Getting
Started
When you are about to begin, writing a thesis seems a long,
difficult task. That is because it is a long, difficult task.
Fortunately, it will seem less daunting once you have a couple
of chapters done. Towards the end, you will even find yourself
enjoying it---an enjoyment based on satisfaction in the achievement,
pleasure in the improvement in your technical writing, and of
course the approaching end. Like many tasks, thesis writing
usually seems worst before you begin, so let us look at how
you should make a start.
An outline
First make up a thesis outline: several pages containing chapter
headings, sub-headings, some figure titles (to indicate which
results go where) and perhaps some other notes and comments.
There is a section on chapter order and thesis structure at
the end of this text. Once you have a list of chapters and,
under each chapter heading, a reasonably complete list of things
to be reported or explained, you have struck a great blow against
writer's block. When you sit down to type, your aim is no longer
a thesis -a daunting goal- but something simpler. Your new aim
is just to write a paragraph or section about one of your subheadings.
It helps to start with an easy one: this gets you into the habit
of writing and gives you self-confidence. Often the Materials
and Methods chapter is the easiest to write -just write down
what you did-; carefully, formally and in a logical order.
How do you make an outline of a chapter? For most of them, you
might try the method that is usually used for writing papers:
assemble all the figures that you will use in it and put them
in the order that you would use if you were going to explain
to someone what they all meant. You might as well rehearse explaining
it to someone else -after all you will probably give several
talks based on your thesis work-. Once you have found the most
logical order, note down the key words of your explanation.
These key words provide a skeleton for much of your chapter
outline.
Once you have an outline, discuss it with your Thesis Director.
This step is important: s/he will have useful suggestions, but
it also serves notice that s/he can expect a steady flow of
chapter drafts that will make high priority demands on his/her
time. Once you and your Director have agreed on a logical structure,
s/he will need a copy of this outline for reference when reading
the chapters which you will probably present out of order. If
you have a co-Director, discuss the outline with him/her as
well, and present all chapters to both Directors for comments.
Organization
It is encouraging and helpful to start a filing system. Open
a word-processor file for each chapter and one for the references.
You can put notes in these files, as well as text. While doing
something for Chapter n, you will think "Oh I must refer
back to/discuss this in Chapter m" and so you put a note
to do so in the file for Chapter m. Or you may think of something
interesting or relevant for that chapter. When you come to work
on Chapter m, the more such notes you have accumulated, the
easier it will be to write.
Make a back-up of these files and do so every day at least (depending
on the reliability of your computer and the age of your disk
drive). Do not keep back-up disks close to the computer in case
the hypothetical thief who fancies your computer decides that
s/he could use some disks as well.
A simple way of making a remote back-up is to send it as an
email attachment to a consenting email correspondent, preferably
one in a different location. You could even send it to yourself
if your server saves your mail (in some email packages like
Eudora this is an optional setting). In either case, be careful
to dispose of superseded versions so that you don't waste disk
space, especially if you have bitmap images or other large files.
You should also have a physical filing system: a collection
of folders with chapter numbers on them. This will make you
feel good about getting started and also help clean up your
desk. Your files will contain not just the plots of results
and pages of calculations, but all sorts of old notes, references,
calibration curves, suppliers' addresses, specifications, speculations,
letters from colleagues etc., which will suddenly strike you
as relevant to one chapter or other. Stick them in that folder.
Then put all the folders in a box or a filing cabinet. As you
write bits and pieces of text, place the hard copy, the figures
etc in these folders as well. Touch them and feel their thickness
from time to time -ah, the thesis is taking shape-.
If any of your data exist only on paper, copy them and keep
the copy in a different location. Consider making a copy of
your lab book. This has another purpose beyond security: usually
the lab book stays in the lab, but you may want a copy for your
own future use. Further, scientific ethics require you to keep
lab books and original data for at least ten years, and a copy
is more likely to be found if two copies exist.
While you are getting organized, you should deal with any university
paperwork. Examiners have to be nominated and they have to agree
to serve. Various forms are required by your department and
by the university administration. Make sure that the rate limiting
step is your production of the thesis, and not some minor bureaucratic
problem.
A note about word processors
One of the big FAQs for scientists: is there a word processor,
ideally MS Word or one compatible with MS Word but, for instance,
which allows you to type mathematical symbols and equations
conveniently? One solution is LaTeX, which is powerful, elegant,
reliable, fast and free from http://www.latex-project.org/ or
http://www.miktex.org/. An alternative is to use old versions
of commercial software. Word 5.1 allows equations to be typed
without touching the mouse and is as fast in this respect as
LaTeX, with the added advantage of 'what you see is what you
get'. A search will find sites that provide discontinued software,
but, not knowing whether this is legal or not, it would not
be recommendable to link to them.
Commercial word processors have gradually become bigger, slower,
less reliable and more awkward to use as they acquire more features.
This is a general feature of commercial software and an important
input to the computing industry. If software and operating system
performance did not deteriorate, people would not need to buy
new computers and profits would fall for makers of both hard-
and soft-ware. Software vendors want it to look fancy and obvious
in the demo, and they don't really care about its ease, speed
and reliability to an expert user because the expert user has
already bought it. In our example, it is much faster to type
equations and to do formatting with embedded commands because
you use your fingers independently rather than your hand and
because your fingers don't leave the keyboard. However, click-on
menus, although they are slow and cumbersome when typing, look
easy to use in the shop.
A timetable
We strongly recommend sitting down with the Director and making
up a timetable for writing it: a list of dates for when you
will give the first and second drafts of each chapter to your
Director(s). This structures your time and provides intermediate
targets. If you merely aim "to have the whole thing done
by [some distant date]", you can deceive yourself and procrastinate
more easily. If you have told your Director that you will deliver
a first draft of chapter 3 on Wednesday, it focuses your attention.
You may want to make your timetable into a chart with items
that you can check off as you have finished them. This is particularly
useful towards the end of the thesis when you find there will
be quite a few loose ends here and there.
Iterative solution
Whenever you sit down to write, it is very important to write
something. So write something, even if it is just a set of notes
or a few paragraphs of text that you would never show to anyone
else. It would be nice if clear, precise prose leapt easily
from the keyboard, but it usually does not. Most of us find
it easier, however, to improve something that is already written
than to produce text from nothing. So put down a draft (as rough
as you like) for your own purposes, then clean it up for your
Director to read. Word-processors are wonderful in this regard:
in the first draft you do not have to start at the beginning,
you can leave gaps, you can put in little notes to yourself,
and then you can clean it all up later.
Your Director will expect to read each chapter in draft form.
S/he will then return it to you with suggestions and comments.
