The Write Writing Blog

The cartoon above, besides being pretty funny, made this retired English professor think, after having a hearty chuckle, “who would even think of doing such a thing?”

People who are new to academic writing, that’s who. First-year college students, usually American, and taking their first composition courses and who, bless their hearts, do not know the difference between college composition (learning academic writing for research, which is what they will be doing for the next four years) and creative writing (a course for people who wish to become writers or teach writing). I recall first-day writing prompts that, like, literally read like they were texting me about their bff or bae with “ur” for “your” or “you’re,” and “2” for “two.” Needless to say, my second-day class lecture was always based on why we do not write the way we speak – or, in other words, why we do not use the vernacular in academic writing.

According to our friends at the Google Dictionary, vernacular, is a noun formed from the Latin verna, for “home-born slave.” Eventually, it became vernaculus, meaning “domestic” or “native” and sometime in the 17th century, English-speaking people added the -ar, making a word that described “the language or dialect spoken by the ordinary people in a particular country or region.” (It also has an application in the architectural world but that’s a digression I do not care to make.)

My personal vernacular is based on the language of my people, who happen to be western New Yorkers (a tribe completely different from New Yorkers from New York City). For example, the sandwich that is a sliced length of bread filled with sliced meats, vegetables, and condiments has always been a “sub” (short for submarine, for its shape), while in New England, it is a “grinder,” which is a “hoagie” in Philadelphia, a “po’ boy” in Louisiana, or “hero” in New York City. In Vietnam, it’s banh mi; in Sicily it’s muffuletta.

The vernacular is the code we use to signal the tribe we identify with. That tribe is usually geographically-based, depending on where we grew up learning the language. So when we communicate within the tribe, our messages can be short, like texts or memes, and meant for an intimately-connected audience. But using the vernacular can get down and dirty within this intimate connection. We use it regularly to describe the basest of human functions – both physical and emotional – because we can be frank and open within our tribe. We are comfortable enough to say “I shit you not” to our families and friends when we really mean “I’m being honest with you.”

So the answer is that we just don’t use the vernacular in academic writing. Academic writing is a code that sends a signal to other academics that the paper has been well-researched, using robust sources, with no plagiarism. Academic writing presupposes – or should presuppose - ethos, if done correctly, so it is totally unnecessary to state that one is being honest.

Graduate research and thesis writing: planning and preparing. (Part 7 of a series.)

In this series, we provide general information that should apply to most graduate students, particularly in the United States and Canada. While there are some differences in terminology between the UK and the US, most everything else applies on both sides of the Atlantic.

The Literature Review

The Literature Review is the next important step in your thesis introduction. Different from an annotated bibliography, the review of the literature you have used (books, journal articles, periodicals, etc.), should:

Review your discipline style: APA, Chicago, Harvard, and so on.

Show that you are familiar with the essential background information on your topic.

Help your reader understand your thesis.

Tell your reader what has already been written about your topic.

Show that your thesis is original and has not already been covered by someone else.

Show where your study will fit in with the current body of literature on the topic and within your field. Think in terms of “what gap will my project fill?”

Remember: the literature review is not a list. It should be a comprehensive analysis and review of all of the relevant literature you have chosen to study.

The process of writing the review should also help you to categorise the literature and thus provide some sort of structure to the review. This will help keep it clear in your mind and simplify comprehension for your readers.

In analysing the literature, you need to ask yourself the following questions:

What are the key terms and concepts?

How relevant is this article to my specific topic?

What trends and patterns emerge?

How has the author structured his or her argument?

How credible is the source?

What differences and similarities exist between this source and the others?

Are there gaps in the literature (areas that have not been covered) that need further study?

Structure: Introduction

 The literature review is structured the same as an essay, with an introduction and a thesis statement.

Discuss why you are writing the review, and why the topic is important. Include a concise definition of the topic under consideration.

Discuss the scope of the review (not the overall thesis/dissertation). For example, you may decide to limit your review to published or unpublished works, works from a specific location or time period, conflict, language, etc.

Outline the criteria you used for your particular choices of literature and show the organisational pattern of the review.

State the general findings: what do most sources conclude? What is the availability of sources in your subject area?

Body Paragraphs

This is where you organise your evaluations of your sources. You may want to organise them around chronological or thematic approaches, but there are many other ways to organise your literature review.

You should summarise and critically evaluate each work for its premise, methodology, and conclusion.  This is where you can address any inconsistencies, errors, or omissions as well as the accuracy, depth, and relevance of the literature.

As always, use smooth transitions between paragraphs and to connect one source with another.

Conclusion

Conclude by summarising your key findings of the review in general terms. This is a good place to discuss favoured works, commonalities or agreements (or disagreements) between works, and any other important points you need to make, as well as reiterating your overall perspective on the topic.

In this series, we will attempt to provide general information that should apply to most graduate students, particularly in the United States and Canada. While there are some differences in terminology between the UK and the US, most everything else applies on both sides of the Atlantic.

