Avoid These Three Things: Common Mistakes Made by Beginning Academic Writers
Dear Real Academics, In this post, I want to share three common mistakes I see in academic writing, especially among beginning academic writers. The purpose of doing so is to help you improve your academic writing and/or provide a tool so you can help others. I have frequently made (and still make -- especially when drafting!) these mistakes. Now that I've had more experience as an academic writer, though, I am aware of these common mistakes and know how to fix them. So, whether you are a seasoned academic writer or not, read on; and please share this post with anyone who may benefit from this information. Common Mistake #1: So and So Says I call this the "so and so says" mistake because it uses the following structure to start a paragraph (and, often, the sentences that follow): "Author and Author (Date) state that...." and "According to Author (Date)...." and "Author (Date) says..." Writing structured in this manner is frankly boring to r...