Category Archives: General Writing Tips

Strengthening your Academic Writing: How to Evaluate Your Sources for Relevance, Reliability, and Rigor

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Evaluating your sources is an important part of academic writing. If your sources are trustworthy, accurate, and unbiased, your paper will be much stronger. Your sources should also be relevant to the topic you are writing about.

Is your source relevant?

Before evaluating the reliability of your source, you should decide whether the source is relevant. You don’t have to read the entire document to be able to tell if the source will complement your own work—there are several aspects you can use as starting points to help you assess its relevance.

Keywords

Keywords tell you the main topics of a book or an article. You can use these to quickly determine whether the source discusses your topic to a useful extent.

Abstracts

Journal articles typically have abstracts, which are concise descriptions of the paper’s content. Reading an abstract should give you a good indication of whether the source will be relevant for your paper.

Introduction and Conclusion

The introduction to a book or article usually contains a summary of the work. This will be more detailed than an abstract and can help determine relevance. Conclusions function similarly, summarizing the work and its findings.

Is your source reliable and rigorous?

It is important to choose trustworthy sources. You want to ensure your paper is well-researched, with appropriate citations, and is based on accurate, up-to-date information. With the advent of the Internet anyone can publish anything, so it is important to evaluate each source you are considering using. There are many ways to evaluate reliability.

Reputability

You can evaluate reputability in several ways. Is the publisher or journal well-known and reputable? Has the source undergone a peer-review process? Is the scholar established? What is the journal’s impact factor? Self-published and open-access sources can be tricky in this regard. It is important to carefully examine these works before you use them, particularly if the publisher or author is not yet well-established. That’s not to say that open-access sources can’t provide useful information, but you must vet lesser-known journals and self-published authors by looking at criteria like the following when making your decision.

Is the source current?

Certain fields of scholarship change quickly and information can become outdated. This is particularly true in the sciences. Before using a source, make sure that the information in it is still relevant in your field.

Does the source use citations to back up the claims it makes?

If a source has no citations, it is likely to be unreliable. Unless the work is an opinion piece—and this should be clearly expressed in the text itself—you should always be able to go back and check the information it gives. Similarly, if the source you are evaluating has been cited many times by other authors, this is a good sign that it is reliable. You can check how many times a source has been cited and who has cited it using Google Scholar.

Reviews

Have other scholars reviewed the source? Reviews can tell you whether a source is scholarly and has been accepted in its field of research. If reviews are bad, you may not want to use the source in your paper.

Considerations for Internet Sources

Internet sources can be difficult to evaluate. In addition to the criteria above, you’ll want to check whether the source is grammatically correct and uses language that is not inflammatory, derogatory, or overly biased. Additionally, you will want to find who is responsible for the online material and determine whether they are an established scholar or organization, or if the material is sponsored by someone with a vested interest. Wikipedia should almost never be used in academic writing, since the information can be amended by anyone and is therefore notoriously unreliable.

How to Write More Concisely

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Most journals, and even dissertation and thesis guidelines, have word limits in place to ensure that papers are digestible. However, good academic writing needs to be concise not just to meet those limits but also to ensure that readers can understand the complex topic at hand, and that your argument is coherent and not muddied by lots of extraneous information. Removing unnecessary words and complicated phrases will make your writing much stronger. This post offers some ways in which you can tighten up your writing to produce clearer content and more easily adhere to word count restrictions.

Remove inflated phrases

An inflated phrase is one that uses more words than necessary to convey the sense and idea. Inflated phrases can add many words to your writing, so removing them can reduce your word count significantly. Here are some examples:

   Inflated: This paper seeks to examine…

   Concise: This paper examines… (note that this is also more accurate, since the paper actually does examine the issue in question, rather than just seeking to do so).

   Inflated: …were of the opinion…

   Concise: …stated…

Once you start to identify inflated phrases, you will start to notice them everywhere. These phrases can be easily replaced by shorter ones that will save you some valuable writing space.

