Superficiality, to use Prof. Hart-Nibbrig's word, refers to writing that, while it may use impressive words and have fairly good structure, nevertheless comes across as forced, depthless, or artificial. According to this professor, superficiality can easily show through your writing no matter how hard you may try to imitate academic language or writing styles. Prof. Hart-Nibbrig's concern with superficiality shows that even with the best of writing techniques, a writer can still lose his or her readers' interest or respect. How can a writer avoid superficiality?

In spite of all you may have learned about writing techniques and proofreading, good essay writing is ultimately determined by what is at the "heart" of it. Some well-known writers claim that a reader is never going to be interested in what you have to say or convinced if you, the writer, are not interested and convinced yourself. Therefore, it is a good idea to keep in mind that your message should be your first priority rather than attempts to sound like an expert. It is good to use models of scholarly writing as guides, but the best writing comes from writers who have spent some time really thinking about the subject outside of the classroom. Otherwise, a writer risks sounding as if he or she is simply approaching the subject from a very safe distance.

Good writing, when all is said and done, still involves a need to take some risks, even if you are self-conscious about not being an "expert" on the subject. Prof. Hart-Nibbrig says, as do other professors, that one thing he would really like to see is students actually become involved in the subject, even "arguing" with the ideas in class or in the writing. It may be surprising, but usually a student's best writing comes through when what he or she has learned in the classroom actually means something outside of the classroom setting.