week 7

The Dissertation Journey: A Practical and Comprehensive Guide to Planning, Writing,

and Defending your Dissertation

Mastering the Academic Style

Contributors: By: Carol M. Roberts

Book Title: The Dissertation Journey: A Practical and Comprehensive Guide to Planning, Writing, and

Defending your Dissertation

Chapter Title: "Mastering the Academic Style"

Pub. Date: 2010

Access Date: April 1, 2021

Publishing Company: Corwin Press

City: Thousand Oaks

Print ISBN: 9781412977982

Online ISBN: 9781452219219

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781452219219.n10

Print pages: 111-121

© 2010 Corwin Press All Rights Reserved.

This PDF has been generated from SAGE Knowledge. Please note that the pagination of the online

version will vary from the pagination of the print book.

Mastering the Academic Style

Mastering the academic style

Anyone who wishes to become a good writer should endeavor, before he allows himself to be tempted by the more showy qualities, to be direct, simple, brief, vigorous, and lucid.

—Fowler and Fowler, The King's English

Qualities of Scholarly Writing

The qualities espoused by Fowler and Fowler in the opening quote represent the heart and soul of good expository writing. However, two additional qualities define the scholarly, academic writing required for dissertation writing: precision and logic. Knowing how to express your ideas in logical sequence and in a clear and concise manner is critical to your success as a scholarly practitioner. The qualities of logic, precision, clarity, directness, and brevity are also qualities of effective thinking. Zinsser (1994) stated, “Writing is thinking on paper. … If you can think clearly about the things you know and care about, you can write—with confidence and enjoyment” (p. vii).

Every dissertation advisor I know would affirm that scholarly writing is impossible without clear, logical, and precise thinking. There is a close and reciprocal relationship between good writing and clear thinking. Since writing is a reflection of thinking, the quality of your writing depends on how well you think. Clear, logical thinking usually precedes writing; however, the act of writing clarifies your thinking and develops logical thought. This is why many dissertation advisors, rather than endlessly discussing your dissertation, say, “Put it in writing and then we can discuss it.”

To be able to express yourself clearly, logically, and with precision, you must be in command of basic writing skills such as constructing grammatical sentences, using appropriate transitions, and remaining focused and concise. If you have difficulty expressing yourself clearly, I strongly suggest that you hire an editor early on to assist you with the writing process. Your committee should not have to spend its time editing or teaching you basic composition skills.

Even if you write reasonably well, you may, like most students, initially experience difficulty writing in the scholarly, academic style required for dissertations. This can be verified by many dissertation advisors who received drafts of dissertation chapters that could be classified as clumsy, muddled, and verbose. Reading such writing is tortuous and dulls the senses. The better you write, the fewer revisions you will make and the sooner you will obtain those three signatures required for graduation.

The good news is that this kind of writing can be learned. You don't need inspiration, just a good dose of determination, perseverance, and patience. These three characteristics usually can overcome any lack of innate talent. There are many excellent books with good advice on improving your writing. However, the best way to learn to write more effectively is to write a lot, obtain feedback on your writing, and rewrite.

For most people, writing is a difficult, complex, and laborious task requiring self-discipline and mental concentration to stay the course for any length of time. As a doctoral student, you have the extra burden of knowing that your document will be open to public scrutiny and judgment, first to your committee and then to the academic community at large. Your reputation as a scholar and that of your committee are at stake when your dissertation is signed and printed.

This section presents guidelines and tips to help you understand some of the critical elements that contribute to scholarly writing. It incorporates key thoughts on writing from a variety of sources plus my own experience in guiding students in writing academic papers and dissertations.

This book cannot begin to cover the myriad topics devoted to improving the writing process. Instead, I focus

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on my observations and those of my colleagues as to the major errors made by doctoral students in writing their papers and dissertations. I also include information about effective writing from noted authorities in the field. The following section identifies some common writing problems, followed by eight tips for good writing.

What is written without effort is, in general, read without pleasure.

