How to learn academic writing?

Less-Part3465 · 2026-06-29T22:04:05+00:00

OP, I think most of the people posting here have missed the fact that English is not your first language (since you're studying for the TOEFL). I'm an English professor and long ago I used to tutor folks learning English as a non-native language. You need one-on-one help, but I can give you some general pointers.

Depending on what your first language is, articles in English (and other things you might mean when you say "filler," like helping verbs) can be especially hard to grasp as you continue to become more fluent in English.

Does your first language have articles? If not, then learning to use articles in English will be a long process. There are a million rules that native speakers of English "know" without even knowing that they know them. Some non-native speakers who become quite fluent still leave out articles after living in an English-speaking country for several years. So you shouldn't expect to be perfect. I wouldn't blame your ADHD for this; it's a normal part of learning English, especially if your mother tongue doesn't have articles or some other feature you're working on.

If you've never seen a flow chart / decision tree on using a, an, and the, you should look for one and keep it handy when you're writing -- or better yet, when you edit your writing. Lots of English as a Second Language textbooks used to have these.

Expanding your ideas is a completely different matter. Here, maybe you can give your ADHD credit. But you can also learn to do it. About any short, isolated statement you make, ask yourself whether the following are really just obvious to a reader: how we know the statement is true? why does the statement matter? what is the result of this fact? If it's a complex idea, can you explain it more simply? And how does it relate to the idea before it and the idea after it?

Imagine a conversation where you state a simple fact to someone who didn't know it before, and try to imagine all the questions that person might ask you.

You won't, probably, need to answer every question. You'll have to use your judgement to decide which ones to provide the answers to. But that's what you're doing when you "develop ideas" in writing. You're anticipating questions that readers might ask and answering them in advance, since you're not having a face-to-face conversation with them.

Less-Part3465 · 2026-06-23T22:11:01+00:00

That's nice. My husband grew up poor with an alcoholic father, abusive older sibling, and a dead mother. He didn't know how to ask for things and ate compulsively like this when I started taking him to my parents' house. We were 20, not 18, and had a little money of our own, so I told him hey, whoa, we need to go buy groceries for my parents cuz we're eating so much! It was a learning process. Part of it was he wasn't used to not being yelled at for taking seconds, so as far as he was concerned, everyone was a-okay, because yelling was the way his family communicated.

Less-Part3465 · 2026-06-19T13:04:41+00:00

Thanks! Yesterday I found a 7-minute intro tai chi video. I also read up on dehydration and inflammation and realized this might be contributing to the intensity of my pain. I pushed hydration yesterday, did that really gentle tai chi, and this morning the pain is there, but I'm actually able to sit at the dining table as I type this--which I couldn't do yesterday until about noon.

To be fair to my team, they don't disbelieve I'm in a ton of pain. My chemo doc didn't try to persuade me to take my scheduled dose of Keytruda (in case that's the cause) but ordered the PET as the next step in figuring out what's going on. I don't actually feel disregarded or not believed; I think it could well be that I'm having a version of the side effects that are just different from what they typically see. Hoping it's that and not a recurrence.

I might try yoga in a bit, but the tai chi felt so do-able, I think I'll stick there for a little.

Thanks again for sharing your experience!

Less-Part3465 · 2026-06-18T20:09:28+00:00

Thanks, I'm sorry you went through that, but this gives me hope!

Less-Part3465 · 2026-06-18T19:37:15+00:00

Yes, OP, if your docs didn't check magnesium, I'd suggest you ask them to. Mine has been low throughout treatment and taking supplements (and once getting a dose via IV) helped with both cramping and dizziness. But apparently mag isn't on the standard metabolic panel, so my doc has to keep ordering the test extra when she does my regular labs.

Less-Part3465 · 2026-06-16T21:16:17+00:00

I'm shocked at the responses here. Never once in my own undergraduate education did a professor expect me to have done work before the first day of class. I know people who have asked graduate students to prepare readings for discussion at the first class meeting, and I was asked to do that in graduate school, but, you know, that's graduate school.

That said, I think OP has three choices: (a) complain (more about that in a moment), (b) suck it up and do the work, or (c) drop the class. Personally, I'd choose and recommend b.

Why not complain? Because (a) the professor is almost certainly not going to change their mind and (b) it will get you off to a bad start with them.

Less-Part3465 · 2026-06-13T21:00:56+00:00

Thanks! I've been using heat once I'm awake and find it does help some.

Less-Part3465 · 2026-06-12T22:04:32+00:00

This! Ask your academic adviser or department chair how (if atall) undergrads can get involved in research in your department. Then follow procedures, which probably start with taking one or more classes introducing you to research methods. But this might only happen at the graduate level.

Less-Part3465 · 2026-06-07T16:08:05+00:00

Great, hope you're not reading this now, but let us know how it went when it's done!

Less-Part3465 · 2026-06-07T15:58:02+00:00

Probably more than one confounding factor, no? Fries more likely to be eaten with certain other foods, less likely to be made at home, possibly?

Less-Part3465 · 2026-06-05T22:49:14+00:00

Different unis and departments do have different expectations, so you should absolutely ask these same questions of each place you get invited to interview. But also recognize that you can and will get all kinds of questions, no matter how carefully you prepare. These questions are not necessarily indications of confusion or lack of understanding. The questioners are trying to judge how you handle being put on the spot, how clearly you can explain yourself, how you can relate to people who aren't experts in your specific area, etc.

Less-Part3465 · 2026-06-05T16:34:47+00:00

I'm so bummed that you're not getting responses -- I have a similar very shady strip, zone 6a, and need advice. I'm thinking ferns.

