I can hear some of you saying, “It’s all right for you, you have a PhD, so know how to write!”
Trust me I don’t. I really, really struggle.
The Struggle for Dyslexics is Real
Fear of the blank page overcomes me – I am forcing myself to start writing this in the 10 minutes before a meeting, because I have procrastinated for the last hour! (Facebook is a great time waster).
Over the years I have missed out the subject, object and even the noun from sentences.
I have read them back to myself and they make perfect sense until someone else reads them.
I struggle to find the right word so will write 10 to cover the hole… which makes my prose too long….
I miss out whole sentences in essays, and yet it still makes sense to me because I fill in the missing sentence in my head as I read it back!
When I wrote on lined paper I would get to the last line and a half and move onto the next page (don’t tell anyone I still do this).
I have extensive notes next to me now, so I know that this will be too long… it is all handwritten, because the blank computer page is too frightening. At least lined paper has comforting lines covering it!
The computer does help to correct my spelling although sometimes it becomes a bit random.
Yet I have written a book! A huge book! A thesis! Only it was in science so there was a fixed structure before I started. I am also very grateful to one of my supervisors, Gerald Lobley, for proofreading it multiple times.
In that last paragraph there is a key to writing, especially for a dyslexic.
The Importance of a Structure
You MUST have a structure. I have no idea how to do that in English, but it can be done more easily in Science. I have my old Biology teachers, Miss Brent and Mrs Neill, who made me write 2 essays a week on top of my normal A level work in the second year of my 6th form. They also marked EVERY SINGLE ONE! And gave me feedback.
I learnt to FORMULA WRITE! It was refined for my degree dissertation and my PhD, but without the ability to formula write I would have been lost.
It is a method I now teach to all my students whether they are dyslexic or not. Everyone’s grades increase as a result, because they learn how to structure and write those pesky synoptic essays.
It’s important to remember that dyslexics are not thick or stupid, we need to find the method that works for us.
We are all different, so there is no one size fits all answer.
Here is what I do
- Make notes – it doesn’t matter what you write. Just write! Even the title doesn’t matter. Nobody is going to read this.
- Take a breather – you have earned it! Release the cognitive load.
- Read through the notes – add anything else you think may be important
- Add numbers – number the notes in the order in which you might write about them in the essay or part of a dissertation.
- Take another breather!
- Write a first draft – leave plenty of space between the lines, so you can make adjustments.
- Yep it’s time for another breather….
- Read through the first draft (print it off if you wrote it on a computer, it’s easier to read). Remember that you will need an introduction and conclusion.
- Add any notes, including introduction and conclusion, and re-print – this is when a computer is useful.
- Breather time again.
- Read through again for major errors and make changes.
- This is the end – you don’t need to do more….
The overall structure depends on what it is for.
Essays
Introduction – say what you are going to say
Content – say it
Conclusion – say what you have said.
This is for blogs and simple essays. I probably haven’t really written an introduction or conclusion here, but I am not being marked….
Dissertations and Theses
Introduction – write this last!
Literature Review – supposed to be written first, but few scientists do.
Methods – write as you go along (nope I didn’t)
Results – the easiest bit!
Discussion – you need the results to do this
Conclusion – write just before the introduction.
This looks long, but the hardest part is to start. If you write the methods up and add the results, then it is almost half done, right at the start!
I hope this makes sense. If not, then please remember I am dyslexic and to my brain it makes perfect sense!
I asked Canva AI to create the title image for the original title – formula writing for dyslexics….. it gave me a title with mathematical formulae! The title made sense to me but not AI. Says it all really. 🙂