9/5/2015 HowtoWriteaThesis

HowtoWriteYourThesis
compiledbyKimKastens,StephaniePfirman,MartinStute,BillHahn,DallasAbbott,andChris
Scholz

I.Thesisstructure II.CrosscuttingIssues III.EditingYourThesis

TitlePage WhatWeAreLookingFor CopyEditing

PlanningAheadforYour
Abstract ContentEditing
Thesis
TableofContents WritingforanAudience AvoidingAmbiguity
Introduction Skimmingvs.Reading ThesisLength
WritingforanInternational
Methods OrderofWriting
Audience
Results FiguresandTables
Discussion TyingtheTexttotheData
Conclusions GivingCredit
Recommendations FinalThesis
Acknowledgments Resources
References
Appendices

I.Thesisstructure
TitlePage

Title(includingsubtitle),author,institution,department,dateofdelivery,researchmentor(s)and
advisor,theirinstututionsandemailadresses

Abstract

Agoodabstractexplainsinonelinewhythepaperisimportant.Itthengoesontogivea
summaryofyourmajorresults,preferablycouchedinnumberswitherrorlimits.Thefinal
sentencesexplainthemajorimplicationsofyourwork.Agoodabstractisconcise,readable,
andquantitative.
Lengthshouldbe~12paragraphs,approx.400words.
Absrtractsgenerallydonothavecitations.
Informationintitleshouldnotberepeated.
Beexplicit.
Usenumberswhereappropriate.
Answerstothesequestionsshouldbefoundintheabstract:
1. Whatdidyoudo?
2. Whydidyoudoit?Whatquestionwereyoutryingtoanswer?
3. Howdidyoudoit?Statemethods.
4. Whatdidyoulearn?Statemajorresults.
5. Whydoesitmatter?Pointoutatleastonesignificantimplication.

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TableofContents

listallheadingsandsubheadingswithpagenumbers
indentsubheadings
itwilllooksomethinglikethis:

Page#
ListofFigures xxx
ListofTables
Introduction

subheads...?
Methods

subheads...?
Results

subheads...?
Discussion

subheads...?
Conclusion
Recommendations
Acknowledgments
References
Appendices

Introduction
Youcan'twriteagoodintroductionuntilyouknowwhatthebodyofthepapersays.Considerwriting
theintroductorysection(s)afteryouhavecompletedtherestofthepaper,ratherthanbefore.

Besuretoincludeahookatthebeginningoftheintroduction.Thisisastatementofsomething
sufficientlyinterestingtomotivateyourreadertoreadtherestofthepaper,itisan
important/interestingscientificproblemthatyourpapereithersolvesoraddresses.Youshoulddraw
thereaderinandmakethemwanttoreadtherestofthepaper.

Thenextparagraphsintheintroductionshouldcitepreviousresearchinthisarea.Itshouldcitethose
whohadtheideaorideasfirst,andshouldalsocitethosewhohavedonethemostrecentandrelevant
work.Youshouldthengoontoexplainwhymoreworkwasnecessary(yourwork,ofcourse.)

Whatelsebelongsintheintroductorysection(s)ofyourpaper?

1. Astatementofthegoalofthepaper:whythestudywasundertaken,orwhythepaperwas
written.Donotrepeattheabstract.
2. Sufficientbackgroundinformationtoallowthereadertounderstandthecontextand
significanceofthequestionyouaretryingtoaddress.
3. Properacknowledgementofthepreviousworkonwhichyouarebuilding.Sufficient
referencessuchthatareadercould,bygoingtothelibrary,achieveasophisticated
understandingofthecontextandsignificanceofthequestion.
4. Theintroductionshouldbefocusedonthethesisquestion(s).Allcitedworkshouldbe
directlyreleventtothegoalsofthethesis.Thisisnotaplacetosummarizeeverythingyou
haveeverreadonasubject.
5. Explainthescopeofyourwork,whatwillandwillnotbeincluded.
6. Averbal"roadmap"orverbal"tableofcontents"guidingthereadertowhatliesahead.
7. Isitobviouswhereintroductorymaterial("oldstuff")endsandyourcontribution("new
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stuff")begins?

Rememberthatthisisnotareviewpaper.Wearelookingfororiginalworkand
interpretation/analysisbyyou.Breakuptheintroductionsectionintologicalsegmentsbyusing
subheads.
Methods

Whatbelongsinthe"methods"sectionofascientificpaper?

