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  • Writing online resources

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    Much has been written about developing the knowledge and skills necessary for research writing, namely internet sources, blogs and books (see the section on Recommended resources). Key principles include:

    1. use writing to convey the key messages about your research and convey the meanings as intended – tools that assist this process are: talking about your research, ongoing drafting and redrafting (write a rough draft and then rewrite/redraft again & again based on constructive feedback comments from supervisors and trusted peers). Experienced researchers might have up to 30 drafts of a research proposal of about 8 pages. The shorter the document, the more redrafts! 
    2. analyse well-written research texts as models of research writing – How is the text structured? What makes it clear and easy to read? What role do images (tables and figures) have in conveying meanings? What references are selected and why? 
    3. practise, practise and practise – keep writing on a regular basis as a habit. Write when reading or after doing experimental work or after having had a great conversation with others about your research or just because you are thinking about your research. 
    4. play with your text – keep finding alternative ways to express ideas – for example, might a diagram be a simpler way of expressing an idea
    5. seek feedback – constructive feedback enables you to develop your ideas further. Comments received are a 'gift' from your reviewers who took time to think about what works in your text and what still needs more development. The comments are not about mistakes you are making. Remember you are writing a highly complex text. The more comments, the better! Ask your supervisors, post-docs and your research peers.   
    6. be patient with yourself as you develop your research writing style – it will take time. So enjoy the learning.
    7. develop new skills – use Bibliographic software like EndNote (see Library resources), maximise your use of the Microsoft Office suite through using Linkedin Learning, use Word or LaTeX as a professional, and learn to use the UniSA thesis template (see Word for thesis writing). 

    Recommended writing strategies
    Based on these principles some strategies to become an effective research writer are:

    1. write every day – Many research writing books, supervisors and research candidates will say: ‘Write every day!’, even ‘15 minutes a day’ will make a difference (Bolker 1998). Keep practising in a quiet conducive place by ‘freewriting’ in a journal or making notes in your lab book or a hard-backed journal. Enjoy the creative process of working with your thoughts.
    2. find excellent examples of discipline-specific research texts (papers, proposals and theses) – examine the examples for content, organisation and the way it convinces you the ‘reader’
    3. talk with your peers and others – about what you are reading, thinking, writing and doing; ask questions; and, discuss confusions as part of your learning process   
    4. establish and maintain effective working relationships with your supervisory panel – be honest and open about your writing processes and seek advice from more experienced research writers about what works for them. 
    5. attend research writing workshops listed in EDGEx, including writing retreats – participate in such activities, be sociable with peers about research and research writing. You might set-up a writing group within your research cohort. Avoid doing all your writing alone. 
    6. enjoy – be creative, try new ways of writing and thinking, learn new skills about research writing
    7. publish – when you are ready, follow guidelines, not rules. Learn that your first writing will be a ‘mess’ and that is OK! It will take multiple drafts until you have a final product. 

    DON’T set yourself the goal of making the first version the final version!

    These principles and strategies are just a few to get you started based on the following series of useful resources.

    1. Sword, H 2017, Air & Light & Time & Space: How successful academics write, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA & London.
      This excellent and inspiring book explains habits of experienced research writer. It is easy to read with many anecdotes and includes suggested activities and further references (available as an ebook in the Library).
    2. Jones, D 2007, The Virginia Woolf Writers’ workshop: seven lessons to inspire great writing, Bantam Books, New York.
      Virginal Woolf inspired beginning writers and might have had 7 lessons for new writers. The 2-page summary of this book has been adapted for research writers (see attachment).          
    3. Bolker, J 1998, Writing your dissertation in 15 minutes a day: A guide to starting, revising and finishing your doctoral thesis, Henry Holt and Company, New York.
      This classic book has inspired many research writers (see 8-page summary attached).   

    4. Zerubavel, E 1999, The clockwork muse: A practical guide to writing theses, dissertations and books, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
      This book discusses issues that some research writers face – e.g. anxiety, writer’s block, procrastination and burnout. It suggests ways to overcome these issues by developing a routinised approach to writing large projects (see 2-page summary attached). 

    Activity
    Invite other research writers to give you advice on how to develop your research writing skills.  

    This resource was developed by Dr Monica Behrend.

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