Writing Advice
Overview
Being a graduate student means being a graduate writer. Learning to be a strong written communicator will help you share your ideas with your colleagues in an academic field or industry. A key skill to develop intentionally is how to make our material easy to understand for the reader. We want to write in a clear manner because you can have the best ideas in the world, but if others cannot understand them, then they lose their impact. Graduate school is the ideal place to develop these skills before you start working in industry or continue your academic journey.
We have curated resources below that are helpful to start developing your skills as a writer and self-editor to make your writing accessible to the reader. In addition, we have a dedicated page for advice about using Inclusive and Antiracist Language since a crucial part of making our writing accessible to the reader is to use inclusive, anti-racist, and bias-free language.
The Writing Triangle
A key insight for writing easier-to-read sentences is that a sentence has three dimensions. Many people only focus on a sentence's content and grammar, but as graduate writers, we need to recognize the power of the third dimension: style or organization. Which sentence do you find easier to read, #1 or #2?
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Most readers will find sentence #2 easier to read, but why? These two sentences have similar content and grammar; it's the different style that makes #2 the preferred sentence.
The resources on this page highlight tools for writing clearly and concisely, using strong verbs, and refreshing our fundamental understanding of grammar to avoid issues such as run-ons and comma splices. More handouts on grammar and style topics can always be found on the Homegrown Handouts page of our website.
Creating Easy-to-Read Sentences
Creating Easy-to-Read Paragraphs
Easy-to-Read Sentences.pdfEasy-to-Read Coherent Paragraphs.pdfClear & Concise Writing Workshops
We offer multiple workshops that focus on clear and concise writing--an important skill for anyone, but something that's especially important for graduate students who often need to write about increasingly complex topics. The following videos are shortened versions of four of our regular Writing Center workshops. Check out the videos for more information, and if you'd like even more practice in these areas (or others!), register for our one-hour Zoom workshops that cover writing concepts in more depth. We have 20 workshop topics on our regular schedule, and we offer these workshops on varied days and times (including in the evenings) to accommodate student schedules.
Creating Easy-to-Read Sentences
Creating Easy-to-Read Paragraphs
Common Grammar & Punctuation Errors
Revising for Clarity: Subjects and Verbs
Muscle Verbs for
Good Writing
Good Writing