Liaison Librarian, Education Library and Curriculum Resources Centre
Q: What advice do you have for students about developing their academic writing skills?
A: My advice is to read as much as possible by scholars, professionals and fellow students in your area of study. Since you鈥檙e probably doing lots of reading for your coursework, this doesn鈥檛 necessarily have to take a great deal of extra time. When you鈥檙e reading published works for class, take time to pay attention not only to the content, but also to how scholars in the field express themselves, craft their arguments and structure their writing.
Before coming to 海外直播b站 to study at the School of Information Studies, I completed an undergraduate and graduate degree in English Literature. One of the biggest challenges of moving from the humanities to the field of library and information studies was learning how to write for a new discipline. I felt that I had mastered writing in the humanities, but I wasn鈥檛 completely certain about presenting myself in this new field. Going through this 鈥済enre鈥� switch was challenging, but I learned a great deal just by reading the writing of other academics in my field.
It鈥檚 also important to remember that academic writing isn鈥檛 intuitive鈥攊t is a learned skill. So, be patient with yourself as you try to master it鈥攊t takes time and practice.听
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Recommended writing resource:
is a great resource for grammar and citation assistance.听 I often recommend the to the students I work with in the Faculty of Education. The makes a great one-page cheat sheet for APA-style basics.
Paiz, J.M., Angeli, E., Wagner, J., Lawrick, E., Moore, K., Anderson, Soderlund, M.L., Brizee, A., & Russell Keck, R. (2013, March 1). APA Formatting and Style Guide. Retrieved from