Take your academic writing skills to the next level

Communicating the worth of your work to the academic world – and beyond – starts with writing. Writing for a journal, turning your work into a book or reviewing existing research all require distinct skills – and the development of those skills can make the difference between publication and recognition or research fading into obscurity. 

GenAI may offer a shortcut to summarising large bodies of research and to getting words down on paper but a chatbot cannot generate an effective piece of academic writing from a single prompt, yet. Explore how GenAI can act as a supplement, rather than a substitute, for well-honed writing skills, and how to teach students to understand the difference. 

Here, we’ll delve into the nuts and bolts of academic writing, offering advice for writing abstracts, citations and literature reviews, alongside conquering bigger projects such as writing a book. Find out how to develop a sustainable writing routine by making the process happier and how to pass on your writing skills to students. 

Strategies to improve your academic writing 

Finishing your draft or manuscript is not the end of the process but the beginning. From full-scale structural edits to the nitty gritty of proofreading, here’s how to improve your argument and develop your voice. Reading the work of others, and having them – or GenAI tools, used mindfully – read yours, can help you shape your thinking on the page and better present your original scholarship.

What is developmental editing, and why does your scholarly manuscript need it? Academics might find it hard to see the flaws in their work but to be a writer is to be edited – embrace it. Princeton University’s Laura Portwood-Stacer outlines the importance of developmental editing.

Peer feedback is the secret weapon for better academic writing: Harness the power of your academic community to hone your arguments, sharpen your writing and develop your critical thinking. Dina Nasr and Rayan Awadalla of Dubai Medical University offer advice.

Yes, GenAI can make academic writing easier without making us less scholarly: Generative AI does not change scholarship’s foundations of judgement, authorship and care but it does require academics to apply them more intentionally when writing. The University of Southern Queensland’s Nicole Brownlie shows how.

How mathematical practices can improve your writing: Writing is similar to three specific mathematical practices: modelling, problem-solving and proving, writes Caroline Yoon of the University of Auckland. Learn how to use these to improve academic writing.

Where it all begins: writing your abstract

An effective abstract gives readers an overview of your research paper and provides them with a guide to follow your arguments. It distils the purpose of your work, the methodologies used and your conclusions into a succinct passage. Michael Willis of Wiley describes it as a “shop-window view” to sell your research. Here’s how to make yours enticing and informative, as well as concise.  

How to write an abstract for a research paper: Ankitha Shetty of Manipal Academy of Higher Education outlines three elements to include in your research paper abstract and some tips for making yours stand out.

Read this before you write your abstract: The abstract is arguably the most important element of a scholarly article, so it should be informative, meaningful and impactful. Wiley’s Michael Willis offers two objectives, and practical tips, to keep in mind.

Making the abstract concrete: Yinchun Lee and Steven Bateman of Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University share strategies for writing effective abstracts for conference and research papers.

How to write a literature review

Literature reviews collate and analyse the existing research on a topic, to show your understanding of the field and where your research sits within it. It’s the foundation on which your own scholarship will be built, so use it to form the narrative of your research, develop your distinctive voice and strengthen your critical writing. Find out how here. 

Streamline the literature review process with these tips: How to make the research, reading and referencing processes smooth from Natalie K. D. Seedan of the University of the West Indies.

A practical guide to writing a literature review: From organising key search terms to checking citations, this video by Bareq Ali Abdulhadi offers simple, practical tips to crafting a literature review that will lay a sound foundation for your academic paper.

Using literature reviews to strengthen research: tips for PhDs and supervisors: The Royal Literary Fund’s Anne Wilson explains how to develop a narrative and context for new research through your literature review, with tips for early career researchers and their supervisors.

The nuts and bolts of research papers

Break down the structure of a research paper into component parts. Find here all you need to know about introductions, citations and explaining methodology, and how GenAI tools can help.

Great citations: how to avoid referencing questionable evidence: Researchers don’t always stick to careful citation practices and occasionally cite evidence that has been called into question or even retracted by publishers. Elsevier’s Dmitry Malkov provides practical tips on how to avoid citing faulty evidence and maintain good citation hygiene.

