Conversation in the academic world occurs in many ways: at a colloquium where you exchange a few quick words with a colleague about a paper for a conference or perhaps in an e-mail with a classmate where you debate an idea just discussed in the courseroom. But the most challenging of academic conversations might be the written one. Writing is hard - as we all know - and you are fairly new to this level of scholarly work in your field. You may feel too inexperienced, even unqualified, to join an academic conversation. But since the scholarly conversation is an essential one, you need to prepare yourself to be a valued contributor.