Writing an academic blogpost: 10 top tips
Jo Hills
Blogposts can be a great way to get promote new research findings or get some initial thoughts down before you are ready to commit your ideas to more formal publication avenues. In this blogpost we outline some of our key advice for writing a successful blogpost, drawing on what we have learnt from running the International Affairs Blog. While not absolute rules, these tips can help to maximize the impact of your short-form writing.
1) Make the stakes of your research clear from the get-go
If you don’t make clear why your research matters, fewer people will read it. Start by establishing clear stakes, using language designed to capture the attention of your specific research audience without sacrificing wider appeal to less specialist readers. If you’re writing for a policy audience, highlight the policy implications of your research early on. If you’re writing for an academic audience show the how the conclusions of your work matter in the context of the real-world problems they address. A good way of doing this can be a one sentence outline of the real-world impact of the weaknesses in current policy and/or academic approaches, before adding a second sentence which introduces the specific contribution your blogpost makes to addressing this issue. This formula is just a suggestion: any introduction that captures your readers’ attention and makes your argument clear can work well.
2) Do not include literature reviews or methodology (unless you really must)
If you have done or are doing any longer form work (journal articles, books etc) a simple link to this often works far better than a literature review or methodology section within the blogpost itself. This is not to say that interventions in the literature or discussions of methodology cannot work for a blogpost, but they should only be included if they are central to the conclusions of the blogpost itself. Alternatively, if you are writing on this subject for the first time a one-sentence outline of your methodology or direct references to authors where they become relevant to the blogpost’s argument are preferable. Otherwise, non-specialist audiences are likely to be discouraged from engaging with your conclusions.
3) Use the active voice wherever possible
The active voice helps to shorten your sentences, makes relationships between the elements you describe clearer and is more accessible than passive voice.
4) Avoid superfluous autobiographical detail (unless it enhances your conclusions)
Autobiographical information can enhance a blogpost where it is directly relevant to your work, particularly when discussing autoethnographic research, writing on experiences of the academy and the politics of the discipline or how your personal experience of conducting research impacted your conclusions. However, where this is not the case, tangential autobiographical information can distract from the research your blogpost aims to highlight. As such, it is important to think carefully about how you include autobiographical detail and whether it strengthens or detracts from the power of your blogpost’s argument.
5) Use subheadings to structure your blogpost
One of the most important things for a successful blogpost is having a clear structure that is easy to follow. Do this by adding clear subheadings and signposting sentences to mark out distinct sections. The result will be a coherent, clearly organized blogpost which is more accessible to the reader.
6) Avoid unnecessary jargon
From seas of institutional acronyms and treaty agreements to theoretical argumentation overflowing with abstract nouns, the overuse of jargon can disrupt the momentum of the best blogposts. When including theoretical or empirical jargon always consider whether it is essential for the argument you are making, and remove it if not. When including theoretical terms or obscure examples you should be prepared to explain them.
Ideally you want to strategically balance the selective use of concepts or buzzwords you can’t ignore with as much non-jargon as possible. If a piece of terminology doesn’t flag your work to a specific audience and isn’t central to the argument of your blogpost then think very carefully before including it.
7) Use a small number of clear examples to illustrate your arguments
One well-developed example that clearly illustrates the point you are trying to make is almost always more valuable than a list of potential illustrative examples without further explication. When illustrating the impact of a policy or theoretical approach it is preferable to fully demonstrate how your argument plays out with reference to one example than to leave it for your audience to imply your meaning by judging the similarities between a list of examples for themselves. If a policymaker without disciplinary training or a first-year undergrad can’t immediately grasp the relevance of your chosen example then you are narrowing your audience unnecessarily. By contrast, sustained explanation with reference to a single clear example can make even the most abstract theoretical discussions accessible to a wider audience. Journal articles speak to specific sub-disciplinary groups, but blogposts should be accessible across and beyond the discipline.
8) Consult the house style
The International Affairs style guide is our go-to reference for technical vocabulary and grammatical conventions. Read the guide online here.
9) Remember your audience
It is vital that you have a clear idea of who your audience is and adjust your language and content accordingly. If your work has clear policy and/or activist implications it is vital that you communicate in appropriate language and clearly indicate how your work addresses their concerns. If it is designed to reach a specific academic audience, precise use of key buzzwords can help to engage those readers without compromising the blogpost’s wider appeal.
10) Promote the post after its published
After all the effort that goes into writing a blogpost it is vital that you do what you can to promote it. While we will promote your research within our Chatham House networks, as a researcher your own academic and policy contacts can also enhance the reach of your ideas. Circulate it on social media if you can, and make sure the communications team at your university department is also aware of new content.
Jo Hills is an Editorial Assistant at International Affairs.
This blogpost is part of our Editor’s Desk series.
Read more from the series here.
