Ever since I can remember, we’ve been trying to find shortcuts to writing. High school and college kids do their best to figure out loopholes through this thing we call writing. In high school, we learned all about CliffsNotes, those magical yellow books covered with black ink, making it look like a bumble bee attacked it.

Yes, the yellow cover with the black lines, making it appear like a yield sign or construction caution tape, whichever metaphor you prefer. The purpose of these little yellow books?

“To empower student learners by providing them with the tools, resources, and support they need to succeed in their academic journey.” https://www.cliffsnotes.com/about  

(As a side note, the CliffsNotes website clearly states what they expect from their end-users, which includes student integrity and academic honesty.)

I knew kids who copied word-for-word what was written in these yellow books, doing their best to pass it off as their own work. Writing a summary for classic literary works like Hamlet and you didn’t read the book because you mismanaged your time? And the yellow book with Hamlet stamped on the cover? Not only does it summarize the plot and tell you all the main characters. It also gives you all the nuances of the play. Then you copy it word-for-word from the CliffsNotes? Not cool, dude. So not cool! But in junior high, what do you care about plagiarism?

Now, we are saddled with artificial intelligence, making it easier than ever to potentially plagiarize an author’s work. But can you write with A.I. and cheat your way through the thinking part of writing?

Controversially, this is a hot topic for professors, teachers, and educators. As a teacher, can you tell the difference between A.I. writing and that of your students? Watch for repeated words or bland descriptors. Check to see if the style matches your student. Is it written like the other papers they’ve turned in? For college students, it’s easier to see if they have used A.I. because your professors and instructors have software to combat the boring writing of A.I.

Unfortunately, I know of no shortcuts to writing because writing takes time, energy, and effort. You must think through what you are attempting to communicate and convey it in such a way as to engage with your audience. If your audience is your college professor, what are they expecting in your paper? (Somewhere in the course syllabus, they’ve already conveyed this to you, but most students skip over that part!)

Writing means you have to think about what you are trying to convey. That means taking a few minutes to compile your data, get your notes together, and figure out what you want to say. I can tell you that the more you read, the better you become at writing. It’s the expressing your thoughts in a meaningful way, thereby the message is clear.

Too often, I read academic papers and wonder in silence, ‘What are you trying to tell me?’ Academic papers? They act like the most pretentious person in the room. You’ve been to parties where the energy in the room gets sucked out by this person, not because they are smart, but because they have to one-up everyone else! Attempting to sound more intelligent than anyone else because they are scared to be themselves? (I must admit, this is my own shortcoming. This observation is not meant to be taken personally by anyone in education, especially those with a Ph.D. Y’all worked hard for that paper, so kudos to you!) All they do is take straightforward language and elevate it to an academic level, meaning that even your professors need a dictionary to remind themselves of what the words in their papers mean!

Shortcuts to being a better writer? Spend time reading. Organize your thoughts on paper. Sit down and think about what you want to say. And then, here’s the magic bullet – write. It doesn’t matter if it makes sense; it probably won’t. Not at first. Then go back and edit the heck out of it. Then, edit it again. And again. Put it down for a day or two, no editing or even looking at it. (That’s hard, believe me!) And read it once more before you let someone else read it. A friend or family member. Or even the cute girl with the pixie cut at the coffee shop with the nose ring. Why not? Let her read it. Get her feedback. What you’ll discover is everyone reads the exact same words totally differently. Even though your messaging never changes from reader to reader.

Are there shortcuts to being a better writer? The short answer is no. Not that I know of!

What shortcuts do you use in your own writing? Are you writing too much description and not enough action? What parts of your writing are your favorite?