Avoid passive voice

Avoiding passive voice in your writing as much as possible will make your sentences more concise and clearer. This does not mean passive voice is wrong—passive voice is often necessary and helpful, particularly in scientific writing, and in fact there are occasions when passive voice makes for a clearer sentence than active voice. Using the passive voice too often, however, can make your writing unnecessarily wordy and difficult to understand.

   Passive: The interviews were conducted by three trained researchers.

   Active: Three trained researchers conducted the interviews.

   Passive: New findings were revealed by the study.

   Active: The study revealed new findings.

Remove redundancies

Text is redundant when it expresses the same idea twice. This often happens when you use words or phrases where the meaning of one of the words is already implied in the other. For example, cooperation implies working together, so the phrase “cooperating together” suffers from redundancy and you could simply use “cooperate.”

Here are two more examples:

   Redundant: In addition, we also conducted surveys.

   Concise: In addition, we conducted surveys. (Or: We also conducted surveys.)

   Redundant: We reviewed literature by knowledgeable experts in the field of management.

   Concise: We reviewed literature by experts in the field of management.

Make sure each word is necessary

If you need to cut some words, look at each part of your sentence. Is it necessary? Does it enhance your writing? Long sentences are good candidates for revision. They often contain many extra words that do not contribute to the overall meaning.

   Unnecessarily Long: Based on the results of the survey, we came to the conclusion of that most of the employees preferred working in the office rather than working from home.

   Concise: The survey results revealed that most employees preferred working from the office rather than from home.

Hopefully, these tips will enable you to stick to your word count and become a better writer. However, there are times when your draft is so far over the word limit that cutting it down sufficiently feels like an impossible task. That’s where we can take an objective view and help you meet even the tightest word limit. In fact, we relish the challenge of word count reductions and would love to help you!

How to Incorporate Quotations into Your Writing

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Incorporating the ideas of others into your paper is a key part of academic writing. Quotations help to make your own writing stronger, show that you have read widely and intelligently on your topic, and demonstrate that your arguments can be backed up with findings from other studies. Whenever you use someone else’s exact words, this is a direct quote; if you paraphrase or otherwise incorporate someone else’s ideas or findings without using their own words, it’s known as an indirect quote.

When incorporating direct quotes from others into your work, you will need to indicate the quotations clearly (via quotation marks or, particularly in the case of longer quotes, as a separate block of text), credit the original author (through an appropriate citation presented according to the style guidelines you are using), and copy the text verbatim (or indicate clearly where you have made changes, for example using ellipses or square brackets—see below).

Quotations should not be dropped into your text as stand-alone sentences. Good academic writing thoughtfully integrates quotes to support the argument and help your reader to understand why you are using the quote, and the relevance it has to your work.

In this post, we’ll use some text taken from Barbara M. Wildemuth’s Applications of Social Research Methods to Questions in Information and Library Science to show how to incorporate a quotation in three different ways.

Full grammatical integration into your sentence

If you just want to use shorter phrases from another source, grammatically integrating the quotation into your sentence is a good choice. If the quote does not quite fit your sentence grammatically, you can modify it to fit your sentence as long as you do not change the meaning. If you delete part of the text, you can show this using an ellipsis. If you change a word so that it fits grammatically, under most style guides you will signal this using square brackets.

Here is an example:

With respect to the research process, Wildemuth (2009, p. 11) stated that it is crucial to “define [an appropriate] research question.”

Integration through an introductory sentence

Another way to incorporate a quotation is to introduce it using a full sentence that describes or interprets the quotation.

Wildemuth (2009, p. 11) suggested that developing a research question is the key to a successful project: “Having a clear statement of your research question in hand allows you to design your study (including your overall strategy and your specific data collection procedures).”

Integration through a brief introduction

Finally, you can integrate a quotation by briefly introducing it. This puts the focus on the quotation rather than on your interpretation.

Wildemuth (2009, p. 11) wrote, “The first […] step in conducting a research study is to define your research question.”

However, your next sentence would probably need to make clear why this quotation is relevant to your context.

You can use the methods above to integrate quotations in any style (e.g., APA, Chicago, Harvard, etc.), but the citation format and location in the sentence will vary according to the style you are following.

