This morning, I was part of a small panel working with a teacher who has nearly completed her final project for her Masters degree from Kent State. She had to "defend" her paper, as academics like to say.
One of my first questions during this Zoom call was about the essential format of an academic paper that meets Kent State standards. I asked, "Does the graduate college prefer page-long paragraphs, specifically the abstract, which was stuffed with ideas and challenges?"
There was another section of the report that went on for two solid pages -- with one giant paragraph.
I got a mushy response from the university leader on the call, basically saying that shorter paragraphs are OK. But it was clear that creating a readable final project did not depend upon "chunking" information, no matter how complex.
I just nodded and let it go, but I have seen enough complicated reports in my life to wonder if the point is really for ANYONE to actually read said reports.
The writer/teacher would never format or write the way she did for this project, and it occurred to me that my own students in CSU's Professional Writing course would never choose the recommended academic formatting on their own.
I'm no revolutionary, but I try to support clear, concise writing with document design that connects with readers and that highlights key points.
Academic research need not read like a series of riddles. The soon-to-be Masters student has important ideas to share with other educators and I know personally of the passion she has for teaching and for her students. I'm not sure her passions came through on the page, and that is too bad.
Here's to hoping that academic institutions can eventually shrug off the defaults of the past and the rigidity of tradition, choosing instead to favor clarity and usefulness to an audience.
Fancy that.
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