Traditional Academic Writing
Developing Your Own Writing Style:
Comments on Essay Extract
The following extract is taken from the introduction to an essay: The Benefits of Good
Writing: Or Why Does It Matter That Students Write Well? , written by Rukhsana Ahmad
and Katharine McMahon for a report published by the Royal Literary Fund.
Read it through now:
At its most beautiful and complex, excellent writing crystallises into art.
The lyrical poem, unforgettable play, haunting novel, powerful essay or compelling film is
all collections of words. Even when writing neither seeks nor attains artistic status, for
many of us it is the familiar and preferred route to self-expression and action. We use the
written word to affirm and connect, to protest and defend, demand and proclaim, inform
and persuade. Through writing we can explore, understand and formulate elusive and
complex ideas, share information and engage in debate. This process does as much to
elucidate our own thoughts as it does to communicate them to others.
But the most functional and elementary role of good writing is antecedent to its creative
and expressive forms and modes. This resides in good writing’s capacity to transmit,
interpret and extend our inheritance of learning over the ages, passing it on to future
generations with as much clarity and exactitude as possible. This aspect of writing is the
most pertinent to teaching and learning within an academic context. It is, therefore,
imperative that our universities and institutions of higher education enable students to
achieve the highest possible standard of writing.
This chapter will first explore the term ‘good writing’ and its qualities, and then establish
the benefits to the student, the university and the wider community of ensuring that
students at all levels can write well. The shadow side will also be explored. What happens
to students who lack the confidence, motivation and skills to write effectively – and what
are the implications for their degree course, their personal development and for those
who teach or study with them? (Ahmad and McMahon 2006).
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Structure
Each paragraph introduces and develops a particular idea:
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The first paragraph presents the role of writing as a prerequisite and spur to
action.
The second paragraph reminds us of the role of writing in passing on knowledge
to others ‘with as much clarity and exactitude as possible’.
The third paragraph describes the structure of the chapter and highlights
important features of it. This raises the interest and anticipation of the reader:
note the phrase ‘the shadow side will also be explored’; the essay will look into
less obvious and darker places and it ends with a rhetorical question.
Starting well
The task of any writer is to gain and keep the attention of the reader. Look at the way the
first sentence does this: ‘At its most beautiful and complex, excellent writing crystallizes
into art’. The words ‘beautiful’ and ‘complex’ lure us into the text because of their
unexpected introduction into an academic article, and for the juxtaposition of images
created by these words. We often have an image of academic writing as dry and lifeless,
and words like ‘beautiful’ can pleasantly surprise us.
The authors remind us that writing can untangle complex ideas and present them in a
‘beautiful’ way and that attracts and appeals to us aesthetically. The word ‘crystallizes’ is
interesting. The authors could have simply said ‘changes’. But the word ‘crystallizes’ is a
more precise – and elegant - term to use as it conveys the idea of separate and disparate
elements fusing into one attractive, unified form. The use of the word ‘art’ in relation to
‘powerful’ academic writing can remind us that our essay need not just be a dull, utilitarian
thing, but a means of persuasion.
Connecting with our senses
Throughout the extract the authors carefully choose words which convey action, connect
with our senses, or have other emotional resonances. Adjectives such as ‘lyrical’,
‘unforgettable’, ‘haunting’, add a qualitative dimension to the writing.
And action is spurred through a sense of pace and rhythm produced by using paired or
single verbs; for example, ‘we use the written word to affirm and connect, to protest and
defend, demand and proclaim, inform and persuade’; or, ‘…we can explore, understand
and formulate elusive and complex ideas, share information and engage in debate’.
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Rhetorical questions
Rhetorical questions can be effective in assignments providing you use them sparingly.
This you must do, as your role is to answer the questions in assignments and not pose
them!
However, if you both pose a question and attempt to answer it, then this can make for
interesting reading, and can demonstrate your depth of reading and your analytical ability.
You may have noted the use of rhetorical questions in the example essay shown earlier in
this chapter (paragraph 14). The student could not, however, have answered these, as
they were general life questions only individuals can answer for themselves.
