Writing higher education differently: a manifesto on style

Abstract

According to a recent survey of colleagues across the disciplines, the most effective and engaging academic writers are those who express complex ideas clearly and succinctly; write with originality, imagination and creative flair; convey enthusiasm, commitment and a strong sense of self; tap into a wide range of intellectual interests; avoid excessive jargon; employ plenty of concrete examples and illustrations; demonstrate care for their readers; and know how to tell a good story. Yet an analysis of 100 peer‐reviewed articles in six top‐ranked higher education journals (including 50 articles from Studies in Higher Education) reveals no more than a handful of academic authors who exhibit any, much less all, of those characteristics. This article offers a spirited manifesto on academic writing, arguing that educationalists have both a practical incentive and an ethical imperative to write higher education differently.

There is no satisfactory explanation of style, no infallible guide to good writing, no assurance that a person who thinks clearly will be able to write clearly, no key that unlocks the door, no inflexible rule by which the young writer may shape his course. He will often find himself steering by stars that are disturbingly in motion. (Strunk and White 1979, 66)

Notes

1. All unreferenced quotations in this article come from the following issues of SiHE: 31.4, 31.5, 31.6, 32.1, 32.2, 32.3 and 32.4.