—SamuelJohnson

Common Writing Problems

I asked a group of dissertation advisors to respond to the question, “What are the most common writing problems you see while guiding dissertation students?” Their responses revolved around four major areas: organization, paragraphs, sentence construction, and direct quotations. Following summarizes their responses:

Organization

• Rambling in literature review • Failure to develop ideas in a logical sequence • Problem statements that are “all over the wall” • Lack of organization • Lack of consistency • Failure to use headings • Inappropriate use of the required style manual • Little evidence of proofreading

Paragraphs

• One-sentence paragraphs • Unclear antecedent for this • Paragraphs not developed as a clear center of thought • Lack of transitions • Weak transitions • Failure to indicate where the paragraph is going—“bones without a skeleton” • Introducing a topic and then failing to discuss the topic • Lack of details that are explicit and related to the main idea • Paragraphs that lack focus

Sentence Construction

• Overlong sentences • Subject-verb agreement (e.g., data were is correct, not data was)

Direct Quotations

• Inappropriate use of direct quotations • Excessive quoting

The following section offers some tips to help overcome these writing problems and others encountered in the writing process.

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Tips for Good Writing

Tip 1: Write in a Conversational Tone

Do your best to write naturally, as if you were conversing with an intelligent person unfamiliar with your topic. When you do this, your writing takes on the energy and liveliness of good conversation. So often students believe they must write in a formal, stilted, grandiose manner quite different from the way they talk. There is artificiality about this kind of writing that makes it boring and tedious for readers. People prefer reading simple, understandable writing.

Tip 2: Trim Excess Words

Say what you need to say in as few words as possible, using the simplest language. Strunk and White (1979) stated this idea clearly:

Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell. (p. 23)

Strunk and White (1979, p. 24) provided some commonly used phrases that violate conciseness, along with some briefer options:

he is a man who he this is a subject that this subject the reason why that is because owing to the fact that since

Preposition Alert!

Another example of verbosity includes the overuse of prepositions (e.g., by, under, because, of, for, with). Good writing is clear, concise, and interesting. Overusing prepositions creates the opposite of that; it causes wordy writing—boring and hard to understand. It's so much easier to drop in preposition after preposition than to find active verbs that keep your writing powerful and interesting. Preposition overuse is a common writing fault that can be easily corrected. Munter (1997) offered a technique to overcome this habit. She suggested “circling, or having a computer program highlight, all the prepositions in a sample page of your writing. If you consistently find more than four in a sentence, you need to revise and shorten. ‘Of’ is usually the worst offender” (p. 70). So help trim excess words in your writing by eliminating overuse of prepositions and their wordy baggage.

Additional culprits to avoid are the compound prepositional phrase and verbs with prepositions. Following is a list of common compound prepositional phrases and verbs with prepositions and their more concise counterparts:

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Qualifiers

It is also important to trim little qualifiers from your writing. Words that say how you feel and think dilute the forcefulness and persuasiveness of your writing. Examples of such qualifiers are sort of, kind of, quite, very, too, and a little.

Tip 3: Use Short Sentences Rather than Long

Long, complex sentences filled with convoluted phrases and multiple clauses are obstacles to easy reading. Trying to decipher such writing drains your readers’ energy and interest. Don't be afraid to break long sentences into two or more shorter sentences. Munter (1997) offered three options for breaking up long sentences:

• 1. Break into three sentences using transitions: first, second …

• 2. Break up long sentences with internal enumeration: (1), (2) …

• 3. Break up long sentences with bullet points

Remember, each sentence should contain one thought and one thought only.

Tip 4: Write Clear, Well-Constructed Paragraphs

A well-constructed paragraph organizes your thoughts coherently. Create paragraphs that contain only one main idea. Usually, the main idea is expressed as a topic sentence at the beginning of the paragraph. It is helpful to begin each paragraph with a topic sentence followed by supporting sentences that illustrate, explain, or clarify your main point. Supporting information might include a specific fact, statistic, direct quotation, anecdote, and so on. Be sure not to write extra-long paragraphs because they are overwhelming to readers. Also, don't write single sentences as paragraphs. Murray (1995) reminded us to use the old- fashioned “CUE” method to develop paragraphs:

Coherence. One thing should logically lead to the next

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Unity. Everything in the paragraph should be about one thing

Emphasis. The main point of the paragraph should be clear (p. 205)

Remember to pay particular attention to the last sentence of each paragraph, for it's the critical springboard to the following paragraph.

