{"id":749,"date":"2014-02-20T16:44:09","date_gmt":"2014-02-20T16:44:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/socialscienceresearchfunding.co.uk\/?p=749"},"modified":"2014-02-20T16:44:09","modified_gmt":"2014-02-20T16:44:09","slug":"six-writing-habits-i-reckon-you-ought-to-avoid-in-grant-applications","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/socialscienceresearchfunding.co.uk\/?p=749","title":{"rendered":"Six writing habits I reckon you ought to avoid in grant applications….."},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>There are lots of mistakes to avoid in writing grant applications, and I’ve written a bit about some of them in some previous posts (see “advice on grant applications” link above).\u00a0 This one is more about writing habits.\u00a0 I read a lot of draft grant applications, and as a result I’ve got an increasingly long list of writing quirks, ticks, habits, styles and affectations that Get On My Nerves.<\/p>\n

Imagine I’m a reviewer… Okay, I’ll start again.. imagine I’m a proper reviewer with some kind of power and influence…. imagine further that I’ve got a pile of applications to review that’s as high as a high pile of applications.\u00a0 Imagine how well disposed I’d feel towards anyone who makes reading their writing easier, clearer, or in the least bit more pleasant.\u00a0 Remember how the really well-written essays make your own personal marking hell a little bit less sulphurous for a short time.\u00a0 That.\u00a0 Whatever that tiny burst of goodwill – or antibadwill – is worth, you want it.<\/p>\n

The passive voice is excessively used<\/strong><\/p>\n

I didn’t know the difference between active and passive voice until relatively recently, and if you’re also from a generation where grammar wasn’t really teached in schools then you might not either.\u00a0 Google is your friend for a proper explanation by people who actually know what they’re talking about, and you should probably read that first, but my favourite explanation<\/a> is from Rebecca Johnson – if you can add “by zombies”, then it’s passive voice. I’ve also got the beginnings of a theory that the Borg from Star Trek use the passive voice, and that’s one of the things that makes them creepy (“resistance is futile” and “you will be assimilated”)\u00a0 but I don’t know enough about grammar or Star Trek to make a case for this.\u00a0\u00a0 Sometimes the use of the passive voice (by zombies) is appropriate, but often it makes for distant and slightly tepid writing.\u00a0 Consider:<\/p>\n

A one day workshop will be held (by zombies) at which the research findings will be disseminated (by zombies).\u00a0 A recording of the event will be made (bz) and posted on our blog (bz).\u00a0 Relevant professional bodies will be approached (bz)…<\/p>\n

This will be done, that will be done.\u00a0 Yawn.\u00a0 Although, to be fair, a workshop with that many zombies probably won’t be a tepid affair.\u00a0 But much better, I think, to take ownership… we will do these things, co-Is A and B will lead on X.\u00a0 Academic writing seems to encourage depersonalisation and formality and distancing (which is why politicians love it – “mistakes were made [perhaps by zombies, but not by me]”.<\/p>\n

I think there are three reasons why I don’t like it.\u00a0 One is that it’s just dull.\u00a0 A second is that I think it can read like a way of avoiding detail or specifics or responsibility for precisely the reasons that politicians use it, so it can subconsciously undermine the credibility of what’s being proposed.\u00a0 The third reason is that I think for at least some kinds of projects, who the research team are – and in particular who the PI is – really matters.\u00a0 I can understand the temptation to be distant and objective and sciency as if the research speaks entirely for itself.\u00a0 But this is your<\/em> grant application, it’s something that you ought to be excited and enthused by, and that should come across. If you’re not, don’t even bother applying.<\/p>\n

First Person singular, First Person plural, Third Person<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pat Thomson’s blog Patter has a much fuller and better discussion<\/a> about the use of\u00a0 “we” and “I” in academic writing that I can’t really add much to. But I think the key thing is to be consistent – don’t be calling yourself Dr Referstoherselfinthethirdperson in one part of the application, “I” in another, “the applicant” somewhere else, and “your humble servant”\/ “our man in Havana” elsewhere.\u00a0 Whatever you choose will feel awkward, but choose a consistent method of awkwardness and have done with it. Oh, and don’t use “we” if you’re the sole applicant.\u00a0 Unless you’re Windsor (ii), E.<\/p>\n

