Students struggle with knowing why they’re writing. Christian educators can give them a simple answer: you write to serve.
Academic writing should help readers understand better something they want to understand well. Writers should focus squarely on their readers – our peers, instructors, and ultimately God.
We don’t merely write to demonstrate we understand something. Our readers benefit from what we teach.
But not all writing is the same. In general, it goes through three critical stages.
- Drafting: This is where writers get ideas on the page. The primary audience is the writer. You write for you.
- Revising: In this stage, writers reshape their work with the reader in mind. They add, subtract, move, or keep the drafted material depending on how it serves their new reader: someone else.
- Editing: In this stage, writers remove as many obstacles as possible from their prose to make sure their text does a good job of serving their reader.
But how do we create real value in our writing?
- Identify an instability in the reader’s understanding. This could be a contradiction, an unresolved question, or something that doesn’t quite fit with the reader’s existing knowledge of the topic.
- Establish why this instability matters. What are the costs of not addressing it? What benefits might come from resolving it?
- Propose a solution or new perspective that addresses the instability.
Let’s look at an example. Instead of simply explaining a new teaching method like Collaborative Inquiry-Based Learning (CIBL), we might write:
“While Collaborative Inquiry-Based Learning (CIBL) has been hailed as revolutionary in science education, its actual impact remains ambiguous. Some studies show significant improvements in critical thinking, while others reveal no substantial difference from traditional methods. This inconsistency stems from a fundamental misunderstanding of CIBL’s core principles, often reduced to mere group work and open-ended questioning. The costs of this misapplication are significant: students may develop a false sense of scientific competence, leaving them ill-prepared for advanced studies or STEM careers. To bridge this gap, we propose a comprehensive framework for CIBL implementation that addresses current shortcomings…”
Notice how this approach immediately engages the reader by highlighting a problem they may not have been aware of, explaining why it matters, and offering a potential solution.
As we guide our students in academic writing, let’s encourage them to focus on creating value, not just conveying information, think critically about their field and identify genuine problems or gaps in understanding, and always keep their readers in mind.