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Do. Or Do Not. There Is No Try. (Academic Writing and The Force)

By Karen Kelsky | October 5, 2011

The best piece of advice about writing that I got as a graduate student came from my external Ph.D. committee member, a full professor in the English department.  A poet and a romantic and undoubtedly a former or current pot smoker, he was much more up on his spiritual musings and pop culture references than were my anthro committee members, a rather dreary lot. His advice was always entertaining (when it wasn’t ill-informed and infuriating, but that’s a topic for another post).

I was in his office one day to show show him my latest conference paper. My professor began to read the first page, then paused, looked up with a bemused smile, and said, “Do or do not. There is no try.”

“Do or do not. There is no try.” The immortal words of Yoda to the young Skywalker.

But why Yoda?  Why then?

Because I’d done that thing that young academics all too often do. I’d hedged my bets.  The paper, a pretty standard effort, contained on its first page the sentence, “This paper will attempt to show that Japanese women are traveling abroad in increasing numbers in order to effect a quasi-feminist critique of unequal gender relations at home.”

How many of you reading this would even have thought twice about that sentence?

What is it about young academics (and not only young ones, I’d hasten to add) that compels them to frame their scholarly efforts as “attempts”? Are they really so insecure?  Is the outcome really that much in doubt?

Think about how much academic writing depends on formulations like:

  • In this research I hope to prove that…
  • Through such an analysis I will try to show that….
  • I believe that in making this argument I may be able to demonstrate that…

Hope? Try? Believe? Why are scholars embarking on their studies with so much doubt? And so little confidence?

Perhaps you will say that these turns of phrase are simply writing conventions, and have no literal meaning. But why use them at all? If you did the research, and reached your conclusions, then you stand by them, do you not? Efforts to modulate or soften them with hedging phrases merely cast doubt on the legitimacy of your research itself. If you couldn’t actually prove the thing, then really, you have no business saying that you did.

Release your mind to go all the way. Own your findings. Claim your ground. Take every sentence where you find these power-sucking words, and remove them. In their place, write:

  • In this research I will prove that…
  • Through such an analysis I will show that….
  • In making this argument I will be able to demonstrate that…

If you are one of the multitudes of graduate students and young academics who have come to unconsciously depend on such phrases, and I’ll bet you are, stop. They do nothing for you. They are simply one more way that junior people, and women in particular, bend over backward to express deference and submission in their writing practices.

And if you’re aiming for a career in academia, those habits of deference and submission that you absorbed in graduate school need to go. Stat.  In their place:  Your power, expressed.

Listen to the words of Yoda:

“You must unlearn what you have learned…

Try not!

Do! Or do not!

There is no try.”

And may The Force be with you.

Similar Posts:

  • How-To(sday): How to Write a Paper or Conference Proposal Abstract
  • “I’m the Ideal Candidate for Your Position!”
  • This Christmas, Don’t Be Cheap
  • Break The Cycle of List-Addiction (Or, Just Say No To Flabby Logic)
  • I-Me-My

Filed Under: How To Write Academic Job Cover Letters, Major Job Market Mistakes, Stop.Acting.Like.A.Grad.Student, Strategizing Your Success in Academia, Teaching and Research Statements, Yes, You Can: Women in Academia Tagged With: academic writing strategies, female self assertiveness, teaching women to be self confident, writing tips for academics

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Daniel Spielmann (@spani3l) says

    October 5, 2011 at 5:23 am

    That was both thought provoking and fun to read. Thanks.

    Reply
  2. jordan says

    October 5, 2011 at 6:11 am

    Or just get rid of the “I” altogether. Plunge in and argue: “By traveling abroad in increasing numbers, Japanese women offer a quasi-feminist critique of uneven gender relations at home.” Or if you’re against starting sentences with dependent clauses, “Japanese women provide a quasi-feminist critique of uneven gender relations at home by traveling abroad in increasing numbers.” Or any permutation thereof…

    Reply
    • Karen says

      October 5, 2011 at 10:42 am

      yes, good point!

      Reply
    • James says

      September 30, 2012 at 5:42 pm

      The only problem with removing the “I” (or “we”) is that, in some contexts, it becomes difficult for the reader to discern the new contributions of the paper.

