How to improve your writing: A guide for PhD students and academics

Writing is an essential skill for any PhD student or academic, but it's also a huge source of stress. This is partly due to the scale and complexity of the task, but also due to a general lack of training in writing.
Many of the most common pieces of advice (like, "just get words down and sort it out later") simply do not work. In this lecture given at the University of Tübingen in October 2022 I explain some key principles of structure and process that can be applied to any project.

Пікірлер: 70

  • @fernandocortes1187
    @fernandocortes1187 Жыл бұрын

    16:07 Stress among PHD Students 20:00 Structure 9:40 How to show what you know 28:00 The process...use a mind map to guide the writing 48:14 Q&A e índice de lo visto

  • @NecroSonic1
    @NecroSonic1 Жыл бұрын

    Good applicable points. Other than structure I find that tone is also an important yet underrated aspect of academic writing. Of course some disciplines might enjoy more liberty than others but I find that many academics writes in a needlessly boring style. When I began writing my PhD dissertation I would also feel obliged to write in a style where I would distance myself from the writing and strive to make myself invisible as the author of the text in some misunderstood attempt at objectivity. When I read through my dissertation around a 100 pages in I found it to be terribly boring and felt like it could have been written by someone else. So, I decided to scrap the whole thing and start over and write it in a more personal style with humor and excitement and I hoped that it would not be dismissed as being less scientific. It was much more fun to write and edit the new version and at the defense it turned out that the assessment committee really valued the personal style of writing. One even said that it had been such a joy to read and that it would make assessment work much more delightful if more dissertations would feature creative and unique styles of writing.

  • @James_Hayton

    @James_Hayton

    Жыл бұрын

    I agree- tone is a little more difficult to coach, so I tend to focus on structure as it's more fundamental to good communication and often I need to prioritize. If people get a good grip on structure and there's enough time, then I might work on getting them to express more of themselves with excitement and humour about the subject

  • @thudao7391

    @thudao7391

    Жыл бұрын

    I have this concern though. I also struggle with style and tone in writing. For some reason, every time I tried to incorporate some personal style and humor into my writing, it backfired. My supervisors said that it gave off a lighthearted vibes and that no one would take this seriously. So I gave up doing so.

  • @youneschebini5280

    @youneschebini5280

    Жыл бұрын

    the biggest problem with academics is boring writing style, why they just don’t be direct and simple in their writings? Is it lack of confidence or lack of engagement? Or just trying to layer the simple direct truth?

  • @mktsp2

    @mktsp2

    10 ай бұрын

    @@James_Hayton I doubt that

  • @James_Hayton

    @James_Hayton

    10 ай бұрын

    @@youneschebini5280 I agree. They should be clear and direct. And yes, they do often dress their work in overly complicated language due to a lack of confidence.

  • @parishayjahanzeb2578
    @parishayjahanzeb2578 Жыл бұрын

    Hi Hayton, I wish, i knew this at the time of my grad school. I was literally struggling with writing at that time .I stuck myself confronting three things 1. Knowledge of particular discipline on given topic. 2. Research methodolgy (worrying about the research principles) 3. How to structure my ideas ( the most frustrating part). Thank God i saw your videos. it will surely help in my academic career. May Allah bless you.

  • @Monamie44
    @Monamie44 Жыл бұрын

    Writing up my PhD thesis now. Many thanks.

  • @TVWJ
    @TVWJ11 ай бұрын

    For introductions - a way to get around that: Write a sentence: "in this article we present..." ("This research will... " !) and complete the sentence stating what you are going to do in the article. That sentence will contain a number of key words and concepts (these are related to the "situation, problem, current knowledge on the topic, and the approach you have chosen to address it). Find these items, they must be explained in your introduction. This will basically select what you need to explain (avoid irrelevant information), and also force you to put the things in a meaningful order. It is kind of writing your intro "backwards" - but by doing that, you have a clear focus when you write your introduction.

  • @James_Hayton

    @James_Hayton

    11 ай бұрын

    How does your approach force you to put things in a meaningful order, without addressing the relationship between ideas? I'm sure you can do it, but I've seen countless students use your approach but the writing is a total mess. The challenge in explaining the writing process is understanding those instinctive things we do in a way that someone else can follow. In your other comment, you say to formulate a main message and present evidence for it... but sometimes it's better to put the main message at the end as the argument and evidence leads the reader to the new conclusion... is this what you mean by writing backwards?

  • @TVWJ

    @TVWJ

    11 ай бұрын

    @@James_Hayton Hi James. What I mean is that it is easier to select the material you need if you have the main message of your article as a focus point. I tell my students (I am an industrial coach) to write that sentence down. Of course, you have to address the relationship between the ideas and concepts, in the article itself this will be in your argumentation - the results and discussion parts. In introductions, having the final sentence in your head, with all the keywords/concepts in it helps to select what you should actually explain in the introduction and what not. If that one sentence you write down should make sense to a reader, you have to think about in what order you have to go through the keywords in that sentence, and of course explain what the relationship between the points is. That is then the storytelling part. I find this an efficient way to decide what you should put in and what you can leave out. It helps you to stay on the main track, and not get lost in sidetracks, as I often see in manuscripts (as a reviewer) and also in published articles. So my strategy is not to replace the thinking - there is no easy workaround for that ;-), but it is a useful guideline in what you should be thinking about.