Not for the likes of me?
Finally, you may think that this was an extract written by professional writers and that you
will never be able to write like this yourself. Not true. It certainly takes effort and practice.
But you can learn from reading good quality writing, if you analyze the way the writer has
organized and shaped the text, the emotional impact of the words used, and the quality of
the arguments presented.
I hope you will agree there was no sense of this being an article patched together from the
work of others; it was clearly the genuine and original ‘voices’ of the two authors
concerned – even though it was written in the third person. You will know it is good writing
if it strikes you as particularly interesting and effective, and if it has connected with you at a
deep level. You may not know why, but you know it has. And if it does, then try and identify
why.
You and ‘I’
The third-person style of writing tends to be the current norm in essay writing in Britain and
elsewhere. There is a convention in writing for higher education that arguments should be
presented in a dispassionate and objective way. One way of doing this is to try and
remove the word ‘I’ from assignments.
But like most established conventions it is subject to the forces of change and some tutors
will encourage students to include their own opinions. Some assignments may, in fact,
invite you to relate theories directly to your own personal experiences, thus inviting you to
use the term ‘I’.
The following assignment title is one such example:
Organisational change can be a difficult process for all concerned. Describe a
situation in which you resisted change. Why did you do so? What were the
consequences of your resistance?
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In an assignment like this you are being asked to do two things:
1. Demonstrate your knowledge of the dynamics of change, particularly
organizational change;
2. Relate this knowledge to your own personal experiences.
In such an assignment you can usually adopt ‘two voices’:
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The ‘Detached Observer’
The ‘Active Participant’.
The Detached Observer (objective)
The Active Participant (subjective)
You analyze objectively and discuss
the overview ideas and theories of
organizational change, e.g. preparing
for change; managing change; sources
of resistance.
You make connections between your
own personal experiences and the
theories, ideas and practices presented
in your assignments.
So your assignment can be written reflecting these two voices. There is the voice of the
‘detached observer’, and your own voice: the ‘active participant’.
However, your own comments will need to be made in a reflective way and will involve
making connections between your own experiences and the theories, ideas and practices
that you have been studying. You would need to ask yourself ‘what do my experiences
add to this discussion?’
For example, an assignment of this type might be introduced to the reader, as follows:
This assignment will discuss the nature of innovation and change in
organisations and the impact that change can have on the people involved both
inside and outside the organisation. I will connect this discussion to my own
experiences when I worked at a large department store in London that was
subject to a merger by a larger retail organisation. At the time, I felt the merger
was badly managed, in terms of poor communication that preceded and
followed the change;
I will be discussing this aspect in relation to exploring the implications of my
resistance to the change.
To try and avoid the use of the first person term, ‘I’ in this situation would be clumsy and
unnecessary – and don’t forget you have been invited to reflect on your own personal
experiences.
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However, you would revert to a more detached and passive voice when switching from the
personal to the detached observer; for example a ‘detached observer’ style of writing in the
same assignment might look like this:
Organisational change refers to any transformation in the design or functioning of
an organisation. It is likely to happen when an organisation creates or adopts a
method of production or working practice that is different in a significant way from
the one preceding it.
Keeping the
out of assignments
As stated earlier there is a convention in higher education that author’s ideas should be
discussed in a seemingly detached and objective way; ‘seemingly’, as the selection of
evidence to present in an assignment is a subjective act and can reflect the student’s own
position and preferences.
One way to present ideas in a detached way is to use alternatives to ‘I’ at these points in
an assignment.
These can include:
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It can be argued…
Arguably…
This assignment will present the following point of view…
Some commentators, notably Bloggs (1990) and Jones (1992) have argued…
It may be that…
We can see that… (‘We’ in this context refers to anyone who cares to see!)
This assignment will attempt to show that…
Perhaps…
One point of view is that …
Another point of view suggests however, that…
There are two sides to this question. Firstly,…
However, …
In conclusion it can be argued that…
© Colin Neville
C.Neville@bradford.ac.uk
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