1. Informationtoallowthereadertoassessthebelievabilityofyourresults.
2. Informationneededbyanotherresearchertoreplicateyourexperiment.
3. Descriptionofyourmaterials,procedure,theory.
4. Calculations,technique,procedure,equipment,andcalibrationplots.
5. Limitations,assumptions,andrangeofvalidity.
6. Desciptionofyouranalysticalmethods,includingreferencetoanyspecializedstatistical
software.

Themethodssectionshouldansweringthefollowingquestionsandcaveats:

1. Couldoneaccuratelyreplicatethestudy(forexample,alloftheoptionalandadjustable
parametersonanysensorsorinstrumentsthatwereusedtoacquirethedata)?
2. Couldanotherresearcheraccuratelyfindandreoccupythesamplingstationsortracklines?
3. Isthereenoughinformationprovidedaboutanyinstrumentsusedsothatafunctionally
equivalentinstrumentcouldbeusedtorepeattheexperiment?
4. Ifthedataareinthepublicdomain,couldanotherresearcherlayhisorherhandsonthe
identicaldataset?
5. Couldonereplicateanylaboratoryanalysesthatwereused?
6. Couldonereplicateanystatisticalanalyses?
7. Couldanotherresearcherapproximatelyreplicatethekeyalgorithmsofanycomputer
software?

Citationsinthissectionshouldbelimitedtodatasourcesandreferencesofwheretofindmore
completedescriptionsofprocedures.
Donotincludedescriptionsofresults.
Results

Theresultsareactualstatementsofobservations,includingstatistics,tablesandgraphs.
Indicateinformationonrangeofvariation.
Mentionnegativeresultsaswellaspositive.Donotinterpretresultssavethatforthe
discussion.
Layoutthecaseasforajury.Presentsufficientdetailssothatotherscandrawtheirown
inferencesandconstructtheirownexplanations.
UseS.I.units(m,s,kg,W,etc.)throughoutthethesis.
Breakupyourresultsintologicalsegmentsbyusingsubheadings
Keyresultsshouldbestatedinclearsentencesatthebeginningofparagraphs.Itisfarbetter
tosay"XhadsignificantpositiverelationshipwithY(linearregressionp<0.01,r^2=0.79)"
thentostartwithalessinformativelike"ThereisasignificantrelationshipbetweenXand
Y".Describethenatureofthefindingsdonotjusttellthereaderwhetherornottheyare
significant.

Note:Resultsvs.DiscussionSections

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Quarantineyourobservationsfromyourinterpretations.Thewritermustmakeitcrystalcleartothe
readerwhichstatementsareobservationandwhichareinterpretation.Inmostcircumstances,thisis
bestaccomplishedbyphysicallyseparatingstatementsaboutnewobservationsfromstatementsabout
themeaningorsignificanceofthoseobservations.Alternatively,thisgoalcanbeaccomplishedby
carefuluseofphrasessuchas"Iinfer..."vastbodiesofgeologicalliteraturebecameobsoletewiththe
adventofplatetectonicsthepapersthatsurvivedarethoseinwhichobservationswerepresentedin
standalonefashion,unmuddiedbywhateverideastheauthormighthavehadabouttheprocessesthat
causedtheobservedphenomena.

Howdoyoudothis?

1. Physicalseparationintodifferentsectionsorparagraphs.
2. Don'toverlayinterpretationontopofdatainfigures.
3. Carefuluseofphrasessuchas"Weinferthat".
4. Don'tworryif"results"seemshort.

Why?

1. Easierforyourreadertoabsorb,frequentshiftsofmentalmodenotrequired.
2. Ensuresthatyourworkwillendureinspiteofshiftingparadigms.

Discussion

Startwithafewsentencesthatsummarizethemostimportantresults.Thediscussionsectionshould
beabriefessayinitself,answeringthefollowingquestionsandcaveats:

1. Whatarethemajorpatternsintheobservations?(Refertospatialandtemporalvariations.)
2. Whataretherelationships,trendsandgeneralizationsamongtheresults?
3. Whataretheexceptionstothesepatternsorgeneralizations?
4. Whatarethelikelycauses(mechanisms)underlyingthesepatternsresultingpredictions?
5. Isthereagreementordisagreementwithpreviouswork?
6. Interpretresultsintermsofbackgroundlaidoutintheintroductionwhatistherelationship
ofthepresentresultstotheoriginalquestion?
7. Whatistheimplicationofthepresentresultsforotherunansweredquestionsinearth
sciences,ecology,environmentalpolicy,etc....?
8. Multiplehypotheses:Thereareusuallyseveralpossibleexplanationsforresults.Becarefulto
consideralloftheseratherthansimplypushingyourfavoriteone.Ifyoucaneliminateallbut
one,thatisgreat,butoftenthatisnotpossiblewiththedatainhand.Inthatcaseyoushould
giveeventreatmenttotheremainingpossibilities,andtrytoindicatewaysinwhichfuture
workmayleadtotheirdiscrimination.
9. Avoidbandwagons:Aspecialcaseoftheabove.Avoidjumpingacurrentlyfashionablepoint
ofviewunlessyourresultsreallydostronglysupportthem.
10. Whatarethethingswenowknoworunderstandthatwedidn'tknoworunderstandbeforethe
presentwork?
11. Includetheevidenceorlineofreasoningsupportingeachinterpretation.
12. Whatisthesignificanceofthepresentresults:whyshouldwecare?

Thissectionshouldberichinreferencestosimilarworkandbackgroundneededtointerpretresults.
However,interpretation/discussionsection(s)areoftentoolongandverbose.Istherematerialthat
doesnotcontributetooneoftheelementslistedabove?Ifso,thismaybematerialthatyouwill
wanttoconsiderdeletingormoving.Breakupthesectionintologicalsegmentsbyusingsubheads.
Conclusions

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Whatisthestrongestandmostimportantstatementthatyoucanmakefromyour
observations?
Ifyoumetthereaderatameetingsixmonthsfromnow,whatdoyouwantthemtoremember
aboutyourpaper?
Referbacktoproblemposed,anddescribetheconclusionsthatyoureachedfromcarryingout
thisinvestigation,summarizenewobservations,newinterpretations,andnewinsightsthat
haveresultedfromthepresentwork.
Includethebroaderimplicationsofyourresults.
Donotrepeatwordforwordtheabstract,introductionordiscussion.

Recommendations

Includewhenappropriate(mostofthetime)
Remedialactiontosolvetheproblem.
Furtherresearchtofillingapsinourunderstanding.
Directionsforfutureinvestigationsonthisorrelatedtopics.

Acknowledgments

Advisor(s)andanyonewhohelpedyou:

1. technically(includingmaterials,supplies)
2. intellectually(assistance,advice)
3. financially(forexample,departmentalsupport,travelgrants)

References

citeallideas,concepts,text,datathatarenotyourown
ifyoumakeastatement,backitupwithyourowndataorareference
allreferencescitedinthetextmustbelisted
citesingleauthorreferencesbythesurnameoftheauthor(followedbydateofthepublication
inparenthesis)
...accordingtoHays(1994)
...populationgrowthisoneofthegreatestenvironmentalconcernsfacingfuture
generations(Hays,1994).
citedoubleauthorreferencesbythesurnamesofbothauthors(followedbydateofthe
publicationinparenthesis)
e.g.SimpsonandHays(1994)
citemorethandoubleauthorreferencesbythesurnameofthefirstauthorfollowedbyetal.
andthenthedateofthepublication
e.g.Pfirman,SimpsonandHayswouldbe:
Pfirmanetal.(1994)
donotusefootnotes
listallreferencescitedinthetextinalphabeticalorderusingthefollowingformatfor
differenttypesofmaterial:
Hunt,S.(1966)Carbohydrateandaminoacidcompositionoftheeggcapsulesofthe
whelk.Nature,210,436437.
NationalOceanicandAtmosphericAdministration(1997)Commonlyaskedquestions
aboutozone.http://www.noaa.gov/publicaffairs/grounders/ozo1.html,9/27/97.
Pfirman,S.L.,M.Stute,H.J.Simpson,andJ.Hays(1996)Undergraduateresearchat
BarnardandColumbia,JournalofResearch,11,213214.
Pechenik,J.A.(1987)Ashortguidetowritingaboutbiology.HarperCollins
Publishers,NewYork,194pp.
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9/5/2015 HowtoWriteaThesis

