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    Become your own editor

    Introduction

    The research degree process involves the development of high level editing skills. The requirements of a research degree include the production of a thesis 'at publication standard'. This topic aims to provide information and tips to assist in the development of your editing skills.  

    Editing happens at different levels of the text, including:

    1. overall impact—clarity of the research story line;
    2. structure—paragraphs, topic sentences, transitions and signposting;
    3. academic writing conventions—how the academic writer situates themselves in relation to their audience;
    4. proofreading—grammar and punctuation.

    This resource focuses on the last three levels of editing—structure, academic writing conventions, and proofreading. The other topics in this Moodle site focus on the first level, or overall impact and clarity of the research story line in different parts of research writing.

    Most 'final drafts' are products of endless cycles of revision, redrafting, and editing. The difference between good writing and poor writing is often the amount of time spent on revision and editing. Writers for whom English is an additional language may be surprised to learn that there is not inevitably a difference in clarity between the early drafts of native speakers and their own. The amount of revision and editing is typically a more telling indicator of textual clarity, than a writer's facility with English. 

    'Good writing' is the product of many, many revisions, and it is important to develop good habits early in candidature. It is also wise to edit writing before forwarding it to supervisors, even if you are not sure that the content will be part of the final research proposal, thesis, exegesis, or journal article. This is because you will want your supervisor to engage with the content of your text as much as possible, and not be distracted by structural or editorial matters.

    Writing well is important because it means your ideas will be accessible. Writing well improves the likely impact of your research, and goes a long way in supporting a successful career. Never underestimate the value of developing good editing habits!

    Some key resources to support writing and editing are the Australian Government Style Manual or the Australian Manual of Style. 

    Structure of an academic text

    Paragraphs and topic sentences

    In research writing, each step in the research story line—the opening research justification, the review of literature, method or research design, results or argumentation, and discussion and conclusion—has its own distinctive structural features. There are however some principles of structure and flow that underpin academic writing in general, namely the structure of paragraphs, and signposting and transition sentences.

    A paragraph is a group of sentences that share a common theme. An overview sentence at the beginning of the paragraph is often provided to tell the reader what the paragraph is about. This is referred to as a topic sentence. 

    One key revision strategy is to remove any overlap of themes among paragraphs. This typically involves merging and separating content within drafts until you are satisfied that each paragraph has a logical reason for being separated off from the others. A topic sentence at the beginning of the paragraph is used to signal the theme for the paragraph.

    Signposting sentences

    Academic writing uses 'signposting' to indicate the direction of the discussion. For the most part, signposting sentences appear at the beginning and ending of texts or sections of texts. The function of a signposting sentence is to signal a shift in the direction of ideas, to establish logical connections and conclusions, or to show the relationships between ideas.

    Signposting sentences come in several forms. Introductory signposting sentences indicate what you are doing, why you are doing it, and how you are going to go about doing it. Concluding signposting sentences are provided at the end of paragraphs and sections and aim to draw together the main ideas or conclusions, and to highlight the significance or relevance of the preceding discussion. 'Transition' sentences and phrases combine introductory and concluding functions. Transition sentences usually involve summarising or pointing to the main point or topic of a particular section of writing, and then signalling a new topic of discussion. 

    Introductory signposting sentences 

    Introductory signposting phrases should be few, and located within introductory paragraphs, or perhaps the first and last sentences of paragraphs.

    Examples of introductory signposting sentences:

    • The central argument for the development of … is … . In this chapter, the perspective that ... will be developed.
    • The discussion that follows will suggest that the question of whether ... does not arise in discussion of ... as a result of the focus on ... .
    • The proposition that ... is reflected in a research design which ... . Hence this study aims to raise insights about ... .
    • It is contended that … .
    • This next section will examine some of the difficulties associated with … .
    • This chapter sets out to investigate ... . It closely examines the … . 
    • The final section provides a general discussion of … . The section concludes with coverage of … . The last part of the section reveals that … .
    • The current debate about … is outlined demonstrating that ... .
    • In this section, the aspects of … are considered separately to highlight their relationship to … .
    • The three following sections review insights from selected authors about the value of ... in order to highlight … .
    • The next section highlights the literature relevant to the concept of … in order to show that … .

    Concluding signposting sentences

    Concluding signposting sentences tend to be more numerous than introductory signposting sentences because they provide direction within the text. Concluding signposting sentences summarise the descriptive content within paragraphs and sections; they tell the reader what the significant point arising from the detail or descriptive content is. Concluding signposting sentences therefore give the text a critical, assertive tone. They are most commonly located in conclusions, final paragraphs, and in the first and last sentences of paragraphs. For this reason, the direction of well written papers can often be gleaned from reading the first and last sentences of paragraphs, and the first and last paragraphs of sections.

