On this page you will find a range of strategies to help you:
Free writing is a strategy developed by Peter Elbow 1973. You write in sentences and paragraphs without stopping, in a way that means you just do it and do not engage your critical/or perfectionist side. Free writing is not to be evaluated, it is not to be submitted, its purpose is to generate the flow of writing and to minimise any interruption to this. It is writing to generate an unedited draft of ideas which can be useful to get an indication of your own understanding and how you might communicate your thinking.
Strengths: Free writing also prevents compulsive and premature editing and can be a useful strategy if you are truly starting from nothing and are not even sure what you want to write your paper about.
Limitations: Free writing is not yet about accuracy, it is intended only as a first draft.
For this strategy, you quickly capture elements of a piece of writing you’re looking to complete, brainstorm using bullet points, and then move onto bite-size paragraphs of 250 words. Set a timer and write as fast as you can about the chosen topic, without pausing to correct grammar or spelling. Further develop these points and short snippets to develop an outline and repeat for as much time as you have.
Strengths: This is a useful activity to do in the first instance when you’re focusing for a full day, in order to overcome the first hurdle in as little time as possible. It can be particularly helpful when tackling boring writing or elements of your writing that you’re struggling to express.
Limitations: You will first need to identify the writing that you need to get done Be strict about the 5-minute limit, remove any distractions and really focus.
ual coding is the process of changing words to visuals, representing written text with a visual. This can be done with an infographic, drawing, diagram, flow-chart etc. It is the process that is important, the act of changing your writing from one format to another that is important.
Strengths: Allows you to see different connections and patterns in your own writing.
Limitations: You must already have writing done - cannot help with getting started or planning.
Each hexagon represents a piece of knowledge, reference, concept, date, or argument you wish to include. Populate as many as you can and fit them together, wherever they touch (especially when more than one touches), you must be able to articulate (verbally or in your annotations) why they connect.
Strengths: Allows you to visualise structure and spot areas of strength and weakness in your arguments.
Limitations: Difficult to take away and keep for reference. May become unwieldy and it can be difficult to know how to piece together abstract, pieces of knowledge you have acquired.
You can use visual cues to help you measure and capture the progression of your research, this process will help with motivation when you’re working on a long project or piece of work. There are several different methods you can use to visual your process.
For example, using a wall calendar to set yourself pre-emptive deadlines and cross them off. Or, breaking down your thesis into summarising post-it notes and mapping out your writing to help you see what needs to be removed, moved, or expanded on. Other helpful methods include mind maps, to do lists and Gantt Charts.
Strengths: Helps measure progress, stay motivated and is a visual reminder of how far you’ve come and the remaining tasks.
Limitations: Could be a distraction from your work that encourages procrastination.
Setting writing goals and targets that work for you can be an invaluable technique in moving past writer’s block. These goals can be defined by reaching a certain word count, completing several blocks of focussed writing time, focusing on a certain portion of your writing for a committed amount of time, etc. Re-framing how you think about writing goals can drastically change your experience.
To practice effective goal setting break down your larger writing task into manageable, measurable milestones and write them down somewhere you will see frequently. It’s proven that writing goals down makes them feel more tangible.
Strengths: Adaptable technique that can be modified for you own circumstance, puts less pressure on the absolute deadline, makes your goals more tangible.
Limitations: Could potentially become overwhelming and demotivating if short term goals are not achieved.
This process focuses on annotating or adding additional sentences to your draft to understand why you have included certain information or find instances where more context or explanation might be more valuable. The idea of playing may sound silly when we are talking about serious academic writing, but it’s important to give yourself space and time to explore techniques which might help you. ‘Playing’ takes the pressure off needing to fix the text you’re working on and gives you time to experiment with make smaller changes.
Strengths: Forces you to revisit your draft and rephrase, improve, and reflect.
Limitations: Could serve as a distraction or complicate your draft, make sure you are working on a portion of the text that you are unhappy with or are confident needs editing or reshaping.
This process focusses on looking at the writing you already have on the page and editing it to help you move forward. Simply change the beginning of a sentence to try a different way of introducing the topic or focus on writing a new ending for text. This can be done on any scale: sentence, paragraph, or section. It can be helpful to complete this activity without looking at the text and just focusing on re-framing or rephrasing the beginning or the conclusion.
Strengths: Could help you bring a new idea or insight to your writing. Rephrasing or re-framing might help you become unstuck and connect your writing more effectively, supporting you with the next step of building on you text.
Limitations: Could complicate your writing if you don’t review after adding text or making changes.
Writing in parallel is a slightly different approach which involved writing an alternative version of your writing. This practice can help you move your ideas forward and see your topic in a different light. There are number of ways to do this:
Strengths: These short activities give you time to reflect on your writing problem.
Limitations: This more creative approach might not work for everyone.
Sometimes when we hit a block in our writing the only way to overcome it is to return to the planning and theorising stage, either revisit articles you have already read or look for something new.
Reading papers can also help you think about your own work, as the style or approach of other authors to their own writing might provide inspiration. For a new perspective, look to articles that use the same methodology, are in the same area of research, or are part of a journal to which you aspire to submit.
Strengths: Create new interpretations and insights in your writing, can help to develop your ideas.
Limitations: Could serve as a distraction.
The strategies in this section have been taken from 'Patter' a writing blog by Pat Thompson. They are used under Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
The intention of this strategy is to help you manage your wellbeing when working on academic writing. The strategy is based on the psychological idea of venting and getting things off your chess to avoid the build-up of stress or other negative emotions. It’s important to acknowledge that emotion responses to writing are a natural part of the process.
You can keep a journal to track things that are preventing you from writing, as well as aspects of writing that you find hard or boring. Once you have completed your writing, you can look back on the journal to reflect on the issues you faced and how you overcame them, equipping you with a strategy for next time.
Strengths: Helps alleviate intense emotions towards writing, helps provide perspective.
Limitations: Some psychologists argue that venting keeps us focused on the negative rather than the positive.
