Scholarly writing is a cornerstone of academic discourse, promoting the dissemination of knowledge, exchange of ideas, and intellectual progress. All these functions undergird the pivotal role of scholarly writing in advancing learning and research. Despite the critical role of academic writing, many scholars face barriers that impede their participation in academic writing. These barriers may be external or personal, true or perceived, and can be overcome easily if the right strategies are employed. This essay describes standard barriers that impede scholars from scholarly writing and identifies pragmatic solutions to these obstacles. The first two paragraphs will describe two personal barriers and their solutions. The third and fourth paragraphs will describe two external challenges and their solutions. The essay will then be concluded with a brief conclusion.
First, the fear of rejection is a leading cause of deterrence among scholarly writers. Although some writers prepare write-ups on various topics, they rarely share them with colleagues or submit them for publication. This is secondary to fear of getting rejection letters or negative feedback on their write-ups. According to a review by Kamtchum‐Tatuene et al. (2022), scholarly articles submitted for publication undergo a thorough analysis and review by several reviewers with numerous subsequent revisions or outright rejections. The review reported that rejections are demoralizing and daunting to researchers, especially those who have just started writing. To avoid psychological torture, some writers withhold their work or submit to platforms that publish low-quality articles, limiting the writers’ improvement abilities and the pool of reliable information since the published articles are of low quality. The submission-rejection-revision cycle worsens the experience, which can occur with every writer’s submission. Although innate writing abilities differ from person to person, even the least talented writer can improve significantly by correct practice and following the simple rules outlined by every journal on the requirements to be met. Kamtchum‐Tatuene et al. (2022) explored strategies to reduce the chances of rejection at each reviewer level. First, selecting an appropriate journal of publication is key and should be done early enough before the writing begins. The scholarly writer should research the journal’s requirements, target audience, field of focus, and formatting requirements. This preparation allows the writer to tailor his writing to the journal’s needs, reducing the chances of rejection at the initial level. The statistics must be accurate and well-reviewed to avoid rejection by statistical reviewers. The writer must provide adequate details and explanations for methodologies to enable independent writers or researchers to replicate the study. Good preparation is the cornerstone of overcoming rejection.
Another personal obstacle is a lack of confidence among some scholarly writers. A writer may feel inadequate, which undermines self-esteem and confidence. According to a study by Zotzmann and Sheldrake (2021), higher confidence facilitates scholarly writers, including students, to put more effort, set challenging goals in writing, and work towards achieving them. This study noted that scholarly writers should have a growth mindset, acknowledge that there is room for improvement, and that the mistakes made were stepping stones towards being better writers. The lack of confidence is often compounded by perfectionism among some scholarly writers. The constant quest for perfection is a major obstacle to writing scholarly works. Procrastination and avoidance are common responses to the paralyzing fear of producing imperfect work that many aspiring writers experience. Iterative writing must be embraced to overcome perfectionism (Fernández-García et al., 2022). Some scholarly writers attempt to write masterful compositions on the first try without having to go through the struggle of revising, editing, and proofreading. When their drafts are imperfect, they get frustrated and stop writing due to self-imposed pressure and unattainable standards. Khosravi et al. (2023) studied the factors affecting writing among scholars doing the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test. They found that perfectionism and writing anxiety were the leading deterrents to writing in general or productive writing. Besides having a growth mindset, writers should start with small tasks initially and gradually build confidence. Writers should also surround themselves with other writers or people who encourage academic pursuit and provide constructive feedback. In addition, writers should focus on progress instead of perfection in their writing while celebrating the small milestones made. They can also seek critical feedback from peers and supervisors to alleviate the pressure of individual scrutiny.
Scholarly writers frequently find it difficult to devote enough time to scholarly writing due to hectic schedules and conflicting priorities. It can be difficult to juggle obligations in one’s personal, career, and academic life. This is also true for DNP students with multiple roles in their various identities. Research by Aydın et al. (2022) viewed time constraints as a lack of time and time management characterized by long periods needed for writing, busy administrative and educational activities, and not having the opportunity for academic writing. Writers can prioritize writing as a non-negotiable part of their routine to overcome time constraints, set aside specified time slots for writing, and give it the same priority as other commitments or appointments (Schuetze & Yan, 2022). Getting rid of distractions and setting up a setting that will encourage concentrated writing sessions is also beneficial. To make progress more manageable, dividing larger writing projects into smaller tasks improves efficiency. Time leveraging is another concept that can ensure a results-oriented approach to time optimization.
Lack of knowledge and background knowledge on various research gaps in the various fields where scholarly writers are present is a deterrent to scholarly writing (Moses & Mohamad, 2019). Knowledge of the English language may also play a role, as proposed by research by Mayyas and Alzoubi (2022), who reported that scholars who had prior knowledge of the English language performed better in writing research papers and were more organized in their research questions, methodologies, and literature review. These findings reiterate the need for scholars to be trained in research, especially in harnessing their ability to access the large pools of research written in different languages, especially English. The scholarly body should also conduct background research on the topics of interest to familiarize themselves with existing data and identify research gaps so that they can research and publish findings.
In conclusion, fear of rejection, lack of confidence and perfectionism, lack of knowledge, and limited time are barriers to scholarly writers’ writing. Some solutions include having a growth mindset, focusing on progress instead of perfection, leveraging time, and conducting adequate background research on the identified topics of interest.
References
Aydın, A., Yürük, S. E., Reisoğlu, İ., & Göktaş, Y. (2022). Main barriers and possible enablers of academicians while publishing. Scientometrics, 128(1), 623–650. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-022-04528-x
Fernández-García, O., Gil‐Llario, M. D., Castro-Calvo, J., Morell‐Mengual, V., Ballester‐Arnal, R., & Estruch-García, V. (2022). Academic perfectionism, Psychological Well-Being, and Suicidal ideation in college students. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(1), 85. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20010085
Kamtchum‐Tatuene, J., Tchuisseu-Kwangoua, L. A., Moko-Tatuene, N. A., Bigna, J. J., & Noubiap, J. J. (2022). Write with the reviewers in mind: why you got a rejection and how to avoid the next. Stroke, 53(7). https://doi.org/10.1161/strokeaha.122.036142
Khosravi, R., Mohammadi, E., Esmaeili, N., & Zandi, H. (2023). Perfectionism and writing anxiety as predictors of Iranian EFL learners’ performance in IELTS writing module: a multi-dimensional perspective. Frontiers in Education, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2023.1108542
Mayyas, F., & Alzoubi, K. H. (2022). Awareness and knowledge of manuscript writing and research integrity: A cross-sectional survey among graduate students. Heliyon, 8(11), e11447. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e11447
Moses, R. N., & Mohamad, M. (2019). Challenges faced by students and teachers on writing skills in ESL contexts: A literature review. Creative Education, 10(13), 3385–3391. https://doi.org/10.4236/ce.2019.1013260
Schuetze, B. A., & Yan, V. X. (2022). Optimal learning under time constraints: empirical and simulated trade‐offs between depth and breadth of study. Cognitive Science, 46(4). https://doi.org/10.1111/cogs.13136
Zotzmann, K., & Sheldrake, R. (2021). Postgraduate students’ beliefs about and confidence for academic writing in the field of applied linguistics. Journal of Second Language Writing, 52, 100810. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2021.100810
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