Q. I'm a new student at RRU and I'm terrified by academic writing. Can you help me?

Welcome to RRU! 

We often hear from students that academic writing can be intimidating, especially for students who are new to university or who haven’t done any academic writing since they were last in school. It’s normal to have lots of questions about academic writing, and we’re here to help. 

We’re all writers-in-progress

Before we get into sharing resources, here’s an important reminder: academic writing is a skill, and if you’re a new student or someone who hasn’t written for an academic audience for a while, it’s not surprising if you’re feeling unsure about the writing you’ll be doing in your program. 

In the Writing Centre, we’re writers too, so we know how it feels both to struggle and succeed with a piece of writing. Are you experiencing writer’s block? We know how agonizing that blinking cursor can be. Are you finding it hard to find the most accurate words to describe your thinking? We experience that too. If you're a RRU student and you're experiencing challenges in your writing process, we're happy to empathize with your frustrations, share what we've learned as writers with decades of experience, answer any questions, and celebrate your successes as you share your voice through your writing. 

We don’t agree with the idea that there are “good” writers and “bad” writers. It’s true that some people may have natural strengths that mean they develop writing skills more easily than other people. However, if you’ve ever told yourself or unkindly been told by someone else that you’re a bad writer, we hope we can convince you to instead think of yourself as a writer-in-progress. Please visit Anxiety About Academic Writing: I’m a Bad Writer for information and strategies, and remember that all writers are writers-in-progress because there’s always something to learn about being a more effective writer. Writing is a skill, so with practice, feedback from your instructor, learning more with the Writing Centre, and trying again, you can make progress at any stage! 

Resources designed for new students

Here are some specific resources we hope will be helpful to new students:

• Library and Writing Centre Orientation: A great place to start to learn more about research and writing at RRU and the services that can support you in those activies
• Gradschoolitis (6:50 video); see also the Gradschoolitis notes for the transcript. These resources are geared toward graduate students but are applicable to all students starting a new program. 
• Anxiety About Academic Writing; see also Anxiety About Reading
• The Four Feathers Writing Guide, How to Write an Undergraduate-Level Essay, and How to Write a Graduate-Level Essay are introductory resources that present step-by-step processes for academic writing.

Learn more with the Writing Centre

We hope you’ll feel comfortable exploring the Writing Centre’s resources as we’ve designed them with writers-in-progress in mind. If you’re a RRU student, please feel very welcome to reach out to the Writing Centre for help. Our goal is to provide friendly, inclusive, and empowering support that will help you reach your writing goals. You're warmly invited to learn more about who we are, what services we provide, and how we can help you build skills and confidence. You can also visit the Writing Centre's online guides and our WriteAnswers FAQs to access our extensive online resources. If you have questions about our resources or any other writing-related topic, please contact the Writing Centre; you’ll receive a private reply at our earliest opportunity, which is usually within one business day. Finally, visit Writing Centre Services to learn about our appointments and to schedule a meeting with a member of the team.