Grad students are asked to actively engage with the information they read. Yet, the reality is that students tend to find academic writing difficult and stressful, and they often look to university faculty members for guidance. In addition to clearly presenting your ideas, keep in mind that your thesis is an original contribution to your particular discipline. KAPPA DELTA PI RECORD • FALL 2006 31 ‘best… Best Writing Practices for Graduate Students: Reducing the Discomfort of the Blank Screen by Carol A. Mullen With support and guidance, graduate students can successfully pursue academic writing for publication. In graduate circles, academic writing is presumed to be a solitary activity for which students already are prepared. Any piece of writing should keep one overarching question in mind: Who is the audience and why are they reading your writing? With support and guidance, graduate students can successfully pursue academic writing for publication. Yet, the reality is that students tend to find academic writing difficult and stressful, and they often look to university faculty members for guidance. In graduate circles, academic writing is presumed to be a solitary activity for which students already are prepared. Make it easy for your reader to be drawn in. Rule #1 for writing a good article: minimize your barrier to entry. For example, a literature review requires a student to read with great breadth and that inform their theses and research papers. Reading at graduate school is the way in which students glean new ideas, theories, models, etc. Best Writing Practices for Graduate Students: Reducing the Discomfort of the Blank Screen Carol A. Mullen This work is produced by OpenStax-CNX and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License 2.0 y Abstract With support and guidance, graduate students can successfully pursue academic writing for publi-