Prof. Carter’s Writing Guidelines
Expectations & Tips for Public Affairs Graduate Students
This post outlines basic guidelines for graduate-level writing in my classes. I don’t expect you to have these customs mastered at our semester’s outset, but I do expect you to practice them in course writing. Becoming an effective writer is a lifetime effort—I hope these guidelines aid you in that pursuit.
#1 | Follow the prompt. Any writing task, whether it is a course assignment or a professional project, has a specific objective. Before you begin writing, make sure you understand your responsibility and how to complete it. Do not get side-tracked with peripheral information or arguments — stick to and fulfill the task as outlined in the prompt.
#2 | Structure. An effectively structured paper strengthens your analysis and argument by simultaneously facilitating reader comprehension and exhibiting craftsmanship. Pay attention to the structure of every element, from the overall paper to each individual sentence. An appropriately structured paper has an introduction, a body, and a conclusion:
The introduction acquaints the reader with your topic and establishes your paper’s thesis. In the process, the introduction situates the thesis in a broader context and articulates why it is worth attention.
Subsequent paragraphs — generally organized in sections — should articulate, explain, or support the paper’s thesis. Present sections and paragraphs in a logical order such that readers are not forced to re-read prior clauses or skip ahead. When organizing a paper in sections, use section headings (and even subsection headings) as guideposts that signal paper content and flow.
Conclusions reiterate the paper’s thesis and review the central claims, logic, or arguments made in support of the thesis. No new information should be presented in a conclusion.
Paragraph structure. A paragraph generally features one topic, idea, or claim indicated by a topic sentence. Paragraphs of fewer than three sentences signal an incomplete idea; they likely require further explanation or elaboration, or may need to be merged with a surrounding paragraph. Paragraphs of more than six or seven sentences should often be broken into two or more paragraphs.
Sentence structure. Strive for simple and concise sentences. Avoid complex sentence structures that are overly taxing on readers (e.g. compound-complex sentences). Sentences that exceed three page lines usually contain multiple messages; consider cutting these into two or more sentences.
#3 | Tables and figures. Tables and figures (i.e. charts, diagrams) can be excellent ways summarizing information and/or illustrating concepts. Give each table or figure a descriptive title such that a reader can understand what it displays without reading the text. And, introduce and explain each each table or figure in the paper text.
#4 | Language. Effective academic or professional writing exhibits formal word choice and tone, while keeping technical jargon to a minimum. Key terms should be defined. Excessive colloquialisms and “wordiness” should be avoided. Strive for formal, concise, and easy-to-understand statements.
Personal pronouns. Guidance varies considerably when it comes to the use of personal pronouns. In writing for my classes, first-person singular (i.e. references to “I” and “me”) is perfectly acceptable, but should be used selectively. Draw the reader’s attention to the subject at hand, rather than distracting them with excessive self-references. I typically discourage first-person plural (“we” and “us”), except when referencing more than one author.
“This paper will…” Writing should take the present or past tense, except when forecasting a future event or consequence. Do not use the future tense in introductions (e.g. “This paper will…”) — by the time the paper is being read, it already does those things.
#5 | Sources. Citing a credible source goes beyond attributing ideas appropriately — it provides authority to your analysis and strengthens your claim or argument. General knowledge (e.g. “The world is flat”) does not need citation support, but more specific facts, claims, or observations do. Seek out the most credible sources possible, such that perusing the reference list inspires the reader’s confidence.
#6 | Quotations. Direct quotations can effectively highlight important information, provide strong evidence of a claim, or illustrate a key point. They lose their effectiveness, however, if overused, and overreliance on direct quotes signals a lack of familiarity with the material or inability to synthesize it. Use them sparingly. Generally, a paper should not average more than a direct quote every couple of pages (and probably less). Instead of using direct quotes, paraphrase the source’s argument or claim, synthesizing it with your writing. Longer quotations should be used even more sparingly. If a long quote (e.g. over three page lines) is used, it should usually be indented.
#7 | Citations and referencing. Most graduate-level writing requires you to use a defined citation and reference style, such as Chicago, Modern Language Association (MLA), or American Psychological Association (APA). Citation and reference styles are not intuitive, but they are formulaic; obvious errors may be interpreted as a lack of attention or effort. More importantly, failing to follow a citation and reference style can make it difficult for the reader to track down references. Use credible aids to ensure proper citation and reference style, such as the APA Style Blog and Purdue’s Online Writing Lab (excellent!).
Citation and reference software. I strongly suggest adopting a citation and reference management system. Such software saves time by generating and populating reference lists based on citations entered — and will format them based on the style you chose. You can also typically collect references in a management system’s library to be used across other papers. University of Utah students can access EndNote Basic through the Library at no cost, and can upgrade to EndNote Desktop at a reduced cost (recommended). If you use Google Docs and/or Google Scholar (and even if you don’t) Paperpile is an easy and relatively inexpensive management system that integrates with Google products.
#8 | Proofread, proofread, proofread. Spelling and grammatical errors should be rare in graduate writing assignments. Make a habit of proofreading everything you turn in. Furthermore, do not rely on automated spell check to catch all writing errors, as doing so in our classes will likely lead to pubic administration and policy asses. Allow yourself enough time for a couple of good proofreads before turning in an assignment, and—better yet — ask someone else to (also) proofread your paper.