Introductions Part II: Addressing the Rest: Research Questions, Significance of the Study; Definition of Terms; Assumptions, Limitations, and Delimitations

Our last post dealt with the first sections of the Introduction, from the introductory sentence to the Purpose of the Study. We continue this week with the final components of the introduction: the Research Questions, Significance of the Study, Definitions of Terms, and Assumptions, Limitations, and Delimitations

There is one important thing to note: The introduction is a good chance to fine-tune your overall thesis. If something doesn’t seem to fit or make sense in your introduction, it will probably be out of place in the expanded discussion.

Research Questions: While your thesis or dissertation may rest on one burning question, other questions can derive from the main focus of your study, and this is the section in which to pose them. Remember that your reader wants to know your thought process: what questions arose from your research, and how you pull all the threads together.

Significance of the Study: The “significance” is different from the “purpose.” While the Purpose of the Study deals with what the study is for and what purpose it serves, the Significance of the Study section deals with why the study is important. A good opening sentence gets straight to the point: “This study is significant because … “

Definition of Terms: Definitions of terms serve the reader, who may or may not be familiar with some terms, especially if they are new ones. Many graduate students are writing in what might be described as a bubble populated by people in their own field; or they assume (mistakenly) that the only people who will read their thesis or dissertation are the professor of record and the committee.

In most cases, however, any electronic thesis or dissertation will be available for perusal by anyone who has access to the internet, including future scholars doing research. They may not understand some terms associated with the study. Definitions also serve to show professors that the writer knows what he or she is talking about and clearly understands the meaning of each term.

Assumptions, Limitations, and Delimitations

Let’s look at these individually:

Assumptions: Assumptions are things that are outside of your control, or factors pertaining to or influencing your study for which you have no real data or proof. For example, you assume that respondents to questions will answer truthfully, but you have no way of proving whether they told the truth or not. Assumptions are also dependent on the paradigm in which you are conducting your research. Marilyn K. Simon, PhD, points out that the qualitative researcher “assumes reality is objective and singular and can be separated from the researcher. Quantitative researchers also assume that their studies can be replicated and that generalizability is possible.”

Limitations: Limitations are potential weaknesses related to decisions made in your study. These are usually out of your control. Some examples of limitations are funding constraints; data collection strategies: geographical or cultural constraints when dealing with populations, flawed random samples; choice of qualitative or quantitative paradigm for the study. It is most important that you are aware of your assumptions and that you can justify why they exist.

Delimitations: Delimitations are the features of the study that can be controlled and help determine the scope of the study. Researchers can control things such as the selection of participants and subjects, geographic location, length of the study (i.e., students only enrolled during a specific time period), and other factors that create boundaries for your study.

At this point, you should be able to move on to the next part of your thesis or dissertation, which is usually the Literature Review. Keep in mind that this blog only serves as a guideline for what sections are commonly included in the Introduction to a thesis or dissertation and it is up to the individual student to check with their thesis or dissertation director to find out exactly what is necessary for their particular field.

In this series, we will attempt to provide general information that should apply to most graduate students, particularly in the United States and Canada. While there are some differences in terminology between the UK and the US, most everything else applies on both sides of the Atlantic. Click here for parts 1, 2, 3, and 4.

Introductions: Part I

Your entire college writing career should have prepared you to write a top-notch introduction. After all, you have written countless research papers since your freshman year, and yet the Introduction seems to be the biggest hurdle for many writers.

Perhaps this is because it’s tedious; you are merely skimming the surface and providing talking points rather than getting into the deeper study that you have so passionately undertaken during your post-grad years.

Still, we know that the introduction can make or break a thesis or dissertation. Done poorly, it can result in a substantially lower grade because it did not engage the reader.

The introduction is your reader’s first impression of you and your brilliant idea, but it is no place for a lengthy preamble. The Introduction should conform to a basic structure, and your field of study will determine exactly what information should be included but the Introduction to the thesis should contain nine distinct parts:

The introductory sentence

Background of the Problem

Statement of the Problem

Purpose of the Study

Research Questions

Significance of the Problem

Definition of Terms

Assumptions, Limitations, Delimitations

Conclusion

The following illustration explains further:

The Introductory Sentence

The good news is that once you’ve cleared this hurdle, you’re well on your way. The bad news is that starting to write can be excruciating. Consider starting off with one of the following methods:

Relevant quote.

A point in time (historical review).

Definition (Note: starting out with a dictionary definition - “Webster’s dictionary defines …” is poor scholarship.).

Transition the reader from their worldview to the less familiar world of the thesis.

Illustrate.

Use an anecdote.

Pose a question.

Begin with the thesis statement.

Background to the Problem

It seems intuitive to place the Statement of the Problem first, but there is a compelling reason why we don’t: readers and future researchers need to understand the context of the problem, and what research has already been conducted. In terms of structure, the background section should move from a broad to narrow scope. According to the USC Rossier School of Education there are five things you should observe in moving down the hierarchy:

Broad

Discuss two or three problem areas that provide a foundation for your statement of the problem.

 General

This can be empirical, pointing out the most significant data presented in existing literature, as well as show a need for further study.

Specific

This part narrows your focus and provides a list of significant concepts, themes, or perspectives on the problem in terms of prevailing literature that informed your decision to study the problem.

Provide an explanation of the broad problems in the research literature led to your topic.

What is the “argument” for conducting your study?