    Examples of concluding signposting sentences:

    • From the above discussion on … it follows that ... This adds to my proposition that … .
    • Current literature often presumes … .
    • It is clear that the study of ... is intimately bound up in … .
    • This brief overview of … shows the overall direction of … .
    • The influence of … is highlighted here. It reinforces the proposition that … .
    • As the statement above indicates, … .
    • Again it is evident that … .
    • For this reason, it can be said that … .
    • Thus, there is a strong argument for … .
    • In this context, then … .
    • Consideration of the underlying factors demonstrate that ... .
    • My investigation shows that … .
    • The issues raised from this review of literature establish that ... .
    • This review of research into … reveals that … .
    • Given the observed trends of … it can be concluded that ... .
    • Inherent in this conception is the understanding that ... .
    • Throughout the literature … It is generally claimed that ... .
    • The strength of such an approach is … .
    • This chapter commenced with an exploration of ... The discussion reveals that … .
    • While we now know that ... little research has been done on … This raises the question ... .

    Transition sentence stems

    Transition sentences are typically found within the last or first paragraphs of sections or chapters.

    Examples of transition signposting sentences:

    • This chapter has highlighted … . It is evident that … . However, the nature of … from the perspective of ... has not been explored.
    • This chapter brings to light two integral concepts related to … . This needs now to be researched more actively in the setting of … to explore the question of whether ... .
    • Whilst this study focuses explicitly on …, it is generally recognised that … is defined by ... .
    • To appreciate the …. , it is worth visiting briefly the model of … .
    • To understand the role of … in forming … it is necessary to understand the factors that contribute to … .
    • Before the discussion on the significance of … can be extended, the theoretical grounds for ...  require explanation.
    • Before going on to explore the issues of …., the working definitions for ... require clarification.
    • Before going on to look at … it is important to consider … .
    • The applicability of this concept to … has not previously been considered. Therefore, the three subsections below investigate literature on … specific to the question of … .
    • Authors considered in the following section have been more explicit about … than those above who focus purely upon ... .
    • However, not all authors agree that … . Some describe a different approach in which … .

    Transition words:

    • show order/sequence: first, then, next, finally, secondly, thirdly, began, ended;
    • show time: soon, then, finally, previously, later, last, meanwhile, earlier, at the same time, subsequently, following on from, when, immediately, upon, since;
    • add some ideas: again, and, besides, therefore, also, additionally, indeed, moreover, another, as well, likewise, furthermore, finally, next;
    • show cause and effect: thus, hence, therefore, consequently, so, because, since, then, finally, accordingly, for these reasons, as a result, on that account;
    • indicate a summary: in brief, finally, in conclusion, to conclude, lastly, in summary, on the whole, to sum up, in fact, indeed, in other words;
    • contrast ideas: however, nevertheless, yet, and yet, but, still, on the other hand, otherwise, conversely, in spite of, by contrast, despite, although, though, even so, on the contrary, notwithstanding, a different view;
    • compare ideas: similarly, likewise, correspondingly, equally, in the same way, in the same manner, each;
    • illustrate: for example, for instance, to illustrate, by way of illustration, to be specific, in particular, in other words;
    • concede: naturally, granted, of course, to be sure, although, despite, in spite of, for all, while, notwithstanding.

    Use of specific terms

    In addition to the use of clear, well appointed signposting and transition sentences, a smooth transition of ideas can be accomplished by replacing vague terms like 'it',  and 'this' with specific terms.

    Consider the first paragraph below and the improved version that follows:

    Ethics refers to a system of moral principles for judging whether a particular action is right or wrong, as well as to a set of rules of conduct for a specific class of actors or actions. It provides professionals with a set of standards to guide decision making. However, it is not something that can be ensured by the provision of a code alone.

    The first sentence in this paragraph introduces three different terms—ethics, moral principles and rules of conduct. The use of the term 'it' at the beginning of the second and third sentences, makes it unclear which of these terms is being referred to in those sentences.

    In the paragraph below, 'it' has been replaced with 'professional code of conduct' and 'ethical action' to signal precisely what is being referred to in the sentence.

    Ethics refers to a system of moral principles for judging whether a particular action is right or wrong, as well as a set of rules of conduct for a specific class of actors or actions. Codes of conduct provide professionals with a set of rules to guide decision making. However, ethical action is not something that can be assured by the provision of a code alone.

    Here it becomes clear that it is professional codes of conduct that provide a limited guide for ethical action.

    Writing clarity can also be improved by using the same key term rather than different terms to describe the same phenomena.

    For example, compare the first paragraph below with the improved version that follows:

    This study will examine industrialisation processes in China from the late 1900s to the present. While growing structural differentiation was evident in the early part of the century, agrarian economies also continued to flourish. In the past 50 years, the move toward revolutionised means of production has continued unchecked.

    In this paragraph, 'industrialisation processes', 'structural differentiation' and 'revolutionised means of production' are used to describe the same phenomenon, although this is not immediately clear.

    In the next paragraph, these terms are replaced with one term expressed as 'industrialisation' or 'industrial economy':

    This study will examine industrialisation processes in China from the late 1900’s to the present. While industrialisation was evident in the early part of the century, agrarian economies also continued to flourish. In the past 50 years, the move toward an industrial economy has continued unchecked.

