I have a love hate relationship with academic writing. The same reason I love it is the same reason I hate it! Isn’t that something? I love the structure and format. I also hate the structure and format.
There tends to be a standard format in just about all academic pieces I read. Intro. Theoretical framework. Literature Review. Research design. Methods. Results. Conclusion/discussion. A few other sections may be included depending on subject matter and author. This makes my job as a reader much easier because I know what to look for and where to look for it. I also don’t have to read the entire piece to have a grasp of what’s going on in the paper. This format allows readers to choose their focus for the paper. For example, I may be looking for research method ideas. So, I’ll probably only read introductions and method sections of a paper. Or maybe I’m want to better understand the topic and I choose to dive deep into the literature review. Either way, I have choices and there is a structure that allows me to pick what I need or am interested in learning from the paper. It’s simple and it makes sense.
I also hate this format. It’s so boring. It’s boring to write and it’s also boring to read most of the time. I really enjoy unstructured but understandable and readable writing. Writing in the standard format feels very stifling for me. I feel like I’m boxing myself in. That generally leads to me feeling insecure about my writing. I haven’t figured how to meet the standard and feel good about what I’ve produced. Forreal forreal I don’t want to meet the standard. My inner voice always telling me, “Girllllll just do your own thing.” LOL. And I listen. Then I get feedback that makes my paper look like its bleeding. I haven’t quite figured out the solution for that one…
Another thing, the standard format is boring to read. It’s the same thing over and over again. I love writing where I feel like I can hear the author through their writing. There are so many articles I’ve read that literally all sound the same. Only thing changing slight is the content. And I do mean slightly. To be fair, there are papers I’ve read that go against the grain and I love and appreciate these works. These scholars have mastered how to communicate their research in a way that is fascinating, using their voice, and still meeting academic writing expectations.
Unfortunately, I don’t have a solution to offer. There are many people I know who are comfortable and enjoy the structure of academic writing. There are also several others that feel like me. I personally think a spectrum of writing formats could be mainstream in the academic space if we allow it. I mean it is a peer led industry…
I also hate this format. It’s so boring. It’s boring to write and it’s also boring to read most of the time. I really enjoy unstructured but understandable and readable writing. Writing in the standard format feels very stifling for me. I feel like I’m boxing myself in. That generally leads to me feeling insecure about my writing. I haven’t figured how to meet the standard and feel good about what I’ve produced. Forreal forreal I don’t want to meet the standard. My inner voice always telling me, “Girllllll just do your own thing.” LOL. And I listen. Then I get feedback that makes my paper look like its bleeding. I haven’t quite figured out the solution for that one…
Another thing, the standard format is boring to read. It’s the same thing over and over again. I love writing where I feel like I can hear the author through their writing. There are so many articles I’ve read that literally all sound the same. Only thing changing slight is the content. And I do mean slightly. To be fair, there are papers I’ve read that go against the grain and I love and appreciate these works. These scholars have mastered how to communicate their research in a way that is fascinating, using their voice, and still meeting academic writing expectations.
Unfortunately, I don’t have a solution to offer. There are many people I know who are comfortable and enjoy the structure of academic writing. There are also several others that feel like me. I personally think a spectrum of writing formats could be mainstream in the academic space if we allow it. I mean it is a peer led industry…
Tiffany is a higher education professional in institutional effectiveness, research, assessment, and planning.
RSS Feed
