Improving your academic writing is not about simply waiting for inspiration to strike. It’s about engaging in deliberate practice—a focused, structured approach to honing your skills over time. In today’s blog, we’ll discuss how you can apply the principles of deliberate practice to your writing, drawing inspiration from Dr. Angela Duckworth’s book Grit. The key to improving your writing isn’t talent; it’s about putting in the effort, consistently and purposefully, day after day.
What Is Deliberate Practice?
Deliberate practice is a concept that comes from the field of psychology, and it revolves around improving skills through focused, targeted effort. Dr. Duckworth, in Grit, outlines several core elements of deliberate practice that can be directly applied to writing. These include setting clear goals, concentrating fully on the task, seeking feedback, engaging in repetitive practice, and putting in sustained effort over time.
1. Set Clear Goals for Each Writing Session
One of the first steps in deliberate practice is to ensure that you have a specific, defined goal for each writing session. This is more than just sitting down to "work on your article"—it’s about defining exactly what you aim to achieve during that time.
For example, are you refining your argument? What does this mean in concrete terms? Is it time to edit a specific section of your paper? Then define exactly what editing technique you will be applying to what section of the paper. Or maybe you need to work on your data analysis? Exactly what does this entail? Without a clear target, you risk wasting time on vague, unfocused tasks that don’t contribute to progress.
When you set a clear goal for each session, you’ll have a sense of accomplishment when you finish, making it easier to track your progress and build momentum, adn invite the dopamine feedback loop that makes doing difficult things easier to tolerate.
2. Bring Your Full Focus to the Task
Deliberate practice demands focus. That means no multitasking, no email checking, and no distractions. If you’re serious about improving your writing, you need to give it your full attention. This is especially important for academic writing, where deep thinking and concentration are required. Aim for shorter, focused bursts of work—perhaps 40 to 45 minutes of concentration, followed by a short break. This will help you sustain your mental energy while avoiding burnout. It’s far more effective than trying to write for hours on end while distracted and then feeling exhausted, without progress, because this then becomes what you think writing is and how it feels.
3. Seek Feedback on Your Work
Feedback is one of the most important elements of deliberate practice. But it’s not just about receiving feedback from others—it’s also about evaluating your own work. At the end of each writing session, take a few minutes to assess what you accomplished. Did you meet your goal? Was the quality of your work up to standard? This helps you refine your process and set more realistic goals for the future.
Of course, you also need external feedback from colleagues, mentors, or writing coaches. Getting feedback on your work as you go along allows you to catch issues early, refine your ideas, and improve the clarity of your idea, argument and exposition.
4. Engage in Repetitive Practice
Just like learning a musical instrument, writing requires repetition. You can’t expect to become a great writer after just one or two sessions. Successful academic writers know that practice is key, and they engage in repetitive practice every day. This doesn’t mean writing aimlessly for hours on end. Quality, purposeful writing sessions, combined with regular reviews and feedback, will lead to improvement over time. Aim for consistency over quantity. Writing a little bit every day, rather than a huge amount in a single session, ensures that you develop a sustainable writing habit.
5. Sustained Effort Over Time
Improving your writing is a long-term commitment. It’s about gradual progress, not overnight success. As with any skill, you get better with time. The key is to stay consistent, even when progress feels slow. With deliberate practice, your writing will improve steadily, and you’ll begin to see the results of your hard work.
Conclusion: The Power of Deliberate Practice
Improving your writing through deliberate practice is not a quick fix—it’s a long-term strategy. By setting clear goals, focusing fully on the task at hand, seeking feedback, engaging in repetitive practice, and committing to sustained effort, you’ll see continuous improvement in your writing.
Remember, writing is a skill, not a gift. With enough practice and training, you can become a great writer. So next time you sit down to write, set a clear goal, focus entirely on your task, and commit to improving one small step at a time. Your future self will thank you.
The key to better writing is deliberate practice. Focus, feedback, and consistency will help you reach your writing goals, one step at a time.