Pitelka,D.R.,andF.M.Child(1964)Reviewofciliarystructureandfunction.In:
BiochemistryandPhysiologyofProtozoa,Vol.3(S.H.Hutner,editor),Academic
Press,NewYork,131198.
Sambrotto,R.(1997)lecturenotes,EnvironmentalDataAnalysis,BarnardCollege,Oct
2,1997.
Stute,M.,J.F.Clark,P.Schlosser,W.S.Broecker,andG.Bonani(1995)Ahigh
altitudecontinentalpaleotemperaturerecordderivedfromnoblegasesdissolvedin
groundwaterfromtheSanJuanBasin,NewMexico.Quat.Res.,43,209220.
NewYorkTimes(1/15/00)PCBsintheHudsonstillanissue,A2.
itisacceptabletoputtheinitialsoftheindividualauthorsbehindtheirlastnames,e.g.
Pfirman,S.L.,Stute,M.,Simpson,H.J.,andHays,J(1996)Undergraduateresearchat......

Appendices

Includeallyourdataintheappendix.
Referencedata/materialsnoteasilyavailable(thesesareusedasaresourcebythedepartment
andotherstudents).
Tables(wheremorethan12pages).
Calculations(wheremorethan12pages).
Youmayincludeakeyarticleasappendix.
Ifyouconsultedalargenumberofreferencesbutdidnotciteallofthem,youmightwantto
includealistofadditionalresourcematerial,etc.
Listofequipmentusedforanexperimentordetailsofcomplicatedprocedures.
Note:Figuresandtables,includingcaptions,shouldbeembeddedinthetextandnotinan
appendix,unlesstheyaremorethan12pagesandarenotcriticaltoyourargument.

II.CrosscuttingIssues
WhatAreWeLookingFor?

Wearelookingforacriticalanalysis.Wewantyoutoanswerascientificquestionorhypothesis.We
wouldlikeyoutogatherevidencefromvarioussourcestoallowyoutomakeinterpretationsand
judgments.Yourapproach/methodsshouldbecarefullydesignedtocometoclosure.Yourresults
shouldbeclearlydefinedanddiscussedinthecontextofyourtopic.Relevantliteratureshouldbe
cited.Youshouldplaceyouranalysisinabroadercontext,andhighlighttheimplications(regional,
global,etc.)ofyourwork.Wearelookingforawellreasonedlineofargument,fromyourinitial
question,compilationofrelevantevidence,settingdatainageneral/universalcontext,andfinally
makingajudgmentbasedonyouranalysis.Yourthesisshouldbeclearlywrittenandintheformat
describedbelow.

PlanningAheadforYourThesis

Ifatallpossible,startyourthesisresearchduringthesummerbetweenyourjuniorandsenioryearor
evenearlierwithaninternship,etc....thenworkonfillinginbackgroundmaterialandlabwork
duringthefallsothatyou'repreparedtowriteandpresentyourresearchduringthespring.Thebest
strategyistopickaprojectthatyouareinterestedin,butalsothatafacultymemberorother
professionalisworkingon.Thispersonwillbecomeyourresearchmentorandthisgivesyousomeone
totalkwithandgetbackgroundmaterialfrom.Ifyou'reunsureabouttheselectionofaproject,letus
knowandwe'lltrytoconnectyouwithsomeone.

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WritingforanAudience

Whoisyouraudience?

1. Researchersworkinginanalogousfieldareaselsewhereintheworld(i.e.otherstrikeslip
faults,otherdeepseafans).
2. Researchersworkinginyourfieldarea,butwithdifferenttechniques.
3. Researchersworkingonthesameintervalofgeologictimeelsewhereintheworld.
4. Allotherresearchersusingthesametechniqueyouhaveused.
5. Ifyourstudyencompassesanactiveprocess,researchersworkingonthesameprocessinthe
ancientrecord.
6. Conversely,ifyourstudyisbasedontherockrecord,peoplestudyingmodemanalogs.
7. Peoplewritingasynthesispaperonimportantnewdevelopmentsinyourfield.
8. Peopleapplyingearthsciencetosocietalproblems(i.e.earthquakehazardreduction,climate
warming)whowilltrytounderstandyourpaper.
9. Potentialreviewersofyourmanuscriptoryourthesiscommittee.

Skimmingvs.Reading
Becauseoftheliteratureexplosion,papersmoreskimmedthanread.Skimminginvolvesreadingthe
abstract,andlookingatthefiguresandfigurecaptions.Therefore,youshouldconstructyourpaperso
thatitcanbeunderstoodbyskimming,i.e.,theconclusions,aswritteninyourabstract,canbe
understoodbystudyofthefiguresandcaptions.Thetextfillsoutthedetailsforthemoreinterested
reader.

