Rachel Toor writes in the Chronicle of Higher Education in favor of academics finding a more polished approach to their prose: "Becoming a stylish writer".
In an essay called "Professional Boredom," William Cronon, president of the American Historical Association, warned that, when taken to an extreme, the values and practices of good history—rigorous, complex, and nuanced argumentation; accuracy; grounding in primary research; awareness of the field—can make the discipline accessible to only a small group. He warns about writing that keeps readers out rather than inviting them in. He chides against using jargon, and gives these examples: "agency," "contingency," and "document." Quaint, right? I wish I remembered the days when I thought those words counted as academic cant. Cronon suggests that his peers tell stories, and he cautions them not to be boring.
It's not too difficult to make your writing more interesting and accessible for readers, you just need to practice. The Old Guard will resist. I myself have tried to place academic papers where the editor has told me they are written too accessibly -- "like an article from [redacted] magazine".
Good luck with that attitude!
(via Kate Clancy)
