On tone in academic writing (or it pays to learn the love language of your discipline).
I grew up writing like a Humanist.
Humanists can be brutal. As they discuss enduring questions of the human condition, their tempers can flare, shots can be taken, & once they settle down, life moves on.
Humanists live in big global communities where sharp elbows are quickly forgotten, forgiven, or accepted.
When I moved to Business, I quickly learned that the brutal tone of Humanists in combat was not welcome.
It was not that Business scholars did not fight, they certainly do, but because the scholarly communities tend to be smaller, everyone knows each other - so aggression is minimized & collegiality prioritized.
In Business disciplines, sharp elbows leave lasting impressions & sometimes never forgiven.
Every field has a tone.
Learn the acceptable tone of your field.
Early career scholars should pay attention to tone in three forums.
First, a positive tone can help you in peer review.
As a senior editor, I learned that reviewers were more likely to respond to constructive papers.
Authors who take an optimistic tone as they slice apart problematic issues & point out opportunities for change are more likely to earn a revision.
Authors who seem malicious as they go for the kill are more likely to be picked apart by reviewers.
Review panels like more positively toned work, be it correcting a problem, identifying an opportunity, or surfacing an issue.
Second, a positive tone gets your reviews more attention.
As an editor, I have received many messages from reviewers complaining that authors don’t listen to comments.
Reviewing the comments, I usually notice words like ‘fatal flaw,’ ‘failed to cite,’ or ‘badly applied method.’
Usually, these comments receive less constructive responses from authors - leaving it to the editor to broker peace between the different actors in the Game of Publication.
An aside: even if the editor sides with the harsh comments, they take note of the reviewer & add them to the list of people to be avoided.
Third, tone on social media impacts reputation.
Even if you craft a generally positive message in your feed, academics seem to remember the negative comments.
Overly harsh comments can harm job opportunities or undermine your ability to secure plum editorial appointments.
While social media has nothing to do with your job, people use it as a proxy for how you will behave as a colleague or on an editorial board.
Be careful what you say online, even if they are not directed at a specific person.
So how do you know your tone is ok?
Ask yourself if you would like your work to be described in a paper by a reviewer or a social media commenter in the words that you are using?
Also, ask yourself if the words you use are consistent with your field?
Finally, ask yourself if you are willing to deal with the implications of your words’ tone?
If the answer is no, edit!
Best of luck!
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