General instructions for synopsis/thesis writing

1. Always define an abbreviation on first use. Like if you want to use TSS, always define TSS on first
use like; total suspended solids (TSS). After defining, you may use TSS in the rest of your text.

2. If you mention the author/organization name within sentence then give year in bracket
alongwith name. (Example; Steel (1979) has pointed out that residual head is the main design
criteria in the design of water distribution system). However, if you do not mention
author/organization name within sentence then give reference at the end of sentence in
(author, year) mode (Examle: Residual head is the main design criteria in the design of water
distribution system (Steel, 1979).

3. Always use last name and year for reference within text e.g. if you wish to refer to E. W. Steel
book; used (Steel, 1979) within text.

4. Long sentences are not considered to be good English. Try to use shorter sentences. Split longer
sentences into two or three shorter sentences. Sometimes, little changes in sentence
construction is required when you split longer sentence into two or more. Carefully see the
following example.

Example of long sentence

Concentrated pollutants present in wastewater after its discharge in river water may
cause an increase in total suspended solids (TSS), total dissolved solids (TDS),
chemical oxygen demand (COD), five day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and toxic
metals such as Cr, Ni, Cd, and Pb., consequently polluting water which is contaminated
and not fit for drinking, irrigation and marine life).

Break up into two sentences with little change in second sentence

Concentrated pollutants present in wastewater after its discharge in river water may
cause an increase in total suspended solids (TSS), total dissolved solids (TDS),
chemical oxygen demand (COD), five day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and toxic
metals such as Cr, Ni, Cd, and Pb. Consequently receiving waters are polluted and no
more remain fit for drinking, irrigation and marine life).

5. Ensure that your sentence bears clarity i.e. what is in your mind, it should be clearly conveyed by
your sentence; means sentence construction and choosing appropriate words are very
important. Take the following example of an ambiguous sentence.
Example of ambiguous sentence
At present, Industries discharge about 9,000 million gallons of effluent having 20,000
tons of BOD loads on daily basis into water bodies from the industrial sector which are
deteriorating the ecosystem (Rana, 2006)

Ambiguity: it is not clear from the above sentence that the figures quoted are for a specific region of
Pakistan or is it the statistics for the entire Pakistan. Avoid such ambiguities while constructing your
sentences. Sentence should clearly convey the meaning and do not raise questions in reader’s mind.