Writing Microtechniques

Low-Level Rules for Effective Academic Writing

Writer on mountain generating text using a typewriter. (Image by MidJourney v6.0.)

As academic writers, we often develop our own set of rules and techniques that help us craft effective prose. These “microtechniques” are the low-level building blocks of good writing, guiding us through the process from initial drafting to final polishing. In this post, I’ll share some of the microtechniques I’ve observed in my own writing practice. Note that these are individual, low-level rules I’ve found myself following; I’m not attempting to explain how they all fit together, but rather presenting an accumulation of techniques that have proven useful in my own writing. In other words, your mileage may vary.

Structuring Your Content

Effective writing is as much about structure as content, especially for academic writing. Here are some techniques to help you organize your thoughts:

• Long shot, medium shot, closeup: When writing, start with a general background, then provide increasing levels of detail.
• Hunting for the paragraph break: Always be on the lookout for opportunities to split your text into paragraphs. This improves readability and helps organize your thoughts.
• Avoid the wall of text: Use bullets, subsections, and other structural elements to break up your content and make it more digestible.
• Avoid single-paragraph subsections: Ensure each subsection contains at least two paragraphs for better balance and flow.
• Body text between headings: Always include some explanatory text between headings to provide context and maintain narrative flow.
• Enumerations are excellent: When listing items or points, aim for three, five, or seven entries. These numbers tend to be most effective for readers.

Crafting Effective Paragraphs and Sentences

The paragraph is the fundamental unit of prose. Here’s how I go about creating effective paragraphs:

• Sentences are atomic: Each sentence should focus on one main idea or point. If you find yourself talking about more than one thing in a sentence, split it.
• Thesis sentences: Ensure each paragraph has one clear thesis sentence, with all other sentences supporting it.
• Multiscale thesis sentences: Apply the concept of thesis sentences at multiple levels — for the entire paper, each section, subsection, and paragraph. See my blog post about Plotting Your Paper for details.
• Simple sentences: Opt for short, precise sentences over long, complex ones. Use supporting sentences to clarify your main points.
• Vary sentence length: As a corollary to simple sentences, varying sentence length helps keep the text easier to read and more engaging.
• Prefer active over passive voice: Active voice is more engaging and direct. For example, instead of “The experiment was conducted,” write “We conducted the experiment.”
• Words are expensive: Weigh each word for its contribution to the overall message. Remove or replace words that don’t add significant value.
• Reordering sentences: Don’t be afraid to rearrange sentences for better effect and flow.

Developing Your Argument

A strong argument is the backbone of effective writing. Here’s how to build yours:

• Story is key: Frame your writing as a narrative to engage your readers. Getting the story (or pitch) of your paper right is critical.
• Be specific and exhaustive: Provide concrete details and cover all aspects of your topic.
• Step-by-step argument: Ensure you don’t skip any logical steps in your reasoning.
• Organize your argument as bullet lists, then expand: Start with a structured outline before fleshing out your full text.
• Support all statements: Back up your claims with evidence or reasoning, unless the statement itself is your main claim for this academic work.
• Concrete examples: Use specific examples to illustrate and clarify your points. Examples are powerful tools and serve to ground academic writing. Without them, you run the risk of coming across as vague and hand-wavy.
• Ideas vs. implementation: Separate the explanation of theoretical concepts from the details of how they were implemented.

The Writing Process

Good writing often emerges through an iterative process. Here are some techniques to guide your writing journey:

• Outline first: Start with a top-down outline, filling in simple thesis sentences for each segment down to at least the section/subsection level. See Plotting Your Paper.
• Writing is iterative: Expect to write and rewrite your academic paper over and again.
• Counterpoint: Once and done (not really!): Be sure to embrace the sense of accomplishment in completing a draft, knowing that revision is part of the process.
• Separate generating vs. editing text: Don’t try to generate and edit text at the same time, especially when you’re learning academic writing. In the initial pass, focus on writing something, even if it’s bad. You can improve it later. See my blog post on A Punch Is Just a Punch.
• False starts are fine: Keep your initial attempts until you’re editing. They may contain valuable ideas.
• Write ahead: Leave yourself notes to help with thinking and remembering key points.
• Starting earlier is better than later: Begin your writing process early, but not so early that you lack necessary information.
• Writing as a form of thinking: Sometimes, writing “too early” can help you understand what you’re missing in your work. Writing something can almost wish it into being (i.e., you realize that you need something because you wrote about it).
• Edit mercilessly: Identify and improve weak sentences as soon as possible. As Stephen King famously said, “Kill your darlings, kill your darlings, even when it breaks your egocentric little scribbler’s heart, kill your darlings.”
• Content first: In your initial draft, focus on capturing the correct content without worrying about perfect language.
• Intro first: The introduction of your academic paper is where the story (or pitch) of your paper comes together. While some people leave it until the end, writing it first can help you get the pitch straight in your head, allowing everything else to fall into place more easily.
• Counterpoint: Write opportunistically: Some sections can feel particularly daunting to write. If things are slow, switch to writing about something that you find easier to explain.

Polishing Your Prose

The final touches can make a big difference in the quality of your writing:

• Condensing is enriching: Tighten your prose by removing unnecessary words and phrases. This is particularly true for academic writing.
• The shape of prose: This may sound silly, but pay attention to the visual appearance of your text, including avoiding widows and orphans.
• Explain concepts: Don’t take terms for granted. Provide sufficient explanations for your target audience. The ability to put yourself in your audience’s shoes is a difficult skill, but worth developing.
• Define concepts: Clarify your specific usage of terms, even well-established ones.
• Learn good typography: While it usually doesn’t affect the content directly, good typography can prevent creating a bad first impression. Pay attention to details such as using curly quotes instead of straight quotes, and using en/em-dashes appropriately instead of normal hyphens.

By applying these microtechniques, you can enhance the clarity, structure, and overall effectiveness of your academic writing. Remember, good writing is a skill that improves with practice. Keep refining your techniques, and your prose will continue to evolve and improve.