The academic-writing tag has no wiki summary.
8
votes
4answers
230 views
How to improve my skill at writing a question?
I'm a member of some SE sites, like SO and CSTheory. In those sites I'm an active member, I'm reading Q&A and also answering some questions or asking questions, but I think my writing is poor.
I ...
8
votes
3answers
1k views
What's the difference between academic and journalistic writing?
I'm not talking about "boring" academic papers that are 99% science and 0% interesting. But in comments on a draft of my senior thesis, my teacher made the comment that my writing style was quite ...
8
votes
1answer
162 views
Tools for exploring and analysing document structure?
I'm currently writing a thesis. Just the introduction is 25 pages/8000 words. The whole document will probably be 70 pages or so. With a document this large, and on such a complex topic, it can be ...
7
votes
2answers
132 views
How do I escape my own experience?
When writing academic text, you're often in the position of having to write introductory or explanatory material for your audience. Usually you write this kind of material after you've explored the ...
5
votes
5answers
132 views
Interesting and easier-to-read alternatives to the scientific academic article
Short version:
What is an equally informative, but more interesting alternative to typical academic-article-style scientific writing?
Longer version:
I love writing, I do a lot of it – fiction and ...
5
votes
5answers
813 views
Legality of Academic Ghostwriting
I recently learned of the concept of academic ghostwriting (see, e.g. this article) - by which I mean the situation where a student goes to another person, or perhaps a service, and pays them to ...
5
votes
3answers
143 views
How can I help a writing-phobic but competent student develop their writing?
I am a professor in a science department and I am working with a student that has significant anxiety about writing, such that they have opted to receive a lower final grade rather than turn in ...
5
votes
1answer
57 views
How can I improve my analytical writing for a standardized test?
I will be taking the GRE test, which is an exam for students from non-English speaking countries who want to go to the US for graduate study. The test basically tests your English ability and your ...
5
votes
0answers
457 views
How to work with in-text markup for figures and captions in Scrivener?
I like the writing tool Scrivener because of the organisation tools like the corkboard and the no-frills full screen mode. I'm starting out my thesis using the Windows trial and intending to buy if I ...
4
votes
3answers
117 views
What's the appropriate way to write numbers in educational contexts like papers?
I want to know if numbers should be written alphabetically in educational contexts, for instance:
10 plasma samples out of 1016 cannot be ignored.
Or
Ten plasma samples out of one thousand ...
4
votes
1answer
131 views
How to do literature review
We often hear that literature review (LR) is not mere summarizing the writings of other, rather it is scrutinizing finding the material relevant to one's own research and the gaps to be filled.
Can ...
4
votes
1answer
188 views
What tense to use in an academic paper when speaking about correspondence?
What is the correct tense to use in an academic paper when speaking about correspondence? Say one of my source materials is a letter written by someone named William, in which he says he went to the ...
3
votes
5answers
526 views
Is it good style to use latin phrases in english scientific literature?
I don't know how much and deep actually school kids in the US get in touch with Latin. In Europe you can choose it on many high schools and the use of it common in mainstream media. For some areas of ...
3
votes
3answers
81 views
How can I get my students to better integrate their sources into their writing?
A common problem I observe in student papers the use of source material in a sequential as opposed to an integrated fashion.
For example, the first paragraph will be based on source 1, the second ...
3
votes
3answers
127 views
Writing a bibliography
In the formats I've seen for writing a bibliography, the author is always put first, and then the title. Are there some bibliographies where the title is put before the author?
3
votes
2answers
316 views
How to convert DOI to citation information
The DOI website will redirect to the article webpage on the journal official website. Is there is a public automated system to translate DOI to citation information?
This can be beneficial for ...
3
votes
2answers
170 views
Correct order for Thesis Front Matter
What is the correct order of the following pages comprising a doctoral thesis: Title, Abstract, Colophon, Copyright, Dedication, Preface, Acknowledgements, Table of Contents, List of Tables, List of ...
