Authority in Writing: Respect (pt 3) (and conclusion)

So now you have all your research and knowledge about your subject and the confidence in yourself needed to write your paper and make it so people will listen and believe what you’re saying.  That means you’re done, right?

Not quite.

The last aspect of maintaining authority in writing papers in college is an important, but often overlooked, detail.  Whenever you write a research paper, regardless of the topic, there are others who have also studied the same thing.  They put as much work (if not more) into their research as you did; acknowledging their effort and claims-even if you don’t agree-is giving respect…not just to the other authors, but to the topic itself.

Respect and knowledge in research often go hand in hand.  If you have knowledge on the subject, you can every side.  When you choose the direction in which you want to frame your writing, it’s very easy just to toss the other information aside, to leave it out of your paper because it doesn’t agree with your viewpoint.  Yet, including those opposing claims does two things: 1) it strengthens your own view because you provided counterexamples and explained why you don’t believe they are factual, and 2) you look more knowledgeable and authoritative because you had the confidence to recognize other claims and still stay true to your own.  If you spent an impressive amount of time researching, writing, and editing a paper, you’d want someone else to acknowledge your hard work, even if they didn’t agree!

 

 

CONCLUSION

Writing in college can be a terrifying experience, especially in the first few semesters.  Just don’t let those fears and insecurities take away the authority-the voice- you have as a writer!  Believe in yourself, know your material, and acknowledge the work other fellow academics have put into your topic.  Play to your strengths, trust in your abilities, and you’ll become an authoritative voice in the academic world before you know it!