      Reply
  3. Ben says

    October 5, 2011 at 12:28 pm

    In making this argument I will be able to demonstrate that…

    Surely this should read “In making this argument I will demonstrate that…” The argument itself is a demonstration of why such-and-such holds—hence why mathematical proofs end with Q.E.D.

    Reply
    • Karen says

      October 5, 2011 at 12:52 pm

      yes, indeed.

      Reply
  4. Evan says

    October 5, 2011 at 10:13 pm

    Love this post. It reminds me of another quote I heard recently about writing – “ambiguity is a hedge against being wrong.”

    I’ve tried to keep this in mind since then, but I’m pretty sure that ambiguity and insecurity still sneaks into a lot of what I write today. This will serve as another reminder!

    Reply
  5. Z says

    October 8, 2011 at 9:35 am

    In freshman English, that sentence would be non allowed for the “I” and the “attempt.” I don’t know why people at dissertation stage get encouraged to put that kind of thing back into their work but I notice they often do. For today I’ve decided it’s one of the attempts to derail people, disguised as advice on how to be professional. Ambiguity as hedge against being wrong, yes, although I’d say it’s ambivalence that is that and that ambivalence is what plagues bad writing.

    Reply
  6. Lauri says

    October 9, 2011 at 5:29 am

    So true. You are a great resource, thanks (again) for doing the blog..

    Reply
  7. S says

    October 24, 2011 at 5:56 am

    I had an anthro professor in undergrad who would get very annoyed when female students would raise their hands to speak and when called upon, start out by saying “I think”. She always told us that men don’t start their claims off with “I think” so we shouldn’t either.

    Reply
    • Karen says

      October 24, 2011 at 10:41 am

      ha! exactly. the raising hand thing is a perennial irritation.

      Reply
  8. Sam says

    January 11, 2012 at 11:30 am

    This post alone has me convinced that I need to keep a close eye on this blog. Thank you for the insightful and interesting read. It’s something I can, and will, take with me throughout my coming years of education.

    Reply
    • Karen says

      January 11, 2012 at 11:35 am

      thanks, sam!

      Reply
  9. James says

    September 30, 2012 at 5:38 pm

    Get the “will” out too. It’s not necessary.

    “Here we show…”, “Here I prove…”.

    Reply
  10. Julian "Jay" Stienon says

    November 5, 2022 at 1:12 pm

    However, one cannot do the “DO” without first “DOing” the TRY”. They go hand in hand, like the Walrus and the Carpenter. (Just forget about their weeping at the great “quantities of sand”.)
    v/r
    Jay

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Dr. Karen’s (Partial) Rules of the Job Talk | The Professor Is In says:
    February 23, 2012 at 10:14 pm

    […] Refer to my post: “Do or Do Not. There Is No Try.” […]

    Reply
  2. Quick reflections on what I have learned this semester – Raul Pacheco-Vega, PhD says:
    November 23, 2012 at 2:34 pm

    […] you (particularly if you are a young, up-and-coming, rising star) that you need to write EVERY DAY. Even if for 15 minutes, write every day. I have used, as I mention above, invited seminars and conferences, as drivers to force me to write […]

    Reply
  3. Training vs Trying or “There is no try” - Entries in Life says:
    December 13, 2012 at 2:48 pm

    […] is well known for (among other things) his admonition to Luke Skywalker: “Do or do not. There is no try.” I like the saying, but when I’ve mentioned it to some people, they’ve taken offense. […]

    Reply
  4. Do, or do not. | Footsteps Drawing Near says:
    January 22, 2014 at 9:33 am

    […] giving an excuse for why you might not be able. Or perhaps it’s in the context that this blog post speaks about, expressing deference and shying away from confidently owning your […]

    Reply
  5. Those 12 Sentences: Evaluating Cover Letter Advice | The Professor Is In says:
    June 12, 2020 at 12:25 pm

    […] Everybody needs a second project.  However, please don’t articulate it in vague aspirational feeling language like “hope.”  Are you really that unsure?  That doesn’t inspire confidence.  And while we’re on the subject, don’t try, attempt, endeavor, or seek, either.  Read my post: Do. Or Do Not. There Is No Try. […]

    Reply

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