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The craft of writing effectively

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The Craft of Writing Effectively

Reference: talk by Larry McEnerney, Director of the University of Chicago's Writing Program

The talk is available on YouTube, do check it out here

Reference: Course Handout

Use writing as a tool

  • You have to use writing to help yourself do your thinking.
  • You are not ready to write a word until you finish your writing - WRONG APPROACH
  • Write down your ideas, create an outline and then write the final draft.

What happens when you read bad text?

graph TD
A[Reread or slow down] --> B[Don't Understand]
B --> C[get Aggrevated]
C --> D[Quit]

Your writing needs to be

[!important] The only question is, Is the text or paper valuable?

  • The journals gonna matter a lot. It decides who's gonna read your paper. Think about your readers.
  • When somebody don't understand your writing, the gigantic mistake you can do is to explain them. DO NOT EXPLAIN. Why do you even want to do that?

Writing is not about conveying your idea to the readers. It's about changing their ideas.

  • Give out something NEW or ORIGINAL work to make it IMPORTANT. Make sure that it is VALUABLE.

Is knowledge really that important?

  • Take this anecdote.

[!example] How many youtube videos did you watch today? Find the answer to it and it is knowledge.

  • Knowledge is nothing but deriving information from the data you have.
  • but does it gonna matter to anyone? is the real question.
  • No body's gonna care if it is valuable.
  • The true knowledge is something that is valuable.

Understand what counts as Knowledge?

Knowledge doesn't come and accumulate in your mind. It come's, It goe's, it stays but that's know it works!

What makes your work important?

[!Exercise] Take articles in your field, print it down, and circle every word that creates value to the work.

  • Every community has its own code. A set of codes/words that convey value.
  • Create a cheatsheet of those words.

Why do Ph.D scholars takes 5 or 6 years to finish it?

  • half of the time, they spend in research
  • the other half, they spend in knowing their readers.
  • You must know them.

find the flow/transition words. You have to know the code.

[!tip] Identify the poeple with power in your community and give them what they want.

  • If you want to give your individual voice, your career goes nowhere.
  • You need to learn how they do it in that community.
  • If you don't do it in the way they code it, you gonna get slapped down.

Why people write essays?

By definition, Anything you write has the function helping your readers understand better, something they wanna understand well.

  • It's way of you participating with the world in changing people's ideas.
  • you writing is communicating nothing about you.
  • knowledge has nothing to do with what they have in their brain. It's about what they have done in the community
  • It's not about how much you put into your brain.. it' s about what you do between the brains of others.

why the flow words really matters? They create

  • tension
  • challenge
  • contradiction
  • red blag
  • ultimately, INSTABILITY

School-student approach:

background -> definition -> Thesis

martino glass approach generalisation -> talk about something -> generalisation

What else to do?

  • Start with a problem. Who's problem? A specific set of people, not your problem.
  • problem aren't necessarily with the readers. It should be in something that the readers care about.
  • The situation has to unstable. You have to generate a state of instability.
  • what the reader's looking for is VALUE
  • The problem involves cost and benefit. Your words should say that the instability imposes a cost on the readers or if solved, it offers a benefit to them.