Do not be upset if a chapter -specially the first one you write-
returns covered in red ink. Your Director will want your thesis
to be as good as possible, because his/her reputation as well
as yours is affected. Scientific writing is a difficult art,
and it takes a while to learn. As a consequence, there will
be many ways in which your first draft can be improved. So take
a positive attitude to all the scribbles with which your Director
decorates your text: each comment tells you a way in which you
can make your thesis better.
As you write your thesis, your scientific writing is almost
certain to improve. Even for native speakers of English who
write very well in other styles, one notices an enormous improvement
in the first drafts from the first to the last chapter written.
The process of writing the thesis is like a course in scientific
writing, and in that sense each chapter is like an assignment
in which you are taught, but not assessed. Remember, only the
final draft is assessed: the more comments your Director adds
to first or second draft, the better.
Before you submit a draft to your Director, run a spell check
so that s/he does not waste time on those. If you have any characteristic
grammatical failings, check for them.
What is
a thesis? For whom is it written? How should it be written?
Your thesis is a research report. The report concerns a problem
or series of problems in your area of research and it should
describe what was known about it previously, what you did
towards solving it, what you think your results mean, and
where or how further progress in the field can be made. Do
not carry over your ideas from undergraduate assessment: a
thesis is not an answer to an assignment question. One important
difference is this: the reader of an assignment is usually
the one who has set it. S/he already knows the answer (or
one of the answers), not to mention the background, the literature,
the assumptions and theories and the strengths and weaknesses
of them. The readers of a thesis do not know what the "answer"
is. If the thesis is for a PhD, the university requires that
it make an original contribution to human knowledge: your
research must discover something hitherto unknown.
Obviously your examiners will read the thesis. They will be
experts in the general field of your thesis but, on the exact
topic of your thesis, you are the world expert. Keep this
in mind: you should write to make the topic clear to a reader
who has not spent most of the last three years thinking about
it.
Your thesis will also be used as a scientific report and consulted
by future professionals interested in your area of expertise
who will want to know, in detail, what you did. Theses are
occasionally consulted by people from other institutions,
and the library can send microfilm versions if requested (yes,
still). More and more theses are now stored in an entirely
digital form (i.e. the figures as well as the text are on
a disk). A consequence of this is that your thesis can be
consulted much more easily by researchers around the world.
Write with these possibilities in mind.
It is often helpful to have someone other than your Director(s)
read some sections of the thesis, particularly the introduction
and conclusion chapters. It may also be appropriate to ask
other members of staff to read some sections of the thesis
which they may find relevant or of interest, as they may be
able to make valuable contributions. In either case, only
give them revised versions, so that they do not waste time
correcting your grammar, spelling, poor construction or presentation.
How much
detail?
The short answer is: rather more than for a scientific paper.
Once your thesis has been assessed and your friends have read
the first three pages, the only further readers are likely
to be people who are seriously doing research in just that
area. For example, a future research student might be pursuing
the same research and be interested to find out exactly what
you did. For example, in the case of important parts of apparatus,
you should include workshop drawings, circuit diagrams and
computer programs, usually as appendices. (By the way, the
intelligible annotation of programs is about as frequent as
porcine aviation, but it is far more desirable. You wrote
that line of code for a reason: at the end of the line explain
what the reason is.) You have probably read the theses of
previous students in the lab where you are now working, so
you probably know the advantages of a clearly explained, explicit
thesis and/or the disadvantages of a vague one.
Make it clear what is yours
If you use a result, observation or generalization that is
not your own, you must usually state where in the scientific
literature that result is reported. The only exceptions are
cases where every researcher in the field already knows it:
for instance, dynamics equations need not be followed by a
citation of Newton, circuit analysis does not need a reference
to Kirchoff. The importance of this practice in science is
that it allows the reader to verify your starting position.
In many cases, results are built upon results which in turn
are built upon results etc. Good referencing allows us to
check the foundations of your additions to the structure of
knowledge in the discipline, or at least to trace them back
to a level which we judge to be reliable. Good referencing
also tells the reader which parts of the thesis are descriptions
of previous knowledge and which parts are your additions to
that knowledge. In a thesis, written for the general reader
who has little familiarity with the literature of the field,
this should be especially clear. It may seem tempting to leave
out a reference in the hope that a reader will think that
a nice idea or an nice bit of analysis is yours. I advise
against this gamble. The reader will probably think: "What
a nice idea -I wonder if it's original?-". The reader
can probably find out via the library, the net or even just
from a phone call.
If you are writing in the passive voice, you must be more
careful about attribution than if you are writing in the active
voice. "The sample was prepared by heating yttrium..."
does not make it clear whether you did this or whether Acme
Yttrium did it. "I prepared the sample..." is clear.
Style
The text must be clear. Good grammar and thoughtful writing
will make the thesis easier to read. Scientific writing has
to be a little formal---more formal than this text. Native
English speakers should remember that scientific English is
an international language. Slang and informal writing will
be harder for a non-native speaker to understand.
Short, simple phrases and words are often better than long
ones. Some politicians use "at this point in time"
instead of "now" precisely because it takes longer
to convey the same meaning. They do not care about elegance
or efficient communication. You should. On the other hand,
there will be times when you need a complicated sentence because
the idea is complicated. If your primary statement requires
several qualifications, each of these may need a subordinate
clause: "When [qualification], and where [proviso], and
if [condition] then [statement]". Some lengthy technical
words will also be necessary in many theses, particularly
in fields like biochemistry. Do not sacrifice accuracy for
the sake of brevity. "Black is white" is simple
and catchy. An advertising copy writer would love it. "Objects
of very different albedo may be illuminated differently so
as to produce similar reflected spectra" is longer and
uses less common words, but, compared to the former example,
it has the advantage of being true. The longer example would
be fine in a physics thesis because English speaking physicists
will not have trouble with the words. (A PhD candidate who
did not know all of those words would probably be glad to
remedy the lacuna either from the context or by consulting
a dictionary.)
Sometimes it is easier to present information and arguments
as a series of numbered points, rather than as one or more
long and awkward paragraphs. A list of points is usually easier
to write. You should be careful not to use this presentation
too much: your thesis must be a connected, convincing argument,
not just a list of facts and observations.
One important stylistic choice is between the active voice
and passive voice. The active voice ("I measured the
frequency...") is simpler, and it makes clear what you
did and what was done by others. The passive voice ("The
frequency was measured...") makes it easier to write
ungrammatical or awkward sentences. If you use the passive
voice, be especially wary of dangling participles. For example,
the sentence "After considering all of these possible
materials, plutonium was selected" implicitly attributes
consciousness to plutonium. This choice is a question of taste:
I prefer the active because it is clearer, more logical and
makes attribution simple. The only arguments I have ever heard
for avoiding the active voice in a thesis are (i) many theses
are written in the passive voice, and (ii) some very polite
people find the use of "I" immodest. Use the first
person singular, not plural, when reporting work that you
did yourself: the editorial 'we' may suggest that you had
help beyond that listed in your acknowledgments, or it may
suggest that you are trying to share any blame. On the other
hand, retain plural verbs for "data": "data"
is the plural of "datum", and lots of scientists
like to preserve the distinction. Just say to yourself "one
datum is ..", "these data are.." several times.
