Abstract
Writing is, by and large, the foremost core activity of scholars and practitioners. We write reports; scribble handwritten notes about our scholarly thoughts and arguments; produce field notes as we enter, navigate, and leave a field site; synthesize research findings; prepare presentation slides, and write books and journal articles. Writing is, fundamentally, about communicating with and about the world. Beyond the current pressure in neoliberalized higher education to continuously produce written material, our research endeavors necessitate that we learn how to write well.
Writing agile, easy-to-read yet rigorous prose is not only an art and a craft, but in some ways, a science. There are many proven ways to improve our scholarly writing, and one of them is to read other scholars’ published works. Here are six books that deal with the challenge of writing, each one in their unique ways, each one also offering insights that can be easily translated to those of us who need to produce words. While none of these focus solely on qualitative methods, the lessons they provide are clearly useful to anyone engaging in qualitative research.
On Writing Well (Zinsser, 2006): Zinsser was an excellent writer, editor, journalist, and literary critic, and his book On Writing Well should be in every scholarly researcher’s shelves for easy access and reference. Zinsser indicates that the goal of his book is to teach others the craft of writing. Putting words into paper or digital format is not enough. Crafting them, creating them, and engaging with them is part of the process of becoming a writer. Qualitative writing is no different from nonfiction writing. Creating robust, credible, empirically sound narratives is part and parcel of what we do as qualitative researchers. Zinsser offers many a pointer on how to do this effectively, be it academic writing or otherwise.
Writing a Journal Article in 12 Weeks (Belcher, 2009): Belcher provides graduate students, early career scholars, and seasoned professors with a workbook through which she virtually shepherds the process of writing a scholarly journal article. While the book is not primarily qualitative, Belcher’s work-through-the-stages-of-preparing-a-manuscript-for-publication-in-12-weeks model allows the reader to engage in a systematic process of generating a scholarly product of publishable quality. Qualitative researchers will strongly benefit from applying Belcher’s systematic, timely, and well-timed advice to their writing.
Write No Matter What (Jensen, 2017): Jensen’s advice for scholars of all stages (to create the conditions to maintain low-stakes, constant contact with a writing project) is a welcome respite from other genres of academic writing help books. Instead of asking scholars to push themselves to generate words and put text on the screen or scribble notes in handbooks, Jensen suggests that all our writing should be frequent, low stress, and enjoyable. Her book Write No Matter What is an excellent resource for those of us who write qualitative research, as her approach can be applied to producing field notes, systematizing and codifying text, and undertaking narrative and discourse analysis.
Writing Without Bullshit (Bernoff, 2016): Bernoff is not a qualitative researcher, but his insights as a business strategy analyst and productivity as a writer are both qualities that helped him craft a cheekily titled, yet intellectually stimulating and powerfully written book on how to improve our prose. Writing Without Bullshit is the kind of coffee table book that all qualitative researchers should have and read over their coffee breaks. Bernoff offers many no nonsense suggestions on how to generate readable reports, make writing clearer and more cogent, and economize in word count.
Stylish Academic Writing (Sword, 2012): Professor Sword is a qualitative researcher and a scholar of academic writing, and she took it upon herself to interview several dozen researchers of all stripes, disciplines and career stages, and systematize her learnings in a fantastic book that showcases what stylish academic writing looks like. For a qualitative researcher, publishing their research is not enough, it’s important to make the text readable and clear. Sword offers lessons on how fellow academic writers produce robust insights while maintaining a high level of readability, producing what Sword calls stylish academic writing.
Tales of the Field (Van Maanen, 1988): While method-specific, focusing on ethnography, Van Maanen’s writing is a beautiful work of art that provides scholarly insights on how ethnographers can better produce not only field notes but also narratives that showcase their research in such a way that it can not only be rigorous and insightful but also well understood and read. Van Maanen walks the reader through the production of narratives based on field notes generated through extensive fieldwork and does so clearly, cogently, and fun to read.
Qualitative researchers would benefit from reading these six books, particularly because they facilitate a writing process that is fun, relaxed, and all the while remaining rigorous and systematic. For academics facing the current pace of work in higher education, creating and sustaining an academic writing practice can be stressful. While everyone’s circumstances are different and there is no silver bullet, I believe that these books will help students, early career scholars, and professors of all levels to improve their academic writing at their own pace and with reduced stress.