 Statement of the Problem

This is the heart of the matter; essentially, the “five W’s”: who, what, when, where, and why. By convincing the reader that the problem is important, you also heighten awareness of the issue, so you should present accurate terminology, as well as consider shared mindsets and values of your readers while addressing canonical works (those that are widely accepted).

Purpose of the study 

The purpose of the study describes what your research will accomplish. It should touch on the direction and scope of your research, as well as what means you used for data collection. It should assure the reader that a problem will be solved once the objective and goals are obtained. Here is a list of things to keep in mind:

Signal the reader with identifiers: “The purpose of this (qualitative/quantitative/mixed method)/(methodology) is to …”

Expound on the central idea or phenomena being explored.

Clearly define any variables.

Describe the intent of the study by using higher order terms like analyze, determine, or evaluate.

Indicate the setting (geographical location) if appropriate.

 Indicate the participants in the study.

Make sure you avoid contradictions, errors in logic, wordiness, clichés, and jargon. Allow the reader to sense who you are, and, above all, make sure that the purpose matches and compliments the problem statement. This would be a good point to pause and seek some assistance in proofreading and editing, since a fresh set of eyes will pick up on any of these issues. If you’re not a strong writer, hiring a professional can be well worth the investment.

In this series, we will attempt to provide general information that should apply to most graduate students, particularly in the United States and Canada. While there are some differences in terminology between the UK and the US, most everything else applies on both sides of the Atlantic.

Writing the Dissertation Proposal

Mise en place.

It is a French phrase that is used in the professional cooking world and it means “(putting) everything in place.” The mise en place of a professional kitchen is its philosophy and system. It is used interchangeably as both a noun (setting up the ingredients) and a verb (the process of preparing to act). It is also a good way to think about starting to write the thesis or dissertation.

If you are just about to graduate from culinary school, you should know mise en place as well as you know how to poach an egg or make a Hollandaise sauce without “breaking” it. Now you are poised, however, to make your greatest work, and whether it is a croquembouche or a beef Wellington, you know that you have to have all the parts assembled and ready before you can commence creating your master dish.

In much the same way, you should have everything in place before you write your proposal. Mise en place should include an Introduction; a Review of the Literature; Methodology (quantitative, qualitative, or a mix of the two); Research Findings; and Conclusions/Discussion/Suggestions for Future Research. See the outline at the end of this article for a more detailed overview.

Look at examples

Ask to look at examples of other proposals. Your director should be able to provide you with samples of exemplary proposals. Try to emulate them in format as well as clarity and knowledge of your subject area.

What’s in a title?

Good proposals have good titles that help the reader understand the nature of the work. A good title will:

have the most important words toward the beginning;

avoid ambiguous or confusing words;

break into a title + subtitle when you have too many words;

include keywords that will help future researchers find your work.

Guiding questions

Organize your proposal around a set of guiding questions, and write those questions so that they put your research into perspective with the literature. They will establish the link between your research and what research came before your own, as well as show how your work is related to your field of study.

Should you include graphics?

Absolutely. When you present your proposal to your guiding committee, you may need to use graphic representations. Make sure that they are clear and attractive. Consider using infographics for representing data, and PowerPoint or Prezi or other similar slide-based presentation application to cover the main points of your proposal. Not all committee members will read your proposal word-for-word, so a good graphic presentation will at least show them the most important issues along with your methodology

Outline for the Dissertation Proposal[1]

 Chapter 1: Introduction

Introduction

Background of the Problem

Statement of the Problem

Purpose of the Study

Research Questions

Significance of the Study

Definition of Terms

Assumptions, Limitations, and Delimitations

Conclusion

Chapter 2: Review of the Literature

Introduction

Search Description

Conceptual or Theoretical Framework

Review of Research (organized by variable or themes)

Chapter 3: Methodology (Qualitative)

Introduction

Research Design

Research Questions

Setting

Participants

Data Collection

Data Analysis

Conclusion

Chapter 3: Methodology (Quantitative)

Introduction

Research Design

Research Questions and Hypotheses

Population and Sample

Instrumentation

Data Collection

Data Analysis

Conclusion

Chapter 3: Methodology (Mixed)

Introduction

Research Design

Research Questions and Hypotheses

Setting and Sample

Data Collection

Data Analysis

Conclusion

Chapter 4: Research Findings

Introduction

Findings (organized by Research Questions or Hypotheses)

Conclusion

Chapter 5: Conclusions, Discussion, and Suggestions for Future Research

Introduction

Summary of Findings

Conclusions (organized by Research Questions or Hypotheses)

Discussion

Suggestions for Future Research

Conclusion

Introduction

In previous posts, I referred to some of the mechanics of sentence construction, noting that many students are surprisingly unfamiliar with even the most basic elements. Of course, one can get through life without knowing how sentences should be structured, but knowing them makes writing easier, and – I would go so far as to argue – can make your thinking more precise and well-organized. This post will discuss the nuts and bolts of sentences construction, identifying four different types based on combinations of independent and dependent clauses.

