THESIS, DISSERTATION, AND RELATED WRITING Standards

 

 
  Over the course of a number of years, it has become apparent that efforts by students in thesis, dissertation, and related writing are made more painful than necessary because of poor planning and organization. This pain is felt by the student, the advisor, and others who review the writing. With this in mind the following assistance is provided. By following these recommendations the writing process should become more palatable to all involved. In addition, it should improve writing quality. 
 
Things to Remember
 
- Quality, not quantity is the objective.
 
-  Scientific writing eliminates personal style; scientific writing should all be the same. “Save
your unique and creative personal writing style for your next novel.” (Zale)
 
-  The best writing cannot mask a poorly designed, executed, or analyzed study.
 
-  “He got a great name, among the weak-witted, especially by reason of obscurity of his
language, for fools admire and love such things as are wrapt in dubious phrase.” (Lucretius
2060 BP) 
 
-  “An honest tale speeds best being plainly told.” (Shakespeare)
 
-  “If you want to make a reviewer (or advisor) angry do not organize, do not follow the correct
format, do not edit, do not number pages, and do not pay attention to detail.” (Scalet)
 
-  “The use of language is all we have to pit against death and silence.” (Oates)
 
-  In other words, write plainly and concisely. There is no reason to say in 25 words what you can say succinctly in 10. There is no reason to put the subject at the end of a sentence. There is no reason for obtuse sentence structure. “Every sentence must be drafted carefully, then revised, prodded, expanded, slashed, kicked, worried over, and polished until it is a thing of impeccable beauty – and even then it should always be subject to further manipulation.” (Sindermann)
 
-  Do not burden a reviewer with mechanical writing errors. Mechanics are your responsibility, others should not have to edit your carelessness.
 
-  Remember that verb tense in your thesis, dissertation, or other scientific writing falls into two general categories. If it is an existing condition or common knowledge, it is in the present tense (e.g., The largemouth bass is a centrarchid.). If it refers to work you (this includes data 
 
1
Great assistance was provided by a handout that had no listed author.    in the paper you are writing) or someone else has done, it is in the past tense (e.g., Jones (1982) found largemouth bass in three areas.).
 
-  A “first draft” does not represent the first time you have written something. It represents the first time you believe the material is ready for someone else to read and critically review. In reality the “first draft” may be your 5th, 6th, or more attempt at writing a particular document.  #p#分页标题#e#
 
-  Never agree to review writing for someone unless you are willing to really “critically” review the document.
 
-  Be consistent in your writing.
 
-  Recognize that periods and commas are not the only forms of punctuation. Colons, semicolons, dashes, etc. can be useful forms, but know how to correctly use them. 
 
-  There are specific page margins, table formats, etc. expected by the Graduate School and other publication outlets. It is your responsibility to know their requirements and all such requirements should be followed on the “first draft.”  
 
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