An excellent and widely used reference for English grammar
and style is A Dictionary of Modern English Usage by H.W.
Fowler.
Presentation
There is no need for a thesis to be a masterpiece of desk-top
publishing. Your time can be more productively spent improving
the content than the appearance.
In many cases, a reasonably neat diagram can be drawn by hand
faster than with a graphics package. Either is usually satisfactory.
The computer-generated figure has the advantage that it can
be stored in the text and transmitted electronically, but
this advantage disappears if you are not going to store your
thesis as a file for transmission. You can scan a hand drawn
figure. As a one bit, moderate resolution graphic, it will
probably not be huge, but it will still be bigger than a line
drawing generated on a graphics package.
In general, students spend too much time on diagrams---time
that could have been spent on examining the arguments, making
the explanations clearer, thinking more about the significance
and checking for errors in the algebra. The reason, of course,
is that drawing is easier than thinking.
I do not think that there is a strong correlation (either
way) between length and quality. There is no need to leave
big gaps to make the thesis thicker. Readers will not appreciate
large amounts of vague or unnecessary text.
Approaching the end
A deadline is very useful in some ways. You must hand in the
thesis, even if you think that you need one more draft of
that chapter, or someone else's comments on this section,
or some other refinement. If you do not have a deadline, or
if you are thinking about postponing it, please take note
of this: A thesis is a very large work. It cannot be made
perfect in a finite time. There will inevitably be things
in it that you could have done better. There will be inevitably
be some typos. Indeed, by some law related to Murphy's, you
will discover one when you first flip open the bound copy.
No matter how much you reflect and how many times you proof
read it, there will be some things that could be improved.
There is no point hoping that the examiners will not notice:
many examiners feel obliged to find some examples of improvements
(if not outright errors) just to show how thoroughly they
have read it. So set yourself a deadline and stick to it.
Make it as good as you can in that time, and then hand it
in! (In retrospect, there was an advantage in writing a thesis
in the days before word processors, spelling checkers and
typing programs. Students often paid a typist to produce the
final draft and could only afford to do that once.)
How many copies?
Talk to your Director about this. As well as those for the
examiners, the university library, the registry and yourself,
you should make some distribution copies, all of them, of
course, duly bound. These copies should be sent to other researchers
who are working in your field so that:
o they can discover what marvellous work you have been doing
before it appears in journals;
o they can look up the fine details of methods and results
that will or have been published more briefly elsewhere;
o they can realize what an excellent researcher you are. This
realization could be useful if a post- doctoral position were
available in their labs. soon after your submission, or if
they were reviewers of your research/post-doctoral proposal.
Even having your name in their bookcases might be an advantage.
Whatever the University's policy on single or double-sided
copies, the distribution copies could be double-sided so that
forests and postage accounts are not excessively depleted
by the exercise. Your Director could help you to make up a
list of interested and/or potentially useful people for such
a mailing list. Your Director might also help by funding the
copies and postage if they are not covered by your scholarship.
The following comment comes from a recent PhD candidate: "When
I finished writing my thesis, a postdoc wisely told me to
give a copy to my parents. I would never have thought of doing
that as I just couldn't imagine what they would do with it.
I'm very glad to have taken that advice as my parents really
appreciated receiving a copy and proudly displayed it for
years. (My mother never finished high school and my father
worked with trucks - he fixed 'em, built 'em, drove 'em, sold
'em and junked 'em. Nevertheless, they enjoyed having a copy
of my thesis.)"
Personal
In the ideal situation, you will be able to spend a large
part---perhaps a majority -of your time writing your thesis-.
This may be bad for your physical and mental health.
Typing
Set up
your chair and computer properly. The Health Service, professional
keyboard users or perhaps even the school safety officer will
be able to supply charts showing recommended relative heights,
healthy postures and also exercises that you should do if
you spend a lot of time at the keyboard. These last are worthwhile
insurance: you do not want the extra hassle of back or neck
pain. Try to intersperse long sessions of typing with other
tasks, such as reading, drawing, calculating, thinking or
doing research.
If you do not touch type, you should learn to do so for the
sake of your neck as well as for productivity. There are several
good software packages that teach touch typing interactively.
If you use one for say 30 minutes a day for a couple of weeks,
you will be able to touch type. By the time you finish the
thesis, you will be able to touch type quickly and accurately
and your six hour investment will have paid for itself. Be
careful not to use the typing exercises as a displacement
activity.
Exercise
Do not
give up exercise for the interim. Lack of exercise makes you
feel bad, and you do not need anything else making you feel
bad while writing a thesis. 30-60 minutes of exercise per
day is probably not time lost from your thesis: I find that
if I do not get regular exercise, I sleep less soundly and
longer. How about walking to work and home again? (Walk part
of the way if your home is distant.) Many people opine that
a walk helps them think, or clears the head. You may find
that an occasional stroll improves your productivity.
Food
Do not
forget to eat, and make an effort to eat healthy food. You
should not lose fitness or risk illness at this critical time.
Exercise is good for keeping you appetite at a healthy level.
I know that you have little time for cooking, but keep a supply
of fresh fruit, vegetables and bread. It takes less time to
make a sandwich than to go to the local fast food outlet,
and you will feel better afterwards.
Drugs
Thesis
writers have a long tradition of using coffee as a stimulant
and alcohol or marijuana as relaxants. (Use of alcohol and
coffee is legal, use of marijuana is not.) Used in moderation,
they do not seem to have ill effects on the quality of thesis
produced. Excesses, however, are obviously counter-productive:
several expressi and you will be buzzing too much to sit down
and work; several drinks at night will slow you down next
day.
Others
Other
people will be sympathetic, but do not take them for granted.
Spouses, lovers, family and friends should not be undervalued.
Spend some time with them and, when you do, have a good time.
Do not spend your time together complaining about your thesis:
they already resent the thesis because it is keeping you away
from them. If you can find another student writing a thesis,
then you may find it therapeutic to complain to each other
about Directors and difficulties. S/he need not be in the
same discipline as you are.
Coda
Keep going -you're nearly there-! Most PhDs will admit that
there were times when we thought about reasons for not finishing.
But it would be crazy to give up at the writing stage, after
years of work on the research, and it would be something to
regret for a long time.