One final note: Although quotations are vital for providing readers with evidence for the validity of your claim, it’s important to strike a balance between your own words and the words of others. Be thoughtful in deciding when to quote and when to paraphrase, making sure your voice comes through strongly in your paper. And when in doubt, send your paper to us. We’ll make sure quotations are appropriate, relevant, and have been cited adequately. We’ll also ensure the relevant style guide has been correctly applied.

Works Cited

Wildemuth, Barbara M. 2009. Applications of Social Research Methods to Questions in Information and Library Science. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.

Write Smarter: How to Set Effective Goals in Your Academic Writing

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How often do you walk away from your computer after a writing session feeling disappointed at having not written more? This will be familiar to any academic, but ask yourself: What did you set out to achieve in the first place? One mistake too many of us make is that we approach writing with ill-defined goals. However, the research is clear: Setting effective goals is the first step toward making tremendous accomplishments.1

Thankfully, there are plenty of methods to help you set practical goals, one of which is the SMART framework. Using this framework will help you not only keep on track but identify when a day’s work is complete. This means you can walk away from the computer feeling proud of what you have accomplished.

What does SMART stand for? The short answer is Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound. Each of these corresponds to a strategy you can use when setting your writing goals. Below, we explore each component in the context of academic writing.

Specific

Rather than being vague, a good writing goal will make crystal clear the particular task to be completed (and how), often using numbers.

Bad example of a specific goal: “I will write some of my introduction section today.”

Good example of a specific goal: “I will write five paragraphs of my introduction, focusing on the quantity of writing. I’ll go back and edit for quality tomorrow.”

Measurable

How will you know that you are making progress toward your writing goal, and how will you know when you have achieved it? Ensuring you have quantifiable metrics against which you can benchmark your progress is essential for holding yourself accountable and knowing when it’s time to close the laptop.

Bad example of a measurable goal: “I will write up some of my discussion section today, stopping when I get tired.”

Good example of a measurable goal: “I will write 500 words of my discussion, after which I will stop writing and review my work tomorrow.”

Achievable

It’s possible that being accepted by a top-tier publication on your first submission, or drafting an entire thesis in a day, is unrealistic. Take a moment to consider whether your goals are achievable. Seek support and keep your goals manageable.

Bad example of an achievable goal: “I will finish the last chapter of my thesis before editing and proofreading the entire manuscript in time for the submission deadline. I’ll squeeze it in around the other things I have to do. Everything will be fine!”

Good example of an achievable goal: “I will take the next day to finalize the last chapter of my thesis and then send it to a professional proofreading service to get the language polished.”

Relevant

It’s much easier to work on things that feel personally relevant to you. Ask yourself—ideally before you even commence writing—whether your current writing project feels meaningful and exciting. Goals that motivate us in and of themselves, irrespective of their material rewards, are much more motivating than goals we’re pursuing purely for a paycheck.2

Bad example of a relevant goal: You see a call for proposals for an upcoming special issue. The issue is not on a topic that you find particularly interesting, but you’ve got some results that you think will fit the bill. You decide to write up a proposal but it feels like a chore. When the proposal is accepted, you dread the time you must now dedicate to writing the full manuscript.

Good example of a relevant goal: You have been offered the chance to submit a chapter to an edited book. The offer comes from a prestigious and reputable publisher, but the topic you would be writing about isn’t as interesting to you as your focal research. You decide to decline the offer and focus on your core research. Consequently, you enjoy sitting down to write much more than if you had pursued the opportunity, and are highly productive.

Time-bound

Lastly, the best goals are time-bound. Create a timeline of tasks that lead up to a final deadline, ensuring they are bite-sized and allow buffer room for any unexpected hiccups.

Bad example of a time-bound goal: “I’m going to finish that chapter of my thesis… eventually.”

Good example of a time-bound goal: “I will complete the first draft of my 3,000-word discussion section within seven days. Therefore, I will write 500 words each day up to the deadline, allowing one day for any delays.”