Sentence Basics

As I mentioned in a previous post, a sentence at its most basic level must contain one subject and one predicate (often simplified as the “action,” or the verb) – for example, “I write” is a basic sentence. Moreover, a sentence is comprised of one or more clauses, which themselves contain at least one subject and one predicate. However, not all clauses can stand on their own as sentences.

Clauses

Clauses are either independent or dependent. An independent clause, such as “I write,” or “I drink coffee,” can stand on its own. However, while dependent clauses must still contain subjects and predicates, they cannot stand on their own, and only exist to modify independent clauses – for example, “while I drink coffee” is a dependent clause. It contains a subject (“I”) and a verb (“drink”) but it does not make sense on its own.

Sentence Types

Based on how you combine independent and dependent clauses, you can create four basic sentence types: simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex.

 1 Source: https://www.inklyo.com/wp-content/uploads/Compound-Complex-Sentences.jpg

 Simple Sentences: A simple sentence consists of one stand-alone independent clause – to use the example above, “I write.”

Complex Sentences: A complex sentence consists of one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses – combining the examples above, “I write while drinking coffee.” Now the dependent clause makes sense because it has a context based on the independent clause that it modifies.

Compound Sentence: A compound sentence combines one independent clause with one or more independent clauses – for example, “I write, and I drink coffee.” Both clauses could stand on their own, but are combined to produce a different effect. Note: there are special rules for combining independent clauses, which I discuss in my entry on comma splices.

Compound-Complex Sentences: A compound-complex sentence combines two or more independent clauses with one or more dependent clauses – “I write, and I drink coffee, while I sit at the computer.”

Conclusion

There is a time and a place for each of these, and good writers vary their sentence construction. A piece of writing consisting entirely of simple sentences would become tedious and repetitive, while one consisting entirely of compound-complex sentences would get confusing.

Introduction

In the previous entry, I went over some tips and guidelines for avoiding “hit and run” quotations. As promised, in this second part I will demonstrate how you can put these tips into practice. Let us first imagine a scenario in which we are writing an essay arguing that Charles Darwin’s theories of evolution are not threatening to Christian beliefs.

We come across an essay, “Was Charles Darwin and Atheist?” by John van Wyhe, which argues that Darwin may not have been as much an atheist as people sometimes think, and we want to use it to support our argument.

What to Quote?

We could pull a number of passages from van Whye’s article to support our point. The important thing is that we pick a passage that we feel confident about so that we can work it in clearly and discuss it intelligently. For the sake of example, I have selected the following quotation to use:

“Darwin, it was believed, had simply discovered a new law of nature designed by God.”

I will elaborate on my own reasoning for selecting this quotation as I discuss in the next sections how to integrate it.

Direct Quotation or Paraphrase?

The above quotation follows a lengthy discussion of how Darwin’s contemporaries received his ideas. We do not need to repeat van Whye’s original wording verbatim, though, as that would likely break the flow of our own essay and then bore or confuse our readers.

We should thus paraphrase enough of the original language to provide context for our selected quotation, which is the main point we want the reader to absorb.

Cuing the Reader

Since we are using this quotation as an expert opinion to support our own argument, we must first set up van Whye’s credentials. Then, after establishing context through paraphrase as we just discussed, we can then integrate the quotation using a lead-in phrase.

In this case, I will use the paraphrase as part of the lead-in, but you can see other examples in the previous post. Finally, remember to explain the importance of the quotation afterwards. The finished example might look like this:

An essay by John van Whye, a Senior Lecturer at the National University of Singapore and author of four books on Darwin, supports my point that Darwin’s theory of evolution does not threaten Christianity. In his second paragraph, after providing information about how Darwin’s contemporaries understood evolution, van Whye concludes, “Darwin, it was believed, had simply discovered a new law of nature designed by God.” Christians today can thus use a similar premise to accept the theory of evolution without it threatening their core beliefs.[1]

Introduction

One of the biggest problems I encounter in student papers is the “hit and run” quotation, in which the words of another author suddenly appear without warning and then just as suddenly disappear. Plunking a random quotation into your essay might satisfy assignment requirements, but the end result is both confusing and boring to read. I plan to address this problem in two parts: Part 1 will provide some tips on avoiding “hit and run” quotations; Part 2 will demonstrate these tips through examples.

What to Quote?

First, put some thought into your selection of quotations. The better you understand why you are using a quotation, the easier you will find it to integrate in a way that keeps your paper flowing smoothly. Here are some occasions when it is useful to quote another source:

·       The source provides an expert opinion or reliable data

·       The source articulates important concepts or theories

·       The source exemplifies commonly held opinions and beliefs

Note that these can be used both positively and negatively; that is, you may bring up the ideas of a respected author, or a popular opinion to reinforce your own stance on controversial issues, or to give you something to argue against.

Direct Quotation or Paraphrase?