Writing a thesis is tough work. One anonymous post doctoral
researcher once said: "You should tell everyone that
it's going to be unpleasant, that it will mess up their lives,
that they will have to give up their friends and their social
lives for a while. It's a tough period for almost every student."
She's right: it is certainly hard work, it will probably be
stressful and you will have to adapt your rhythm to it. It
is also an important rite of passage and the satisfaction
you will feel afterwards is wonderful. On behalf of scholars
everywhere, we all wish you good luck!
A
suggested thesis structure
The list of contents and chapter headings below is appropriate
for some theses. In some cases, one or two of them may be
irrelevant. Results and Discussion are usually combined in
several chapters of a thesis. Think about the plan of chapters
and decide what is best to report your work. Then make a list,
in point form, of what will go in each chapter. Try to make
this rather detailed, so that you end up with a list of points
that corresponds to subsections or even to the paragraphs
of your thesis. At this stage, think hard about the logic
of the presentation: within chapters, it is often possible
to present the ideas in different order, and not all arrangements
will be equally easy to follow. If you make a plan of each
chapter and section before you sit down to write, the result
will probably be clearer and easier to read. It will also
be easier to write.
Copyright waiver
Our
institution has a form for this. In any case, this standard
page gives the university library the right to publish the
work, possibly by microfilm or some other medium. (At IAU,
the Postgraduate Student Office offers you this thesis pack
with various guide-lines and rules about thesis format. Make
sure that you consult that for its formal requirements, as
well as this rather informal guide.)
Declaration
Check
the wording required by IAU, and whether there is a standard
form. Many universities require something like: "I hereby
declare that this submission is my own work and that, to the
best of my knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously
published or written by another person nor material which
to a substantial extent has been accepted for the award of
any other degree or diploma of the university or other institute
of higher learning, except where due acknowledgment has been
made in the text. (signature/name/date)"
Title
page
This
may vary among institutions, but as an example: Title/author/"A
thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in
the College/School of Science/InterAmerican University"/date.
Abstract
Of
all your thesis, this part will be the most widely published
and most read because it will be published in Dissertation
Abstracts International. It is best written towards the end,
but not at the very last minute because you will probably
need several drafts. It should be a distillation of the thesis:
a concise description of the problem(s) addressed, your method
of solving it/them, your results and conclusions. An abstract
must be self-contained. Usually they do not contain references.
When a reference is necessary, its details should be included
in the text of the abstract. Check the word limit.
Acknowledgments
Most
thesis authors put in a page of thanks to those who have helped
them in matters scientific, and also indirectly by providing
such essentials as food, education, genes, money, help, advice,
friendship etc. If any of your work is collaborative, you
should make it quite clear who did which sections.
Table
of contents
The
introduction starts on page 1, the earlier pages should have
roman numerals. It helps to have the subheadings of each chapter,
as well as the chapter titles. Remember that the thesis may
be used as a reference in the lab, so it helps to be able
to find things easily.
Introduction
What
is the topic and why is it important? State the problem(s)
as simply as you can. Remember that you have been working
on this project for a few years, so you will be very close
to it. Try to step back mentally and take a broader view of
the problem. How does it fit into the broader world of your
discipline?
Especially in the introduction, do not overestimate the reader's
familiarity with your topic. You are writing for researchers
in the general area, but not all of them need be specialists
in your particular topic. It may help to imagine such a person
-think of some researcher whom you might have met at a conference
for your subject, but who was working in a different area-.
S/he is intelligent, has the same general background, but
knows little of the literature or tricks that apply to your
particular topic.
The introduction should be interesting. If you bore the reader
here, then you are unlikely to revive his/her interest in
the materials and methods section. For the first paragraph
or two, tradition permits prose that is less dry than the
scientific norm. If want to wax lyrical about your topic,
here is the place to do it. Try to make the reader want to
read the pound of A4 or letter size that has arrived uninvited
on his/her desk. Go to the library and read several thesis
introductions. Did any make you want to read on? Which ones
were boring?
This section might go through several drafts to make it read
well and logically, while keeping it short. For this section,
I think that it is a good idea to ask someone who is not a
specialist to read it and to comment. Is it an adequate introduction?
Is it easy to follow? There is an argument for writing this
section -or least making a major revision of it- towards the
end of the thesis writing. Your introduction should tell where
the thesis is going, and this may become clearer during the
writing.
Literature review
Where
did the problem come from? What is already known about this
problem? What other methods have been tried to solve it?
Ideally, you will already have much of the hard work done,
if you have been keeping up with the literature as you vowed
to do three years ago, and if you have made notes about important
papers over the years. If you have summarised those papers,
then you have some good starting points for the review.
How many papers? How relevant do they have to be before you
include them? Well, that is a matter of judgement. On the
order of a hundred is reasonable, but it will depend on the
field. You are the world expert on the (narrow) topic of your
thesis: you must demonstrate this.
A political point: make sure that you do not omit relevant
papers by researchers who are like to be your examiners, or
by potential employers to whom you might be sending the thesis
in the next year or two.
Middle chapters
In some theses, the middle chapters are the journal articles
of which the student was major author. There are several disadvantages
to this format.
One is that a thesis is both allowed and expected to have
more detail than a journal article. For journal articles,
one usually has to reduce the number of figures. In many cases,
all of the interesting and relevant data can go in the thesis,
and not just those which appeared in the journal. The degree
of experimental detail is usually greater in a thesis. Relatively
often a researcher requests a thesis in order to obtain more
detail about how a study was performed.
Another disadvantage is that your journal articles may have
some common material in the introduction and the "Materials
and Methods" sections.
The exact structure in the middle chapters will vary among
theses. In some theses, it is necessary to establish some
theory, to describe the experimental techniques, then to report
what was done on several different problems or different stages
of the problem, and then finally to present a model or a new
theory based on the new work. For such a thesis, the chapter
headings might be: Theory, Materials and Methods, {first problem},
{second problem}, {third problem}, {proposed theory/model}
and then the conclusion chapter. For other theses, it might
be appropriate to discuss different techniques in different
chapters, rather than to have a single Materials and Methods
chapter.
Here follow some comments on the elements Materials and Methods,
Theory, Results and discussion which may or may not correspond
to thesis chapters.
Materials and Methods
This
varies enormously from thesis to thesis, and may be absent
in theoretical theses. It should be possible for a competent
researcher to reproduce exactly what you have done by following
your description. There is a good chance that this test will
be applied: sometime after you have left, another researcher
will want to do a similar experiment either with your gear,
or on a new set-up in a foreign country. Please write for
the benefit of that researcher.