Tip 5: Use the Active Voice

Whenever possible, use the active voice in your writing. Active verbs give vitality to your writing. “The active voice is usually more direct and vigorous than the passive … and makes for forcible writing” (Strunk & White, 1979, p. 18). The following examples contrast the passive and active voices:

Passive: This paper was written by me. Active: I wrote the paper. Passive: The nurse is supervisor of the health program. Active: The nurse supervises the health program. Passive: The advisor was hesitant to approve the research design. Active: The advisor hesitated to approve the design. Passive: The dissertation will be edited by members of the committee. Active: The committee will edit the dissertation.

One sign of the passive voice is the use of linking verbs such as was, will be, have been, and is. Sentences containing any form of the verb to be are eligible for rewriting in active voice. Circle all the linking verbs in your own writing or have a computer highlight them. You will find that “75 percent of them can be eliminated” (Munter, 1997, p. 69). Write as straightforwardly as you can, using strong verbs—not ones that lack action (is, was, etc.).

The choice between using the active or passive voice in writing is a matter of style, not correctness. There is nothing inherently wrong with the passive voice, but if you can say the same thing in the active mode, do so.

Passive Voice Usage

The passive voice can be used by you. Both active voice and passive voice have advantages. The active voice reduces wordiness and makes your writing strong and interesting. The passive voice is more formal and more readily accepted in scientific writing because you can write without using personal pronouns or names of specific researchers. It represents the conventional means of impersonal reporting and gives the article an air of objectivity (Example: “Experiments have been conducted to test the hypothesis.”). The passive voice also can be used to good effect in these ways:

• 1.

To de-emphasize responsibility

Example: Rather than “You made an error,” write “An error was made.”

• 2.

To de-emphasize the writer

Example: Instead of “I recommend,” write “It is recommended that.”

• 3.

When the performer of the action is unknown or irrelevant

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Example: “A house was broken into on Main Street.”

Example: “Office mail is delivered twice a day.”

Situations requiring use of passive voice occur infrequently. If your writing does not require these special situations, then reduce the unnecessary passive voice sentences that usually make your writing tedious and hard to understand. Remember, a sequence of passive verbs can have the air of authority, but what it often has is air!

How do you know if you've used too many passive constructions? On your document, circle (or make note of) every form of the verb be (am, is, are, had, has, was, were, been, etc.). Passivevoice constructions always include some form of “to be.” If your page is covered with circles, rewrite the page using active verbs.

Pick up any Scientific American magazine and read the feature articles. You will notice very little passive voice writing in them because the magazine editors and the writers want the readers to read the articles. Therefore, they communicate with their readers in a concise and direct way without sacrificing objectivity. You should do the same when you are writing a scientific paper. Do not confuse objective with detached and wordy.

—Jeffrey Strausser, Painless Writing (2001, p. 77)

Tip 6: Use Transitional Words and Phrases

Transitions build bridges between your ideas and help you achieve a coherent document. They act as road signs that guide your readers from one idea to the next. Transitions help make your discussion easy to follow. Readers must understand how the topics relate to one another. Every sentence should be a logical sequel to the one that preceded it. You signal the relationships between sentences and paragraphs by the following sampling of transitional words and phrases:

Frequently Used Transitions

To Signal Examples

Contrast but, whereas, yet, still, however, nevertheless, despite, on the contrary, although, on the other hand, conversely

Addition furthermore, subsequently, besides, next, moreover, also, similarly, too, second Example for instance, an illustration, thus, such as, that is, specifically Time or place

afterwards, earlier, at the same time, subsequently, later, simultaneously, above, below, further on, so far, until now

Conclusion therefore, in short, thus, then, in other words, in conclusion, consequently, as a result, accordingly, finally

Sequence then, first, second, third, next

Tip 7: Simplify Your Vocabulary

Academic writers tend to use technical terms with abandon. They assume readers understand their specialized language. Resist jargon—it excludes and mystifies. If you must use a special term, explain it at the outset. Also remember to choose short words over long ones, especially if they have the same meaning. “Of the 701 words in Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address, a marvel of economy itself, 505 are words of one syllable and 122 are words of two syllables” (Zinsser, 1994, p. 112).

