Introduction

Writing is hard, and it is easy to postpone doing it. There seem to be many natural reasons to postpone writing, like you don't know what to write yet so you can't start. Our natural inclinations, however, are counter-productive. This chapter provides many reasons to start writing now. Writing now will improve your self-esteem, it will help you write better and it will help you do the work you are writing about – there are many other benefits this chapter covers. In short, writing is formative; it is the most important activity of your project, and is integral to it, not just a description of what you did. This chapter does not tell you everything you need to know about writing, but it tells you the most important secret: write now.

The advice in this chapter is written concretely as if for helping people write project reports (undergraduate, Masters or PhD theses). But the arguments apply equally to writing research proposals, job applications, novels or research papers.

Writing (noun) and writing (verb)

Writing (noun) was invented around six thousand years ago by the Sumerians. Today, we take writing for granted, yet in truth writing has a magic effect on us. Little marks, on a screen, on paper, on a road sign, anywhere, convey information – thoughts and emotions – from the writer to the readers.