Notes from comment sections

Takeaways from the Writing Course

  1. This course is not about writing rules. 3:04
  2. Shift focus from rules to readers. 3:55
  3. Common problems faced by domain experts in writing. 4:00
  4. Domain experts use writing to clarify their own thinking. 4:51
    • Without this, they can't achieve the level of thinking they need.
  5. Challenge for experts: Their way of writing (to think) differs from what readers can easily understand. 6:53
  6. Consequences of unclear writing: 8:10
    • Readers must re-read repeatedly.
    • Readers fail to understand or misunderstand.
    • Readers give up entirely.
  7. Readers engage with writing that is valuable to them. 11:52
  8. Effective writing must be clear, organized, persuasive, and valuable. 13:45
  9. Value is defined for a specific research audience, not everyone. 15:20
  10. Comparison of two writing styles for clarity. 17:16
  11. Writing's purpose: Not just to share ideas but to change readers' ideas. 21:24
  12. Knowledge is validated only when challenged by competent readers. 23:24
    • Identifying these readers defines the audience for your writing.
  13. Writing's importance comes from its value to readers, not its novelty. 25:16
  14. The world of knowledge is structured by research communities. 28:00
  15. Each research community has its own code to communicate value. 31:30
  16. Why does a PhD take 5–6 years? 34:30
    • Half the time is spent understanding the audience in the field.
  17. Key words for aligning with research communities: Widely, accepted, and reported. 35:24
  18. Use transition words for flow: And, but, because, unless, nonetheless, however, although, etc. 36:00
  19. Write according to the community's code. 42:00
  20. Another writing example. 44:25
  21. Function of research writing: Move the field forward, not preserve it forever. 46:54
  22. Writing isn't self-expression; it's about changing others' thoughts. 48:50
  23. Use instability words to create tension and challenge: Anomaly, inconsistent, but, however, although. 54:00
  24. Better writing structure:
    • Avoid: Background + Thesis. 55:07
    • Use: Problem + Solution. 56:18
  25. Learn the language code from target publications. 1:01:30
  26. Literature reviews should enrich the problem. 1:02:50
  27. Clarify the problem versus providing background. 1:06:47
  28. A gap in knowledge can be risky. 1:08:45
  29. Identifying the right readers (research communities) is crucial, especially for interdisciplinary work. 1:11:57

Steps to Effective Writing

Step 1: Use Your Writing to Help You Think

  • Writing clarifies and deepens your own understanding.

Step 2: Use Your Writing to Change Your Readers' Ideas

  • Writing is not about communicating your ideas.

    • Nobody cares what your ideas are.
    • Purpose: Change the way your readers see the world.

  • Expert readers are no exception.

    • If your writing doesn’t change their worldview, it’s not valuable.
    • Without value, the rest (persuasiveness, clarity, organization) is irrelevant.

  • Order of Importance in Writing:

    1. Valuable
    2. Persuasive
    3. Organized
    4. Clear

  • Value lies in the readers, not in the writing itself.

The Patterns for Step 1 and Step 2 Differ

  • Exercises to Try:
    • Circle every word in your writing that creates value for the readers.
    • Over time, create a personal list of invaluable words to assess your writing.

Key Insights for Step 2

  • The Horrible Irony:

    • Writers often use language that emphasizes stability and consistency.
    • However, readers are looking for instability, inconsistency, and tension.

  • To Engage Readers:

    • Use language to highlight the cost of instability or the benefit of solving it.
    • Use transition words to introduce tension and challenge their ideas:
      • Examples: but, however, although, inconsistent.

  • Examples of Creating Tension:

    • Bad:

      Hey readers, I’ve read your stuff, and wow... I know what you think, and here’s what I think...

    • Good:

      Hey readers, I’ve read your stuff, and wow, I know what you think, but there’s a little thing here that’s wrong...

  • Understand Your Readers' Doubts:

    • If you don’t know what your readers doubt, you can’t challenge or change their worldview.
    • Learn to predict their doubts to create persuasive arguments.

Community-Specific Writing

  • Every community has its own code.
    • Understand what each community values.
    • Identify people with power in the community.
    • Give them what they value, while challenging them within their code.
    • It’s not about your voice; it’s about their values.

Structure of Effective Writing

  • First Paragraph Layout:

    1. Who your writing is for (target readers).
    2. What you are going to argue.
    3. What question you aim to answer.
    4. Why it’s urgent (readers care about tension, instability, and problems).

  • Problem and Solution:

    • Define a problem your readers care about (not your problem).
    • Present a solution:
      • Avoid explaining or demonstrating your understanding.
      • Don’t reveal what’s in your head—no one cares!
      • Focus on moving the conversation forward, not preserving your ideas.

  • Goal of Writing:

    • To push the conversation forward.
    • Not to create something timeless—most work won’t be read a year later.
    • It’s not about you; it’s about the readers.