    The use of the same key term in this paragraph enables the significance of the key point to emerge clearly—that in the past 50 years industry has become the dominant economic form in China.

    Principles for ordering information

    General to specific—provide general information or overall concept first, and follow with supporting detail or more depth in the form of explanation, elaboration, illustration or exemplification.

    Chronological—move from most recent to older, or from originating/oldest to most recent, or break information into time periods, or show time/sequence (firstly, subsequently) or process (do this, then that).

    Spatial—provide information according to physical or other location.

    Importance—move from most important to least important, or vice versa.

    Most-familiar to least-familiar­—explain what we expect or anticipate, then what is less expected or known.

    Cause and effect—introduce cause and follows with effect (since, then, accordingly, as a result).

    Simplest to more complex—develop ideas sequentially, building additional complexity as the writing progresses.

    Order of frequency—introduce topics according to intensity, number.

    Topical or thematic—explain the key themes sequentially, after having named the themes ('Two main solutions have been considered. The first is … . The second consists of …').

    Question–answer—pose a question, then follow with an answer.

    Problem–solution, solution–problem—pose a problem or solution, then explain the solution, or elaborate the problem that gave rise to the solution.

    Compare and contrast concepts—introduce an idea, then compare and contrast with a second idea to explain an important distinction between the ideas.

    Definitions—use definitions to be precise about meanings.

    Create an analogy—explain an idea that has similar features. 

    Descriptive—describe who, where, when, why, step-by-step.

    Academic audience and writing conventions

    In addition to a well devised structure, the persuasiveness and clarity of academic writing depends upon understanding and conforming to the expectations and background knowledge of the audience of the text. Academic writing, like all good writing, should be tailored to its specific audience. The audience the text is intended to reach determines what is emphasised and included, how much detail is required, and the writing style that will be adopted.

    For the most part, academics write for academic audiences. This is because research must be tested and refined within its relevant field of expertise before it can be publicly disseminated. 

    Academic audiences differ widely, and it is important to consider the background knowledge of a specific academic audience within the writing process. Some academic audiences are highly specialised, others are more generalist, and some are comprised of researchers from a variety of different disciplinary backgrounds.

    Journal articles are written with the concerns and expertise of the journal readership in mind. For this reason, journal articles often presume a more specialised audience than other kinds of academic writing. This can explain the oblique references made within many journals to debates and perspectives that would only be familiar to other experts in the journal's field of interest.

    Scholarly books, on the other hand, are often targeted to wider public or novice audiences and will not assume as extensive a background in the subject area.

    Conference audiences vary widely. Some are attended by researchers from different disciplines and by professionals and industry personnel from different backgrounds, in which case, papers and presentations must explain core premises explicitly and avoid using highly specialised academic jargon or technical language. Other conferences attract a more specialist audience and presenters can use more technical language and assume the audience has a greater degree of background knowledge.

    Internal research proposals, like those written for conferral of candidature, aim to fulfil the expected requirements of the degree, and are written for the confirmation of candidature panel, which typically includes academics from the local area as well as, increasingly, industry experts. Research proposals aim to ensure that those supporting the research are clear about its objectives and the rationale supporting those objectives, and the proposed methodology and methods or research design. Research proposals aim to demonstrate that the research can be completed within the given time frame and available resource constraints. It is important to consider the academic and professional background of those on your confirmation of candidature panel, and to give consideration to this in the writing process. 

    Theses are written for examination by academic examiners with extensive knowledge in some aspect of the field of study. They are also written for publication in specialist journals. PhD and Masters theses therefore tend to use specialised discipline language and concepts. However, although the examiner, journal editor or reviewer will be expert in some key aspect of the study, it is important to be mindful that other aspects may be less familiar to them. As a general rule, try to write in a way that is accessible to a broad range of academic and non-academic readers related to your subject area.

    Discipline conventions

    The style and presentation of academic writing, as well as the point of view adopted by the writer, vary considerably depending upon the discipline background of the audience it is written for. Different discipline conventions apply to questions such as whether and how often to use the first person pronoun, passive or active voice, or references to the researcher in the singular or plural ('I', 'we').

    Words and phrases can also mean different things within different disciplines, and the meaning of commonly accepted terms are sometimes contested within a discipline. For example, 'postmodern' is used to refer to a style of architecture and design within architecture, and a time period or field of social thought within the humanities. The use of terms like 'power', 'the unconscious', 'class' and 'identity' are theorised in different and contested ways within the social sciences and humanities and may require explanation of usage, whereas the the same terms would not attract comment in another discipline area.

    The style of academic text also varies between disciplines. For example, in areas like psychology or health sciences a 'report style' of writing is frequently adopted in which sections on 'method', 'measures', 'results', 'discussion' are expected. In other areas, texts are organised around conceptual arguments, or pertain to material or written artefacts like screen plays, novels or art work.

    As a general rule of thumb, aim to conform to the conventions of the academic field you are writing within. Perhaps choose a group of published writers, journals or books that are closest to your own perspective and adopt similar writing conventions and practices.