In some theses, particularly multi-disciplinary or developmental
ones, there may be more than one such chapter. In this case,
the different disciplines should be indicated in the chapter
titles.
Theory
When
you are reporting theoretical work that is not original, you
will usually need to include sufficient material to allow
the reader to understand the arguments used and their physical
bases. Sometimes you will be able to present the theory ab
initio, but you should not reproduce two pages of algebra
that the reader could find in a standard text. Do not include
theory that you are not going to relate to the work you have
done.
When writing this section, concentrate at least as much on
the physical arguments as on the equations. What do the equations
mean? What are the important cases?
When you are reporting your own theoretical work, you must
include rather more detail, but you should consider moving
lengthy derivations to appendices. Think too about the order
and style of presentation: the order in which you did the
work may not be the clearest presentation.
Suspense is not necessary in reporting science: you should
tell the reader where you are going before you start.
Results and discussion
The
results and discussion are very often combined in theses.
This is sensible because of the length of a thesis: you may
have several chapters of results and, if you wait till they
are all presented before you begin discussion, the reader
may have difficulty remembering what you are talking about.
The division of Results and Discussion material into chapters
is usually best done according to subject matter.
Make sure that you have described the conditions which obtained
for each set of results. What was held constant? What were
the other relevant parameters? Make sure too that you have
used appropriate statistical analyses. Where applicable, show
measurement errors and standard errors on the graphs. Use
appropriate statistical tests.
Take care plotting graphs. The origin and intercepts are often
important so, unless the ranges of your data make it impractical,
the zeros of one or both scales should usually appear on the
graph. You should show error bars on the data, unless the
errors are very small. For single measurements, the bars should
be your best estimate of the experimental errors in each coordinate.
For multiple measurements these should include the standard
error in the data. The errors in different data are often
different, so, where this is the case, regressions and fits
should be weighted (i.e. they should minimize the sum of squares
of the differences weighted inversely as the size of the errors.)
(A common failing in many simple software packages that draw
graphs and do regressions is that they do not treat errors
adequately.
Try to distance yourself from your usual perspective and look
at your work. Do not just ask yourself what it means in terms
of the orthodoxy of your own research group, but also how
other people in the field might see it. Does it have any implications
that do not relate to the questions that you set out to answer?
Final chapter, references and appendices
Conclusions and suggestions for further work
Your
abstract should include your conclusions in very brief form,
because it must also include some other material. A summary
of conclusions is usually longer than the final section of
the abstract, and you have the space to be more explicit and
more careful with qualifications. You might find it helpful
to put your conclusions in point form.
It is often the case with scientific research that more questions
than answers are produced. Does your work suggest any interesting
further avenues? Are there ways in which your work could be
improved by future workers? What are the practical implications
of your work?
This chapter should usually be reasonably short---a few pages
perhaps. As with the introduction, I think that it is a good
idea to ask someone who is not a specialist to read this section
and to comment.
References (See also under literature review)
It
is tempting to omit the titles of the articles cited, and
the university allows this, but think of all the times when
you have seen a reference in a paper and gone to look it up
only to find that it was not helpful after all.
Appendices
If
there is material that should be in the thesis but which would
break up the flow or bore the reader unbearably, include it
as an appendix. Some things which are typically included in
appendices are: important and original computer programs,
data files that are too large to be represented simply in
the results chapters, pictures or diagrams of results which
are not important enough to keep in the main text.
As a Conclussion:
Just keep in mind the following instructions, that are presented
in a comprehensive, step-by-step sequence for your convenience:
I.
Thesis structure
Title
Page
Title (including subtitle), author, institution, department,
date of delivery, research director, director's institution
Abstract
A good abstract explains in one line why the paper is important.
It then goes on to give a summary of your major results, preferably
couched in numbers with error limits. The final sentences
explain the major implications of your work. A good abstract
is concise, readable, and quantitative.
Length should be ~ 1-2 paragraphs, approx. 400 words.
Information in title should not be repeated.
Be explicit.
Use numbers where appropriate.
Answers
to these questions should be found in the abstract:
(1) What did you do?
(2) Why did you do it? What question were you trying to answer?
(3) How did you do it? State methods.
(4) What did you learn? State major results.
(5) Why does it matter? Point out at least one significant
implication.
Table
of Contents
List all headings and subheadings with page numbers.
Indent subheadings.
It will look something like this:
Page #
List of Figures
List of Tables
Introduction
subheads ...?
Methods
subheads ...?
Results
subheads ...?
Discussion
subheads ...?
Conclusions
Recommendations
Acknowledgments
References
Appendices
List of Figures
List page numbers of all figures.
List
of Tables
List page numbers of all tables.
Introduction
You can't write a good introduction until you know what the
body of the paper says.
Consider writing the introductory section(s) after you have
completed the rest of the paper, rather than before.
Be sure to include a hook at the beginning of the introduction.
This is a statement of something sufficiently interesting
to motivate your reader to read the rest of the paper, it
is an important/interesting scientific problem that your paper
either solves or addresses. You should draw the reader in
and make them want to read the rest of the paper.
The next paragraphs in the introduction should cite previous
research in this area. It should cite those who had the idea
or ideas first, and should also cite those who have done the
most recent and relevant work. You should then go on to explain
why more work was necessary (your work, of course.)
What else belongs in the introductory section(s) of your paper?
(1) A statement of the goal of the paper: why the study was
undertaken, or why the paper was written. Do not repeat the
abstract.
(2) Sufficient background information to allow the reader
to understand the context and significance of the question
you are trying to address.
(3) Proper acknowledgement of the previous work on which you
are building. Sufficient references such that a reader could,
by going to the library, achieve a sophisticated understanding
of the context and significance of the question.
(4) Explain the scope of your work, what will and will not
be included.
(5) A verbal "road map" or verbal "table of
contents" guiding the reader to what lies ahead.
(6) Is it obvious where introductory material ("old stuff")
ends and your contribution ("new stuff") begins?
Remember that this is not a review paper. We are looking for
original work and interpretation/analysis by you. Break up
the introduction section into logical segments by using subheads.
Methods
What belongs in the "methods" section of a scientific
paper?
(1) Information to allow the reader to assess the believability
of your results.
(2) Information needed by another researcher to replicate
your experiment.
(3) Description of your materials, procedure, theory.
(4) Calculations, technique, procedure, equipment, and calibration
plots.
(5) Limitations, assumptions, and range of validity.
The methods section should answering the following questions
and caveats:
Could one accurately replicate the study (for example, all
of the optional and adjustable parameters on any sensors or
instruments that were used to acquire the data)?
Could another researcher accurately find and reoccupy the
sampling stations or track lines?
Is there enough information provided about any instruments
used so that a functionally equivalent instrument could be
used to repeat the experiment?