And don’t use first names for female team members and surnames for male team members.\u00a0 Or, worse, first names for women, titles and surnames for men. I’ve not seen this myself, but I read about it in a tweet with the hashtag #everydaysexism<\/p>\n

Furthermore and Moreover…<\/strong><\/p>\n

Is anyone willing to mount a defence for the utility of either of these words, other than (1) general diversity of language and (2) padding out undergraduate essays to the required word count? I’m just not sure what either of these words actually means or adds, other than perhaps as an attempted rhetorical flourish, or, more likely, a way of bridging non-sequiturs or propping up poor structuring.<\/p>\n

“However” and “Yet”…. I’ll grudgingly allow to live.\u00a0 For now.<\/p>\n

Massive (Right Justified) Wall-o-Text <\/strong>Few things make my heart sink more than having to read a draft application that regards the use of paragraphs and other formatting devices as illustrative of a lack of seriousness and rigour. There is a distinction between densely argued and just dense.\u00a0 Please make it easier to read… and that means not using right hand justification.\u00a0 Yes, it has a kind of superficial neatness, but it makes the text much less readable.<\/p>\n

Superabundance of Polysyllabic\u00a0 Terminology<\/strong><\/p>\n

Too many long words. It’s not academic language and (entirely necessary) technical terms and jargon that I particularly object to – apart from in the lay summary, of course.\u00a0 It’s a general inflation of linguistic complexity – using a dozen words where one will do, never using a simple word where a complex one will do, never making your point twice when a rhetorically-pleasing triple is on offer.<\/p>\n

I guess this is all done in an attempt to make the application or the text seem as scholarly and intellectually rigorous as possible, and I think students may make similar mistakes.\u00a0 As an undergraduate I think I went through a deeply regrettable phase of trying to ape the style of academic papers in my essay writing, and probably made myself sound like one of the most pompous nineteen year olds on the planet.<\/p>\n

If you find yourself using words like “effectuate”, you might want to think about whether you might be guilty of this.<\/p>\n

Sta. Cca. To. Sen. Ten. Ces<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Varying and manipulating sentence length can be done deliberately to produce certain effects.\u00a0 Language has a natural rhythm and pace.\u00a0 Most people probably have some awareness of what that is.\u00a0 They are aware that sentences which are one paced can be very dull.\u00a0 They are aware that this is something tepid about this paragraph.\u00a0 But not everyone can feel the music in language.\u00a0 I think it is a lack of commas that is killing this paragraph.\u00a0 Probably there is a technical term for this.<\/p>\n

So… anyone willing to defend “moreover” or “furthermore”? Any particularly irritating habits I’ve missed?\u00a0 Anyone actually know any grammar or linguistics provide any technical terms for any of these habits?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are lots of mistakes to avoid in writing grant applications, and I’ve written a bit about some of them in some previous posts (see “advice on grant applications” link above).\u00a0 This one is more about writing habits.\u00a0 I read a lot of draft grant applications, and as a result I’ve got an increasingly long … Continue reading “Six writing habits I reckon you ought to avoid in grant applications…..”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[16,8,7,10,6,19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-application-advice","category-career-young-researchers","category-esrc","category-frustrations","category-funding","category-university-culture"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1OLY1-c5","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/socialscienceresearchfunding.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/socialscienceresearchfunding.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/socialscienceresearchfunding.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/socialscienceresearchfunding.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/socialscienceresearchfunding.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=749"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/socialscienceresearchfunding.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/749\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":761,"href":"https:\/\/socialscienceresearchfunding.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/749\/revisions\/761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/socialscienceresearchfunding.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/socialscienceresearchfunding.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/socialscienceresearchfunding.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}