    Academic language

    Academic writing—unlike literary writing which aims to evoke images, feelings and sympathies—aims to convey ideas concisely, simply, directly and accurately. It is important then to use language that conveys ideas succinctly and precisely, and to avoid distracting language. Some general rules to follow:

    • Avoid slang, clichés and colloquialisms.
    • Avoid a chatty, anecdotal tone (find alternatives to 'you', 'one', 'the reader' and 'people').
    • Avoid phrases based on value judgements ‘it is obvious’, ‘it is welcome’, ‘it is a fact’, ‘normally’ and ‘everyone can see’.
    • Avoid unnecessary or imprecise words: ‘very’, ‘fantastic’, ‘etc’ and ‘so on’.
    • Replace over used phrases like ‘played a role in’ and ‘led to’ with descriptive verbs like involved, accelerated, influenced, affected, shaped, contributed to.
    • Use non-sexist language. (Write in the plural, they/them, rather than using ‘he or she’).
    • Avoid racist, homophobic, or otherwise offensive language and commentary.

    Technical language

    Like the specialist languages adopted in other professions, academic jargon is designed to convey agreed meaning for a group of scholarly experts. It is appropriate for you to use specialist language within your field, but it is best to avoid such language when writing for non academic or general audiences. Specialist terms must be used accurately. Philosophical, sociological and other specialist dictionaries can be used to confirm the meaning of terms.

    Defining terms

    When you use a term in the same way that a general or specialist dictionary defines the term, it is not necessary to provide a definition. A definition is required when the meaning of the term:

    • varies or is contested within your field;
    • is more precise in your usage than in the general or specialist dictionary;
    • is not the same as the meaning provided in the common or specialist dictionary; 
    • does not appear in a common or specialist dictionary.

    The first time the term is used, it should be defined precisely and concisely, and then used in this precise sense throughout the text thereafter.

    Use of first person pronouns

    There is no generalisable 'rule' about whether or how to use personal pronouns ('I', 'we', 'me', 'us', 'my' and 'our') in your writing. Whether and how you use these terms will depend upon your writing context and your writing purpose. The sciences traditionally avoid the first person  ('I', 'me', 'my') because it is perceived to introduce an inappropriate subjective or personal tone. In the humanities and social sciences, the first person is more acceptable, perhaps because these disciplines are underpinned by methodologies which question, in various ways, the possibility of value-free or objective social and cultural knowledge. On the other hand, in the sciences 'we' and 'our' are more common because research is often conducted in teams, whereas this is less common in the social sciences and particularly in the humanities.

    Using the first person is useful when you want to provide clear attribution for an idea or comment, and when you want to distinguish the writer's voice from the views of others. For example, using the phrase 'In this paper I will show ... ' is a good way to signal the contribution the writer will make to the broader field in the social sciences and humanities. Using the first person is also a good way to convey your passion and involvement in the topic, and to establish a connection with an audience. For this reason, the first person is often adopted within oral academic presentations.

    At the same time, inappropriate use of the first person can imply that the point being made is only the writer's opinion, or is not supported by evidence. Compare for example: 'I believe there is a discrepancy between practice and policy claims', with 'I suggest there is a discrepancy between practice and policy claims. This will be demonstrated in ... '. 

    In general then, use first person pronouns following the conventions of your discipline, and always use them sparingly and thoughtfully. 

    Reference to personal experience

    As a general rule, refer to personal experience within academic research writing sparingly or not at all, and only when it supports the development of the research story line.

    Sharing personal information is relevant in research writing in which personal experience is part of the research data, and when describing your positionality reveals how data might have been shaped within the data gathering process (but this would have to be explained not simply stated). Anecdotes from personal experience might also be used to highlight the problem the research is concerned with, to establish your credibility with the subject matter (if you have a background in the research context for example), or to provide an example to support a key idea, particularly within oral academic presentations.

    Fair critique

    When critiquing the work of others:

    • Provide accurate and balanced summaries of the central findings and arguments of others. Do not assume the reader is familiar with the work referred to. Your interpretation of the author must be provided.
    • Represent the work of others fairly.
    • Reference accurately, including page numbers for ideas that are not part of the central argument or findings.
    • Acknowledge points of agreement and indebtedness.
    • Back-up critiques with thorough explanation and substantiation.
    • Critique the general structure of a claim, not minor points.
    • Do not overplay or underplay the significance of your own or others’ work.
    • Avoid fallacious argumentation.

    Fallacies in arguments

    Adapted from Thornless and Thornless 1980, in Hart, C. 1988. Doing a literature review, Sage, Thousand Oates.