It is almost always better to paraphrase than to provide a direct quotation. Paraphrasing not only improves the flow of your essay, but it demonstrates that you understand the ideas that you are referencing. Direct quotations work best when you cannot find better words to articulate the words of the original author, or when you need to draw attention to the exact phrasing of the original. Remember, though, that the rules for citation apply equally for paraphrases and direct quotation, and should be adhered to in order to prevent plagiarism.[1]

Cuing the Reader

To help guide your reader, sandwich quotations between explanations of their significance. Before introducing a quotation, if you can reasonably assume your audience has not heard of the person you are quoting, explain who they are and why their opinion matters. When providing the actual quotation, lead into it with a brief introductory phrase. For example:

·       According to [Author], “…”

·       Further support for my point comes from [Author], who says “…”

In addition to introducing a quotation, be sure to explain its significance after it appears. Some introductory phrases even help set up further elaboration:

·       Although [Author] says that, “…,” I believe, “…”

·       As demonstrated by [Author’s] claim that, “…,” people often believe, “…”

Elaborate for at least a sentence or two on how the passage helps to support your point, or on why you disagree. In the case of a direct quotation, do your best to articulate its significance in your own words, or elaborate on the significance of the original language.

In this series, we will attempt to provide general information that should apply to most graduate students, particularly in the United States and Canada. While there are some differences in terminology between the UK and the US, most everything else applies on both sides of the Atlantic.

Planning

I can’t stress this enough: Planning is one of the most important aspects of your project! I was advised to use a Gantt chart to track progress and not lose sight of specific deadlines. There was, indeed, something reassuring about being able to visualize my course of action, and while I ultimately had to make some adjustments to the timeline, I still managed to submit the electronic file by the deadline.

The entire process of writing the thesis or dissertation breaks down into eight stages, from inception to completion:

1.     Formulating a topic

2.     Preparing the proposal

3.     Conducting your research

4.     Writing

5.     Submitting to committee for revisions, edits, advice

6.     Revising

7.     Final editing, format check

8.     Submission

Your supervisor or director should be able to give you some guidance as to the time it takes, but you should set firm but realistic objectives in terms of how much time steps 3 and 4 will take.

Steps 5 and 6 may require more than one trip around the committee and director - in fact, you should plan on it and budget an appropriate amount of time. If you set aside extra time and find that you don’t need it, you are ahead of the game and can work diligently on revisions and final edits.

Note: If you are planning to hire an editor to assist you, it is advisable to have a contract in place before you begin writing, especially if writing has never been one of your strengths. You need to have a good rapport with your editor as you might need to turn to them often for writing advice.

Don’t rush Stage 1

Some scholars approach the thesis or dissertation knowing exactly what they want to pursue and they have a fairly good idea of how to go about doing the research, and some scholars start the process and realize they’re not prepared in terms of their topic or research strategy. I made the rookie mistake of asking a professor I liked if she would direct my thesis without knowing what, exactly, I wanted to write about.

Our first meeting ended up being more of a confessional about what I didn’t know than what I did know. Not having a clear idea of the direction in which I wanted to take my research resulted in a longer process with more revisions than I had planned, simply because I hadn’t taken a few things into consideration. 

This self-assessment from the University of British Columbia (Vancouver) can help you pinpoint areas that need attention when you plan. Remember, you are doing a self-assessment here so be honest about where you stand.

Ask yourself:

1.     My supervisor supports my pursuit of research in this area. ____ Yes, it’s me ____ No, it’s not me

2.     I am familiar with other research that has been conducted in areas related to my research project. ____ Yes, it’s me ____ No, it’s not me

3.     I have a clear topic in mind. ____ Yes, it’s me ____ No, it’s not me

4.     I have a clear understanding of the steps to follow in conducting my research. ____ Yes, it’s me ____ No, it’s not me

5.     I feel that I have the ability (e.g., technical skills) to get through each of the steps necessary to complete my research project. ____ Yes, it’s me ____ No, it’s not me

6.     I know that I am motivated and have the drive to get through all the steps in the research project. ____ Yes, it’s me ____ No, it’s not me

Once you establish the areas you need to work on, and you have a clear idea of your topic and research strategy, you can move on to Step 2.

 In this series, we will attempt to provide general information that should apply to most graduate students, particularly in the United States. While there are some differences in terminology between the UK and the US, most everything else applies on both sides of the Atlantic.

The Thesis vs the Dissertation

In the United States, a thesis is the final research paper for the master’s degree. It showcases research the scholar has undertaken and demonstrates their knowledge of their chosen major. A dissertation, on the other hand, must contribute something original, or something previously undiscovered, to the field of study. Outside the United States, the terms “thesis” and “dissertation” are interchangeable. In the UK, for example, the thesis is written for the PhD and EngD, and for research-based master’s degrees. The term “dissertation,” on the other hand, can describe either a paper written for the master’s level major project or a research project for an undergraduate (bachelor’s) degree.

Declare your intent

Every student must face the realization that it is time to graduate and move on. It comes upon some of us a little later than others, and there’s no shame in that, but when your friends start to move on to teaching positions or post-doctoral work and you haven’t started your research yet, it’s time to seek out a director and committee.

You may or may not have an idea of what you want to write about, and you may end up with a topic somewhat different than the one you have in mind when you and your director first meet.

Format

Often overlooked at first, format is just as important as your premise and proof. Each university has its own requirements that usually coincide with the style requirements of the field of study (MLA and APA are the two most common).

From the front page to the Works Cited and Bibliography, attention to formatting while you work on your document will ultimately save you time and headaches when the formatting committee rejects your manuscript.

