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Contributing to Ongoing Conversations

You have stuff to say, so say it

The academic writing process requires a lot of research, meaning you’re encountering different ways of thinking, different values, different methods that you have responded to (even just in your mind or writing notes). A hallmark of strong academic writing is a fresh perspective that keeps the conversation going. Carving out space for your own ideas may seem daunting, but by leveraging language correctly, you can clearly plant your spot in the ongoing conversation.

Responding to Others

Identify What/Who You’re Responding to

Just like a comment section would be chaos if someone didn’t tag who they’re responding to, academic writing is fairly similar. Since you can’t tag someone in an academic paper like you would in the comment section or discussion thread, you want to clearly indicate who your ideas are in response to.

A recent study from the Pew Research Center (2024)…

Once you name who you’re responding to, you’ll need to indicate what idea you’re responding to. More often than not, the source’s you identify will introduce several ideas and questions in one piece, so clearly indicate the idea you want to engage with. You can do this most effectively through paraphrasing the content you’re responding to.

A recent study from the Pew Research Center (2024) indicated that under half of voters in the United States supported the ban on TikTok and over half regularly received their news on the platform.

Return the Focus to Your Ideas

A challenging element of citing and engaging with outside sources in your writing is not letting them dominate your work. Remember the reader is there to read your ideas, not the ideas of others. Once you identify who and what you’re responding to, provide your response. Do you agree? Disagree? Want to extend their ideas?

Using the appropriate word choice, situate your ideas within the ongoing conversation. What’s more, is that you want to explain how your ideas respond to the source in the way you’ve identified. For instance, how do you see your ideas agreeing with another? How does it disagree?

A recent study from the Pew Research Center (2024) indicated that under half of voters in the United States supported the ban on TikTok and over half regularly received their news on the platform. Earlier in this paper, I suggested that TikTok is a vital platform for free speech, and this data from the Pew Research Center suggests that a majority of users approach in a similar manner.