    • Implied definition—referring to something without clearly defining it.
    • Illegitimate definitions—closing down alternatives by giving a restrictive definition.
    • Changing meanings—defining something as A, then using A in a different way.
    • Emotional language—using value loaded or ethically loaded terms.
    • Use of all, rather than some—using bland generalization to incorporate all variables and thereby minimize contradictory examples.
    • Ignoring alternatives—giving one interpretation or example as if all others could be treated or categorized in the same way.
    • Selected instances—picking out unusual or unrepresentative examples.
    • Forced analogy—using and analogy without recognizing the applicability of other contradictory analogies.
    • Similarity—claiming there is no real difference between two things even when there is.
    • Mere analogy—use of analogy with no resources to examples from the real world.
    • False credentials—exaggerating your credentials or experience to convince others of your authority.
    • Technical language—deliberate use of jargon intended to impress the reader and/or hide the lack of a foundation to an argument.
    • Special pleading—claiming a special case to raise your argument above other similar positions, often associated with emotive language.
    • Playing on the reader—telling readers what they want to hear rather than challenging their thinking and assumptions.
    • Claiming prejudice—attributing prejudice to an opponent in order to discredit them.
    • Appealing to others for authority—claiming some other in authority has made the same argument as yourself in order to strengthen your own position.
    • False context—giving examples out of context or using nothing but hypothetical scenarios.
    • Extremities—ignoring centre ground position by focusing only on the extreme ends of spectrum of alternatives.
    • Tautology—use of language structures to get acceptance of your argument from others, often in the form of ‘too much of X is a bad’ therefore X itself is good.

    Citation patterns for assertive writing

    When reporting the findings of other authors it is sometimes difficult to ensure that one's own point of view is not lost within the array of competing voices. One way of achieving an assertive stance and of foregrounding your voice when discussing the ideas of others is to use specific citation patterns. There are two central citation patterns:

    Author integral According to Brown (1999), the sky is blue. (The author is named in the sentence; the author is foregrounded over the finding)

    Information prominent (author non-integral) The sky is blue (Brown, 1999). (The author name is placed in the reference bracket; the finding is foregrounded over the author).

    Texts that rely heavily on an author integral citation pattern, can sometimes make it difficult to discern the writer's perspective. Consider the examples below.

    Author integral example

    Galindo & Batta (2013) and Kara & Savaşer (2017) state that stochastic programming and decision making should be used to manage the uncertainty that occurs after the event of a sudden onset disaster.

    Information prominent example

    Stochastic programming and decision making should be used to manage the uncertainty that occurs after the event of a sudden onset disaster (Galindo & Batta, 2013; Kara & Savaşer, 2017).

    Author integral example

    Dimopoulos (2010) and Kaspiew et al (2009) state that the new Family Relationship Centres encourage separated parents to remain child-focused and to reach agreements to to avoid the involvement of the family court system. Baker and Bishop (2005) found school personnel need to be included in Family Relationship Centre meetings with families and agency staff from the outset to ensure that agreements hold. This study explores the importance of parent-school partnerships in establishing effective parenting agreements.

    In this paragraph, each sentence, except the last, opens with a reference to an author. The paragraph below moves the authors to the reference bracket to foreground the writer's voice.

    Information prominent example

    Family Relationship Centres encourage separated parents to remain child-focused and to reach agreements to avoid the involvement of the family court system (Dimopoulos, 2010; Kaspiew et al, 2009). However, school personnel need to be included in Family Relationship Centre meetings with families and agency staff from the outset to ensure that agreements hold (Baker and Bishop, 2005). This study explores the importance of parent-school partnerships in establishing effective parenting agreements.

    The rewritten version emphasises the subject over the authors, who are acknowledged at the end of the sentence in the reference bracket. This makes it clear where the writer stands in relation to existing research.

    Direct quotes

    Direct quotes should be used sparingly or not at all following the conventions in your own discipline. In the sciences in general direct quoting is not used, or is rarely used, whereas direct quotes are relatively more common in humanities disciplines.

    Direct quotes are used in disciplines like the humanities:

    • to encapsulate the key point of a chapter or article, in which case the quote appears below the title, and is explained in the introduction;
    • when the author uses particularly distinctive or vivid language whose import would be lost if paraphrased;
    • when the quote is needed to substantiate the writer's interpretation of another author's work;
    • for the purposes of a deconstruction, critique or other form of textual analysis of another author's work.

    When a direct quote is provided:

    • keep length to a minimum by cutting unnecessary sections using an elipsis (...), without misrepresenting the author's idea;
    • and always follow or precede the quote with an assessment of its significance in your own words.

    Grammar and proof reading

    Passive and active voice

    Passive voice places the actor of the sentence in the predicate (the part of the sentence behind the verb), or leaves it out altogether. For example: ‘the policy was implemented by management’, ‘the policy was implemented’; or ‘an increase in violence is confirmed by the results’, ‘an increase in violence is confirmed’.

    Active voice places the actor of the sentence in the subject—the part of the sentence in front of the verb. For example: ‘management implemented the policy’; or ‘the results confirm an increase in violence’.

    Preference is for the active voice because it is more direct, concise and accurate. However, there are times when it is better to use passive voice. Instances where passive voice may be more appropriate than active voice include:

    • when tact and diplomacy are required (where it would be inappropriate to mention the actor)
    • when the actor is unimportant or unknown
    • to add variety to the writing
    • in methods and results sections where the action is more important than the actor, for example: ‘stress reactions were monitored in group de-briefing sessions’ rather than ‘I monitored stress reactions in group de-briefing sessions’
    • to emphasise part of the sentence, for example: ‘a reform agenda emerged from the change of government’ emphasises the agenda, whereas ‘change of government led to a reform agenda’ emphasises the change of government.