Consider setting yourself some SMART goals and watch as your writing productivity soars!

Take a Better Break: How to Boost Your Writing Productivity Using Breaks

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We talked about the Pomodoro Method of writing—which is a strategy combining 25-minute increments of focused writing with five-minute breaks—in another post. But what exactly should you do during writing or study breaks to maximize your productivity once you’re back behind the keyboard?

Take a moment to reflect on what a typical break from writing looks like for you. Do you chat with your colleagues or friends? Do you browse social media? Maybe you take a short walk. Ultimately, a productive break from writing is likely to look different for different people. However, new findings about the science of recovery suggest some rules of thumb to increase your chances of feeling replenished and ready to write after your breaks. Below, we explore three science-backed tips for taking a better break.

Spend a Moment in Nature

Studies show that taking some time outside may be more restorative than taking a break indoors. The reason for this is related to the effect of the natural environment on our attentional capacity. Findings indicate that when we spend time in nature, we tend to subconsciously focus on features of the environment, such as the calls of birds, the chill of the wind, or the sounds of rustling trees. This soft, nondeliberate focus allows your conscious attention to rest, meaning that once you return to the computer you’ll be better able to mobilize your attention and focus on your work.1 Additionally, getting some physical distance from your work will help you to psychologically detach and truly relax during your break.2

Even if you can’t physically get outside, studies show that just gazing upon natural scenery through a window is sufficient to rest your attentional capacity.3

Do Something Nonwordy

Be sure not to spend too much time during your break engaging in “wordy” activities, such as reading articles or responding to messages. These activities use the same language-processing parts of your brain that writing does, and may continue to draw on the same cognitive resources you need to get your work done.4

Instead, try something you enjoy that is “nonwordy,” such as light stretching or a short game on your smartphone.

Let Your Mind Wander

Stuck on your next paragraph? Take a few minutes to let your mind wander during your writing break. Findings from creativity research suggest that intentionally disengaging from problems and taking a moment to daydream can be an effective way to have those much-needed “a-hah!” moments. This is because our brains unconsciously work through problems when we’re not consciously thinking about them.5

To make this type of break work for you, physically distance yourself from your work for a few minutes and take that time to daydream about whatever comes to mind. The ideas will come flowing in no time.

Ready to be a more productive writer? Commit to testing out one of these tips today and see how your productivity improves!

Primary, Secondary, or Tertiary?: Identifying the Sources You Need to Get Writing

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Information is everywhere, but what kind of information do you need for a research paper? Sources come in many forms and sometimes it can be hard to figure out exactly what kind of source you need. Here are some definitions and tips to help you decide what kind of material you need for your academic papers.

Primary Sources

Primary sources are usually original material on which you base your research. What this material looks like varies by academic field. If you are writing a research paper in literature, a primary source might be a specific literary work you are analyzing. If you are working on a project in history, you might use letters, diaries, artifacts, reports, and other kinds of documents from the event or time you are writing about. These types of materials might be housed in an archive or reproduced in critical editions. Social media and news reports following an event might also be a primary source. A project in the social sciences might look at data someone else gathered or at data you collect in a study. This data can be quantitative or qualitative.

Secondary Sources

Secondary sources discuss, analyze, and interpret primary sources. These are usually academic books, peer-reviewed articles, scholarly papers or reports, theses and dissertations, and similar types of material. Secondary sources help you to understand the current state of research around the primary source material you are working with. You can use secondary sources to understand current research trends in your field, find other perspectives, and discover new ways to approach your topic. A good research paper engages with secondary sources in its field of study and then adds new information to the current body of research.

Tertiary Sources

Tertiary sources summarize secondary literature on particular topics. This type of source includes encyclopedias (such as Wikipedia), textbooks, and dictionaries. Tertiary sources are very helpful for understanding the basics of your topic, but you should avoid citing them. It is much better to use secondary sources to show that you have done your research. These sources should be used for the beginning stages of research and they might even point you to scholarly work relevant to your field. For example, a Wikipedia article on a well-known study might cite several articles published in relation to that research, perhaps as follow-ups or critiques. You can use those citations to find the original articles and then use those in your paper as well.

