On the morning of March 20, 2025, the Marxist College successfully held the first session of the "Famous Scholars Series Talks" under the Graduate Student Training Quality Improvement Project, titled "Seven Steps to a Well-Written Paper: Essentials of Academic Paper Writing," at the Huiwen Building 1600 Conference Room. The lecture was delivered by Professor Wang Shuyin, a member of the Academic Committee and Teaching Committee of Beijing Normal University and a distinguished professor at the university. The event was hosted by Associate Professor Sun Tingting, Vice Dean of the Marxist College, and attended by Professor Liu Zhi, Dean of the Marxist College, along with more than 40 faculty and students from the college.
In the lecture, Professor Wang Shuyin provided an in-depth explanation of the seven key steps in academic paper writing, which include preparation, topic selection, material collection, idea refinement, outline writing, main text writing, and revision. During the preparation stage, Professor Wang emphasized the importance of solidifying the theoretical foundation, particularly the study of Marxist theory and subject-specific theories, to lay a strong foundation for later writing. Regarding topic selection, he pointed out that students should have a problem-awareness and strong curiosity. When facing a topic, they should deeply consider its correctness and the causal relationships behind it. He also reminded students not to rush in topic selection, as every research project requires time to mature and be carefully crafted. In material collection and organization, Professor Wang used the metaphor "look at thin books as if they were thick, and thick books as if they were thin," stressing the need to develop the habit of hand-copying notes and categorizing materials to improve writing efficiency.
When discussing idea refinement, Professor Wang advocated for "arguments emerging from history," focusing on the importance of reviewing academic history. Only by understanding previous research can one propose original insights based on existing work. Regarding the construction of outlines, he reminded students to pay attention to the logical relationships between headings at various levels, ensuring a clear and progressive structure in their papers. In the writing process, Professor Wang shared his own experience, explaining how many people fail to write strong conclusions. He emphasized that the conclusion is not just an optional add-on but should precisely summarize and deeply refine the outline of the paper. In the revision stage, Professor Wang generously shared his valuable experience, citing the famous saying, "Practicing writing words is not as useful as practicing writing sentences; practicing sentences is not as useful as practicing ideas." He urged students to focus not only on word choice but also on sentence fluency and clarity of meaning. He stressed the importance of reviewing whether the paper fully and accurately conveys the author's ideas from an overall perspective. Additionally, Professor Wang particularly reminded everyone that procrastination is the enemy of paper writing, advising them to overcome "procrastination syndrome," set reasonable writing plans, and develop good writing habits in order to steadily advance on the academic writing path.
Throughout the lecture, Professor Wang intertwined his rich academic research and writing experience with vivid examples, making abstract writing theories accessible and engaging. The atmosphere was lively, and students listened attentively, expressing that they had gained a great deal from the session.
At the end of the lecture, Associate Dean Sun Tingting expressed heartfelt thanks to Professor Wang for his insightful presentation and extended sincere expectations to the graduate students in attendance. She encouraged them to apply the knowledge gained in the lecture to their writing practices, continuously improving their academic writing skills and striving to contribute outstanding research results to the development of Marxist disciplines.
The successful holding of this academic lecture is one of the important measures taken by the Marxist College to promote the quality improvement of graduate student training. It not only provided a valuable platform for learning and exchange but also further stimulated students' academic enthusiasm, injecting new vitality into the improvement of the college's graduate student training quality.
Marxist College
March 21, 2025
