We professors and graduate students in the humanities all struggle with academic writing.  Formulating new research agendas, carrying out fieldwork, developing rigorous analysis, applying appropriate methodologies, and discerning fresh interpretations of sources is difficult enough.  And, then the writing and editing begins.

Academic writing in the humanities is all about a vicious circle of drafts, criticism, and rewriting.

A new essay in the Chronicle of Higher Education provides a nice reminder of the role that shame often plays in the academic writing process.  It also rightly emphasizes that graduate writing and professorial writing are closely linked, rather than separate spheres.

Graduate students in History at Northern Illinois University will be interested in this essay.