For more information on types of sources, check out Kate L. Turabian’s A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, the MLA Handbook, and the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. As you start to write your paper, keep these types of sources in mind. And remember, we can help you to organize your sources, ensure you have followed the correct referencing style as laid out by your school or journal, and verify that all citations are complete and correspond with entries in the reference list.

5 Quick Tips for Using Abbreviations and Acronyms in Academic Writing

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Whether you’re working on a thesis or a research paper, abbreviations and acronyms are difficult to avoid in academic writing, which is why it’s important that you know how to use them properly. Here’s a quick primer.

1. Spell the word or phrase in full at first mention

When you first use the term that you will be abbreviating, you should usually spell out the actual word or phrase in full and follow that with the abbreviation/acronym in brackets.

For example: “We then conducted an analysis of variance (ANOVA).”

This ensures that your reader understands what your abbreviation means. While some abbreviations may seem common or obvious, different disciplines may use the same shorthand for different phrases. For example, “CAD” could refer to computer-aided design, coronary artery disease, Canadian dollar, current account deficit… You get the point! Abbreviations or acronyms that are extremely common for your audience may not need to be defined, but it’s best to check your style guidelines on this—and if you’re unsure, err on the side of caution and provide the full version at first mention.

2. Make sure abbreviations appear more than once

If you find that you have only used a specific abbreviation once in the entire paper, you should use the full version of the word or phrase instead and delete the abbreviation. This is because the purpose of abbreviations and acronyms is to make the writing more concise and aid comprehension, so—bearing in mind that it’s good practice to spell the abbreviated word or phrase in full at first mention—if it is only used once the abbreviation is redundant.

3. Use abbreviations consistently

Once you have introduced an abbreviation, it should be used consistently throughout the rest of the piece—that is, every time the word or phrase appears following its introduction. This means that once you have defined the abbreviation, you should stick to the same format and not switch back to the full word or a different abbreviation elsewhere in the paper. There are some exceptions to this rule; for example, the original text should be retained in direct quotations and references, and you may wish to use the full version in tables, figures, and section headings, depending on whether your style guide permits or even prescribes this.

4. Don’t go overboard

Abbreviations are a great way to keep writing concise. They can help you meet a tight word count, and enable the reader to focus on important information without getting bogged down by cumbersome phrases (for example, it’s much easier to process “RMSEA” than “root mean square error of approximation”!). However, a good writer will be prudent in their use of abbreviations; if a paper contains too many, that can be distracting and confusing in itself. Bear in mind also that similar constructions should be avoided. For example, if both “CAD” and “CDA” appear in your paper, it may be better to modify one of the abbreviations, or use the full version for one of the terms and do away with that abbreviation altogether.

5. Let us help!

Practice common sense, stick to the rules above, and, as always, feel free to have us check your work prior to submission to make sure your abbreviations are working with your paper rather than against it. Among our usual checks, we’ll ensure abbreviations are appropriate and consistent, and in line with your style guidelines.

So Many Rules, So Little Time: An Introduction to Some of the Most Popular Academic Style Guides

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When you’re working on an assignment, a lot of questions come up that have nothing to do with grammar. Should you write numbers using the word or the actual digit? Do your abbreviations need periods in between the letters? How exactly do you punctuate the in-text citations and reference list?

You must turn to a designated style guide for help.

These guides don’t just govern spelling preferences; they set standards for formatting, documenting sources, and usage—issues that usually have more than one correct answer. The most common systems within academia include APA (American Psychological Association), Chicago, Harvard, MLA (Modern Language Association), Turabian, and Vancouver, but there are many others. Though there is some crossover, different systems are designed for different disciplines, so the one you use for your work is likely to be dictated by your school or by the journal you are submitting to (depending on your end goal). Each guide is also revised periodically, so adherents must be adaptable in their practices as well.

Below are the style guides that we are asked to apply most often in our work as academic editors. We’ve also included an example reference list entry for a book with one author, just so you can see how these style guides differ, but bear in mind that most of these systems outline rules related to punctuation, number usage, table layout, and so on as well.

