (depending on the length). Regardless of the number of chapters or sections you have, your paper should tell a coherent story. If it reads as a number of smaller sub-papers, then you need to either revise your paper focus, or revise your sub-sections.

b) Can I easily follow the flow of ideas? Within each chapter and paper section, ideas should be presented in a way that guides the reader through concrete steps or leads him/her to a particular conclusion.

c) Were there sections that felt bulky or verbose? Your writing should be clear and concise throughout the whole paper. To keep the reader engaged, be sure to vary your sentence structure. I often read paragraphs aloud to myself and listen to their meaning and rhythm as I go. It’s a great way to spot redundancies in writing, awkward wording, or bulky sentence. If you find yourself running out of air as you read, or your mind starts to wander halfway through a sentence, there’s a good chance that the reader will have the same experience.

d) Are the main take-aways from my paper clear? As I’ve mentioned before, one of the most important elements of effective writing is ensuring that the reader walks away from the paper without making any assumptions about your work. If you leave the reader to connect the dots on his/her own, then there is a possibility they will misinterpret your argument. Be assertive. Write exactly what you mean, every time.

This list is by no means an exhaustive collection of writing strategies. I hope these tips help you strengthen your writing skills and to develop your own voice. If you have any other suggestions, please share them with your peers in the comments. Happy writing!