This is where students who have their manuscripts professionally edited can save some money. Formatting errors take time to fix and add to the overall cost of the job. If your manuscript is formatted according to your institution’s requirements and your style work is impeccable, an editor won’t have to do many corrections.

What’s my topic?

You should have a general idea of what you would like to focus on as your topic. You needn’t be specific at this point; as stated above, you and your director or research supervisor should meet to discuss some of the burning issues in your field of study.

Keep a journal of your ideas or at the very least write them down. Let them marinate for a bit as more parts become clear to you and know that everything can be reworked and revised if you hit a dead end or if your research does not end up supporting your thesis.

This is why meetings with your supervisor are important because they can keep you on task and provide clarity when things get muddled (and they will).

Here are some points to consider when planning your topic:

Can it be enthusiastically pursued?

Will it sustain your interest?

Is the problem solvable?

Is it worth doing?

Will it lead to other research problems?

Is it manageable in size?

What is the potential for making an original contribution to the literature?

Will the research prepare you in an area of demand or promise for the future?

Introduction

Perhaps you received a graded paper with instructions not to use the passive voice, and are not entirely sure what that means. Oftentimes, professors – especially those in the humanities – prefer that students use the active voice almost exclusively to the passive.

In short, active and passive voice have to do with the relationship between subject, action, and object in a sentence. Both ways, the meaning of the sentence remains essentially the same, but the difference in emphasis can lead to slightly different interpretations.

Subject, Action, Object

Although some might find this surprising, many students do not understand the fundamental rules of sentence construction. Every sentence must have at minimum a subject and an action.

For example, one of the shortest verses in The Bible, “Jesus wept” (John 11:35), is a complete sentence because it contains a subject (Jesus) and an action (wept). Furthermore, this sentence has an unstated object. What did Jesus weep? Tears. Tears are the object that Jesus wept.

In active voice, we find a direct progression between subject, action, and object, whereas in the passive voice we flip the order around. Thus, the previous example employs active voice:

            Jesus (subject) wept (action) tears (object).

To employ passive voice, we reverse the order, turning the object into the subject and vice versa:

            Tears (subject) were wept (action) by Jesus (object).

Note the additions made when converting to passive voice: a helping verb, “were,” and the preposition, “by.” These are the telltale signs that you are dealing with passive voice.

Be careful, though, as students often make the mistake of associating any use of a helping very with passive voice, but sometimes the helping verb needs to be there to establish tense.

For example, “Jesus has wept” is not an example of passive voice, nor is “Jesus is weeping” as the helping verbs in both merely indicate when the action occurred. Generally, look for the word “by” to establish the passive voice, although this word is sometimes only implied, as in the passive construction, “Tears were wept.”

Why does it Matter?

The preference for active voice is largely stylistic – fewer words are used and the progression from subject directly to object leads to clearer meaning. This preference is strongest in the humanities and social sciences – particularly in the field of business – in which human subjects take priority over non-human objects.

However, the passive voice is less of a problem in fields such as engineering where a person might be of less importance than the process or technology that person is using.

Finally, you may occasionally want to use the passive voice to downplay emphasis or responsibility, especially if you leave the object implied. For example, compare the difference between “I lost your money,” and the “The money was lost.”

What is a comma splice?

One of the most common errors that I mark on student papers is the comma splice, which happens when the writer joins two independent clauses – i.e., complete sentences – with only a comma. Like many writing errors, the comma splice was not a term

I recognized before I started teaching English, and I often encounter limited recognize of the term outside of teaching circles. Not even my parents, who have worked as teachers, librarians, and editors, recognized the term when I mentioned it to them.

I suspect, though, that – much like pornography – they would recognize the offense when they saw it, as will many other educated readers.

To be fair, the comma splice is largely a stylistic error and one that I frequently see overlooked in commercial prose, especially in fiction. It sometimes even brings a bit of fluidity and grace to a text, transitioning between two distinct statements with only a slight glissando.

Nevertheless, comma splices more often appear sloppy, making the connection between statements fuzzy and unclear. The fixes for a comma splice are also quite simple to make, so even though it is a minor error it is a good one to work on avoiding.

How do I fix a comma splice?

To fix a comma splice, employ one of the three following techniques:

Change the comma-fused sentence into two separate sentences (note: this also works with so-called “run-on” or fused sentences, which are not to be confused with overly long sentences).

Change the comma into a semi-colon.

Add a conjunction after the comma.

To illustrate, here is an example of a comma splice:

“I was excited to begin working on the essay, I went home and immediately wrote a draft.”

While the comma splice does capture the excitement of the speaker, who simply cannot wait long enough to pause fully between clauses, it violates standard conventions of English.

Removing the comma does not help, as this creates a fused – or “run-on” – sentence, a more egregious error. One should only join independent clauses using the previously mentioned techniques. To illustrate:

Convert to two sentences: “I was excited to begin working on the essay. I went home and immediately wrote a draft.”

Use a semi-colon: “I was excited to begin working on the essay; I went home and immediately wrote a draft.”

Add a conjunction: “I was excited to begin working on the essay, so I went home and immediately wrote a draft.”

