How do I use transitions and signposting in my academic text? When writing an academic text, it is important to ensure that the whole feels like a smooth, coherent piece of work. To this end, you need to build effective links between your sentences and paragraphs, which will take your reader through your line of …
How do I organize and structure my academic text? Because it is so important that a research work is clearly understood by others, academic writing should be clear and logical. Your choice of vocabulary will help achieve clarity in your text. But it’s just as important to clearly connect your sentences, paragraphs, and sections. The …
How long should my sentences and sections be? To ensure your entire paper can be easily read and understood, pay attention to your text at the sentence and section level. Your average sentence length is often a proxy for how much information is conveyed in each of your sentences. Many researchers make the mistake of …
How do I make my academic writing more concise? Conciseness, or the ability to convey meaning in just a few words, is important in academic writing. Not only will it help you stick to assigned word limits, it will also help with clarity. The following tips will help you write more concisely, whether you’re working …
Should I use the passive or active voice in my academic text? The choice of the active or passive voice is one of the most controversial issues in academic writing. Common advice is that the active voice is preferred, on the grounds that it makes a sentence shorter and clearer. Compare these two sentences: However, …
How can I write with an objective and neutral tone? Academic writing is about reporting rigorous research and scientific analysis, so it should be objective and emotionally neutral in tone. Anything that implies personal judgment or bias has no place. To ensure your paper features objective and neutral language, do the following: In most cases, …
Should I use the first-person pronoun in my academic text? The first-person singular pronoun (‘I’) is normally avoided in research papers. This is because a lot of research is done in collaboration with other researchers, so the first-person plural (‘we’) is more appropriate. Things are different when writing a PhD thesis, which is an individual …
How can I avoid vague language in my academic text? Academic writing should be precise and specific. The more ambiguity in your text, the more potential for misinterpretation and misunderstanding. The following are tips to avoid vague language in your academic text: To make sure your writing is precise and specific, use Writefull’s automated …
How can I use cautious language (or hedging) in my academic text? Hedging refers to words and phrases that are used to soften the certainty of a statement. Because research is an ongoing process and knowledge is incremental, not all research questions have a definite answer, and a single study or paper can only provide …
How can I avoid informal language in my academic text? Compared with other forms of written English, academic writing has a formal register. Colloquialisms that you hear in everyday speech have no place in a thesis, paper, or other research text. Here are tips to avoid informal language in your paper: Connectors, or words used at the …
