Category: scholarly writing

This post is provided by an anonymous guest (and colleague), the author of the Hellish Hand-basket blog.

It takes time and effort to transition from student to scholar

I re-read some of my older papers and realized I had a tendency to simply spout the jargon and concepts I’d gathered from the course textbooks. This is common. You have to start somewhere. But the mark of a true scholar is the ability to synthesize what you have read into something that is (a) new, and (b) supports your thesis or claim, the thing you are trying to prove. It takes a lot of thinking and writing to move beyond student-mode into scholar-mode.

Most of you probably have already figured this out. Me, I am a slow learner. My little epiphanies are as rare as sunshine in the Pacific Northwest.

I think the moment I actually transitioned from student to scholar was while I was writing the comprehensive exam essays. Four 15-page essays on the topics of Theory, Research, Practice, and Ethics. With a page limit, I couldn’t ramble on, using the proverbial “shotgun” technique of academic writing (Blam! Whatever sticks, sticks). I had to get concise, I had to make choices, I had to think.

My advice to you is to read each textbook or article over and over until you can spot the flaws in the author’s thinking. Believe me, the flaws are there. Look for the claims that are not proven, sniff out the assumptions that are unspoken. Become a detective for the truth. Then you can claim the title of scholar.