Of these three, the latter two are preferable. There is nothing wrong with the first, but it is a bit clunky and boring, without establishing a clear relationship between ideas.

The semi-colon establishes the slightness of the pause between ideas that the comma splice also conveyed, while adhering to conventional standards of English. The conjunction “so” is perhaps a little less poetic, but creates a clear, logical transition between ideas.

It’s thesis or dissertation time. You’ve been a diligent graduate student, working tirelessly into the night or during the wee hours of the morning, watching the sun rise through the library windows. We can sympathize. We’ve been there. We remember furiously typing up pages and pages of notes, filling the white void on the screen before us with black characters that bear out the One Universal Truth that we must defend: the thesis statement.

We know you have read, revised, submitted, revised with your director and committee’s suggestions and corrections, and resubmitted yet again. If you are lucky, you will get encouraging feedback, with minimal corrections for grammar and style, or a simple note to proofread carefully.

If you’re not adept at writing, though, the document you receive back from the round of committee readings may be awash in red - or Microsoft Word’s equivalent of an angry red pen wielded by your scary high school English teacher. Oh, the shame. Oh, the frustration.

What’s a grad student to do? Hire a pro?

Why yes, that’s exactly what should happen, and what does happen, like clockwork, depending on the university’s term system, every time it churns out another cap-and-gowned batch of newly-minted masters and doctors. So if, at this point, you are asking yourself: “should I?” The answer is definitely yes. For three good reasons:

1.      A second (or third) set of eyes will pick up any errors you missed.

There is a curious process that occurs when we make simple errors like typos or errors in spelling or usage. When we re-read, our brain doesn’t always pick up on those errors because they are registered in short-term memory and so the eye tends to scan past it because the brain registers your input as “correct.” This is why it is necessary to get a “second set of eyes” - a willing friend or professional editor - to help you proofread your work.

This simple step can help you avoid many errors Word misses, such as “to” for “too” or “there” for “their.” And while a willing friend is good to have, and they can usually be paid in pizza or beer, they have to have a pretty decent grasp of writing to be effective. If they don’t know their “there” from their “their,” you’re not any further ahead.

This is why people pay professionals. We not only know our “are” from our “our,” but we know where those tricky semicolons go, where to close a quote, and how to flag a missing citation. A good friend may or may not be invested in your success either, depending on how hungry or thirsty they are; but a paid editor wants to make sure you get the best return on your investment, not to mention the warm feeling we get when a customer gives us a favorable review and word-of-mouth business.

2.      A professionally-edited thesis or dissertation can often mean the gain of at least one grade point.

The myriad differences between English and other world languages means that students whose first language is not English are sometimes required by their departments to have their work professionally edited before submission. The boom in enrollments by students from China and the Middle East translates to students who arrive at American and European universities under-prepared in terms of written English.

3.      Stop worrying and be brilliant!

Knowing that you can hire someone to fix any errors frees you up to concentrate on the content of your thesis and leave the style to an expert. Imagine knowing that there is an editor out there who, once your manuscript is in their capable hands, will fix your margins, make sure your paragraphs are all indented properly, and round up some pesky run-on sentences. An editor will also tell you whether or not your work makes sense and point out inconsistencies in logic.

So how much will it cost me?

The cost depends on a few factors, but you can expect to spend from $750 to $1800, while a PhD dissertation can run between $1,800 and $3,600. In fact, you should beware of any service that charges anything less than $300 per 10,000 words. These are usually freelance “mills” that farm work out to the lowest bidder, who is often not a native English speaker, and probably hasn't ever edited an academic piece before.

Further, we realize that graduate students are strapped for cash, yet the cost of a professional edit of the culmination of your hard work is as much a part of your university investment as books and lab fees. (I mention this because I was once upbraided by an impoverished and probably weary graduate student on Reddit for seeking to profit from the poverty-stricken.)

That being said, we charge anywhere from USD 300 per 10,000 words for simple proofreading and formatting. If a full edit is needed (and this includes correcting mistakes in spelling and grammar, formatting the thesis to departmental requirements, rewriting poorly worded or ambiguous sentences, pointing out factual errors, and checking that referencing is correct) the price can be much higher.

Congratulations, soon-to-be graduate! Your years of graduate-level research are drawing to a close and it is time to plan your exit. The only obstacle standing in your way is that Master's thesis. You have made notes on your theories, crafted the thesis statement, assembled your sources and notecards, and you've written the draft mostly in your head. Now what?

 Students tell us horror stories:  academic departments that do not provide adequate information about writing the thesis, or their professors have essentially tossed them into the deep end of the pool, assuming they will sink or swim.  

We also have clients who have been waiting years to finish their Master's theses and finally get the degree they started. For whatever reason, these clients left academia to pursue full time jobs, and raise families and come to us when they are ready to start their first thesis semester. They know that they have been outside the academe long enough to be a little rusty when it comes to recalling things like style and format.

So whether you are simply rusty, or are saddled with a MP or committee chair who is just too busy to offer some basic advice, here are five tips to help keep your thesis writing process running smoothly:

 It is always a good idea to check with your school's department of graduate studies to find out their exact requirements for submitting your thesis. American and European universities, for the most part, follow Electronic Thesis and Dissertation submission guidelines, developed by the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD), and each university

  Make sure you are intimate with Microsoft Word's functions, especially when it comes to creating section breaks and, subsequently, tables of contents, and customizing styles.