APA: The American Psychological Association has its own style guide for those publishing in the fields of psychology, social sciences, and nursing.

Example: De Caro, J. (2016). The songs of Argentine tango (10th ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Bando Publishing.

Chicago: The Chicago Manual of Style dates back to the 1890s. Its reach is wide-ranging, and many other style guides use Chicago Style as a starting point, and even defer to it in some cases. While mainly researchers and scholars use this when they write for publication, many magazines, online journals, and business entities often instruct their writers to apply Chicago Style as well.

Example: De Caro, Julio. The Songs of Argentine Tango. 10th ed. Los Angeles: Bando Publishing, 2016.

Harvard: As you may have guessed, Harvard style originated from Harvard University. There is no go-to manual for Harvard style, so its exact application can vary quite a bit between institutions. It is very similar to APA in a lot of ways, though with some subtle differences.

Example: De Caro, J. (2016). The Songs of Argentine Tango. 10th ed. Los Angeles, CA: Bando Publishing.

MLA: MLA style is most frequently used by researchers in literature and language, and in the humanities in general. You’ll see two books connected with the MLA. Broadly speaking, The MLA Style Manual is meant for graduate studies and beyond, while The MLA Handbook is for college and university students in the humanities.

Example: De Caro, Julio. The Songs of Argentine Tango. Los Angeles: Bando Publishing, 2016. Print.

Turabian: Undergraduate students are often directed to use this style, which is heavily based on the Chicago style.

Vancouver: Vancouver is most often used in scientific disciplines. In-text citations are indicated using numbers, while full details are provided at the end of the paper as a corresponding, sequentially numbered list.

Example: [1] De Caro, J. The songs of Argentine tango. 10th ed. Los Angeles, CA: Bando Publishing; 2016.

Of course, there are many more style systems, depending on your field and subject matter. In addition, to make matters more confusing, many journals and schools use styles that are only loosely based on an existing system—for example, they might use APA but with commas instead of periods, or a different approach to capitalizing titles—so it’s vital that you scrutinize your school/journal’s style guide closely and note any deviations.

Sticking to the required style guide will increase your professionalism and increase your chances of getting your paper published, or receiving a higher grade. In addition, when it comes to in-text citations and bibliographies, correctly documenting your sources tells your readers where you’ve gotten your information, and this is your best defense against plagiarism.

As long as you understand why it’s so important to adhere to a style guide, you’re well on your way to reconciling yourself with all the rules. But applying every stipulation perfectly can be a big ask in the scope of writing a complex paper, thesis, or dissertation. We at Stickler are familiar with all major academic style guides, and make sure we keep on top of changes and updates. Whenever you submit work to us, just send us the relevant style link or document and we’ll make sure all the requirements are met.

How to Improve your Writing: Tips and Resolutions for the New Year

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The new year is almost here (!), and that means it’s time again to set resolutions and goals. With a clean slate, you can focus on revamping your writing routine for 2020. Below are a few ideas to help get the new year off to a flying start and realize your writing potential.

Set Realistic Goals for the Upcoming Year

Think about what you want to accomplish in terms of your writing in 2020. Is it to redraft a rejected paper that’s fallen to the wayside? To turn in your work well before the deadline? To finally start a project that you’ve been itching to get into? Whatever your goals, keep them focused and realistic so that they are easier to reach and feel less overwhelming. You might also find it useful to create a writing calendar to figure out what time of the day you work best, to get a writing accountability buddy to help you stay on track, or to use apps and online tools to stay organized and focused.

Incorporate Reading into Your Routine

While writing is an important part of any academic career, most people don’t realize how vital reading is if you want to write well. This new year, consider incorporating more reading into your daily routine. Reading is a great way to broaden your knowledge and skills and to hone your craft by absorbing others’ techniques. Whether it’s a journal a week or a few papers a month, setting quantifiable goals will make it easier to start reading in the new year.