Be the conductor of your own GenAI orchestra for academic writing: Instead of using a single GenAI tool to create a one-note research paper, why not tune up an orchestra of machine assistants? Aditi Jhaveri, Nora Binte Hussin and Siyang Zhou of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology analyse the tools available.

Tips for turning your academic expertise into a book

Writing a book requires a different approach to shorter articles and papers. To engage the reader and maintain your motivation over several hundred pages, you must craft a narrative arc – and be clear on why this book is important for you to write in the first place. Find out how to propose your book to academic publishers and discover tips for turning your thesis into a book, as well as staying relevant across the length of time it will take you to complete it. 

Anatomy of an academic book proposal: Pitch your book to publishers with an irresistible proposal. Here are all the elements you’ll need, writes Richard Baggaley from the University of Westminster. 

How to figure out your book: Want to use summer’s student-free time to work on that academic manuscript? Dive into these tips and exercises by K. Anne Amienne and Daniela Blei of Scholars & Writers to craft a more engaging next draft.

‘Prune the tree to let the fruit stand out’: Universidad Austral’s Damián Fernández Pedemonte provides his tips on turning your thesis into a book – how to edit yourself, how to pitch and when to use GenAI. 

Keeping your research relevant in an accelerating news cycle: When publishing is slow but world events move quickly, how can scholars ensure their work will be read and cited and contribute to academic discussion? Yasmin Y. Ortiga of Singapore Management University and Jenny Gavacs of Whetson Editing show how to stay relevant.

A happier – and more streamlined – writing process

With dozens of other responsibilities competing for our time and attention, it’s easy for writing to be pushed aside or become a chore. Here’s how to find the joy, the time and the motivation to write regularly and hone your skills – and what a slower, more human process can offer.

Science isn’t a solo sport – let’s write accordingly: Generosity in authorship, sharing imperfect drafts and writing daily are academic habits that make research clearer, fairer and more impactful, says Virginia Tech’s Audrey Ruple. 

‘Academic writing equals chaos’: If you have stalled in your latest writing project, the University of Winchester’s Glenn Fosbraey shares three tips for breaking through blocks, getting organised and finishing the final draft.

Can we use AI for academic writing? It depends: The University of Bristol’s Marios Kremantzis and Eleonora Pantano consider how researchers can use AI responsibly, without compromising scholarly rigour or integrity.

Has AI cost academia the joy of text? Rather than asking what writing can be outsourced to AI, we might begin by asking which parts of the process need to remain slow, imperfect and human, argue four academics from the University of West London and the University of Worcester.

Helping students improve academic writing

With a reported 92 per cent of students admitting using GenAI in assessments, the craft of academic writing risks falling by the wayside, yet many would argue writing is vital for developing wider thinking, analytical and communication skills. Give your students the tools to balance machine intelligence with their own critical thinking, develop their style and use feedback to improve.

Exploration of style: practical ways educators can teach academic writing in the sciences: First-year students need to adapt their writing style when transitioning to university. Rui Xue Zhang and Xinzhi Li of Macau University of Science and Technology show how educators can support freshmen to develop flexible, analytical and evidence-based writing.

Conversations with bots: teaching students how – and when – to use GenAI for academic writing: Joseph Tinsley and Huimin He of Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University outline their four-step process teaches students how to use GenAI tools to brainstorm ideas, understand and act on feedback and edit their essays in line with assessment rubrics.

‘The process of writing forces the writer to be present’: Writing is hard and uncomfortable but the craft of turning thoughts into words should not be lost to the frictionless ease of generative AI, write the University of Southern Queensland’s Jackie Webb and Christina Birnbaum.

Peer feedback: a burden for students or route to better academic writing? Asking students to give anonymous feedback on each other’s work can not only result in better writing skills but offer them opportunities to try new approaches and refine assessment tasks, writes the University of Southampton’s Alison Daniell.

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