I think sometimes when people write, there is a degree of “political language”, or phrasing used. Sometimes they are meaningless phrasing they and sound good but do not articulate an actual point.

I think sometimes I lack precision in my writing and the reader might ask why or what my point is. Throughout the literature review I have noticed that I need to work on not making a statement if it does nothing to define the point I am trying to make. Sometimes being vague is accidental and I people, myself included, do this to make things sound nice.

I know that I often must remind myself not to use outdated metaphors such as “toe the line” and ensure that the imagery that metaphors evoke, are useful to my point.

Certainly, as I go through both the critical review and the literature review, I do find that I use works like objective, basis, historic and inevitable. Likely because I am trying to make the point sound educated, but also can at times come off as vague.

Once it is pointed out to you that you are doing the above things, it becomes obvious as you read through your work. This can also feel like another daunting rule to remember as you write academically. We all have our foibles, and it takes practice to train yourself out of them.

As the course comes to a close, I do believe that academic writing is not a simple skill, but one that requires a great deal of education, effort, and practice. It is not simply about comma splices, or how to properly use a semi-colon, there is a bigger picture. To me academic writers are academics who are writing to an academic standard or style, those who do not plagiarize, those who work on their grammar and write many drafts of a paper.

As I go forward in my work, I hope whether it is in academia or in everyday writing, I get better at articulating my point and writing to an appropriate standard.