This article by Lynda Chapple is from Latrobe University RED Alert
Rachel Cayley opens her recent book on graduate writing with a reflection on the assumptions that students and their supervisors sometimes make about writing. Too often, she notes, graduate students assume they should already know how to write academically – after all they have been accepted into a high-level program and their supervisors are keen to work with them. Writing should be the easy part, but somehow it often is not.
As a teacher of graduate writing, I see a lot of what is commonly known as ‘imposter syndrome’ when it comes to academic writing, and it can be hard to convince folks that with patience and practice they will become more assured. Certainly, academic writing can be challenging, frustrating, even mystifying at times, but it can be learned and once you get the hang of it, you will find it both rewarding and fun.
Here are four key tenets to keep in mind as you engage in the process of writing your thesis. Read more