# Do you think it is possible that NTs (esp. NTPs) are not good at academic writing?



## Andrea (Apr 20, 2009)

the major issues for xNTPs are that [a] writing is limited to linear progression, while NPs instead think categorically, often with imagery; and * that the Ne-Ti couple lends an acute sensitivity to nuance, so we feel a compulsion to be perfect when expressing, then we figure it's not worth it to finish. it also explains this:



You find writing a 5 page essay hard because there's nothing more to say after you've typed 1.5 pages because saying any more would prove the reader as a idiot who can't think for (him/her)self [and there's genuinely nothing else worth elaborating on!]

Click to expand...

 from facebook.

moreover, IxxPs are lazy and ExxPs have no focus. making the bottom line that perceivers are all-round fucked.

a bit on INTJ writing style, see if it's relevant. : INTPs: not quite suited to a career in science. - INTP Central*


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## Isitso (Dec 3, 2009)

Well, do you think it is possible that those two people happen to not be good writers?

I do not enjoy writing stories or poems, although they come out average to above average regardless. My essays are strong. A small problem I can have is I can create somewhat abstract and interesting theses that I can't easily find extensive research (especially books) to support, so I must drop them to find a blander idea. I am in no position to assume that other NTs are like this, this is simply what I have observed in myself. I would imagine that ISTJs are very good classic academic participants because they are very thorough.


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## Miyuki (Jan 5, 2010)

I think NFs are better writers then NTs. NT are more academic/analytical, so they might see it as one answer. (why write an essay when you can just write one sentence?) :laughing:

Writing is about ideas and then expanding those ideas. Feelers probably are more comfortable with using personal experiences and examples to lengthen the essay. That might be unnatural to the NT, they know the paragraph should be longer, but they might not know how to expand their idea to fill that length, so then they would write awkwardly.


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## εmptε (Nov 20, 2008)

I rarely ever write one sentence on a piece of paper... than again I rarely write on a piece of paper.

There have been tons of great NT writers.

I only currently have a list of ENTP Writers but here:
Lewis Carroll, Alan Fletcher, Malcom Gladwell, D.H. lawrence, Lord Byron, Hunter S Thompson, De Sade, Douglas Adams, Thomas More, Roald Dahl, Hules Verne, and Ray Bradury

All ENTPs  All good writers. My personal favorite in that list is Douglas Adams.

and one specific ENTJ comes to mind. One of my favorite philosophers. Sun Tzu.


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## Ben (Aug 23, 2009)

Miyuki said:


> I think NFs are better writers then NTs. NT are more academic/analytical, so they might see it as one answer. (why write an essay when you can just write one sentence?) :laughing:
> 
> Writing is about ideas and then expanding those ideas. Feelers probably are more comfortable with using personal experiences and examples to lengthen the essay. That might be unnatural to the NT, they know the paragraph should be longer, but they might not know how to expand their idea to fill that length, so then they would write awkwardly.


I think that's only in regards to creative writing; stories, poetry, or any other creative writing project. In an essay a more analytical, objective view has to be adopted, which would be more natural [typically] for an NT.


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## εmptε (Nov 20, 2008)

:/ I don't think it has anything to do with NTs or NFs. I think Ne is more creative than all of you  mwhahahahahaha ENXPs FTW!

I say this as a graphic artist and creative writer.


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## Miyuki (Jan 5, 2010)

Ben said:


> I think that's only in regards to creative writing; stories, poetry, or any other creative writing project. In an essay a more analytical, objective view has to be adopted, which would be more natural [typically] for an NT.


I agree with that. NT would be better at logically explaining their idea then NF.

But when i think of writing in school, i sort of think of essay prompts like: "Write about a time when a person impacted you". haha.


Cheshire Wolf, I'm also a graphic artist :happy: but not so much of a creative writer :crying:. 

I probably am wrong about the NF thing :x


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## roxtehproxy (Sep 9, 2009)

I'm concerned about the esoteric construction of my writings within school, so it's best to speculate and be more open-minded as an xNTJ when working around subjects that require an objective approach to their possible successions of work.

NTs normally, typically do well within school/college, so it's no surprise they can pass NCEA before term 3 arrives for example.