3
votes
1answer
117 views
Dropping articles in the title (of a article or a section) or in the caption (of a figure or a table)? What's the general rule?
It is said that "To give added punch, articles are often dropped in the titles" source: http://www.davidappleyard.com/english/articles.htm
Is there any general rule or reference about dropping ...
3
votes
1answer
190 views
What is the process for publishing academic papers?
While studying in my first term as EPIR student I had to prepare several papers. I gave those to my family and friends, to read and comment upon. I was surprised when they advised me to publish them. ...
3
votes
1answer
186 views
How Important are essay writing conventions in the university level and above?
I go to a CEGEP, which is basically pre-university in Montreal. In my Introduction to English class, I had a teacher who allowed us to go around the typical essay writing conventions. Conventions like ...
3
votes
1answer
64 views
Differences in personal statements between American and UK universities?
A friend has asked me to review a personal statement she's written for acceptance into a UK university.
I have experience in assisting others with their writing, but as an American I want to ensure ...
3
votes
0answers
46 views
Guidelines of reviewing journal manuscripts
Are there good books give guides in reviewing manuscripts for inclusion in scholarly journals? I'm working in area of computer, education, training and psychology. There are some scattered resources ...
2
votes
3answers
125 views
Is it acceptable for a tech book to consist of only 2 chapters?
I am interested in writing a book on a particular class of natural products. It would discuss the products' isolation and biological functions - these are the two chapters that I can fit into the ...
2
votes
4answers
245 views
Can I use “We” to refer to me and the reader?
I am writing my thesis and in many cases I want to take the reader through an example. For example:
Besides the advanced composition rules, it is also important to have a set of
basic rules to ...
2
votes
2answers
376 views
Are contractions antithetical to academic writing?
This question is very specific to academic writing:
I used the contraction "don't" instead of "do not" in some of the papers. Some of the reviewers mentioned that "don't" is not a formal style of ...
2
votes
2answers
277 views
Writing subjectively or objectively? (IELTS writing)
I'm asking this question in the interest of getting a high score on IELTS writing, specifically Task 2, the 40-minute 250-word one. My primary confusion is whether to write subjectively or objectively ...
2
votes
1answer
74 views
Structure for computer science research paper
I'm writing my first undergraduate research paper for computer science and I think my lack of experience is starting to get on my supervisor's nerves. I've written a program that collects video ...
2
votes
5answers
70 views
Quoting text from a country with different internationalization.
I'm writing my doctoral dissertation here in the United States, and quoting some text from an English-language paper written in Germany. In Germany, the convention for writing numbers is to use a ...
2
votes
1answer
726 views
Abbreviation for “figures” in scientific papers
In scientific papers, the term "Figure" -- referring to an illustration in the text -- is often abbreviated as "Fig." But is "Figures" abbreviated as "Figs", "Fig.s" or "Figs."? I am proofreading a ...
2
votes
1answer
46 views
What sections of the frontmatter are listed in the table of contents?
There is a question about the correct order for thesis front matter. If I have those sections and some order, what of them is usually placed into the table of contents? While the main chapters surely ...
1
vote
4answers
123 views
How to get over writer's block related to revising?
I'm a PhD Student in the social sciences. When I do focused free-writing on a topic, my thoughts just fly out and I can easily generate 600-800 words an hour of relatively high quality text. However, ...
1
vote
2answers
134 views
What should you do if you need more than five heading when writing an APA paper?
(I don't know if this question is appropriate here. I'm going to take a chance.)
If you're writing a paper according to the APA (American Psychology Association) standard and you need more than five ...
1
vote
2answers
101 views
Using abbreviations after in-text citations
I am writing an academic paper, specifically a Position Paper, using APA.
According to the Purdue OWL webpage, to cite an organisation:
"First citation: (Mothers Against Drunk Driving [MADD], 2000)
...
1
vote
1answer
109 views
How short is “short monograph”?
