{"id":2267,"date":"2022-06-30T17:28:43","date_gmt":"2022-06-30T17:28:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.ryerson.ca\/scholarlywriting\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=2267"},"modified":"2022-06-30T17:32:43","modified_gmt":"2022-06-30T17:32:43","slug":"originality-in-writing","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/scholarlywriting\/chapter\/originality-in-writing\/","title":{"raw":"Originality in writing","rendered":"Originality in writing"},"content":{"raw":"<strong>Originality<\/strong> in writing means integrating your own <strong>authentic voice<\/strong> into what you are trying to say. We all have authentic voices, and integrating that voice into your writing is important. An original voice does not mean you have to write about a new idea, although you might. Rather, it means making it your own.\r\n\r\nAnd yet, writing with originality is difficult.\r\n\r\nIt takes practice to bring out your voice and use it well in your writing. It takes dedication to cultivating your voice. And it takes <strong>safe spaces<\/strong> and<strong> mentorship to feel empowered<\/strong> to share your voice.\r\n\r\nThere are many ways to cultivate originality in your writing.\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>First, recognize that <strong>your own voice<\/strong> (and experiences and emotions) are<strong> important<\/strong>.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Start by brainstorming about your own experiences and emotions related to the topic you are writing about. While reflecting, write openly and freely under the assumption that only you need to read these brainstorming notes \u2013 encourage yourself to <strong>be vulnerable and courageous<\/strong>. Then, you can decide later what parts you feel comfortable sharing in your paper.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Use the literature to support your ideas. But also <strong>think critically<\/strong> about the literature and the ideas of others. Embrace your critical voice and consider: is there another way to think about it than what is presented in the literature? What element of analysis can you bring to your writing in terms of critiquing the literature?<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Also, don\u2019t fully rely on the literature to the point that your voice is missing \u2013 remember, <strong>your voice is important and valued<\/strong>. The <strong>risk of using too many quotations<\/strong> is that your writing will lack originality. And as a result, it will appear that you are just reproducing what someone else has said. Most times, it is fine to write a paper with no quotations. Consider how you can reshape existing information from your own point of view and think about it in a unique way.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Present the information in a <strong>unique way<\/strong> or from a unique perspective.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>If done correctly, <strong>creativity<\/strong> can be used to make your writing original and done so in a scholarly way. There are many ways to be creative in scholarly writing including the purposeful integration of a short reflection or story, a powerful quote that you personalize, a metaphor or symbolism, poetry and imagery. However, you must think carefully and critically about how to integrate a creative element into your writing as there is always the risk that writing may appear as non-scholarly.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>","rendered":"<p><strong>Originality<\/strong> in writing means integrating your own <strong>authentic voice<\/strong> into what you are trying to say. We all have authentic voices, and integrating that voice into your writing is important. An original voice does not mean you have to write about a new idea, although you might. Rather, it means making it your own.<\/p>\n<p>And yet, writing with originality is difficult.<\/p>\n<p>It takes practice to bring out your voice and use it well in your writing. It takes dedication to cultivating your voice. And it takes <strong>safe spaces<\/strong> and<strong> mentorship to feel empowered<\/strong> to share your voice.<\/p>\n<p>There are many ways to cultivate originality in your writing.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>First, recognize that <strong>your own voice<\/strong> (and experiences and emotions) are<strong> important<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Start by brainstorming about your own experiences and emotions related to the topic you are writing about. While reflecting, write openly and freely under the assumption that only you need to read these brainstorming notes \u2013 encourage yourself to <strong>be vulnerable and courageous<\/strong>. Then, you can decide later what parts you feel comfortable sharing in your paper.<\/li>\n<li>Use the literature to support your ideas. But also <strong>think critically<\/strong> about the literature and the ideas of others. Embrace your critical voice and consider: is there another way to think about it than what is presented in the literature? What element of analysis can you bring to your writing in terms of critiquing the literature?<\/li>\n<li>Also, don\u2019t fully rely on the literature to the point that your voice is missing \u2013 remember, <strong>your voice is important and valued<\/strong>. The <strong>risk of using too many quotations<\/strong> is that your writing will lack originality. And as a result, it will appear that you are just reproducing what someone else has said. Most times, it is fine to write a paper with no quotations. Consider how you can reshape existing information from your own point of view and think about it in a unique way.<\/li>\n<li>Present the information in a <strong>unique way<\/strong> or from a unique perspective.<\/li>\n<li>If done correctly, <strong>creativity<\/strong> can be used to make your writing original and done so in a scholarly way. There are many ways to be creative in scholarly writing including the purposeful integration of a short reflection or story, a powerful quote that you personalize, a metaphor or symbolism, poetry and imagery. However, you must think carefully and critically about how to integrate a creative element into your writing as there is always the risk that writing may appear as non-scholarly.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"menu_order":7,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-2267","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":137,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/scholarlywriting\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/2267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/scholarlywriting\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/scholarlywriting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/scholarlywriting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/scholarlywriting\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/2267\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2269,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/scholarlywriting\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/2267\/revisions\/2269"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/scholarlywriting\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/137"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/scholarlywriting\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/2267\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/scholarlywriting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/scholarlywriting\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=2267"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/scholarlywriting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=2267"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/scholarlywriting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=2267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}