Academic writing as shaping and re-shaping

Academic writing, especially the writing of research articles, dissertations and theses, is often viewed in the literature as ‘writing up’. It is as if first comes the research, an active creation of new knowledge, and then comes the writing, a relatively passive assembling of what has already been achieved. It is as if researching and writing were two entirely separate processes. Alternatively we may choose to conceive of academic writing as a set process which overlaps considerably with researching itself and, indeed, which may contribute dynamically to knowledge making. This article outlines some of the ways in which we may re-conceptualize academic writing as a more dynamic set of activities and practices. This includes a consideration of, for example, academic writing as constructing, deconstructing and reconstructing knowledge, connecting, disconnecting and reconnecting concepts, describing and re-describing our views of the world, as well as shaping, mis-shaping and reshaping ideas.