I've seen several references to some "short monograph on subject X". But how short is that? Is there a standard length to use as a reference?
I realize that this depends on page size and font, so I ...
1
vote
1answer
72 views
Where and how to give an overview of each chapter in scientific writing?
Since I find it quite helpful for readers (e.g., of my dissertation) to get an overview of what they are going to read, I want to do this in each chapter.
Where should I locate these overviews?
How ...
1
vote
1answer
48 views
How can a practical learner get up to speed on APA quickly?
I'd like to learn the APA style guide, so that, in addition to the fiction and general non-fiction I work on currently, I can start accepting academic editing jobs. However, I know very little about ...
1
vote
2answers
202 views
Self-contained software environment for authoring research papers
Does a self-contained environment for authoring research papers exist? Clearly, the concept might be a little unclear, so here's an attempt to better define what I mean:
All sources used would be ...
0
votes
4answers
51 views
Do I include the method of my research in the title?
For my Masters Thesis, I am trying to find an appropriate title. The field of the research is in Forestry and Geographic Information Science (GIS).
Currently my title is the following:
...
0
votes
3answers
51 views
How to number the equations in an academic paper?
I know that the figures and tables are numbered consecutively throughout the
while paper. What about the equation numbering? Suppose I have four equations in the paper, but I want to number only two ...
0
votes
2answers
638 views
Origin of Passive Voice or Third Person in scientific Writing
I was reading a turkish translation of Robert A. Day , How to Write & Publish a Scientific Paper.
Foreword is written by A. M. Celâl Şengör.
In this foreword
The writer who always uses third ...
0
votes
2answers
49 views
What is the correct word/term that needs to be before the names of the maker of the project?
I am doing a project with one other person, we have finished the project
and we are working on a cover page.
We are not sure what to write out before our names, we have thought
of a couple of ...
0
votes
1answer
52 views
Should I punctuate abbreviations for Old English, Middle English etc. in academic writing?
When using an abbreviation such as OFr (Old French) or ME (Middle English) in academic writing, what is the best way to stylise it? Masses of punctuation looks messy, but I am concerned my assignment ...
0
votes
1answer
43 views
The manuscript Summa Logicae (William of Ockham) [closed]
The Summa Logicae (Latin, in English it's the Sum of Logic) is a textbook on logic by William of Ockham. There are articles about the Summa Logicae in Wikipedia and in Logicmuseum.
It was published ...
0
votes
2answers
57 views
Should I state my intentions/outline my structure at the beginning of an academic essay?
When writing an essay or short paper for school, should I state my intentions and outline the essay's structure in the introduction? Or should I let the essay speak for itself?
0
votes
1answer
138 views
Adding related work to an academic project report
In an academic project report, what phrasing should I use to introduce and explain related work? I have to explain several previous projects; I would like to be clear but also avoid repetition.
I ...
0
votes
0answers
89 views
Do thesis statements make sense? [closed]
Personally, for longer papers (20 pages+), I think a thesis statement is not the correct way to go about things. I think something like a thesis needs to exist; that is, an explanation to your reader ...
-1
votes
1answer
215 views
Write about academic plans [closed]
A graduate school application form asks me to write about my academic plans.
What I can think of is only the course arrangement in graduate study.
So am I missing something ?
-1
votes
1answer
152 views
What is a basic structure for writing an essay on the SAT or for an AP exam?
Most prompted essays for the SAT or an advanced placement writing class can be written using a similar basic structure. An example of an introduction for a persuasive prompted essay might be:
...
-1
votes
1answer
39 views
Curriculum Vitae editing/writing services for PhD (non-US) [closed]
I am asking this on behalf of a relative of mine. He has a PhD with a concentration in Policy Analysis and Environmental Science and is trying to get a position in either a university/public sector or ...
-2
votes
1answer
65 views
Write about why XX is an intellectual fit for you [closed]
It comes to me when a graduate school application form asks me
why do you think XX university is an intellectual fit for you
How should I write about it?
Thanks