    Nominalisation

    A concise and formal academic tone can be achieved by the use of nominalisation. Nominalisation means to change verbs (actions or events), adjectives or adverbs, into nouns. A verb describes an action. A noun describes a person, animal, concept or thing. Nominalisation can most often be used to turn the focus of the action (the verb) into a noun that describes a concept or idea.

    Example

    Germany invaded (verb) Poland in 1939. This was the immediate cause of the Second World War breaking out (verb).

    Nominalised form

    Germany’s invasion (new noun) of Poland in 1939 was the immediate cause of the outbreak (new noun) of the Second World War.

    Example

    We analysed (verb) the data from the experiment, and it revealed that children react more aggressively when they consume excessive sugar.

    Nominalised form

    The analysis (noun) of the data revealed that children react more aggressively when they consume excessive sugar.

    Tips for using nominalisation:

    • Read your writing and highlight any personal pronouns (I, you, we, they). These can often be replaced in the nominalised form.
    • Underline all of the verb groups that show the action of the sentence. These can be changed into nouns or noun groups.

    Subject-verb agreement

    When the noun or pronoun is singular, the verb should be singular, and when the noun or pronoun is plural the verb should be plural.

    Singular

    The interview schedule is organised into … .

    Plural

    The participants in the study were selected by ... .              

    Verb tense

    Past tense can be used to report methods and results (because they describe what was done and what was found). For example: ‘we interviewed’, ‘interviews were conducted’.

    Present tense can be used to describe how data are presented and to report on figures and tables (because this is still true). For example: ‘data are summarised as mean + SD’, or ‘Figure 1 shows …’.

    Forming adverbs

    • Add –ly to the word (suddenly, tightly).
    • If the adjective ends in –l, still add –ly (real becomes really, annual becomes annually).
    • If the adjective ends in –ll add y (full becomes fully).
    • If the adjective ends in –y change the y to i and add –ly (heavy becomes heavily).
    • If the adjective ends in –ue, drop the e and add –ly (true becomes truly).
    • If the adjective ends in –ic, add –ally, except for public, which becomes publicly, not publically (ironic becomes ironically).

    Lexical density

    The lexical density of a text refers to the number of lexical words, or words which convey meaning (nouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs), relative to the total number of words. Articles (a, the), prepositions (on, at, in), conjunctions (and, or, but), auxiliary verbs (am, are, is, was, were, being, did, does, doing, had, has, having) are grammatical words. The lexical density of a text tells you how informative it is. Academic writing tends to be highly lexically dense, and you can often improve your own academic writing by increasing its lexical density.

    In the examples below, the lexical words are underlined.

    The quick brown fox jumped swiftly over the lazy dog.

    Consider the example below which progressively increases the lexical density, and the informativeness of the sentence.

    1. He loves going to the cinema. John loves going to the cinema. 

    3. John smith loves going to the cinema. 

    4. John smith loves going to the cinema every day.  

    5. John smith intensely loves going to the cinema every day.  

    6. John smith intensely loves going to the huge cinema every day.  

    Writing can also be improved by identifying, and removing where possible, non-lexical words.

    Redundant writing

    Redundant writing:

    • does not convey new information
    • states the obvious
    • repeats information
    • or uses words or phrases in a way that does not facilitate meaning.

    Examples of redundant writing:

    • An overview of the approach and its underpinning assumptions are given below and the significance of this study is explained.
    • The use of important terms in this dissertation are provided below.

    Sentences of this kind can be deleted because they do not provide information. Instead describe the approach and its underpinning assumptions, and provide definitions. 

    Compare the first, largely redundant, chapter summary below with the information rich version that follows:

    Chapter two will provide an overview and analysis of literature and research about nursing care. I will identify aspects of care, and then the beginnings of a theoretical framework that will inform this study. I will then contextualize this study by providing an overview of definitions of care within the nursing literature.

    This paragraph signals that a literature review, a theoretical framing, and a definition will be provided in chapter two without providing detail about the fields of research that will be reviewed, or the theory and definition that will actually be used.

    The paragraph could be rewritten to provide more specific information.

    Chapter two outlines theoretical conceptualisations of ‘care’ within nursing literature informed by feminist psychology and the philosophy of ethics. The chapter suggests that nursing needs to consider whether continuing attempts to define, measure and describe care are necessary. It suggests instead, that Wittgenstein’s (1958) notion of family resemblance satisfactorily resolves many of the definitional issues of care and caring within nursing.

    This paragraph describes the fields of literature that will be reviewed, and the perspective that will be developed in the chapter.