Beware, then, of the long word that's no better than the short word: assistance (help), numerous (many), facilitate (ease), individual (man or woman), remainder (rest), initial (first), implement (do), sufficient (enough), attempt (try), referred to as (called), and hundreds more. (Zinsser, 1994, p. 16)

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Tip 8: Use Quotations Sparingly

A research paper involves assimilating the works of others and giving proper acknowledgment. Over-quoting is a common mistake. Students often string together a series of quotations connected by words such as similarly, likewise, and on the other hand. Don't do this! Quotations should be used sparingly. Booth, Colomb, and Williams (1995) provided pertinent rules of thumb about when to use direct quotations and when to paraphrase your sources:

Use direct quotations:

• When you use the work of others as primary data • When you want to appeal to their authority • When the specific words of your source matter because

◦ Those words have been important to other researchers ◦ You want to focus on how your source says things ◦ The words of the source are especially vivid or significant ◦ You dispute your source and you want to state his or her case fairly

Paraphrase your sources:

• When you are more interested in content, findings, or claims than in how a source expresses himself or herself

• When you could have said the same thing yourself more clearly (p. 174)

It is important that you take control of interpreting the work of others. Excessive quoting is a form of laziness on your part. In doing so, you abdicate responsibility for being selective and doing your own interpretation for the reader.

The secret of good writing is to strip every sentence to its cleanest components. Every word that serves no function, every long word that could be a short word, every adverb that carries the same meaning that's already in the verb, every passive construction that leaves the reader unsure of who is doing what—these are the thousand and one adulterants that weaken the strength of a sentence. And they usually occur in proportion to education and rank.

—William Zinsser, On Writing Well (1994, p. 7)

Don't start your sentences with a quotation followed by your own words. Instead, start with your words and support them with quoted or paraphrased material.

Useful Verbs

A variety of useful words can introduce quotations and help avoid repetitive constructions such as “Smith said,” or “Smith stated.” More than just variety, these words also provide exactness.

acknowledged confirmed implied addressed contended maintained affirmed contradicted negated agreed declared noted argued discussed refuted asserted disputed reported believed emphasized thought commented endorsed wrote

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Further Reading

Bolker, J. (1998). Writing your dissertation in fifteen minutes a day. New York: Holt. Danziger, E. (2001). Get to the point. New York: Three Rivers. Hacker, D. (2007). A writer's reference ( 6th ed. ). Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's. O'Conner, P. (2009). Woe is I: The grammarphobe's guide to better English in plain English ( 3rd ed. ). New York: Riverhead. Shulman, M. (2005). In focus: Strategies for academic writers. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. Venolia, J. (2001). Write right! A desktop digest of punctuation, grammar, and style. Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press.

Helpful Websites

Purdue's Online Writing Lab (OWL)

• http://owl.english.purdue.edu/index.htm

The Writing Center (University of North Carolina)

• http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb

Duke University Research Guide

• http://library.duke.edu/services/instruction/libraryguide

Fussy Professor Starbuck's Cookbook of Handy-Dandy Prescriptions for Ambitious Academic Authors or Why I Hate Passive Verbs and Love My Word Processor

• http://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~wstarbuc/Writing/Fussy.htm

Summary

Scholarly, academic writing requires the ability to express your ideas logically, clearly, concisely, and with precision. Such writing requires command of basic writing skills such as logical organization, good sentence and paragraph construction, and appropriate transitions. This chapter offered eight tips designed to overcome basic problems dissertation students face in scholarly writing. The next chapter explains the components of a dissertation's introductory chapter and offers examples to clarify how to write each section.

• dissertation • sentencing • verbs • tipping • logical thinking • basic writing • precision

http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781452219219.n10

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