5 Tips for academic writing, poetry style
A few days ago, as I was musing about nothing in particular, the words of Dr Seuss flashed across my mind: “It has often been said there’s so much to be read, you never can cram all those words in your head.”
This made me wonder about the kind of writing that could capture readers’ attention amidst the volumes of published research in this day and age. Here are a few building blocks I could think of, presented in my inspiration’s favorite form of writing - poetry. These tips for writing an academic paper should help you with the smaller nuances that you need to be attentive towards.
Communicate, don’t complicate ―
Your results “show” a trend, they don’t “demonstrate.”
Put yourself in your readers’ shoes ―
The simpler of the two words, always choose.
A “commonly known fact” is a generalisation ―
Avoid making one and provide a citation.
Before your readers realise that they have read it,
They should see your sources have received due credit.
Spelling and punctuation can lead or mislead,
So do not forget to edit and proofread,
As “discreet variables” keep their information confidential,
While “discrete variables” take defined values in an interval.
When you start a sentence with “there” or “it,”
You should know there is room to omit.
If “there is a need” or “it is important,”
Use “we must” instead, to make it more succinct.
The way you present your data should enable
Your readers to understand every figure and table,
Independently of the rest of the text,
Which should only detail the most striking effects.
Every manuscript has a story to tell,
Your story deserves to be narrated well;
Follow these tips and write your narrative,
Assured that it’s nothing short of superlative.
I hope you enjoyed reading the poem and found these tips useful.
If you’d like to talk about any of these, feel free to write to me in the comments section below. Of course, if you have any feedback for me or would like to share verses of your own, I’d be happy to hear from you.
And if you're looking for some detailed tips on academic writing, I'd recommend these:
Published on: May 21, 2018
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