Ten Tips for Effective Research Writing

Many assessments engage students in research writing. Depending on their level of experience and the difficulty of the task, students may need some guidance on how best to engage in this process. It is helpful to remind them that writing processes vary depending, in part, on personal preference and disciplinary expectations. Although there is no single recipe for success, here are some practical suggestions to share with your learners when they begin a research writing project.

• Create a Plan: Establish deadlines for yourself when it comes to data collection, analysis, and the actual writing phase. Aim to meet or exceed these deadlines.
• Determine Audience: What are the expectations, assumptions, and existing knowledge of your audience? Consider writing for readers with less background knowledge than your actual target audience, as this can help improve your clarity.
• Style: Carefully analyze the writing style of articles in your target publication and emulate that style. Ensure that all ideas are properly cited based on your disciplinary norms.
• Research process and methodology: Simply tell readers what you did. Keep your discussions of various alternative methods to a minimum and avoid excessive detail.
• Keep it direct and simple: Avoid clichés and re-examine any uses of discipline-specific jargon that might be unclear to your reader. Strive for clear, straightforward sentences. The simplest form is best. Recognize that revision will be necessary.
• Outline: Decide which of your findings are important and give them a prominent place. For the sake of clarity, be prepared to relegate some of your findings to the appendices.
• Presenting your Data: Be prepared to struggle with the presentation of statistics. Remember that tables should speak for themselves. Readers should not have to dig through the main text to make sense of them.
• Peer Review: Share your writing with readers of various levels. Their input can prove illuminating. The Writing Centre is a great place to receive support.
• Copy Edit: Always proofread a hard copy of your writing. If possible, work with a partner and read your prose out loud, punctuation and all.

Common myths: Good writing …

• Must be perfect, the first time – Expecting your first draft to be your final product is unrealistic and demands perfectionism that can be paralyzing.
• Requires me to know exactly what I think before I even start writing – Writing is a process of discovery. Attempting to write in a linear fashion can be overwhelming and often results in procrastination. Outlining is an excellent first step and is much less daunting.
• Emerges spontaneously because of inspiration – Waiting for the muse to strike is a common pitfall that can lead to procrastination and self-doubt.
• Should proceed quickly and effortlessly – Perpetuated by impatience, this myth can result in frustration and binge writing. Expect to spend time making necessary revisions and spread the writing process out over a reasonable amount of time. Good writing takes work.
• Comes from extensive training or an innate “gift” – There is no secret formula for writing success; although, much like physical exercise, the more writing you do, the easier it gets.
• Requires large blocks of time – Whole days of uninterrupted writing time are hard to come by, so this myth can result in procrastination and anxiety.
• Must be all consuming – Devoting all your time and attention to your writing is unrealistic and unnecessary.

Working towards productive writing

• Make writing part of your regular routine. For example, consider writing 250 words a day. Even though this does not seem like a lot, it will add up quickly and reduce writing anxiety.
• Set realistic goals for each session. Divide large projects into a set of smaller tasks. This practice helps support consistency long term and prevent writing burnout.
• Write at a time of day that works best for you. You’re more likely to be productive when feeling energized and alert. Know your own peak periods and work with them rather than against them.
• Be task specific and plan ahead. Take a few minutes near the end of each session to gauge your progress and map out your next steps so you can easily pick up where you left off.

Support

If you would like support applying these tips to your own teaching, CTE staff members are here to help.  View the CTE Support page to find the most relevant staff member to contact.

Resources

• Booth, W.C., Colomb, G.G., & Williams, J.M. (1995)  The craft of research. University of Chicago Press.
• Delamont, S., Atkinson P., & Parry, O. (eds.). (2004) Supervising the doctorate: A guide to success. McGraw-Hill Education.