General lessons (advertised in advance)
Academic writing aims rationally to persuade the reader of a conclusion. It does this by assembling an argument - whether based on empirical evidence, conceptual analysis or plausible interpretation - from premises to conclusion. It thus pulls the reader from the start to the end.
Writing style or form interacts with whatever content to underpin this movement. Hence, all aspects of writing style matter to argument: from the use of punctuation, to academic tribal colours, to the nature of the publication itself.
As a skill, writing needs to be practised (cf Gladwell's 10,000 hours for expertise), often and critically. But it is not merely a matter of writing grammatically correctly. Like practising a musical instrument, basic technique and aesthetic expression improve together.
Writing styles
Exercise 1
Look at this page of the frivolous non-academic blog Alan the Alien's Log. There are no right or wrong answers but there may be better or worse ideas. And don't worry, this is the only time today when we will discuss commas!
Why might the author have divided up the text as he has? Compare the length of the sentences. What effect does the spacing have?
Does anything strike you about the form of the second sentence?
The first, long, sentence is divided up with commas. What does this enable the reader to do? Do all the commas here function in the same way?
What speaks for and against adding a comma before the phrase 'in which'?
Thinking about the example, what is the connection between humble punctuation and the effect of the writing (modest though it is)?
Moral: Even in this trivial example, the punctuation serves as a guide to the reader for how to read the text. It also reinforces the admittedly feeble point of the text. The very different sentence lengths highlight how the second is meant to serve as a punchline. The writing - and certainly the humour - could be better but, even in this case, form and content go hand in hand. Think how much more so in academic writing.
The style of a piece of writing affects its effects.
Style can be a local feature of a piece of writing. The same author may write in different ways for different contexts eg academic vs non-academic. But an author may have a characteristic style that carries across different contexts. It is thus worth reflecting on the style you wish to develop / present.
Grammar, correctness and prescriptive vs descriptive approaches
Prescriptive grammar stipulates the rules for correct usage. It sets a normative standard like the rules of a formal game such as chess. Eg one must never 'split an infinitive'.
Descriptive grammar describes how words are typically used, the standards that are taken to be correct at a time or in a context.
Since correct language usage changes with time, supporters of descriptive grammar argue that prescriptive grammar is misguided. At the same time, some uses of words at a given time can go so much against prevailing standards that they seem ignorant / foolish or they have no clear meaning.
Our knowledge of the rules that govern our own language is tacit/implicit. So it can help to consult guides to usage such as Fowler's Dictionary of Modern English Usage. He says, for example, that we should use a colon ‘to deliver the goods that have been invoiced in the preceding words’. This is a fine phrase that helps suggest a consistent way to use colons even if there is no such thing as the correct way to use a colon.
Exercise 2:
Reflect for a moment on how you use the punctuation you do use. Do you have a distinction between commas, semi-colons and colons, for example?
Could you explain the differences - not necessarily define them - as far as your own use is concerned?
When do you use subheadings? What are they for? How do you end subsections - before subheadings - or start others?
Do you have a policy for what you want to achieve in any introduction? And conclusion?
Will a reader of your writing easily know how to follow your line of thought?
Academic tribal colours
Academic writing is comparatively formal. It follows the norms for correct usage (see above). Additionally, different disciplines or approaches have different norms.
Roughly, the natural sciences favour the passive mood. 'Reagent X was added to chemical Y and the results were observed.' The passive mood eliminates the use of 'I': the first person pronoun.
The more qualitative social sciences favour the active mood. 'I interviewed 7 participants about their experiences and complied my own reflexive diary after each interview'. Hence the use of 'I' - the first person pronoun - is more common.
Humanities generally favour the active mood and the use of the first person, at least to flag the flow of argument. So one might equally say: 'Chapter 3 will argue...' or 'I will argue in chapter 3...'. Beware, however, saying 'I think' or 'I conclude': this may look too subjective to sustain an argument.
Exercise 3:
What are the strengths and weaknesses of writing in the active and the passive mood? What do they each suggest or emphasise?
Disciplinary tribal colours change slowly and are not voluntary! Follow them unless there is very good reason not to.
Personal style
Even with all these things decided, there is still a space for personal style. My co-author once added this lame phrase to the punchy introduction of a book I'd written. “At about this juncture, it behoves us to consider…” All the energy of the introduction was thus lost in this. Think of the effects of 'about this juncture', 'behoves' and 'consider'.
Exercise 4:
If there is some freedom to adopt a particular approach, albeit relative to disciplinary norms, are there any ground rules?
Can we say that there is any overarching aim for academic writing? Is there any one thing that all such writing aims to do?
Although general claims of this sort are risky (they tend to hold only for the most part), academic writing aims at rational persuasion. It aims to make a case for something being true. So it moves from premises to conclusion in the form of an argument, whether based on empirical findings, conceptual argument or plausible interpretation. The key virtue of academic writing is the clarity of the case made: both the nature of the conclusion and the way it is justified.
The most obvious failing of academic writing is that it makes no claim and/or offers no case for it. Avoid this! Be clear and show your reasoning.
Exercise 5:
Taking 10 minutes off the conversation, look at any of the writing examples on the padlet and make a good natured comment! What works well? What might need watching?