Writing

For graduate students, or people in academia, writing is the staple of their life. How to write an organized and intriguing paper is a difficult task, especially for people learning English as a second language.

One tip that I personally feel useful when writing a paper is to determine in advance "what story am I going to tell the readers?" Indeed, people like to hear about stories and even a profound research article can have attractive story lines. The story line(s), or narratives, will make papers not only more readable, but also more coherent.


Another tip of writing a research paper is to make your paper like a "funnel." What this means is that you start fairly broad (introduction of the current field of study), gradually narrow down to the specifics (lay out your research focus and the results), and then go broad again to discuss the implication of your findings and your contribution to the knowledge body.

This structure is also applicable when composing the literature review section, where you start with very broad overview of current literature and end with your particular interests in that study. These points are mentioned in the book on the right side. However, this is only one of many elements that make a good literature review. Another main idea to keep in mind, as far as I know, is to write around arguments, not around authors!

I learn this from my adviser, who might learn this somewhere else too. This statement suggests that literature review is not only an accumulation of various studies from different authors. It should be a systematic depiction and summary about relevant studies. Writing around authors would make the literature section look like a pile of names without knowing the connection or relationship between studies. According to another professor in my department, you can tell whether the authors are students or faculty by reading the literature review. But don't get me wrong. I am not saying that writing around the arguments is the necessity.

The element of good writing should also include choosing the right language. Here I am not talking about selecting the right/ precise word. I am talking about how to "frame" your argument. For instance, "limitation" is a section common to most of research papers. However, many researchers call it "discussion of the NATURE of the data." The difference might seem subtle. But the "nature" of the data would sound more positive and agreeable than "limitation," which make your study sound unimportant. Another point about limitation is that "do not end with it." Your study should finish with the "big bang," not constraints.

These are just some tips that I either heard from my academic mentors or read from some writing handbooks. I believe there are tons more and I'll be extremely happy if anyone would share their own tips or experience with me. A good article, after all, does not come from memorizing principals, it comes from constant practice and discussion.