Paul Dudenhefer on Academic Writing, Episode 11

Guest: Paul Dudenhefer

Hosted and produced by Reinhard Schumacher







In this episode, Reinhard talks with Paul Dudenhefer about academic writing, especially about writing English journal articles. The topics we discuss include the framing of an article, writing for an “Anglo-American audience", how to write clearly and entertainingly, how to avoid the curse of knowledge, how to get most out of feedback, and writing for a general audience.



Paul is a professional writer and editor. He was copy editor of the journal History of Political Economy (HOPE) for more than 15 years, until 2016. Currently, Paul is the managing editor of the journal Politics & Society. Paul has taught writing to graduate students and given workshops on writing. He has also written a booklet titled Writing the Field Paper and Job Market Paper: A Holistic and Practical Guide for PhD Students in Economics. You can find Paul on his website www.pauldudenhefer.net (where you can also hire him to edit your paper).



Books and articles mentioned by Paul in this episode:



Paul Dudenhefer: Writing the Field Paper and Job Market Paper: A Holistic and Practical Guide for PhD Students in Economics

Joseph M. Williams/Joseph Bizup: Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace

George Gopen: Expectations: Teaching Writing from the Reader’s Perspective

John Gardner: The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers

Deidre McCloskey: Economical Writing

Steven Pinker: The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Centuryo

Steven Pinker (2014): Why Academics Stink at Writing, The Chronicle of Higher Education (behind a paywall)

Samuelson, Paul A. (1965): A Catenary Turnpike Theorem Involving Consumption and the Golden Rule, American Economic Review (behind a paywall)