If the data is in the public domain, could another researcher
lay his or her hands on the identical data set?
Could one replicate any laboratory analyses that were used?
Could one replicate any statistical analyses?
Could another researcher approximately replicate the key algorithms
of any computer software?
Citations in this section should be limited to data sources
and references of where to find more complete descriptions
of procedures.
Do not include descriptions of results.
Results
The results are actual statements of observations, including
statistics, tables and graphs.
Indicate information on range of variation.
Mention negative results as well as positive.
Do not interpret results - save that for the discussion.
Lay out the case as for a jury. Present sufficient details
so that others can draw their own inferences and construct
their own explanations.
Use S.I. units (m, s, kg, W, etc.) throughout the thesis.
Break up your results into logical segments by using subheads
Note: Results vs. Discussion Sections
Quarantine your observations from your interpretations. The
writer must make it crystal clear to the reader which statements
are observation and which are interpretation. In most circumstances,
this is best accomplished by physically separating statements
about new observations from statements about the meaning or
significance of those observations. Alternatively, this goal
can be accomplished by careful use of phrases such as "I
infer ..." vast bodies of geological literature became
obsolete with the advent of plate tectonics; the papers that
survived are those in which observations were presented in
stand-alone fashion, unmuddied by whatever ideas the author
might have had about the processes that caused the observed
phenomena.
How do you do this?
(1) Physical separation into different sections or paragraphs.
(2) Don't overlay interpretation on top of data in figures.
(3) Careful use of phrases such as "We infer that "
(4) Don't worry if "results" seem short.
Why?
(1) Easier for your reader to absorb, frequent shifts of mental
mode not required.
(2) Ensures that your work will endure in spite of shifting
paradigms.
Discussion
Start with a few sentences that summarize the most important
results. The discussion section should be a brief essay in
itself, answering the following questions and caveats:
(1) What are the major patterns in the observations? (Refer
to spatial and temporal variations.)
(2) What are the relationships, trends and generalizations
among the results?
(3) What are the exceptions to these patterns or generalizations?
(4) What are the likely causes (mechanisms) underlying these
patterns resulting predictions?
(5) Is there agreement or disagreement with previous work?
(6) Interpret results in terms of background laid out in the
introduction - what is the relationship of the present results
to the original question?
(7) What is the implication of the present results for other
unanswered questions in earth sciences?
(8) Multiple hypotheses: There are usually several possible
explanations for results. Be careful to consider all of these
rather than simply pushing your favorite one. If you can eliminate
all but one, that is great, but often that is not possible
with the data in hand. In that case you should give even treatment
to the remaining possibilities, and try to indicate ways in
which future work may lead to their discrimination.
(9) Avoid bandwagons: A special case of the above. Avoid jumping
a currently fashionable point of view unless your results
really do strongly support them.
(10) What are the things we now know or understand that we
didn't know or understand before the present work?
(11) Include the evidence or line of reasoning supporting
each interpretation.
(12) What is the significance of the present results: why
should we care?
This section should be rich in references to similar work
and background needed to interpret results. However, interpretation/discussion
section(s) are often too long and verbose. Is there material
that does not contribute to one of the elements listed above?
If so, this may be material that you will want to consider
deleting or moving. Break up the section into logical segments
by using subheads.
Conclusions
What is the strongest and most important statement that you
can make from your observations?
If you met the reader at a meeting six months from now, what
do you want them to remember about your paper?
Refer back to problem posed, and describe the conclusions
that you reached from carrying out this investigation, summarize
new observations, new interpretations, and new insights that
have resulted from the present work.
Include the broader implications of your results.
Do not repeat word for word the abstract, introduction or
discussion.
Recommendations
Remedial action to solve the problem.
Further research to fill in gaps in our understanding.
Directions for future investigations on this or related topics.
Acknowledgments
Advisor(s) and anyone who helped you:
(1) technically (including materials, supplies)
(2) intellectually (assistance, advice)
(3) financially (for example, departmental support, travel
grants)
References
Cite all ideas, concepts, text, data that are not your own.
If you make a statement, back it up with your own data or
a reference.
Do not use footnotes.
In your reference list, only list references cited in text.
Cite
single-author references by the surname of the author (followed
by date of the publication in parenthesis):
... according to Hays (1994)
... population growth is one of the greatest environmental
concerns (Hays, 1994).
Cite double-author references by the surnames of both authors
(followed by date of the publication in parenthesis)
... Simpson and Hays (1994)
Cite more than double-author references by the surname of
the first author followed by et al. and then the date of the
publication
e.g. Pfirman, Simpson and Hays would be:
Pfirman et al. (1994)
List all references cited in the text in alphabetical order
using the following format for different types of material:
Hunt, S. (1966) Carbohydrate and amino acid composition of
the egg capsules of the whelk. Nature, 210, 436-437.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (1997) Commonly
asked questions about ozone. http://www.noaa.gov/public-affairs/grounders/ozo1.html,
9/27/97.
Pfirman, S.L., M. Stute, H.J. Simpson, and J. Hays (1996)
Undergraduate research at Barnard and Columbia, Journal of
Research, 11, 213-214.
Pechenik, J.A. (1987) A short guide to writing about biology.
Harper Collins Publishers, New York, 194pp.
Pitelka, D.R., and F.M. Child (1964) Review of ciliary structure
and function. In: Biochemistry and Physiology of Protozoa,
Vol. 3 (S.H. Hutner, editor), Academic Press, New York, 131-198.
Sambrotto, R. (1997) lecture notes, Environmental Data Analysis,
Barnard College, Oct 2, 1997.
Stute,
M., J.F. Clark, P. Schlosser, W.S. Broecker, and G. Bonani
(1995) A high altitude continental paleotemperature record
derived from noble gases dissolved in groundwater from the
San Juan Basin, New Mexico. Quat. Res., 43, 209-220.
It is acceptable to put the initials of the individual authors
behind their last names, e.g. Pfirman, S.L., Stute, M., Simpson,
H.J., and Hays, J (1996) Undergraduate research at ......
Appendices
Include all your data in the appendix.
Reference data/materials not easily available (theses are
used as a resource by the department and other students).
Tables (where more than 1-2 pages).
Calculations (where more than 1-2 pages).
You may include a key article as appendix.
If you consulted a large number of references but did not
cite all of them, you might want to include a list of additional
resource material, etc.
List of equipment used for an experiment or details of complicated
procedures.
Note: Figures and tables, including captions, should be embedded
in the text and not in an appendix, unless they are more than
1-2 pages and are not critical to your argument.
II.
Crosscutting Issues
What
Are We Looking For?
