{"id":179,"date":"2021-04-19T15:29:06","date_gmt":"2021-04-19T15:29:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/postgradproofreader.co.uk\/blog\/?p=179"},"modified":"2022-08-11T11:04:24","modified_gmt":"2022-08-11T11:04:24","slug":"how-to-make-your-writing-sing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/postgradproofreader.co.uk\/blog\/2021\/04\/19\/how-to-make-your-writing-sing\/","title":{"rendered":"How to make your writing sing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you\u2019re an academic, you are also, by proxy, a writer. Academics lives are full of words. Emails, feedback to students, grant applications, papers, theses \u2013 all of these require the careful placement of the one word next to another. As Prince once (almost) said, if you put the right letters together<\/a>, you make a better day. And if it\u2019s good enough for Prince, it\u2019s good enough for the rest of us mere mortals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, while we university types are educated up to the eyeballs in our particular topics, we\u2019re not often taught much about writing itself. Sure, we might have had an undergrad lecture about writing essays which follow the funnel structure<\/a>, but other than that, we\u2019re left to sink or swim. Which, given how much of our lives we spend trying to communicate complex ideas through the written word, is perhaps a bit of an oversight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Humans have been communicating their ideas through writing since ancient times.

Photo by Kyle Smith<\/a> on Unsplash.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

With that in mind, here are some of PGPR\u2019s top tips for\ncreating words which stand out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Read <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every writer also needs to be a reader. Fiction writers are\nexperts in their genre, reading everything they can get their hands on by the\nwriters they admire. The same counts for academic writing. Read as many papers\nand books in your field as possible. Spot what works and what doesn\u2019t. Try to use\nthe best techniques in your own writing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, two great how-to books that can help every writer are Steven Pinker\u2019s The Sense of Style<\/a> and Stephen King\u2019s On Writing<\/a>. I\u2019m sure there are other great books on writing which haven\u2019t been written by someone called Steven, but those are a great starting point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Plan<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That funnel structure lecture you sat through in undergrad was actually pretty useful. Good academic writing should always follow a structure. This might feel boring, but it makes it easier for others to read, which should always be your aim. Think carefully about the points you want to make. How you order those points will influence how the reader digests your ideas, so plan carefully before you start. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A good plan is worth its weight in sticky labels!

Photo by Filipe Furtado<\/a> on Unsplash<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

3. Write tight<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we\u2019ve said in a previous PGPR blog<\/a>, a key tenet of writing is to \u2018omit needless words\u2019 (Strunk, 2007). Effective writing is concise. We all write in longer sentences when we\u2019re drafting something, so look back over your work and get rid of those filler words (\u2018that\u2019 \u2018very\u2019 \u2018really\u2019) which aren\u2019t needed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another tip for writing tighter prose is to avoid\nrepetition. We all have favourite phrases which we use over and over again\nwithout even noticing. Try to spot yours and find new ways of phrasing. This\nwill keep the reader\u2019s attention. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. The Curse of Knowledge (Pinker, 2014)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This concept, which Steven Pinker discusses in detail in The Sense of Style<\/a>, is especially relevant to academics. When we\u2019re an expert in any topic \u2013 be it phenomenology, attribution theory or fuzzy logic, it can be easy to forget that our readers don\u2019t share our knowledge. This can mean we don\u2019t provide essential explanations, leaving the reader lost. This is a tough nut to crack, but if you ask for feedback from a non-expert friend or colleague, they will be able to help you spot the holes that need filling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A good friend will always help you out of a tight spot!

Image by Anja\ud83e\udd17#helpinghands #solidarity#stays healthy\ud83d\ude4f<\/a> from Pixabay<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

5. Read your work aloud <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You might feel like a bit of wally doing this, but it is\nsuper helpful. There\u2019s something about reading aloud which helps you spot the\nawkward clauses or overly long sentences you might otherwise have missed. You\ncould read to a friend or family member, or just to yourself in your locked\noffice \u2013 whatever you choose, release your words into the ether and you\u2019ll spot\nlots of areas to improve. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Impactful words should be at the start and end of\nsentences <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a neat trick. If you are using words which pack a\npunch \u2013 and let\u2019s hope you are \u2013 try to place those words at the start or end\nof the sentence, and your writing will immediately improve. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s look at an example. Perhaps you\u2019re writing up some qualitative\nfindings from your fascinating study about eating tasty cakes. You\u2019ve drafted\nthe following sentence: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was reported that the chocolate cake was the most\ndelicious out of all of the options. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The three best words there, I think we can all agree, are \u2018cake\u2019,\n\u2018chocolate\u2019 and \u2018delicious\u2019. At the moment, while there\u2019s nothing technically\nwrong here, those words are a little lost. Our hacky human brains might\ntherefore jump over them, in our rush to skip to the end. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What might work better? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most delicious, reported participants, was the chocolate\ncake. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The chocolate cake was reported to be the most delicious.\n<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chocolate was found to be the best flavour. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no one right answer. When you\u2019re faced with a\nsentence like this, play around. Is \u2018best flavour\u2019 a more impactful way of\nsaying \u2018the most delicious\u2019? Several needless words were omitted in the edited\nversions. Which sounds best to your ear? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Keep an ear (or two) out for those unnecessary filler words.

Photo by Kyle Smith<\/a> on Unsplash<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

7. Employ PGPR <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If all this sounds like far too much hard work, just get in touch\nwith PGPR via the form below. We\u2019ll be happy to help your writing be the best\nit can be. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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