It’s very common for students to use long words they don’t understand very well in their essays and theses because they have a certain idea of what academic writing should be. Many students believe that academic writing is wordy and convoluted, and uses a lot of jargon. This leads many students to fall into a
Writing your thesis is taxing as it is; and formatting your thesis to make it look neat and consistent is an essential, but often tedious (and sometimes, confusing) part of the thesis-writing process. Good thing Microsoft Word has Styles—a feature that makes formatting much quicker and less complicated. But what exactly is a style? It
Definition of heading A heading is a short phrase describing what the succeeding section is all about. You can think of it as the title of that particular section. Short documents usually do not require the use of headings. For theses and other complex readings, however, headings are important because they help readers identify the
First, let us define the terms Abbreviation, Acronym and Initialism. According to merriam-webster.com, abbreviation is ‘a shortened form of a written word or phrase used in place of the whole,’ while acronym is ‘a word (as NATO, radar, or laser) formed from the initial letter or letters of each of the successive parts or major
Since theses are usually built on original research conducted by the PhD candidate, many researchers need to collect a large amount of data—both qualitative and quantitative—to meet the requirements of their doctoral studies. With the ability to connect to thousands—even, potentially, millions—of people via the Internet, in some ways there has never been a better
Completing a PhD thesis is, in many respects, a solo endeavour; nevertheless, the PhD is a guided academic journey and your guide—the thesis supervisor or supervisors—plays a vital role in that voyage. Whether you are in the process of approaching potential academic supervisors, have recently started your project with a new supervisor or have a
I can hear the protests from here. ‘But I’m so busy! I can’t possibly maintain a blog! I want to get away from my thesis, not dwell on it in my down time!’ And they are all fair objections. Download our quick guide to starting your own blog using the social buttons below Writing a
Plan your Writing Good planning is an essential part of tight academic writing. Some of the benefits include: a clear idea of the purpose of each section of your document greater directness, brought on by greater confidence in your purpose in writing improved control over your word count lower risk of including extraneous information. Stick
The human brain is a funny thing. Even when we have a great reason to do something—a clean house, money, more free time, better health, greater knowledge—we somehow find ways to procrastinate and dawdle, preferring the easier but less preferable present to the more difficult but more rewarding future. Writing a thesis is much the
A shortened phrase is an abbreviation of a group of words form a phrase or name that have been contracted for ease of writing. They are especially useful in essays and theses that repeat the same phrase or name many times. Understanding their correct usage can help avoid errors and confusion, and add to
