Every researcher faces the task of communicating their findings to others. Understanding how to effectively communicate your research through writing can give you an advantage when it comes to distinguishing yourself within your area of expertise.

Writing can be made easier by learning certain practices that enhance the process and improve the outcome. In this article, we’ll provide you with 5 basic but essential tips for improving your writing abilities.

The importance of effective academic writing

One distinguishing element of academic writing is often its length. With journal articles, a convincing and logical argument must be sustained over several pages. It’s this durational aspect of writing that can cause issues for both the writer and the reader.

Without proper preparation or a basic understanding of what makes writing effective, you may become aimless or unconvincing in your communication throughout your article. Readers can sense this misdirection, which in turn hampers their ability to follow your train of thought or believe in your argument.

Ultimately, a piece of academic writing should be confident and clear in its articulation of its main thesis. Let’s look at the key tips that demonstrate how to write better.

Visualise your argument

The best place to start is planning. Nothing impedes the flow of writing more than jumping into your argument with no idea of where it’s going.

Break down your overarching argument into subsections. Focus on what each subsection is trying to achieve and how this links back to your main thesis. It’s also a good idea to create a roadmap for each subsection, visualising the logical progression of your point across these subsections.

The more of the structure of your entire argument you can visualise, the less you’ll feel lost within the smaller details at the sentence level. The progression of your argument won’t be impeded by uncertainty or ambiguity, and you’ll have a clearer idea of where your points should lead your reader.

Shorten sentences

Another obstacle to better writing is sentence length. In writing, people may feel the need to squeeze as much information as possible into sentences, leading to convoluted, confusing clauses.

Try to be as concise as possible when it comes to each sentence. As a rule, aim for around 15–20 words. Of course, this amount won’t be suitable for all the points you’re trying to make. But it should help you build a solid foundation for your writing, from which you can deviate when your argument requires you to do so.

Vary sentence structure

This brings us to our next point—the variation of sentence structure. One thing you don’t want your writing to be is tiresome for the reader.

To vary sentence structure, it’s helpful to be aware of different types of sentences. For example, a compound sentence combines two or more independent clauses. An independent clause is a clause with both a subject and a verb, meaning it can function alone as a separate sentence. Independent clauses are joined by either a conjunction (e.g., and) or a semicolon.

• · Simple sentence: “My research is novel. It was conducted over a four-year period.”
• · Compound sentence: “My research is novel, and it was conducted over a four-year period.”
• · Compound sentence: “My research is novel; it was conducted over a four-year period.”

Complex sentences, on the other hand, combine independent clauses using subordinate clauses, which are also known as dependent clauses. Subordinate clauses are identified by their use of subordinating conjunctions, such as because, since, if, whenever.

• · Complex sentence: “Because my research is novel, I have had to cross-examine my results thoroughly.”

Remember to utilize different sentence types when writing. Varying your sentence structure helps keep your writing engaging, confident, and unencumbered by repetition.

Use simple language

As a researcher writing an academic paper, it may feel necessary to incorporate as much technical or specialist terminology as possible. However, this isn’t advisable.

Instead of writing for an academic audience, imagine that your audience doesn’t have any knowledge of your subject area. Keep it simple where possible. This approach ensures you communicate your research and ideas as directly and effectively as possible to your readers. By doing so, your article will be accessible to more people, improving its visibility.

Of course, sometimes it may be necessary to include specialist terminology. If doing so, consider ways to explain such terminology to general audiences, using things like brackets or footnotes to explain concepts.

Be persuasive but cautious

Academic writing is often constructed around an argument. To convince readers of your argument, the outlining of your logical thinking, tone of voice, and any data or research utilized needs to be persuasive.

When it comes to the use of language, especially when making observations or assumptions, you should be careful not to become too definitive. What this means is to avoid using words such as ‘should’, ‘must’, or ‘definitely.’ Although your findings may have the data to support them, keep in mind that research is always developing, and once-accepted theories are often disproven by newer ones.

Essentially, leave room for debate in cases where no definitive conclusion can be assumed. Not only will this protect you from making sweeping, generalizing statements, but it will also invite future researchers to engage with your work constructively.

Achieving better writing is a process

Being able to write better is not something that’s achieved overnight. As with any skill, it’s something that’s learned over time and with consistent reflection and practice. By keeping these 5 basic tips in mind as you write, you’re already laying the foundations required to communicate your ideas effectively. Already have a finished manuscript and looking to submit? Check our pre-submission checklist.

At MDPI Author Services, we specialize in helping researchers prepare their manuscripts for publication. Our Figure Editing Service provides publication-ready figures that clearly communicate your research to readers. Figure editing enhances your charts and graphs by revising the colors, shading, size, resolution, borders, font, and file type. This is all completed in one business day after payment. Click here for a free quote.

Subscribe to the Author Services Newsletter for tips, discounts, and updates.