--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Academic writing was actually about…" description: "\"“Academic writing was actually about hiding what you didn’t know. There was a language, a technique, and I had mastered it. In everything there were ga..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eab/karl-ove-knausgard-3539_academic_academic-writing-was-actually-about-hidi_1380044.jpg" --- # Academic writing was actually about hiding what you didn’t… ![“Academic writing was actually about hiding what you didn’t know. There was a language, a technique, and I had mastered it. In everything there were gaps which language could cover over as long as you had acquired the know-how.” quote by Karl Ove Knausgård](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eab/karl-ove-knausgard-3539_academic_academic-writing-was-actually-about-hidi_1380044.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eab/karl-ove-knausgard-3539_academic_academic-writing-was-actually-about-hidi_1380044.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eab/karl-ove-knausgard-3539_academic_academic-writing-was-actually-about-hidi_1380044.jpg) > ““Academic writing was actually about hiding what you didn’t know. There was a language, a technique, and I had mastered it. In everything there were gaps which language could cover over as long as you had acquired the know-how.”” [Karl Ove Knausgård](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Academic writing hides ignorance behind jargon and technique, filling gaps with learned language. **In simple terms:** Academic writing masks what you don’t know. Key Takeaway Acknowledge gaps; seek clarity over jargon. Themes education writing knowledge Mood introspective critical Type reflective inspirational When to use this quote - research papers - student essays - technical manuals - professional reports Key Concepts obfuscation expertise communication gaps Questions to Reflect On - How can you reveal gaps without losing credibility? - What alternatives to jargon improve understanding? A Different Perspective Overreliance on jargon can alienate readers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Academic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/academic/) [Academic writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/academic-writing/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Academic writing you have to get right. Fiction you have to get plausible. And there's a world of difference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-colla/academic-writing-you-have-to-get-right-fiction-you-have-to-get/) [Elliott Colla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-colla/) > [The more passive one's life in the field, the greater the need to reverse the situation when one returns home, which is why the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jackson/the-more-passive-one-s-life-in-the-field-the-greater-the-need-to/) [Michael Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jackson/) > [I don't think academic writing ever was wonderful. However, science used to be much less specialized.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/i-don-t-think-academic-writing-ever-was-wonderful-however-science/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [I am not built for academic writings. Action is my domain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-am-not-built-for-academic-writings-action-is-my-domain/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“I have an uncompromising principle against the use of AI in literature.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/i-have-an-uncompromising-principle-against-the-use-of-ai-in-literature/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [I've often heard academics disparage non-academic writing in terms that suggest it could be a negative in the tenure process, irrespective of the quality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-drezner/i-ve-often-heard-academics-disparage-non-academic-writing-in-terms/) Daniel Drezner > [Academic writing you have to get right. Fiction you have to get plausible. And there's a world of difference. In a way, if someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-colla/academic-writing-you-have-to-get-right-fiction-you-have-to-get-2/) [Elliott Colla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-colla/) > [I had at some point the epiphany that if I wanted to be a writer, maybe I should stop thinking about writing, or stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-fraction/i-had-at-some-point-the-epiphany-that-if-i-wanted-to-be-a-writer/) [Matt Fraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-fraction/) > [I never stopped writing about what was actually going on in my life. There's nothing to hide.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lana-del-rey/i-never-stopped-writing-about-what-was-actually-going-on-in-my-life/) [Lana Del Rey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lana-del-rey/) > [Part of the very impulse of writing for me is actually wanting to get away from myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-swift/part-of-the-very-impulse-of-writing-for-me-is-actually-wanting-to-get/) [Graham Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-swift/) > [“Don't fool yourself. 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Reading and writing actually paid off!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-groening/i-can-t-believe-it-reading-and-writing-actually-paid-off/) [Matt Groening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-groening/) > [Much of the activity we think of as writing is, actually, getting ready to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-godwin/much-of-the-activity-we-think-of-as-writing-is-actually-getting-ready/) [Gail Godwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-godwin/) ## More by Karl Ove Knausgård > [When I wrote my fictional novels, they always had a starting point of something real. Those images that are not real are exactly the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/when-i-wrote-my-fictional-novels-they-always-had-a-starting-point-of/) [Karl Ove Knausgard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) > [“When I look at a beautiful painting I have tears in my eyes, but not when I look at my children. 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Music is much more direct and much more emotional and that's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/i-think-there-are-a-lot-of-similarities-between-writing-and-music/) [Karl Ove Knausgard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) > [“Go somewhere you know nothing about and see what happens.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/go-somewhere-you-know-nothing-about-and-see-what-happens/) [Karl Ove Knausgård](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) > [A problem with my novels is that they, from the start, have been infantile and incredibly childish. 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You just have to come up with an idea...