Main principles of writing a doctoral thesis in English or How to write ”real good”

© Donald J. N. SmartHow 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”

© Donald J. N. SmartHow to write "real good"3 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)

© Donald J. N. SmartHow to write "real good"4 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)

© Donald J. N. SmartHow to write "real good"5 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

© Donald J. N. SmartHow to write "real good"6 What to aim for when you write (2) People who write obscurely : – are either unskilled in writing –or up to some mischief

© Donald J. N. SmartHow to write "real good"7 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

© Donald J. N. SmartHow to write "real good"8 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

© Donald J. N. SmartHow to write "real good"9 The Paragraph Level (2) 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

© Donald J. N. SmartHow to write "real good"10 The Paragraph Level (3) 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

© Donald J. N. SmartHow to write "real good"11 The Paragraph Level (4) 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

© Donald J. N. SmartHow to write "real good"12 The Paragraph Level (5) It is important to make smooth transitions between sentences in paragraphs –To do this, use some of the following transitional words in addition on the other hand likewise then

© Donald J. N. SmartHow to write "real good"13 The Paragraph Level (6) An example of a good paragraph The 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

© Donald J. N. SmartHow to write "real good"14 The Document Level A thesis usually has the following sections: –Abstract –Introduction –Materials and Methods –Results –Discussion –References

© Donald J. N. SmartHow to write "real good"15 Revision of the Manuscript (1) When you check your completed thesis: –Revise for content –Revise for clarity –Revise for completeness –Revise for conciseness

© Donald J. N. SmartHow to write "real good"16 Revision of the Manuscript (2) 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

© Donald J. N. SmartHow to write "real good"17 Revision of the Manuscript (3) Points you should look for when revising for clarity: –Does every sentence say what you want it to say?

© Donald J. N. SmartHow to write "real good"18 Revision of the Manuscript (4) 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

© Donald J. N. SmartHow to write "real good"19 Revision of the Manuscript (5) 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

© Donald J. N. SmartHow to write "real good"20 Revision of the Manuscript (6) 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

© Donald J. N. SmartHow to write "real good"21 Revision of the Manuscript (7) 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

© Donald J. N. SmartHow to write "real good"22 Revision of the Manuscript (8) 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.

© Donald J. N. SmartHow to write "real good"23 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

© Donald J. N. SmartHow to write "real good"24 Flow Chart for Articles

© Donald J. N. SmartHow to write "real good"25 How to Write “Real Good” (2) 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

© Donald J. N. SmartHow to write "real good"26 How to Write “Real Good” (3) 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

© Donald J. N. SmartHow to write "real good"27 How to Write “Real Good” (4) Beware of typical Finnish errors in English, such as: “Shortly”, when the writer means “briefly” “On the other hand” and “on the other hand”

© Donald J. N. SmartHow to write "real good"28 How to Write “Real Good” (5) 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,

© Donald J. N. SmartHow to write "real good"29 How to Write “Real Good” (6) 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.

© Donald J. N. SmartHow to write "real good"30 How to Write “Real Good” (7) 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.

© Donald J. N. SmartHow to write "real good"31 How to Write “Real Good” (8) 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.

© Donald J. N. SmartHow to write "real good"32 How to Write “Real Good” (9) Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed Who needs rhetorical questions? Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.

© Donald J. N. SmartHow to write "real good"33 How to Write “Real Good” (10) 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!

© Donald J. N. SmartHow to write "real good"34 Happy Writing: “Real Good” That’s all from me Donald Smart