  • @AmberSoleil1
    @AmberSoleil1 Жыл бұрын

    He missed “crying under your desk” in his process section

  • @paperclips1306

    @paperclips1306

    7 ай бұрын

    Does that work. If it works I will also cry under the desk.

  • @marryamakbaar3014

    @marryamakbaar3014

    6 ай бұрын

    It's absolutely necessary to cry, that's built in human system to coping mechanism ! It's important for us and normal 😌 don't worry about it !

  • @areliousmuckle8249

    @areliousmuckle8249

    3 ай бұрын

    😮 so I'm not the only one.

  • @AmberSoleil1

    @AmberSoleil1

    3 ай бұрын

    Definitely not! Stay strong! :P @@areliousmuckle8249

  • @kalaisai680

    @kalaisai680

    Ай бұрын

    I can't even cry😂😂

  • @practicemakesperfect007
    @practicemakesperfect0077 ай бұрын

    I want to thank you for posting this video. It has got many information that I find valuable.

  • @asthasharma8770
    @asthasharma87705 ай бұрын

    So extensive guidance. Glad to listen to this video. Lots of important tips and the speaker has immense patience.

  • @mkbestmaan
    @mkbestmaan2 ай бұрын

    It is great to witness wisdom in a testimony, masterclass talk. Metacognition talks help a lot. Thank you for the inspiration.

  • @PRIMULA567
    @PRIMULA567 Жыл бұрын

    Your talks are so good, wow!!! Well done. I am in my first semester of my Master's degree in Genetics and now I am writing my research proposal, this is so helpful. THANK YOU!!

  • @tawfiqezaz3455
    @tawfiqezaz3455 Жыл бұрын

    Thanks for your useful tips

  • @sarah1of4
    @sarah1of46 ай бұрын

    Really liked the fundamental problem around 8:10 - made me feel a bit better about the current tangle!

  • @eulissaharvey5640
    @eulissaharvey564011 ай бұрын

    Eulissa Harvey I totally agree, one should have details. For me, gathering details gives me the the oportuinity to communicate effectively.

  • @lily08799
    @lily0879920 күн бұрын

    Amazing presentations! It is indeed very important to learn to select from numurous evidence to tell a comprehensive story.

  • @ledwinahungwe6001
    @ledwinahungwe60019 ай бұрын

    Powerful presentations

  • @chitararajeshkumar5934
    @chitararajeshkumar593418 күн бұрын

    Thank You sir for the informative session

  • @0101799
    @0101799Ай бұрын

    Thank you so much for your lecture, Dr. Hayton! I will apply the skills you taught us in Portuguese! Greetings from Macau! :)

  • @elalaelasariuinjakarta7548
    @elalaelasariuinjakarta7548 Жыл бұрын

    Thank you, Dr. Hayton, It's a great video. I will try to apply in Indonesia. Cheers!.

  • @tasnimsarker4653
    @tasnimsarker4653 Жыл бұрын

    Thank you so much professor.

  • @BrodieGiesbrecht
    @BrodieGiesbrecht Жыл бұрын

    Your lectures are extremely helpful, thank you for posting these! Believe it or not, writing has been my favorite part of my undergraduate degree so far. I'm sure these tips will help me improve!

  • @James_Hayton

    @James_Hayton

    Жыл бұрын

    I enjoy writing too! I don't think people should suffer through it

  • @user-ec1hz4zn8i
    @user-ec1hz4zn8i5 ай бұрын

    wow! Thank you so much

  • @mehnazhossain4632
    @mehnazhossain463216 күн бұрын

    Well thank you.

  • @TVWJ
    @TVWJ11 ай бұрын

    I always tell them to start constructing the story, without worrying too much about the language. Could be power-point style. Formulate a main message for the entire article, and present the new evidence for that message, and construct the arguments, and put the things in the right order. Once you have done that, then you can focus more on the text.

  • @user-es9dd9wm1x
    @user-es9dd9wm1x5 ай бұрын

    Best presentation on improving writing I've come across - thanks for sharing your lecture

  • @user-es9dd9wm1x

    @user-es9dd9wm1x

    5 ай бұрын

    Is it possible to get access to the slides ?