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## εmptε (Nov 20, 2008)

NTJ =/= Openminded
NTP = Openminded
NTJ =/= Stubborn
NTP = Stubborn


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## tornadotoes (Feb 23, 2010)

Writing academic papers was always very easy for me. Too easy. And that made them difficult. I tended to want to jump to the next important idea and was resentful of being requested to flesh out an idea to make it more clear. It's right there! You know? Read it again. It felt like selling out, in a way, or insulting my reader's intelligence. I started writing books the way I wanted to see books written, and that provided me with a lot of stress relief. I also found a lot of books in which I felt people had written from the same place, and that gave me comfort. Academic papers continued to drive me nuts, but having an outlet helped, and I was able to grin and bear it, and write them the way they are "supposed" to be written.


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## Mutatio NOmenis (Jun 22, 2009)

I'm a very good writer, and that talent carries over into my academic writing.


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## Emerson (Mar 13, 2011)

Provided I can write well enough to put me into a place where I can talk I'm cool.


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## koalaroo (Nov 25, 2011)

I'm fairly handy with my native language (english). I can do both creative and academic writing. The biggest complaint I've had from a teacher, once upon a time, was that I used "inaccessible" or "overly complex" diction. 

I told him I'd buy him a dictionary if he was having trouble understanding, but that I wouldn't "dumb" myself down for him.


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## Donovan (Nov 3, 2009)

it may just be a training problem.

when i first started got into college and had to write my first paper in Lit. it was kind of all over the place, but once i learned how it was supposed to be structured, basically intro=thesis, but the T. is found at the "sharpened end", thesis broken up into as many pieces as needed to argue its legitimacy, they begin each new paragraph or point and that in itself ties into the end of the paragraph (and concludes on one point of the thesis), and the conclusion does what the entire paper did just in an abrupt, summed up way... you also just have to know what your teacher basically wants.

i don't know any of the MB types of my classmates, so i can't really whether this is true... but it seems like you could just have a semblance of an argument and then structure it yourself... i think any of the functions could do this once they knew what was expected.


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## Empty (Sep 28, 2011)

I am very good at academic and creative writing. Maybe I am an outlier for an INTP.


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## JungyesMBTIno (Jul 22, 2011)

Not type related. Some of the NTs I know are talented (especially the females) while others aren't (tend to be the males more). I see a stronger correlation between gender and writing ability than type any day of the week.


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## Kaley (Nov 28, 2011)

I'm an INTJ, and I loathe academic writing. Getting my ideas and everything down on paper is a pain in the ass for me, I have everything in my head but I'm terrible at getting it out. I'm in AP Literature this year, and comparing my writing to others is something I do almost weekly. I'm also really short with my words, so my essays are almost always really short.


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## JungyesMBTIno (Jul 22, 2011)

I might as well add that my 6th grade teacher thought I was the best writer she ever had and was already writing better than the average college student then (inner squee in spite of the obvious bragging =P), so really, I doubt there's any correlation, based on the various responses here. Writing is my strongest academic ability also. I think left/right-brained thinking would correlate to writing ability more than type, which also tends to relate to gender more also (males being more left-brained on average, females using both sides of the brain more and probably having more tendencies toward right-brainedness as a result).


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## SugaSkull (Jan 15, 2012)

I'm not an NT, but I really suck at academic writing also. I've never really failed a paper (except the F I got on a research paper by this psycho english teacher I had in high school). But my problem seems to be the same as some of the NT's who replied: overall good writing, not enough, not enough specifics/details.

>.< Maybe it's more of an N thing? Or I'm just a weird NF.


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## Malx (May 17, 2011)

Writing is a saving grace for me, especially creative writing. Create a problem, and then problem solve your characters through various new problems that arrive while getting through the main problem. Think through and find logical errors. Do some homework about the topic. It's fun! Then you get to play with the language, play with the system. To me it sounds like NTP heaven.
Papers of the more academic nature are a hit and miss for me. Depending on the teacher and nature of the paper I'm writing, I'll either amaze my teacher, or I get... an "average" mark. 
The hardest part for me is doing the work lol. 

Some people are good with words, some people are good with numbers. Not sure if it's an NT thing or if it's just a personal thing.


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