Success in Academic Writing - Trevor Day 2018

Playing to your strengths and preferences
The nature and process of academic writing

I’ve put forward various ideas and suggestions in this chapter about both the nature of academic writing and the process of creating it. Although these suggestions are based on more than a decade of research and coaching in writing development, and drawing upon the practices of many other academics involved in writing development, I am also acutely aware that each person reading this book is different. English may not be your first language. You may have unusual learning preferences. You are different because of your unique gifts, your specific social, cultural and educational background, and because the context in which you are writing is discipline-based. One of the key messages I hope you have gained from this first chapter is that, although there are generalisations we can make about the nature and process of academic writing, it is uniquely expressed because of your nature as an individual and the context in which you find yourself. We will explore this more in the chapters that follow.