  • @mamoako1521
    @mamoako15219 ай бұрын

    14:47 Basic structure for the introduction of any project

  • @NHSHEARTTRANSPLANT
    @NHSHEARTTRANSPLANT3 ай бұрын

    Thanks! A lot

  • @user-bx2cc5fv3w
    @user-bx2cc5fv3w11 ай бұрын

    Hello. Dr.Hayton. Very nice resource. Can i get the slides that you used if possible? Thanks

  • @fredkiller5132
    @fredkiller5132 Жыл бұрын

    You are the best! Been a fan since "... Without Going Insane". 👍👍👍

  • @Gorboduc
    @Gorboduc Жыл бұрын

    Upvoted the second he said that Just Write™ is trash advice.

  • @castalia6778
    @castalia67789 ай бұрын

    I can't get enough of these lectures. Mr. Hayton, thank you so much!

  • @econshariful
    @econshariful3 ай бұрын

    I am half way to finish this amazing video. Would you please share the PPT?

  • @luisalfonso5205
    @luisalfonso5205 Жыл бұрын

    Your videos are so enjoyable! I'm currently stuck in the process of submitting my first draft at journals. Do you have any recommendations or videos that could be helpful for this process?

  • @James_Hayton

    @James_Hayton

    Жыл бұрын

    show the work to your supervisor and get feedback before submitting- also ask your supervisor about the process as they'll be able to guide you

  • @dlaminirozay3016
    @dlaminirozay30166 ай бұрын

    I can hear what you are saying but it's hard to get the papers for information iam trying to attempt I stuck lot I wish to excel on this.

  • @PhDsoonish
    @PhDsoonish6 ай бұрын

    You are right Dr. Hayton, I need write 3 papers each ones in a different languages, I do NOT knows where to start. The papers is due buy December 21, 2023. This is old video I hopes you is still alive?

  • @mavicityrelayson2924
    @mavicityrelayson29246 ай бұрын

    I need a workaround on that being completely offline thing. Most of my stuff are in the cloud.

  • @James_Hayton

    @James_Hayton

    6 ай бұрын

    you can block distracting sites and leave essential ones accessible

  • @diarimachan
    @diarimachan Жыл бұрын

    1.5 hours and keeps my attention

  • @augustinzouzou6786
    @augustinzouzou67864 ай бұрын

    How can I be in touch with you Dr ? I want to write my Thesis in Finance , please let me know to reach you

  • @mehnazhossain4632
    @mehnazhossain463215 күн бұрын

    I start with the introduction which was dissonant with conventional advice. That brought in doubts. On what one should do rather than what have been doing. That was confusing. Past.

  • @yousefalqurashi777
    @yousefalqurashi777 Жыл бұрын

    When writing a Dissertation in humanities - particularly in philosophy and theory of something (political theory for example), it is a whole other story. you are just flowing in a sea of narratives and trying to fix up something from almost nothing. no data, no problem, no analytics, just philosophy. I hope that you have something on this issue

  • @James_Hayton

    @James_Hayton

    Жыл бұрын

    most of the students I've worked with have been in the humanities, and I can tell you that my approach evolved from working with those students. You need structure. There is no other way. If you understand how structure works, you don't need to be adrift in a sea of narratives, you can systematically and logically construct an argument in exactly the same way as in the sciences. If you don't have a problem or question to answer, what are you doing?

  • @Heyu7her3

    @Heyu7her3

    Жыл бұрын

    I did my undergraduate studies in Philipsburg and had to do a thesis. While I agree that the theoretical writing is very different from empirical writing, you do still have some sort of problem that you solve or address in some way (through sources, proofs, thought experiment, etc). There's still a structure -- of course, not like an empirical paper, but still there.

  • @James_Hayton

    @James_Hayton

    Жыл бұрын

    It's not really that different at all. The key is that you can use structured thinking to figure out what you want to say, but to do short, standalone pieces to explore specific aspects of a problem. As you figure out more of the pieces you start to notice connections and patterns, then you can put together a complete document once you've clarified your thoughts and know what you want to say

  • @yokkanyanat1532

    @yokkanyanat1532

    Жыл бұрын

    @@James_Hayton Thank you so much! This suggestion helps me too.

  • @vectoralphaAI
    @vectoralphaAI Жыл бұрын

    I thought you were Greg Miller from a distance.

  • @MadofaA
    @MadofaA Жыл бұрын

    9:40 the effect on our writng ability of being educated to pass tests.

  • @mehnazhossain4632
    @mehnazhossain463215 күн бұрын

    Aren't the details guided by the science. Research methodology. And methods? I might have missed the point?

  • @James_Hayton

    @James_Hayton

    13 күн бұрын

    Yes, the details are guided by the science... I don't understand your comment

  • @sumantranray2414
    @sumantranray241411 ай бұрын

    your videos are on important topics. But why are they soooo lengthy > 1 hour ?

  • @James_Hayton

    @James_Hayton

    11 ай бұрын

    i do shorter ones too. Take your pick!

  • @ninirema4532
    @ninirema453210 ай бұрын

    Dear prof Dr sir Very sweet good morning 🌄🌄🌞🌞🌞 Thank you very much 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏❤😅

  • @khansvirtualdiary
    @khansvirtualdiary5 ай бұрын

    📝📨🖥️