Refill the Well

Another great resolution is to remember to take breaks and engage in self-care practices during your writing sessions. Taking breaks, especially when you’re working on longer projects, can help you refresh your mind and avoid writer’s block. Whether it’s a walk around the park, a yoga class, a long bath, or a cup of coffee, refilling the well is an important part of any routine.

Spend Time on Revision and Proofreading

Brainstorming and sitting down to write are both important parts of the writing process, but so is the often-forgotten job of revising and proofreading. Revision is typically a multi-step process that involves tightening your sentences, reworking ideas, and perhaps getting outside readers to critique your work. In addition, language errors and issues with clarity can severely hinder your chances of getting your paper published or receiving a good grade, and sometimes it’s hard for even the most accomplished writers to catch mistakes or unclear passages on their own. For this reason, utilizing a professional proofreading/editing service can be an extremely worthwhile investment. We’re always here to help, and we hope that our flexible, professional, and friendly approach will help you to meet your goals in 2020.

Happy new year from the Stickler team!

Writing by the fire

Don’t Let the Holidays Halt Your Momentum! Tips for Staying Productive Throughout the Festive Period

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The holidays can be both a wonderful and stressful time. Between preparing food, reconnecting with family, seeing friends, and buying gifts—not to mention the fact that everyone else is “out of the office”—it can be hard to find time to stick to your writing schedule and get work done. It’s important to be flexible with your writing schedule during the holidays, but that doesn’t mean that you have to set aside all of your work and wait for the new year to roll around. Below are some tips to keep you productive throughout the holiday period while still enjoying the festivities.

Protect Your Time

It’s important to remember that during the holidays you are likely to have less time to write. Things may get in the way, plans may change, and you might have to allocate some of your time to family and friends. Thus, it’s important to protect the free time that you do have. Think about points in your day during which you can carve out time—whether it’s a couple of hours or 30 minutes. It might be when you first wake up, after everyone else has gone to bed, or in between parties. Block that time out for yourself and protect it at all costs. Let people close to you know that this time is important, and make sure they understand why. That way, you won’t feel stressed about other things taking time away from your work.

Put in Place a Serious Schedule

If you struggle to use the free time you have for writing and find yourself waylaid by other tasks, it might help you to put a schedule in place ahead of time. Consider what time of the day you are usually the most productive (or what time of day you are claiming for your own—see the point above), how much time you have, and your ability to access a quiet and productive workspace. Then, sketch out a rough plan of what you will do during this time each day. Dedicating yourself to this schedule and putting your writing above other tasks will help you stay productive and on track, while still giving you time and space to do the million other things that need to be done during the holiday season.

Be Flexible and Forgiving

While the above points are important, it’s also vital to remember that life happens and sometimes other things may get in the way of writing, despite your best efforts. Being flexible and forgiving with yourself and your time is an important way to reduce stress and achieve a balance between work and fun. Maybe you’ve been invited to a family lunch during your scheduled writing hour, and have to choose between sticking to your writing plan or spending time with family you haven’t seen in a while. Sometimes it’s important to listen to yourself and follow your heart. Writing is important, but it might not be as important as family and friends. Plus, spending time with others can often give you a much-needed inspiration boost, or clear your head so that you’re more productive in the long run.

Engage in Writing in Other Ways

Even if you aren’t writing, there are other ways you can engage in your work or field. Whether it’s reading books or journals, revisiting an old draft, or catching up with what colleagues are working on, it’s possible to further your academic pursuits without actively writing. Sometimes it’s hard to sit down and find a quiet space to create new work during the holidays, so revision or editing are also great options to help move your work forward.

Balancing writing and the holidays can be tough if you don’t have the right mindset. By carving out time for yourself, sticking to a schedule, and also remembering to be flexible with yourself, you can achieve a balance of enjoying yourself while still getting work done.

To help you stay productive and meet your deadlines, we’re offering $20 off our Express Service (two-day turnaround rather than the standard four) throughout December. That means our two-day Express Service is $30 instead of $50! Just enter code “BlogExpress20” at checkout.

Happy holidays from the Stickler team!