Sunday, November 3, 2013
Keep writing, keep writing, and always be reading
One of the often obscured possibilities in academic writing is to tell a good story, a strong narrative. There will always be data; the trick is telling a narrative using the data that engages the reader, does justice to the data, and doesn't get do itself in trying to tell everything all at once. A story, a text, by definition, includes some things and leaves others out. Here are some helpful thoughts on getting that opening paragraph to sing.
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I really appreciate this share since I'm experimenting with it in my writing this semester. It's taken me a while to develop the confidence as an academic to move away from the more scripted approach to academic writing towards my own style which may violate some of these rules. I wonder if the ability to do this is tied in with one's own sense of development and thinking...
ReplyDeleteThis article was a nice change of pace amidst the many readings grad students are faced with that emphasize academic jargon over a strong narrative structure. As a grad student, I do feel as though we are confronted with the difficult task of finding a balance in our writing between what academic norms dictate and what makes for engaging reading. I always admire writers that exhibit an ability to capture this balance with regularity.
ReplyDeleteI thought that someone could be interested in submitting the class project to the Tenth International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry will take place May 21-24, 2014 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The theme of this year’s congress is “Qualitative Inquiry and the Politics of Research.”
ReplyDeleteHere the link http://www.icqi.org/