    Proofreading

    'Proofreading' is a term often used to refer to the complex range of decisions that copy editors take when preparing a text for publication. For the most part, proofreading refers to a set of rules and recommendations, outlined within 'style manuals', that pertain to use of the English language. These rules are not specific to the academic context, and they are many and sometimes complex. Some basic editorial rules are explained below. Comprehensive compilations of proofreading and other rules can be found in the Australian Government Style Manual or the Australian Manual of Style. 

    Spacing

    • One space is used between words and between sentences. Even spacing helps to keep the lines compact and readable.
    • Word setting in desktop computer typesetting can be set to unjustified (flush left, ragged right) unless a publisher guideline specifies otherwise. 

    Acronyms

    An acronym is a shortened form of a word or words that typically consist only of the first letter of each word. Acronyms are used only for terms whose acronym is commonly known and used, or for a term that will be used frequently throughout the entirety of a  text.

    Acronyms that consist of more than one capital letter are written without full stops (for example, USA). The full name is provided the first time the term is used, followed by the acronym in brackets. The initialised version of the term is used thereafter. Acronyms should be used sparingly.

    Capitalisation

    Capital letters are used for:

    • acronyms;
    • days of the week, and months of the year (not the names of seasons);
    • languages (not names of disciplines and school subjects);
    • words expressing a connection with a place (French elections), not when they do not express a direct connection to a place (italian dressing);
    • nationalities or ethnic groups;
    • proper names (titles, places, institutions, or events, festivals and holy days);
    • distinctive historical periods;
    • religions, followers, divine beings, sacred books, sacred events;
    • title of either the first word, or of significant words (not little words like the, of, and or) in a book, play, poem, film, magazine, newspaper or piece of music (whichever you choose be consistent);
    • first word of a direct quotation, repeating someone else's exact words, if the quotation is a complete sentence (not for incomplete quoted sentences);
    • brand names of manufacturers and their products;
    • roman numerals (except for page numbers);
    • the pronoun I.

    Punctuation

    Full stop (.) is used for shortened words (eg Oct. Prof. Rev.), but not for contractions which end with the same letter as the full word (eg Dr, Mr). Metric measurements are an exception to the rule; they do not require a full stop (eg cm, kg).

    Commas (,) indicate a pause only when essential for clarity. A comma is used before but, and, for, or, and nor when complex clauses have different subjects. It is also used after a long adverbial clause.

    Question marks (?) are used at the end of a sentence that asks a direct question, a rhetorical question or a silent question.

    Colons (: ) are used to introduce a word, phrase or clause that explains, enlarges or summarises. (There was only one word for it: catastrophic). Colons are also used to introduce lists, whether set off from the text or in text (except when the list is introduced by for example, including, such as, namely, that is), and for block quotations set of from the text.

    Semicolons (;) are used to separate part of a sentence that require a stronger break than that marked by a comma, but which are too closely related to be broken into separate sentences. (The past is a different country; they do things differently there).

    Dash or em rules (─) are used at the beginning and ending of a word or phrase when it takes up and expands upon the preceding word or phrase. A dash is also used to gather up the subject or object of a sentence when either consists of a long list, or when there is an abrupt change in the structure of the sentence. The em rule should not be used in place of a comma. Do not use spaces between the em rule and the preceding or following word.

    En rules (–) are used in spans of figures and in expressions relating to time or distance (1987–88). En rules are also used to express an association between words that retain their separate identity (cost–benefit ratios).

    Hyphen (-) is used in some compound words and some complex words. A compound word consists of two or more words which, when put together, bring a new meaning. A complex word is a root word with an attached suffix or prefix. Most compound and complex words do not need a hyphen. You can often find them in the dictionary if you are not sure.

    Use of hyphens within compound words is complex. To check when to use a hyphen in compound words, refer to a style guide.

    You can use a hyphen:

    • when there is a doubling of a vowel prefix (pre-eminent, anti-intellectual), unless it is a common word (cooperate, coordinate);
    • when the second element of a complex word begins with a capital letter (pre-Christian);
    • when the element following a prefix is a date (pre-1945);
    • after ‘ex’ meaning former (ex-wife, ex-member).

    Punctuating bullet points

    • Follow the lead part of the sentence with a colon.
    • Punctuate the list as though it were either a series of sentences, or one long sentence. 
    • If the text against each dot point is a complete sentence, use a capital letter for each dot point sentence and a full stop at the end of each dot point sentence. 
    • If the text within the dot point list is one complete sentence, start the leader with a capital letter, and use under case for the first word of each item in the list.
    • Punctuation within the list should follow that for a sentence. That is, if items in the list have commas, use a semi-colon at the end of each item in the list.
    • For simple lists (items without punctuation within them), do not use punctuation at the end of each dot point, except the last line which has a full stop.

    Italics

    Italics are used for emphasis and for titles. Use italics for emphasis sparingly.

    Italics are used for titles of:

    • books
    • plays
    • long poems
    • musical works, comedies and operas
    • films and videos
    • paintings, sculptures and the like
    • newspapers and periodicals
    • names of ships, aircraft and other vehicles
    • Acts and other legal documents and
    • foreign words or phrases, unless absorbed into English (eg barista), a shortened form (eg et al), or First nations language (because Australian, not foreign)
    • scientific names for genus, species, infection organisms, some fungi and bacteria.