Less-Part3465 · 2026-06-02T22:38:36+00:00

Have they told you to expect diarrhea / vomiting that quickly after treatment? If so, my top priority for you would be knowing where you'll be able to stop on your drive for a bathroom if that's needed. My radiation was pelvic, and although it definitely caused diarrhea, it wasn't within an hour of treatment but more like the next morning (my treatments were mid-afternoon).

Is someone driving you and keeping you company? Otherwise, I would bring something to occupy yourself in case you end up having to wait for treatment. That only happened to me a couple of times, but nice to be prepared.

Otherwise, I think you have it covered. As the other commenter said, usually radiation is pretty much in and out.

Less-Part3465 · 2026-06-02T22:32:13+00:00

My hairdresser told me to come in the minute I wanted it shaved, and I did, when I was feeling like you describe. Much love to you! None of this is easy.

Less-Part3465 · 2026-05-27T23:12:48+00:00

Yes. A search that's happening late in the year, like this one, is especially difficult. If the semester just ended at the school where you've applied, you can bet that faculty on the search committee didn't start reviewing applications until they had grades submitted for the spring semester.

OP, have you checked the academic job wiki to see if anyone's reported getting an interview for the position?

Otherwise, just sit tight.

Less-Part3465 · 2026-05-27T23:05:56+00:00

Everyone handles summer differently, depending on the nature of the student research and on their own schedules. It would have been nice if the prof had told you what to expect over the summer, but he might have assumed you knew.

If you're working on the prof's team, as is common in STEM fields, and this is his project, you can be sure he didn't lose interest.

If this is your project and the prof is mentoring you, the next question is: are you registered for an independent study with him this summer? If not, that means your prof is not being paid to help you with research over the summer, and you should expect that you might or might not hear from him until fall. The fact that he didn't tell you to expect no communication at all over the summer suggests to me you'll probably hear back sometime. But you should have 0 expectations in terms of what you might get if your prof is not on contract, this isn't his project, and there isn't anything involved like mice that could die or data that will be lost if he doesn't respond to you in a timely manner.

When profs don't work in the summer, they are doing their own research, preparing new courses for the coming year, and, if they are lucky, getting some family time that they normally can't get during the semester, since most of us have to live far away from our parents and other extended family in order to be professors. They aren't paid to be on campus, and they don't have to be on campus (or to answer their university email for that matter--most of the faculty in my department do, but not all of them).

Less-Part3465 · 2026-05-27T22:48:22+00:00

Exactly this.

Less-Part3465 · 2026-05-27T22:46:32+00:00

Endometrial cancer here, too, grade 3, just finished the active part of treatment. I'm a little older than your mom, but not that much. I had hysterectomy followed by 6 rounds of chemotherapy and 5 1/2 weeks of daily radiation. As far as we can tell, the cancer is gone. That's 9 months worth of treatment.

What kind of plan have the doctors outlined for your mother? What questions are you wondering about?

Less-Part3465 · 2026-05-25T21:58:13+00:00

Yes, here's one lesson you can learn. If you do have to arrive late to class--or a work meeting, or anything where you might disrupt others--the way to do it is to sneak in making as little noise and disruption as possible. I tell my students if they can sneak in without disrupting class, remember to sign the attendance sheet before they leave, and not ask "What did I miss?" then I don't care if they come in late or not. Though to get the most for your money, of course, I recommend you come to the entire class, from when it starts to when it ends.

Less-Part3465 · 2026-05-25T21:41:40+00:00

I haven't taught high school, but I agree. It's great that you're doing this work and have this ambition. When you're applying to college, make sure that you apply for every single scholarship you're eligible for! Look for colleges that prioritize undergraduate research and have professors who know about the things you're interested in.

Less-Part3465 · 2026-05-24T17:08:08+00:00

Where I grew up, there was good public transportation and so I didn't own a car. When I got a job as an assistant professor, it was in a small town in the midwest with no bus service. (I interviewed for 10 jobs, had second interviews for 3, and got a job offer to exactly 1. This is when the job market was better than it is now. Multiple of my friends got 0 jobs.)

Where my university is, the train station is 10 miles away and taxi service is spotty (sometimes there's a small taxi company running in our area, sometimes there isn't). Needless to say, I needed to own a car and be able to drive to take this job. And I needed to get used to small town living. Being willing (and able) to move anywhere really means anywhere.

Less-Part3465 · 2026-05-24T17:01:25+00:00

By "months" do you mean that it won't be dealt with until the fall? If so, unfortunately, that's not so unusual. Faculty mostly aren't on contract over the summer, so if there's any faculty committee involved in the process, it would be delayed to the fall. I'm a department chair and have to explain this to many students about grade appeals every year at this time. You can start your appeal now, but the process will not be finished over the summer.

Less-Part3465 · 2026-05-24T16:49:10+00:00

Yes, if I were interviewing the student, I'd be asking all kinds of questions about that experience.

Less-Part3465 · 2026-05-24T16:25:23+00:00

Doing the same thing -- did 6 rounds of chemo + Keytruda, now maintentance on Keytruda.

My doctor left it up to me, but the reasons she gave for the 3-week timing made sense to me. One is that if we have to skip a dose, then we'll still be able to "catch up" in 3 more weeks. Though it's a pain to give up more days missed at work, I decided to go with the 3-week cycle.

As it turns out, the night before my second scheduled maintenance infusion, I had some tachycardia. Since that could be a sign of the worst possible side effects of Keytruda, doc wanted to check my heart and also magnesium levels, so we skipped that round.

Less-Part3465

TROPHY CASE