main principles of writing a doctoral thesis in english or how to write ”real good”

Main principles of writing a doctoral thesis in English

orHow to write ”real good”

© Donald J. N. Smart How to write "real good" 2

What we’re going to look at

• The Writing Process

• What to aim for when you write

• Writing at the Paragraph Level

• Writing at the Document Level

• Revision of the Manuscript

• Some Tips on How to Write “Real Good”


The Writing Process (1)

• What method do you use when you start do write?

• The personal approach– Asking questions such as:

– Why am I doing this?

– What is the problem etc?

• The list-maker's approach– Write an outline

– Expand the outline

• The "moonshine" method (involves distillation)


The Writing Process (2)

• Writing always involves the following cycle• Write

• Read

• Discard some

• Write again

• Read

• Discard some more etc. (5x, 10x, 20x YMMV)


Good Writing (1)

• On good writing, Sir Peter Medawar wrote:

• Brevity,

• cogency (convincing reasoning)

• and clarity

• are the principal virtues and the greatest of these is clarity


What to aim for when you write (2)

• People who write obscurely :– are either unskilled in writing– or up to some mischief


What to aim for when you write (3)

• Some cultural differences between Finns writing in Finnish and Speakers of English writing in English– Native Speakers of English write English with a

respect for a reader’s time– Native Finns write Finnish with a respect for a

reader’s intelligence– Please write with respect for a reader’s time


The Paragraph Level (1)

• Every paragraph you write should have the following features:– It should only express one idea or theme– It should start with a sentence which clearly

states this idea– It should be coherent– It should contain variation



• Every paragrah should only express one idea or theme– The main sentence of a paragraph is known as

the topic sentence• It usually comes first in the paragraph

• The topic sentence can be supported by other secondary sentences



• Every paragraph should be coherent– Paragraphs should have ordered patterns, i. e:

• An enumerative pattern (first, second, etc)

• A chronological pattern (on the first day, on the second day etc)

• A spatial pattern

• A logical pattern

• A general-to-particular pattern

• Etc



• Every paragraph should contain variation– You can achieve this by

• Varying the length and structure of your sentences

• Using the stronger active voice rather than the passive (more on that later)

• Putting the more important words at the beginning or end of the sentence



• It is important to make smooth transitions between sentences in paragraphs– To do this, use some of the following

transitional words

in additionon the other hand

likewisethen



• An example of a good paragraphThe town's traffic problems are appalling. For a start/First/To begin with the town lies on a major commercial route. Second/Next/In addition, it generates its own rush-hour traffic. Moreover/Furthermore it is near enough to London to be caught by the capitals weekend traffic. Anyway/Besides/In any case the narrow streets were not built for today's cars and lorries. Thus/Altogether action is urgently needed.

Topic sentence


The Document Level

• A thesis usually has the following sections:– Abstract– Introduction– Materials and Methods– Results– Discussion– References


Revision of the Manuscript (1)

• When you check your completed thesis:– Revise for content– Revise for clarity– Revise for completeness– Revise for conciseness



• Points you should look for when revising for content:– Does every sentence say something?– Are you too caution when you draw

conclusions?• It is quite usual to show uncertainity about some of

your findings, but don’t overdo it!

– Look out for ambiguous sentences



• Points you should look for when revising for clarity:– Does every sentence say what you want it to

say?



• Points you should look for when revising for completeness:– Make sure that your every thought is complete– Can any of your pronouns be confused as to

what they refer to?– Look out for sentences where the reader might

have problems interpreting what you mean



• Points you should look for when revising for conciseness:– Throw out phrases such as:

• It should be noted that

• It is interesting to note that

– Throw out unnecessary prepositions– Do not overuse the passive



• Use of the passive voice:– Writers should use the active voice when

possible, because:• The active voice gets you closer to your readers

• You use fewer words when you write using the passive



• Use of the passive voice:– However, you may still use the passive for the

following:• To get more variety in your writing

• For situations where you don’t want to be identified as the culprit



• Beware of spell checkers:• Look at this paragraph which would have gone

through a spell checker unchanged, and remember to never depend totally on a spell checker!

I rote a text witch I ran threw a spelling checker. Sins their where know mistakes in the hole paper, it must bee perfect. I sawed the fail on may computer and I can use it whenever I wont two shoe that I can right good English.


How to Write “Real Good” (1)

• Watch out for articles (a, an, the and Ø)– This is hard because the rules for the use of

articles in English are so difficult to formulate– The situation is so bad that over the last ten

years, there have been at least four Ph.D’s at the English Department of Helsinki University on the use of articles in English


Flow Chart for ArticlesENTER

NOUN

Does this noun nave a unique referent?

no(2,3)

Is it a countable noun?

no(2)

Use no article

yes (3)

(solar energy)

yes (1)

Use the*

(the continuing depletion of domestic fossil fuels)

Is it singular? Use a or an (an important part of these descisions).

yes (3)

1. continuing depletion of domestic fossil fuels2. solar energy3. important part of these decisions

Use no article

no

*Or a demonstrative adjective (usually (this or these) under certain special conditions .

FIGURE 18-2 Use of ½ow chart for choosing the correct article.



• Watch out for American and British Spelling– Even though the Americans are taking over

everything in the world these days, apart from making efficient voting machines

– The British still hold on to their way of spelling words

– So• Use either one of the other forms in your thesis



• Bone up on the rules for the use of punctuation in English

• The English comma is particularly difficult to pin down.

• Spend some time with the rules or lack of rules for it



• Beware of typical Finnish errors in English, such as:

• “Shortly”, when the writer means “briefly”

• “On the other hand” and “on the other hand”



• Avoid alliteration. Always.

• Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.

• Avoid clichés like the plague. (They're old hat.)

• Employ the vernacular.

• Eschew ampersands & abbreviations,



• Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary.

• It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.

• Contractions aren't necessary.

• Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.

• One should never generalize.



• Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know."

• Comparisons are as bad as clichés.

• Don't be redundant; don't use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous.

• Be more or less specific.



• Understatement is always best.

• One-word sentences? Eliminate.

• Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.

• The passive voice is to be avoided.

• Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.



• Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed

• Who needs rhetorical questions?

• Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.



• Finally, pay no regard to that well known mathematician and cabaret artist, Tom Lehrer when he says in his song, Lobachevsky:

I am never forget the day I first meet the great Lochevsky.

In one word he told me secret of success in mathematics:Plagiarize!


Happy Writing: “Real Good”

• That’s all from me

Donald Smart

email: [email protected]

main principles of writing a doctoral thesis in english or how to write ”real good”

Documents

real good slide

paragraph level writing

sentence slide

clarity slide

variation slide

real good5 good writing

real good3

real good9