    Numbers

    • Numbers are written as words in descriptive and narrative texts. 
    • Numbers at the beginning and close of sentences are expressed as words.
    • Numbers over nine can be expressed as figures.
    • Spaces are used between groups of three digits, but not four-figure numbers (80 000, 1432).
    • Use a full stop for a decimal place, and place a zero before decimals below one.
    • Do not use the letter ‘x’ for multiply, or use an en dash or hyphen for minus. Select the appropriate symbol from the symbol menu.
    • Use an en rule, not a hyphen, to mark the space between numbers (410–16).
    • In general use as few numbers as possible for references, plates, and appendixes, unless this confuses the meaning.
    • When giving the full date use the format: 9 October 2001.
    • For time periods refer to the following examples: 50 BC, AD 1978, 1960s, the eighteenth century or 18th century, 10–15BC, 1972-74 or 1972–1974.

    Units of measurement

    • Always use SI (International system of units) measurements (unless making an historical reference or referring to a non-SI measurement in a context in which readers will understand the non-SI unit).
    • Do not place a full stop after a unit of measurement.
    • Use capitals only if the unit represents a proper name (‘m’ for metre, ‘kg’ for kilogram, ‘W’ for watt).
    • At the start of a sentence, write out the unit in full.
    • Use a non-breaking space between the number and the unit (to avoid the number and unit appearing on different lines of the text).
    • Use numerals, not words, for numbers when you are referring to a unit of measurement. Include a space between the number and the unit (5 tonnes, not five tonnes).
    • Do not use words for well known units of measurement (eg use ‘mm’ for millimetres, ‘cm’ for centimetres, ‘km’ for kilometres, ‘km/h’ for kilometres per hour).
    • For units of measurement readers are likely to be unfamiliar with, spell out the term the first time it is used, then use the symbol thereafter. (The noise from the building site was 120 decibels (dB). Workers in the nearby office preferred a limit of only 50 dB).
    • Don’t add ‘s’ for plural forms (56 km, not 56 kms). Symbols for units of measurement represent both the singular and the plural forms.
    • Use the same unit and prefix when comparing measurements. (Use: The piece of wood was 140 mm by 1,320 mm by 20 mm. Not: The piece of wood was 14 cm by 1.32 m by 20 mm).



    Reproduced from Australian Government Style Manual: https://www.stylemanual.gov.au/
    For more detailed guidelines on formatting SI units see the Editing resources for STEM and Medical and health sciences (STEMM).

    Revision strategies

    Once you have a first rough draft, you can begin the revision and proof-reading process. Good writing is the product of many, many revisions. Some key revision strategies are listed below.

    1. Check that each paragraph and section has one main topic and main point.
    2. Signal the topic in the first sentence of the paragraph or section.
    3. Introduce the main point in a concluding sentence in the first or last part of the paragraph or section.
    4. To do so, try summarising the main theme and point of a paragraph or section in the margin of your text, and use this as a topic or closing sentence.
    5. Cut, paste, delete and rewrite until you are satisfied that the paragraph and section breaks indicate changes in topic and key ideas.
    6. Check that headings reflect the topic and key point.
    7. Go back to sources as needed and check they have been accurately reported.
    8. Remove any unnecessary repetition and redundancy. Put deleted content in a separate file if you think you might need it later.
    9. Reorder phrases and words, and reword sentences to improve clarity.
    10. Check for sentences whose subject is ‘it’ or ‘they’, and consider replacing these words with more specific terms.
    11. Check the dictionary meaning of words you are unsure of and use more precise words as necessary.
    12. Check that content of tables and figures matches their titles.
    13. Check that the commentary before and after tables and figures accurately introduces them.

    Proof-reading strategies

    1. Swap drafts with peers.
    2. Ask friends, family to edit a chapter for you.
    3. Get some distance from your own text before editing.
    4. Use your best medium—paper, computer.
    5. Find a quiet place.
    6. Read out loud.
    7. Develop a checklist to ensure consistency in spelling, abbreviations, capital letters, numbers, date formats, citations, terms of address, punctuation for in-text and reference list.
    8. Refer to an AGPS Style Manual.
    9. Refer to a dictionary and thesaurus.

    Conclusion

    Editing drafts of your writing involves checking to ensure that your writing has:

    • clear paragraph and section separations and topic sentences
    • summarised the main point of a particular section of writing before leading the reader on to the next section
    • uses headings that accurately reflect the content of the section, and which indicate a major turn in the discussion
    • used transition sentences between chapters, sections and paragraphs that repeat key words to indicate that this element of the theme will continue
    • used introductory quotes accurately to reflect the main idea or content of the chapter
    • checked that explanations of tables, figures and any long quotes are provided in the main text
    • uses accurate referencing
    • put the ideas of others in the authors words, and not over quoted other scholars
    • used spacing, acronyms, punctuation, capitalisation, italics correctly. 

    This web resource was developed by Wendy Bastalich.


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