It’s about being clear, structured, and readable.
Let’s get one thing out of the way: good academic writing is not about using big words.
It’s about making big ideas readable.
Yet many PhD students fall into the same trap — thinking they need to sound like an academic in order to become one. The result? Sentences that go on forever, arguments buried in footnotes, and paragraphs where even you forget what the main point was.
Here’s the truth: your examiner, your supervisor, your committee — they all want the same thing. Clarity. Structure. Argument. Not verbal gymnastics.
As Helen Sword puts it in her book Stylish Academic Writing, “Elegant ideas deserve elegant expression. Dense, dry, and impersonal prose doesn’t make your work more scholarly — just harder to read.”¹
So what does clear academic writing look like?
- It has a visible structure. Readers should know where they are and where they’re going — every chapter, every section, even every paragraph.
- It speaks to a reader, not a mirror. You’re not writing to impress yourself. You’re writing to communicate your thinking to someone else.
- It allows your voice to come through. Academic doesn’t mean robotic. Your argument, your perspective, and even your phrasing matter.
But clarity isn’t just a stylistic choice — it’s a thinking skill. As John Swales and Christine Feak note in their classic guide for graduate students, writing well isn’t just about grammar; it’s about “communicating complex ideas logically and persuasively to an academic audience.”²
Here are a few tips to get started:
- Write badly first. Perfection comes in revision — not in the first draft.
- Use outlines like maps. Know the terrain before you start walking.
- Don’t fear short sentences. They are clear. They create rhythm. They help.
In our seminar, we’ll unpack what makes writing work — from structure and flow to revision strategies and feedback hacks. Because writing a PhD isn’t about proving you’re clever — it’s about making your research count.
Works Cited
- ¹ Sword, H. (2012). Stylish Academic Writing. Harvard University Press.
- ² Swales, J. M., & Feak, C. B. (2012). Academic Writing for Graduate Students (3rd ed.). University of Michigan Press.