OrderofWriting

Yourthesisisnotwritteninthesameorderasitispresentedin.Thefollowinggivesyouoneidea
howtoproceed.

1. firstorganizeyourpaperasalogicalargumentbeforeyoubeginwriting
2. makeyourfigurestoillustrateyourargument(thinkskimming)
3. themainsectionsare:backgroundtotheargument(intro)describingtheinformationtobe
usedintheargument,andmakingpointsaboutthem(observations),connectingthepoints
regardingtheinfo(analysis),summingup(conclusions).
4. outlinethemainelements:sections,andsubsections
5. beginwriting,choosingoptionsinthefollowinghierarchyparagraphs,sentences,and
words.

Hereisanotherapproach.

1. Writeupapreliminaryversionofthebackgroundsectionfirst.Thiswillserveasthebasisfor
theintroductioninyourfinalpaper.
2. Asyoucollectdata,writeupthemethodssection.Itismucheasiertodothisrightafteryou
havecollectedthedata.Besuretoincludeadescriptionoftheresearchequipmentand
relevantcalibrationplots.
3. Whenyouhavesomedata,startmakingplotsandtablesofthedata.Thesewillhelpyouto
visualizethedataandtoseegapsinyourdatacollection.Iftimepermits,youshouldgoback
andfillinthegaps.Youarefinishedwhenyouhaveasetofplotsthatshowadefinitetrend
(orlackofatrend).Besuretomakeadequatestatisticaltestsofyourresults.
4. Onceyouhaveacompletesetofplotsandstatisticaltests,arrangetheplotsandtablesina
logicalorder.Writefigurecaptionsfortheplotsandtables.Asmuchaspossible,thecaptions

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shouldstandaloneinexplainingtheplotsandtables.Manyscientistsreadonlytheabstract,
figures,figurecaptions,tables,tablecaptions,andconclusionsofapaper.Besurethatyour
figures,tablesandcaptionsarewelllabeledandwelldocumented.
5. Onceyourplotsandtablesarecomplete,writetheresultssection.Writingthissection
requiresextremediscipline.Youmustdescribeyourresults,butyoumustNOTinterpret
them.(Ifgoodideasoccurtoyouatthistime,savethematthebottomofthepageforthe
discussionsection.)Befactualandorderlyinthissection,buttrynottobetoodry.
6. Onceyouhavewrittentheresultssection,youcanmoveontothediscussionsection.Thisis
usuallyfuntowrite,becausenowyoucantalkaboutyourideasaboutthedata.Ifyoucan
comeupwithagoodcartoon/schematicshowingyourideas,doso.Manypapersarecitedin
theliteraturebecausetheyhaveagoodcartoonthatsubsequentauthorswouldliketouseor
modify.
7. Inwritingthediscussionsession,besuretoadequatelydiscusstheworkofotherauthorswho
collecteddataonthesameorrelatedscientificquestions.Besuretodiscusshowtheirworkis
relevanttoyourwork.Iftherewereflawsintheirmethodology,thisistheplacetodiscussit.
8. Afteryouhavediscussedthedata,youcanwritetheconclusionssection.Inthissection,you
taketheideasthatwerementionedinthediscussionsectionandtrytocometosomeclosure.
Ifsomehypothesiscanberuledoutasaresultofyourwork,sayso.Ifmoreworkisneeded
foradefinitiveanswer,saythat.
9. Thefinalsectioninthepaperisarecommendationsection.Thisisreallytheendofthe
conclusionsectioninascientificpaper.Makerecommendationsforfurtherresearchorpolicy
actionsinthissection.IfyoucanmakepredictionsaboutwhatwillbefoundifXistrue,then
doso.Youwillgetcreditfromlaterresearchersforthis.
10. Afteryouhavefinishedtherecommendationsection,lookbackatyouroriginalintroduction.
Yourintroductionshouldsetthestagefortheconclusionsofthepaperbylayingouttheideas
thatyouwilltestinthepaper.Nowthatyouknowwherethepaperisleading,youwill
probablyneedtorewritetheintroduction.
11. Youmustwriteyourabstractlast.

