Janell Sihay

On writing

One of my self-improvement projects this year is to get better at writing. For the longest time, I've been dreading even the thought of writing. It's ironic, given the fact that I am in research, which basically means I literally have to write for a living.

Part of the reason why I started this blog is to practice my writing skills. Earlier last year, I received a negative evaluation of my now-published journal article (my first!). I wouldn't say it was a classic case of the infamous Reviewer #2, since they didn't give much comment other than a straight-up "English is poor." Partly, I am grateful they were professional and objective. One way it could've turned out is that the reviewer explicitly says, "Author doesn't write well." But to be honest, it was one of the comments that I might not forget throughout my whole career. I really thought I wrote well. Or decent English, at least. It didn't help that I had already graduated from my master's program, so I had developed some self-confidence in my ability to write, only to be humbled by Reviewer #3.

But now, a year later and in my PhD program, I was meant to experience that to let me realize that first, English is not my first language, and therefore, I should give myself grace. Second, the skill of writing in English can definitely be improved. Lastly, the reason it is good to develop strong English writing skills isn't just to sound intellectual, but to communicate better.

Here's how I plan to improve my English writing skills:

  1. Write daily here on bearblog to promote the habit of expressing thoughts through words
  2. Be mindful of using AI tools in writing. I am still figuring out what works best for me. I find that receiving feedback on my writing through Grammarly helps me get my thoughts across more clearly. However, since I'm more keen on improving the skill of putting words together, I might need to reconsider these tools.
  3. Build my personal system of writing, including my mental approach. I noticed that the thought of writing makes me feel stressed, which gives me the idea that my mindset could be a significant factor.

Those are what I have so far.

Thank you for sailing by!

Janell

#phdone #reflections