How does Becker’s book match
up to your expectations for a book claiming to teach you how to: “start and
finish your thesis, book, or article?” Keep in mind that in spite of this
negative-seeming prompt that I find the book to be worthwhile enough to assign
it!
I really enjoyed the book. It addressed a lot of the questions or fears that I had/have related to the process. Sometimes it is about how to even begin. I really liked his section about that. Just getting something on paper and not thinking of it as the finished product, but rather the first draft. Also talking about group editing was helpful. The example that he gave where they got a paragraph to a sentence stuck with me. I am ramble and need to work on being more concise in my writing.
ReplyDeleteMy main takeaways were: be willing to be vulnerable, try to work with a least one other person, get anything on the paper, it is okay to have "rituals" for writing, edits from others are important, be concise, but clear, there is no need to be fancy or talk over people's heads, and academic writing doesn't have to be boring.
Given all those lessons, "nothing will happen without the work."
-Becker quoting Ben Franklin
I enjoyed the book as well. It addressed many of the concerns I had and still have about the writing process
ReplyDeleteI also liked the idea about getting words down on paper and not trying to have a perfect product planned out before you write. I have been using this approach since reading that portion of the book and I find it seems to work well for me.
It was good to read the chapter about being "terrorized by the literature". It is intimidating to start to write about a topic that others have dedicated their life to and I am just a novice. I also often feel the pressure of needing to write about everyone that ever discussed the topic. I liked his advice of not allowing the existing literature to "bend your argument out of shape" (p. 146)
The book allowed me to think about my writing from start to finish in a different way. It even caused me to think about my writing "rituals" and I found that valuable.
Exactly!! This is where I always get stuck when writing and am so glad he touched on it. Now I just have to allow myself to follow his advice.
DeleteI couldn't agree more! I'm actually thinking of Becker as I am writing the discipline paper. I find myself getting in my head, trying to phrase things perfectly. It has helped so much just getting thoughts out of my head and on paper. Then to create an outline from that and make it pretty! It doesn't have to be perfect right away, just get it started. The fact that my peers will be able to help edit my paper intimidates me, of course, but also provides me so much confidence at the same time. It will prepare me for my future, where consultation and collaboration are encouraged.
DeleteI enjoyed reading the book. I liked the idea of how to do a literature review, this is something I have been struggling with. On p.136 he says " students learn that they must say something about all the people who have discussed their problem before them" mentioning the people who have written about your topic gives you as a student assurance that what you are writing is new and not a replication. He also mentioned about having the gurus well-known author's names who have written about your topic so that it doesn't sound like you have not done a thorough literature review, he refers to this as "intellectual small change" (just as you use catchwords of a school) "to show what camp you belong, to do this, you must use well-known names" p.139.
ReplyDeleteSomething else I got from reading this book was using active voice and not passive voice when writing, using few words to explain something and not being too wordy.
I have never read a book on academic writing before so I enjoyed reading Becker's book. I liked the idea of developing my persona as a writer because as I am starting to do more and more scholarly writing, I have noticed my persona and style when writing. Also I like the idea of just getting something down on paper and developing rituals. I go to the library and sit in the same chair on the fourth floor when I am starting to write a new paper. I found developing rituals to be an extremely valuable takeaway from the book.
ReplyDeleteI genuinely enjoyed Becker’s book and style of writing. I think he has that “no-nonsense” kind of attitude about writing (which as an avid avoider of writing, I need) with a flare of personality and empathy that some writing about writing authors lack (i.e. Paul Silva in How to Write a Lot aka “just do it.”). I think he also helped me develop as an editor. I’m still in awe over one of the first chapters when he talked about his writing class and their feelings about editing other’s work and having other’s edit their work. How he was able to have his students develop empathy for the peer writer over their own insecurities as writers.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed Becker's book, and I think it should be a must read for anyone in research and writing. Like Autumn, I had never read a book on academic writing before Becker's, which is strange to get to this point and read my first one. I found his writing and advice very approachable, relatable, and doable. My main takeaway is do it... Don't stall, don't wait until you've found all of the literature, don't wait until it's perfect before you put it out there. This was a good read, and I think I'll reread it when I need a push.
ReplyDeleteThis book was far more easily digestible than most of the texts in previous studies although perhaps that is because it was more of a case study review/how to piece of work. Much of his writing seems geared around a "common sense" approach to writing & not anything terribly innovative. Take-aways include to have a more thoughtful & reflective experience as a writer while also producing, not stalling looking for perfection. I don't consider myself inexperienced however within the realm of professional writings I am completely lacking so his information was comforting & helpful. I wouldn't classify his text as one that teaches you how to write - it read more as a book that assists individuals in recognizing "soft skills" of professional writing, including things which may hamper productivity, recognizing the "ritual" of things & giving someone the room to breathe in their own writing. The majority of my experience around how to write has been dogmatic (punctuation/grammar rules, sentence construction, purposes for writing, voice, audience, etc.) but Becker certainly brought to light a few things I'd not given enough serious consideration. I'll still make some (many?) of the "mistakes" he references although I'm equally sure I'm still not fully on board with falling in to the expectations of this particular type of writing. Good read - will hold to it & reference in the future. - P.
ReplyDelete