- Read. It sounds pretty obvious, but the #1 recommendation to improve your writing is to read. The more you read, the more you learn about the topics you read (or the more you enjoy the stories you read). But equally important, the more you read, the better you become at constructing sentences, paragraphs, and in general the easier it becomes to give written shape to your ideas.
- Write. Duh. Practise, practise, practise. Writing is a (thinking/feeling) exercise, so get in shape and write. Find what works for you. For some people or at some stage of your career, it may be better to allocate dedicated time/space to write, for example in a "writing retreat". Another option (this one works for me better now) is to just take small chunks of time here and there to write. When I'm commuting, I write using my mobile device (Evernote works ok). When I'm waiting for an appointment or my child's afternoon class, I either write on paper or bring my laptop and "steal" 60 minutes of my day to write. Whatever works for you, but develop a habit.
- Draw. Just like writing, drawing, computer programming, and building low-fi models out of paper/card are wonderful means of expression that help polish your thinking. Connect what is common between activities like these that help you generate ideas, and develop them into coherent and valuable representations. An obvious connection between writing and drawing is to sketch a diagram or flowchart of your ideas. I have seen really good Figures in papers visually representing the methodology, for example.
- Talk. It took me years to appreciate how much my ideas take shape and are transformed through conversation. And this informs my writing, naturally. I ask PhD students to write before (and send me) we meet, and I recommend writing after a meeting as well, when ideas are fresh.
- Listen to your writing. A relatively recent discovery I've made is the power of using one of those "read aloud" features in a word processor or a website. Something very interesting happens when you listen to your own words, this gives you a bit of "distance" that helps you identify whether your writing is communicating what you think it is.
- Let it rest. Rest is important for you (I use the Pomodoro technique), but rest is also important for what you write. Plan for a time between sessions when you stop writing so you can later return to what you wrote and realise how close/far it was from what you were intending to say.
- Cheat. It does feel like cheating, but do use the "formulas" or templates that are out there, they can help you structure your ideas as long as you know when and how to bend them and they don't kill your writing. The 5-paragraph essay is one of them. There are chapter structures for theses. APA and other guidelines tell you even the name of a paper's sections. Use them wisely. If there is a paper that you love, do analyse its structure and "copy" the bits that help you.
- Write with others. I do write solo pieces and co-author with colleagues, each mode has its own pros and cons. When I write alone, I still ask a friend to read it and give me feedback, and the best journal editors will also help you with this. When you co-author, make it clear early in the process who "owns" the paper, or who "owns" what sections. Here the meaning of owning is not literal: it refers to who is driving the process and will ultimately make tough decisions. Otherwise you end up with a "written by a committee" type of paper that is mediocre by definition.
Resources:
- The Role of Writing in a Design Curriculum by Andrea Marks: https://www.aiga.org/the-role-of-writing-in-a-design-curriculum
- 21 Writing Prompts for Design Students 21 Writing Prompts for Design Students by David Barringer: https://www.aiga.org/21-writing-prompts-for-design-students/
- Davis, M. (2013). Research Writing in Design. Design and Culture, 5(1), 7-12.
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