We
are looking for a critical analysis. We want you to answer
a scientific question or hypothesis. We would like you to
gather evidence -from various sources- to allow you to make
interpretations and judgments. Your approach/methods should
be carefully designed to come to closure. Your results should
be clearly defined and discussed in the context of your topic.
Relevant literature should be cited. You should place your
analysis in a broader context, and highlight the implications
(regional, global, etc.) of your work. We are looking for
a well-reasoned line of argument, from your initial question,
compilation of relevant evidence, setting data in a general/universal
context, and finally making a judgment based on your analysis.
Your thesis should be clearly written and in the format described
below.
Planning
Ahead for Your Thesis
If at all possible, start your thesis research immediately
after your Master’s degree -or even earlier- with an
internship, etc. ... then work on filling in background material
and lab work during the fall (through Environmental Research
3997x) so that you're prepared to write and present your research
during the spring . The best strategy is to pick a project
that you are interested in, but also that a faculty member
or other professional is working on. This person will become
your research director and this gives you someone to talk
with and get background material from. If you're unsure about
the selection of a project, let us know and we'll try to connect
you with someone.
Start writing as soon as possible, background, methods, results,
discussion/interpretations ... as you write you will get ideas
about what you need to do and if you wait too long to write
things up, you'll not have time to finish.
Writing for an Audience
Who is your audience?
(1) Researchers working in analogous field areas elsewhere
in the world (i.e. other strike-slip faults, other deep sea
fans).
(2) Researchers working in your field area, but with different
techniques.
(3) Researchers working on the same interval of geologic time
elsewhere in the world.
(4) All other researchers using the same technique you have
used .
(5) If your study encompasses an active process, researchers
working on the same process in the ancient record.
(6) Conversely, if your study is based on the rock record,
people studying modem analogs.
(7) People writing a synthesis paper on important new developments
in your field.
(8) People applying earth science to societal problems (i.e.
earthquake hazard reduction, climate warming) who will try
to understand your paper.
(9) Potential reviewers of your ms. or your thesis committee.
Skimming vs. Reading
Because of the literature explosion, papers more skimmed than
read. Skimming involves reading the abstract, and looking
at the figures and figure captions. Therefore, you should
construct your paper so that it can be understood by skimming,
i.e., the conclusions, as written in your abstract, can be
understood by study of the figures and captions. The text
fills out the details for the more interested reader.
Order of Writing
Your thesis is not written in the same order as it is presented
in. The following gives you one idea how to proceed.
(1) first organize your paper as a logical argument before
you begin writing
(2) make your figures to illustrate your argument (think skimming)
(3) the main sections are: background to the argument (intro);
describing the information to be used in the argument, and
making points about them (observations), connecting the points
regarding the info (analysis), summing up (conclusions).
(4) outline the main elements: sections, and subsections
(5) begin writing, choosing options in the following hierarchy
- paragraphs, sentences, and words.
Here
is another approach
(1) Write up a preliminary version of the background section
first. This will serve as the basis for the introduction in
your final paper.
(2) As you collect data, write up the methods section. It
is much easier to do this right after you have collected the
data. Be sure to include a description of the research equipment
and relevant calibration plots.
(3) When you have some data, start making plots and tables
of the data. These will help you to visualize the data and
to see gaps in your data collection. If time permits, you
should go back and fill in the gaps. You are finished when
you have a set of plots that show a definite trend (or lack
of a trend). Be sure to make adequate statistical tests of
your results.
(4) Once you have a complete set of plots and statistical
tests, arrange the plots and tables in a logical order. Write
figure captions for the plots and tables. As much as possible,
the captions should stand alone in explaining the plots and
tables. Many scientists read only the abstract, figures, figure
captions, tables, table captions, and conclusions of a paper.
Be sure that your figures, tables and captions are well labeled
and well documented.
(5) Once your plots and tables are complete, write the results
section. Writing this section requires extreme discipline.
You must describe your results, but you must NOT interpret
them. (If good ideas occur to you at this time, save them
at the bottom of the page for the discussion section.) Be
factual and orderly in this section, but try not to be too
dry.
(6) Once you have written the results section, you can move
on to the discussion section. This is usually fun to write,
because now you can talk about your ideas about the data.
If you can come up with a good cartoon/schematic showing your
ideas, do so. Many papers are cited in the literature because
they have a good cartoon that subsequent authors would like
to use or modify.
(7) In writing the discussion session, be sure to adequately
discuss the work of other authors who collected data on the
same or related scientific questions. Be sure to discuss how
their work is relevant to your work. If there were flaws in
their methodology, this is the place to discuss it.
(8) After you have discussed the data, you can write the conclusions
section. In this section, you take the ideas that were mentioned
in the discussion section and try to come to some closure.
If some hypothesis can be ruled out as a result of your work,
say so. If more work is needed for a definitive answer, say
that.
(9) The final section in the paper is a recommendation section.
This is really the end of the conclusion section in a scientific
paper. Make recommendations for further research or policy
actions in this section. If you can make predictions about
what will be found if X is true, then do so. You will get
credit from later researchers for this.
(10) After you have finished the recommendation section, look
back at your original introduction. Your introduction should
set the stage for the conclusions of the paper by laying out
the ideas that you will test in the paper. Now that you know
where the paper is leading, you will probably need to rewrite
the introduction.
(11) You must write your abstract last.
Figures
and Tables
The actual figures and tables should be embedded/inserted
in the text, generally on the page following the page where
the figure/table is first cited in the text.
All figures and tables should be numbered and cited consecutively
in the text as figure 1, figure 2, table 1, table 2, etc.
Include a caption for each figure and table, citing how it
was constructed (reference citations, data sources, etc.)
and highlighting the key findings (think skimming). Include
an index figure (map) showing and naming all locations discussed
in paper.
You are encouraged to make your own figures, including cartoons,
schematics or sketches that illustrate the processes that
you discuss. Examine your figures with these questions in
mind:
(1) Is the figure self-explanatory?
(2) Are your axes labeled and are the units indicated?
(3) Show the uncertainty in your data with error bars.
(4) If the data are fit by a curve, indicate the goodness
of fit.
(5) Could chart junk be eliminated?
(6) Could non-data ink be eliminated?
(7) Could redundant data ink be eliminated?
(8) Could data density be increased by eliminating non-data
bearing space?
(9) Is this a sparse data set that could better be expressed
as a table?
(10) Does the figure distort the data in any way?
(11) Are the data presented in context?
(12) Does the figure caption guide the reader's eye to the
"take-home lesson" of the figure?
Figures should be oriented vertically, in portrait mode, wherever
possible. If you must orient them horizontally, in landscape
mode, orient them so that you can read them from the right,
not from the left, where the binding will be.