FiguresandTables

Theactualfiguresandtablesshouldbeembedded/insertedinthetext,generallyonthepage
followingthepagewherethefigure/tableisfirstcitedinthetext.
Allfiguresandtablesshouldbenumberedandcitedconsecutivelyinthetextasfigure1,
figure2,table1,table2,etc.
Includeacaptionforeachfigureandtable,citinghowitwasconstructed(referencecitations,
datasources,etc.)andhighlightingthekeyfindings(thinkskimming).Includeanindexfigure
(map)showingandnamingalllocationsdiscussedinpaper.
Youareencouragedtomakeyourownfigures,includingcartoons,schematicsorsketches
thatillustratetheprocessesthatyoudiscuss.Examineyourfigureswiththesequestionsin
mind:
1. Isthefigureselfexplanatory?
2. Areyouraxeslabeledandaretheunitsindicated?
3. Showtheuncertaintyinyourdatawitherrorbars.
4. Ifthedataarefitbyacurve,indicatethegoodnessoffit.
5. Couldchartjunkbeeliminated?
6. Couldnondatainkbeeliminated?
7. Couldredundantdatainkbeeliminated?
8. Coulddatadensitybeincreasedbyeliminatingnondatabearingspace?
9. Isthisasparsedatasetthatcouldbetterbeexpressedasatable?
10. Doesthefiguredistortthedatainanyway?

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11. Arethedatapresentedincontext?
12. Doesthefigurecaptionguidethereader'seyetothe"takehomelesson"ofthefigure?
Figuresshouldbeorientedvertically,inportraitmode,whereverpossible.Ifyoumustorient
themhorizontally,inlandscapemode,orientthemsothatyoucanreadthemfromtheright,
notfromtheleft,wherethebindingwillbe.

TyingtheTexttotheData

"Showthem,don'tjusttellthem"Ideally,everyresultclaimedinthetextshouldbedocumented
withdata,usuallydatapresentedintablesorfigures.Iftherearenodataprovidedtosupportagiven
statementofresultorobservation,consideraddingmoredata,ordeletingtheunsupported
"observation."
Examinefigure(s)ortable(s)pertainingtotheresult(s).
Assesswhether:

1. thedatasupportthetextualstatement
2. thedatacontradictthetextualstatement
3. thedataareinsufficienttoproveorrefutethetextualstatement
4. thedatamaysupportthetextualstatement,butarenotpresentedinsuchawaythatyoucan
besureyouareseeingthesamephenomenoninthedatathattheauthorclaimstohaveseen.

GivingCredit

Howdoesonefairlyandaccuratelyindicatewhohasmadewhatcontributionstowardstheresultsand
interpretationspresentedinyourpaper?:byreferencing,authorship,andacknowledgements.
Differenttypesoferrors:

1. directquotesorillustrationswithoutquotationmarks,withoutattribution
2. directquoteswithoutquotationmarks,withattribution
3. concepts/ideaswithoutattribution
4. concepts/ideaswithsloppyattribution
5. omittingorfabricatingdataorresults

Checkreferencescarefullyandrereadreferenceworkspriortopublication.Thefirsttimeyouread
something,youwillconsciouslyremembersomethings,butmaysubconsciouslytakeinotheraspects.
Itisimportanttocrosscheckyourconsciousmemoryagainstyourcitations.
Seealso:
D.Kennedy,1985,OnAcademicAuthorship
SigmaXi,1984,HonorinScience
YaleUniversitypamphletonplagiarism

FinalThesis

Make3finalcopies:1tomentorand2todepartment,sothatwecanhave2readers.
Finalthesisshouldbebound.
Printedcleanlyonwhitepaper.
Doublespacedusing12pointfont.
1inchmargins.
Doublesidedsavespaper.
Includepagenumbers.

Resources
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TheBarnardWritingRoomprovidesassistanceonwritingseniortheses.
LookatotherthesesonfileintheEnvironmentalSciencedepartment,theywillgiveyouan
ideaofwhatwearelookingfor.
Ofcoursedonothesitatetoaskus,oryourresearchadvisorforhelp.
TheBarnardEnvironmentalScienceDepartmenthasmanybooksonscientificwriting,ask
thedepartmentaladministratorforassistanceinlocatingthem.
AlsoseeadditionalbookslistedasResources.

III.EditingYourThesis
Evenaroughdraftshouldbeedited.

CopyEditing
1. Proofreadyourthesisafewtimes.
2. Checkyourspelling.spellcheckersareusefulforinitialchecking,butdon'tcatchhomonyms
(e.g.hear,here),soyouneedtodothefinalcheckbyeye.
3. Makesurethatyouusecompletesentences
4. Checkyourgrammar:punctuation,sentencestructure,subjectverbagreement(pluralor
singular),tenseconsistency,etc.
5. Giveittootherstoreadandcomment.

