I am not very used to getting detailed writing feedback, so it was very interesting to get a completely marked up manuscript.
The good news is that I am pretty good at conveying the ideas I am trying to get across; there was no confusion or big changes to the content. I also got bonus points for the excellent organization of all the information in the manuscript.
The writing style, on the other hand, was deemed not confident enough. As in, almost on every page I got a "use active voice!" recommendation. I also had to replace a few dozen "may/try/need" with "will."
I wonder if I come across as non-self-confident in person as I do in writing...
The perverse incentives of academia
6 years ago
5 comments:
You may sound as under-confident in real life as you do in writing. Unfortunately, to succeed in a male-dominated field such as ours, you need to develop that confident sound.
I remember as a postdoc approaching my boss with an idea and when I said a lot of "I think"s and "maybe"s getting shot down immediately, but when acting like I was totally right my ideas got some consideration. The thing that will differentiate you from those jerks who just trample over everyone, however, is that you actually listen to others and admit the possibility that you could be wrong. :)
Interesting. You sound confident on your blog. :)
I have that same problem with not sounding confident in my writing. Advsior gets frustrated about it, especially because I have "such definite opinions about things when talking." I know with me it's a matter of wanting to be completely accurate when writing something down.
Maybe the influence of an over-cautious adviser is creeping in there? I mean, none of us want to over-interpret our data, but some people take that to extremes!
Rebecca - I have noticed that even when Hubby and I casually discuss ideas, the language he uses is much stronger than mine. It is just tough for me to present ideas that I know may not work as something that "for sure will work." I guess I have to learn!
EGF - thanks, I have been trying to work on that.
Amanda - I have less trouble being definitive about things I have already shown/done, its the future ideas that really get me (if I knew for sure it was going to work, would it really be research?)
Cath - we have a Ukrainian saying that talks about "turning a fly into an elephant." I am not good at that, even if I start with something closer to a hippopotamus.
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