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/writing-isn-t-black-magic-you-just-have-to-come-up-with-an-idea/) [Karl Ove Knausgård](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) > [“It was a fantastic feeling, but it left me restless because the most important thing in it was the longing, for what was going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/it-was-a-fantastic-feeling-but-it-left-me-restless-because-the-most/) [Karl Ove Knausgård](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) > [“the past is now barely present in my thoughts. I believe the main reason for that is our children, since life with them in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/the-past-is-now-barely-present-in-my-thoughts-i-believe-the-main/) [Karl Ove Knausgård](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) > [“I loved it, I loved the feeling, it was my favorite feeling, but it never led to anything good, and the day after or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/i-loved-it-i-loved-the-feeling-it-was-my-favorite-feeling-but-it/) [Karl Ove Knausgård](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) > [“Actually there were only two forms of existence, I reflected: one that was tied to a place and one that wasn't. Both had always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/actually-there-were-only-two-forms-of-existence-i-reflected-one-that/) [Karl Ove Knausgård](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) > [“And art has come to be a spectator of itself, the way it reacts, what newspapers write about it; the artist is a performer.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/and-art-has-come-to-be-a-spectator-of-itself-the-way-it-reacts-what/) [Karl Ove Knausgård](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) > ['My Struggle' came from a place of questioning and feelings of inauthenticity and frustration, and almost all of that is gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/my-struggle-came-from-a-place-of-questioning-and-feelings-of/) [Karl Ove Knausgard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) > [In 'Min Kamp,' I wanted to see how far it was possible to take realism before it would be impossible to read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/in-min-kamp-i-wanted-to-see-how-far-it-was-possible-to-take-realism/) [Karl Ove Knausgard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) [Explore all 118 Karl Ove Knausgård quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) ## More Academic quotes > [When I went to college, as much as my parents emphasized academic achievement, they emphasized marriage even more. 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Everett Koop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-everett-koop/) > [Marx, however imperfectly he worked out the details, set himself the task of discovering the law of motion of capitalism, and if there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/marx-however-imperfectly-he-worked-out-the-details-set-himself-the/) [Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/) > [Now know I well what people sought formerly above all else when they sought Teachers of virtue. Good sleep they sought for themselves, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/now-know-i-well-what-people-sought-formerly-above-all-else-when-they/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Because my graduate academic training at law school was not one that included most of the intellectual traditions I find useful for understanding the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-spade/because-my-graduate-academic-training-at-law-school-was-not-one-that/) [Dean Spade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-spade/) > [An academic discipline, or any other semiotic domain, for that matter, is not primarily content, in the sense of facts and principles. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-paul-gee/an-academic-discipline-or-any-other-semiotic-domain-for-that-matter/) [James Paul Gee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-paul-gee/) > [“In the end, ethical interpretation of the Bible means to think critically about how our practices of textual engagement might help us to become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-brueggemann/in-the-end-ethical-interpretation-of-the-bible-means-to-think/) [Walter Brueggemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-brueggemann/) > [Perhaps art criticism cannot be reformed in a logical sense because it was never well-formed in the first place. Art criticism has long been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-elkins/perhaps-art-criticism-cannot-be-reformed-in-a-logical-sense-because/) [James Elkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-elkins/) > [And I'm the first one to tell people to break the rules. But you can only break the rules once you know what the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-gunn/and-i-m-the-first-one-to-tell-people-to-break-the-rules-but-you-can/) [Tim Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-gunn/) > [Nietzsche's ideas and plans: for example, the idea of giving up the whole wretched academic world to form a secular monastic community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-jaspers/nietzsche-s-ideas-and-plans-for-example-the-idea-of-giving-up-the/) [Karl Jaspers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-jaspers/) > [Quality afterschool programs provide safe, engaging and fun learning experiences to help children and youth develop their social, emotional, physical, cultural and academic skills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-stabenow/quality-afterschool-programs-provide-safe-engaging-and-fun-learning/) [Debbie Stabenow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-stabenow/) > [The unary Photograph has every reason to be banal, 'unity' of composition being the first rule of vulgar (and notably, of academic) rhetoric: 'The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/the-unary-photograph-has-every-reason-to-be-banal-unity-of/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [Doctoral training is devoted almost entirely to learning to do research, even though most Ph.Ds who enter academic life spend far more time teaching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/doctoral-training-is-devoted-almost-entirely-to-learning-to-do/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [I am not an academic who happens to have written a novel. I am a novelist who happens to be quite good academically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/i-am-not-an-academic-who-happens-to-have-written-a-novel-i-am-a/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) [Browse all 958 Academic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/academic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Academic\twriting\twas\tactually\tabout\thiding\twhat\tyou\tdidn’t know.\tThere\twas\ta\tlanguage,\ta\ttechnique,\tand\tI\thad\tmastered\tit.\tIn\teverything\tthere\twere\tgaps\twhich language\tcould\tcover\tover\tas\tlong\tas\tyou\thad\tacquired\tthe\tknow-how.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Karl Ove Knausgård" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/academic-writing-was-actually-about-hiding-what-you-didn-t-know-there/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Academic" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/academic-writing-was-actually-about-hiding-what-you-didn-t-know-there/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eab/karl-ove-knausgard-3539_academic_academic-writing-was-actually-about-hidi_1380044.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eab/karl-ove-knausgard-3539_academic_academic-writing-was-actually-about-hidi_1380044.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eab/karl-ove-knausgard-3539_academic_academic-writing-was-actually-about-hidi_1380044.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Academic writing was actually about hiding what you didn’t know. 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