Tying
the Text to the Data
"Show them, don't just tell them…" Ideally,
every result claimed in the text should be documented with
data, usually data presented in tables or figures. If there
are no data provided to support a given statement of result
or observation, consider adding more data, or deleting the
unsupported "observation." Examine figure(s) or
table(s) pertaining to the result(s). Assess whether:
(1) the data support the textual statement
(2) the data contradict the textual statement
(3) the data are insufficient to prove or refute the textual
statement
(4) the data may support the textual statement, but are not
presented in such a way that you can be sure you are seeing
the same phenomenon in the data that the author claims to
have seen.
Giving Credit
How does one fairly and accurately indicate who has made what
contributions towards the results and interpretations presented
in your paper?: by referencing, authorship, and acknowledgements.
Different types of errors:
(1) direct quotes or illustrations without quotation marks,
without attribution
(2) direct quotes without quotation marks, with attribution
(3) concepts/ideas without attribution
(4) concepts/ideas with sloppy attribution
(5) omitting or fabricating data or results
Check references carefully and reread reference works prior
to publication. The first time you read something, you will
consciously remember some things, but may subconsciously take
in other aspects. It is important to cross check your conscious
memory against your citations.
Final
Thesis
Make 3 final copies: 1 to director and 2 to department, so
that we can have 2 readers.
Final thesis should be bound.
Printed cleanly on white paper.
Double-spaced using 12-point font.
1-inch margins.
Double-sided saves paper.
Include page numbers.
Resources
IAU provides assistance on writing senior theses.
If you need it, ask for assistance, an expert will give you
an idea of what we are looking for.
Of course do not hesitate to ask us, or your research advisor
for help.
IAU has many books on scientific writing, ask the relevant
departmental administrator for assistance in locating them.
III.
Editing Your Thesis
Even a rough draft should be edited.
Copy Editing
(1) Proof read your thesis a few times.
(2) Check your spelling. spellcheckers are useful for initial
checking, but don't catch homonyms (e.g. hear, here), so you
need to do the final check by eye.
(3) Make sure that you use complete sentences
(4) Check your grammar: punctuation, sentence structure, subject-verb
agreement (plural or singular), tense consistency, etc.
(5) Give it to others to read and comment.
Content
Editing
(1) logic
(2) repetition, relevance
(3) style
Avoiding
Ambiguity
(1) Do not allow run-on sentences to sneak into your writing;
try semicolons.
(2) Avoid nested clauses/phrases.
(3) Avoid clauses or phrases with more than two ideas in them.
(4) Do not use double negatives.
(5) Do not use dangling participles (i.e. phrases with an
"-ing" verb, in sentences where the agent performing
the action of the "-ing" verb is not specified:
" After standing in boiling water for two hours, examine
the flask.").
(6) Make sure that the antecedent for every pronoun (it, these,
those, that, this, one) is crystal clear. If in doubt, use
the noun rather than the pronoun, even if the resulting sentence
seems a little bit redundant.
(7) Ensure that subject and verb agree in number (singular
versus plural).
(8) Be especially careful with compound subjects. Be especially
careful with subject/verb agreement within clauses.
(9) Avoid qualitative adjectives when describing concepts
that are quantifiable ("The water is deep." "Plate
convergence is fast." "Our algorithm is better.")
Instead, quantify. ("Water depths exceed 5km.")
(10) Avoid noun strings ("acoustic noise source location
technique").
(11) Do not use unexplained acronyms. Spell out all acronyms
the first time that you use them.
Thesis
length Write for brevity rather than length. The goal is the
shortest possible paper that contains all information necessary
to describe the work and support the interpretation. Avoid
unnecessary repetition and irrelevant tangents. Necessary
repetition: the main theme should be developed in the introduction
as a motivation or working hypothesis. It is then developed
in the main body of the paper, and mentioned again in the
discussion section (and, of course, in the abstract and conclusions).
Some suggestions on how to shorten your paper:
(1) Use tables for repetitive information.
(2) Include only sufficient background material to permit
the reader to understand your story, not every paper ever
written on the subject.
(3) Use figure captions effectively.
(4) Don't describe the contents of the figures and/or tables
in the text item-by-item. Instead, use the text to point out
the most significant patterns, items or trends in the figures
and tables.
(5) Delete "observations" or "results"
that are mentioned in the text for which you have not shown
data.
(6) Delete "conclusions" that are not directly supported
by your observations or results.
(7) Delete "interpretation" or "discussion"
sections that are inconclusive.
(8) Delete "interpretation" or "discussion"
sections that are only peripherally related to your new results
or observations.
(9) Scrutinize adjectives! adverbs and prepositional phrases.
Although it varies considerably from project to project, average
thesis length is about 40 pages of text plus figures. This
total page count includes all your text as well as the list
of references, but it does not include any appendices. These
generalizations should not be taken too seriously, especially
if you are working on a labor-intensive lab project. If you
have any questions about whether your project is of sufficient
scope, consult one of us early on.
Writing
for an International Audience
(1) Put as much information as possible into figures and tables.
In particular, try to find a way to put your conclusions into
a figure, perhaps a flowchart or a cartoon.
(2) Don't assume that readers are familiar with the geography
or the stratigraphy of your field area.
(3) Every single place-name mentioned in the text should be
shown on a map.
(4) Consider including a location map, either as a separate
figure or as an inset to another figure. If your paper involves
stratigraphy, consider including a summary stratigraphic column--in
effect, a location map in time.
(5) Use shorter sentences. Avoid nested clauses or phrases.
(6) Make sure that the antecedent for every pronoun is clear.
(7) In some languages, a pronoun used as the subject of a
sentence is required to refer to the subject of the previous
sentence. In other languages, a pronoun is required to refer
to the most recently occurring noun. In English, either usage
is permitted, which leaves ample room for confusion.
(8) Use words that have cognates in other languages; usually
these are Latin-derived words.
(9) Avoid idioms. Favor usages that can be looked up in an
ordinary dictionary. "Take the beaker out of the oven
immediately..." rather than "Take the beaker out
of the oven right away..."
(10) Many English words have many different meanings. Avoid
using words in their more obscure meanings. Most English dictionaries
list the multiple meanings of words in order from most common
to least common. Try to stick with the first few meanings.
The less common meanings may not occur in the translation
dictionary that your reader may be using.
(11) Avoid using nouns as adjectives. For example: "mudslide
advisory panel." This construction is not allowed in
some languages; in other languages the ending of the noun
is changed to indicate that it is being used as an adjective.
(12) Avoid words that sound similar in different languages
but have subtly different meanings: "actual", "actuel"
(French and German): French and German word means "of
the present time, contemporary ." The primary meaning
of the English word is "existing in reality; not merely
possible, but real. "
|
