Complete co-sign with this NYT piece on the problems of academic writing. In this case, the need to constantly signpost everything for a reader. The author makes the point now obvious to me, though it hadn't occurred to me before, that the reason for constantly saying "I am about to..." or "I have just..." is to facilitate the process of scanning, as opposed to reading, academic output.
There's nothing I hate more than taking an article I've been working on and breaking it up to provide more 'structure,' secure in the knowledge that it will be the first criticism made should I fail to do so. (I also never provide enough, and am constantly being told to add more)
Then again, I did criticize someone's paper this year because it only got around to announcing its thesis on page 10 of 40. So I guess I'm part of the problem, too.
"Thou shalt not extinguish thine anger, but shall master it,
that thy conscience may not be blunted by adjustment
to wrong causes."
-The Dutch Ten Commandments to Foil the Nazis
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