Perspectives from Larry McEnerney's Writing Effectively Session for Emerging Scholars
The Writing Effectively Session for Emerging Scholars with Larry McEnerney's Takeaways
During a workshop intended to improve the writing abilities of graduate students, Larry McEnerney, Director of the University of Chicago Writing Program, provided insightful commentary. These succinct notes condense his suggestions for new researchers on how to write well.
Introduction:
Larry McEnerney, the Director of the University of Chicago's Writing Program, imparted invaluable insights during a session dedicated to enhancing the writing skills of graduate students. This compilation serves as a reflection of his guidance and presents key ideas and recommendations for effective writing aimed at emerging scholars.
Key Ideas from Larry McEnerney's Writing Effectively Advice:
Forget Writing Rules: Obsessing over rules hinders meaningful writing; focus on readers instead.
Shift to Changing Ideas: Writing isn't about expressing thoughts but changing readers' ideas and perspectives.
Value Trumps All: Writing must be valuable to readers above all else.
Reader-Centric Writing: Understand your audience and prioritise what's valuable to them.
Value Words: Identify and incorporate value-indicating words specific to your field.
Highlight Value: Ensure your writing emphasises the value it provides to readers.
Start with Reader Focus: Begin by considering your audience and how your writing will change their perspectives.
Key Ideas from "The Craft of Writing Effectively" Summary:
Writing as a Tool for Thinking: Writing aids thinking, particularly in innovative and research-oriented fields.
Writing for Value: Prioritise providing value to readers over clarity, organisation, or persuasion.
Reader-Centred Approach: Focus on how your writing impacts readers and aims to change their perspectives.
Value Determined by Communities: The value of writing is determined by the communities it serves, which have their own value codes.
Identifying Value Signals: Dedicate time to identify code words signalling value within your field.
Knowing Your Audience: Understanding your audience is essential for providing value and effective persuasion.
Moving the Discussion Forward: Writing should help readers understand and advance knowledge in a community.
Starting with a Problem: Begin writing by presenting a problem that matters to readers and make them care about it.
Creating Tension: The introduction should introduce instability and questions of cost and benefit.
Language of Gap and Error: Express instability through gap (filling a hole in knowledge) or error (correcting existing knowledge).
Target Readership: Clearly define who should be concerned with the problem you've exposed.
Key Ideas from "The Craft of Writing Effectively" (UChicago Leadership Lab):
Focus on Readers: Prioritise thinking about your readers over rigid rules when writing.
Reading and Writing Processes: Recognize the difference between the horizontal process of writing (for thinking) and the vertical process of reading (for changing thinking).
Impact on Readers: Writing interfering with readers' vertical process can lead to misunderstandings, slowdowns, and disinterest.
Teachers vs. Real World: Teachers grade, but real-world readers seek value in writing.
Writing Must Be Valuable: Effective writing must be valuable to readers, surpassing clarity, organization, and persuasion.
Value in the Eye of the Reader: Readers determine value; writing should change readers' ideas.
Understanding vs. Changing Ideas: Focus on changing readers' ideas, not merely explaining your own.
Knowledge and Community Codes: New ideas aren't knowledge unless they matter to a specific community with its code.
Learning the Code: Identify influential figures and understand your community's code to provide what they want.
Persuasion and the Code: Persuasion hinges on understanding readers' doubts, aligned with the community's code.
Identifying Value Words: Find words that indicate instability, challenge, contradiction, and red flags to create tension.
Writing the Introduction: Start with a problem, use language of instability, and follow the community's code.
Solving the Problem: Present a solution that addresses the instability's cost/benefit for readers.
Literature Review for Professionals: In professional writing, the literature review enhances the problem by emphasising instability.
Emphasising "Gap" in Knowledge: Be cautious about emphasising a "gap" in knowledge, as it assumes bounded knowledge, which may not be true.
Precise Points from the Article "The Craft of Writing Effectively" on Academic Writing:
Academic Writing Critique: Academic writing often suffers from vanity, insecurity, and the desire to signal erudition.
Misconceptions in Academic Writing: Academic writing doesn't primarily serve to communicate the writer's ideas to readers.
Mismatch in Goals: Writers often assume different goals than unpaid readers, leading to fundamental issues in academic writing.
Changing Reader's Thinking: Effective writing aims to change readers' ideas and perspectives.
Writing for the Community: Understand your community and its code to provide valuable content.
Challenging Established Ideas: Be willing to challenge established ideas using the language of instability.
Valid Objections: Address valid objections to your approach while emphasizing the importance of changing readers' ideas.
Precise Points from the Recommendations on Larry McEnerney's "The Craft of Writing Effectively"
Presentation:
Value Over Everything: Value is more important than being persuasive, organised, or clear in academic writing.
Value Lies in Readers: Readers determine the value of writing; it's about changing their ideas, not just explaining the writer's ideas.
Understanding the Reader: Focus on changing readers' ideas; think about the reader's perspective and aim to change it.
Changing Reader's Ideas: Academic writing should change the way readers think and adhere to principles of value and persuasion.
Knowledge in the Community: Knowledge is defined by the community; learn and speak the community's code.
Use Valuable Words: Incorporate words that indicate instability, challenge, contradiction, and red flags to create tension.
Start with a Problem: Begin writing by presenting a problem that matters to readers and then offer a solution.
Problems vs. Gaps: Problems are more useful than gaps in knowledge; they create relevance and tension.
Interdisciplinary Work: Tailor your writing to address the problems and perspectives of your interdisciplinary audience.
Function of Writing: Understand the function of your writing, which is not just about rules or form but about fulfilling its purpose.
Scientific Papers: McEnerney's advice is particularly relevant for scientific papers, where value and changing readers' ideas should be the main focus.
Blog vs. Academic Writing: While McEnerney's advice may not directly apply to blog writing, it is highly relevant for academic and scientific writing.
Conclusion:
Emerging scholars must give Larry McEnerney's wise counsel first priority in their quest to become skilled writers. His emphasis on writing for value, reading comprehension, and shifting viewpoints is crucial. Emerging academics can begin a journey of effective and influential academic writing by understanding that writing is a tool for altering ideas and that its value lies in the eyes of readers. Keep in mind that altering people's perspectives through your writing is more important than simply expressing your own.