ContentEditing
1. logic
2. repetition,relevance
3. style

Avoidingambiguity
1. Donotallowrunonsentencestosneakintoyourwritingtrysemicolons.
2. Avoidnestedclauses/phrases.
3. Avoidclausesorphraseswithmorethantwoideasinthem.
4. Donotusedoublenegatives.
5. Donotusedanglingparticiples(i.e.phraseswithan"ing"verb,insentenceswheretheagent
performingtheactionofthe"ing"verbisnotspecified:"Afterstandinginboilingwaterfor
twohours,examinetheflask.").
6. Makesurethattheantecedentforeverypronoun(it,these,those,that,this,one)iscrystal
clear.Ifindoubt,usethenounratherthanthepronoun,eveniftheresultingsentenceseemsa
littlebitredundant.
7. Ensurethatsubjectandverbagreeinnumber(singularversusplural).
8. Beespeciallycarefulwithcompoundsubjects.Beespeciallycarefulwithsubject/verb
agreementwithinclauses.
9. Avoidqualitativeadjectiveswhendescribingconceptsthatarequantifiable("Thewateris
deep.""Plateconvergenceisfast.""Ouralgorithmisbetter.")Instead,quantify.("Water
depthsexceed5km.")
10. Avoidnounstrings("acousticnoisesourcelocationtechnique").
11. Donotuseunexplainedacronyms.Spelloutallacronymsthefirsttimethatyouusethem.

Thesislength
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Writeforbrevityratherthanlength.Thegoalistheshortestpossiblepaperthatcontainsall
informationnecessarytodescribetheworkandsupporttheinterpretation.
Avoidunnecessaryrepetitionandirrelevanttangents.
Necessaryrepetition:themainthemeshouldbedevelopedintheintroductionasamotivationor
workinghypothesis.Itisthendevelopedinthemainbodyofthepaper,andmentionedagaininthe
discussionsection(and,ofcourse,intheabstractandconclusions).
Somesuggestionsonhowtoshortenyourpaper:

1. Usetablesforrepetitiveinformation.
2. Includeonlysufficientbackgroundmaterialtopermitthereadertounderstandyourstory,not
everypapereverwrittenonthesubject.
3. Usefigurecaptionseffectively.
4. Don'tdescribethecontentsofthefiguresand/ortablesinthetextitembyitem.Instead,use
thetexttopointoutthemostsignificantpatterns,itemsortrendsinthefiguresandtables.
5. Delete"observations"or"results"thatarementionedinthetextforwhichyouhavenot
showndata.
6. Delete"conclusions"thatarenotdirectlysupportedbyyourobservationsorresults.
7. Delete"interpretation"or"discussion"sectionsthatareinconclusive.
8. Delete"interpretation"or"discussion"sectionsthatareonlyperipherallyrelatedtoyournew
resultsorobservations.
9. Scrutinizeadjectives!adverbsandprepositionalphrases.

Althoughitvariesconsiderablyfromprojecttoproject,averagethesislengthisabout40pagesof
textplusfigures.Thistotalpagecountincludesallyourtextaswellasthelistofreferences,butit
doesnotincludeanyappendices.Thesegeneralizationsshouldnotbetakentooseriously,especially
ifyouareworkingonalaborintensivelabproject.Ifyouhaveanyquestionsaboutwhetheryour
projectisofsufficientscope,consultoneofusearlyon.

WritingforanInternationalAudience
1. Putasmuchinformationaspossibleintofiguresandtables.Inparticular,trytofindawayto
putyourconclusionsintoafigure,perhapsaflowchartoracartoon.
2. Don'tassumethatreadersarefamiliarwiththegeographyorthestratigraphyofyourfield
area.
3. Everysingleplacenamementionedinthetextshouldbeshownonamap.
4. Considerincludingalocationmap,eitherasaseparatefigureorasaninsettoanotherfigure.
Ifyourpaperinvolvesstratigraphy,considerincludingasummarystratigraphiccolumnin
effect,alocationmapintime.
5. Useshortersentences.Avoidnestedclausesorphrases.
6. Avoididioms.Favorusagesthatcanbelookedupinanordinarydictionary."Takethebeaker
outoftheovenimmediately..."ratherthan"Takethebeakeroutoftheovenrightaway..."

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