One of the trickiest things I find about being both the author and the editor of your own work is knowing whether you\u2019ve explained your thinking clearly enough. When I\u2019m writing, my argument is obvious enough to me, of course! How can I tell if I\u2019ve spelled out my reasoning clearly enough for the reader, though? Have I skipped stages of my argument, assuming they\u2019re obvious? Or perhaps I\u2019ve gone the other way and patronised and bored them by over-explaining every little obvious thing at great length.<\/p>\n
Argument, reasoning, analysis \u2013 these are some of the highest level thinking skills, and they\u2019re what lecturers will be looking for above all in your university work. But to check whether or not they\u2019re apparent to the reader, I turn not to university but to primary school for help. Small children are some of the most critical thinkers I know \u2013 most of us know some small children and certainly all of us have been<\/em> children at some point. So I channel that inner three year old to help me check if I\u2019ve layed out my argument clearly enough. You can also, as my colleague Alex suggests<\/a>, channel your inner sulky teenager:<\/p>\n As you read through your work, pause at the end of each sentence and see which of these questions apply. Have you answered them, either in that sentence or the one just after? If not, would answering them help to unpack your thinking a bit more for the reader? <\/p>\n Posted by Helen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One of the trickiest things I find about being both the author and the editor of your own work is knowing whether you\u2019ve explained your thinking clearly enough. When I\u2019m writing, my argument is obvious enough to me, of course! … Continue reading
\nI don\u2019t mean write as if<\/em> for a child \u2013 I mean read<\/em> your own work with that same persistent use of very simple but powerful questions:<\/p>\n\n
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\nOf course, there comes a point when even the most patient grownup has to resort to the response \u2018Because it just IS, ok?\u2019 And this raises the question of what general knowledge and shared understanding you can assume on behalf of your reader. At what point can you start to feel that you don\u2019t have to explain everything<\/em>? That some things are just generally known and accepted, and you don\u2019t need to completely unpack every statement you make? This will depend very much on your subject and the level you\u2019re studying at, so it\u2019s hard to give a straightforward answer. But remember that it\u2019s the higher level thinking that your lecturer is mostly looking for, your ability to use and interpret evidence to reach an informed conclusion via sound reasoning. It\u2019s that chain of reasoning that they need to be able to see. These questions can help you make sure you make that thinking stand out.<\/p>\n