Save, save, save! Since you will write multiple versions of your original draft, make sure you save your work often. Never assume that you will dodge a power outage, surge, or lightning strike, even if it's a cloudless day and your electric bill is paid up. Also, create a system for saving successive drafts: use a number sequence for each file name. For example: "Mfarquahar_Thesis_v1.1," "Mfarquahar_Thesis_v1.2," etc. This will help immensely if you need to go retrieve something you removed in editing, only to discover later that you needed it after all.

Absolutely keep copies of your drafts in more than one place. Keeping all your work on one hard drive, whether it be PC or laptop, is foolhardy. Murphy's Law requires a hard drive to fail moments before the final draft is finished and if you are not working in the Cloud, you will have lost all that work

Finally, utilize a Cloud-based retrieval service like Google Docs or Dropbox or Microsoft's OneDrive so you can share and edit no matter where you may find yourself. Editing on your tablet or phone may not be optimum, but if you are pressed for time with a deadline looming, you can make good use of time spent waiting for auto service or in a physician's office.

Rhetorical analysis papers are a common type of assignment for college writing classes, although many new students find they have not encountered anything like it before. I always tell students that the main thing to remember for a rhetorical analysis paper is not so much what the author is saying, but why and how the author is saying it.

The risk students run, when writing these kinds of papers, is that they never get beyond a simple summary. It’s not enough to note that the author gets emotional or that he lists numbers to back his point. You need to pay attention to the ways that the author uses emotional language to stir similar feelings in the reader, uses numbers to provide overwhelming evidence, or cites credible sources to support claims.

Typically, when analyzing an author’s rhetoric, we refer to his use of logos, pathos, and ethos. Put simply, logos addresses logical appeals, pathos addresses emotional appeals, and ethos addresses appeals to credibility. The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle believed that these three appeals formed the basis of effective arguments, illustrating their mutually supportive roles as a triangle:

When writing your paper, a very simple way to approach it is to use the five-paragraph model (introduction, three body paragraphs, conclusion). You can use the introduction to introduce briefly the original essay and three rhetorical techniques you see the author using to persuade his audience. Then, each body paragraph will expand on one of these three techniques. The most basic approach would be to have one paragraph each for the author’s use of logos, pathos, and ethos.

Alternatively, you could organize each paragraph around a passage you found noteworthy. Either way, you need to provide plenty of textual evidence to support the claims you make about the author’s use of rhetoric.

Be warned, though, that many college professors dislike the five-paragraph model, so you may need to do more to impress her enough to get an “A”. In my own classes, a paper that stuck to the above template might not earn more than a “C” for adequately meeting expectations.

Ultimately, the devil is in the details. Provide quotations, but more importantly be sure to elaborate on why these quotations are significant in your own words. College professors love papers in which students go on and on about an author’s use of language, so keep milking those quotations until you cannot find anything more to say about them.

As we learn more about the relationship between gendered language and power, and as we increasingly understand gender itself as something fluid and complex, we face uncertainty over which pronouns to use in our writing to avoid alienating our readers. Although the topic of avoiding gender bias in language can be complicated, here are a few tips to keep in mind:

Never simply default to “he” to refer to a person in general

Defaulting to “he” to refer to a person in general is arbitrary and privileges masculine identity. We can and should move away from this practice. If you do not believe me, then you should at least be mindful that many influential people do and retaining this use of “he” risks alienating those readers. Here are some alternatives and their potential advantages and disadvantages:

Default to “she” instead, or alternative between “he” and “she” – this might earn you points with some readers, and it does redress the balance. On the other hand, doing so is no less arbitrary than deferring only to “he” and alternating between the two might be distracting and draw attention to your efforts to go out of your way to avoid gender bias.

Default to “he or she” – this is a little more consistent, but can also be unwieldy, drawing attention to self-conscious efforts to avoid gender bias.

Default to “one” – this is the most gender-neutral and grammatically correct option, although it might appear overly formal.

Never use “you” to refer to a person in general

Unless you are writing instructions or advice, do not use “you” to refer to a person in general.

Never assume a gendered pronoun

Not all nurses are women. Not all executives are men.

“They,” “them,” and “their” are plural pronouns

People often resort to plural pronouns such as “they,” “them,” or “their” to refer to a person in general. While this use avoids gender bias, it can also create grammar errors. If you want to use a plural pronoun to avoid gender bias, consider rewriting your sentence. For example:

Singular – A reader (antecedent) who fancies himself (pronoun) progressive might take offense at gendered language.

Plural – Readers (antecedent) who fancy themselves (pronoun) progressive might take offense at gendered language.

Nonetheless, use of plural pronouns to refer to an ungendered, single person has become common enough practice that we often overlook it, and many linguists even condone this use as part of the evolution of the English language. In fact, “they” often sounds more natural than “he or she,” or “one.” Just be aware that your reader might take more offense from grammar errors than gender-specific language.

A note on new words

You may have come across new words intended to replace gender-specific ones, such as the following: