A-manual-for-writers-of-research-papers-theses-and-dissertations

problem is the ones you are sure of. Worse, no dictionary tells you that a word like visageor perambulate is too fancy for just about any context. The short-term solution is to asksomeone to read your report before you turn it in (but be cautious before accepting too manysuggestions; see 7.10). The long-term solution is to read a lot, write a lot, endure a lot ofcriticism, and learn from it.11.4 Polish It OffBefore you print out your report, read it one last time to fix errors in grammar, spelling, andpunctuation. Many experienced writers read from the last sentence back to the first to keepfrom getting caught up in the flow of their ideas and missing the words. Do not rely solely onyour spell checker. It won't catch correctly spelled but incorrectly used words such astheir/there/they're, it's/its, too/to, accept/except, affect/effect, already/all ready,complement/compliment, principal/principle, discrete/discreet, and so on. If you've had thatkind of problem, do a global search to check on both words. See chapter 20 for more onspelling.If you used a lot of foreign words, numbers, abbreviations, and so on, check the relevantchapters in part 3 of this manual.Finally, if your report has a table of contents that lists titles and numbers for chapter andsections, be certain that they exactly match the corresponding wording and numbering in thebody of your report. If in your text you refer back or forward to other sections or chapters, besure the references are accurate.Some students think they should worry about the quality of their writing only in an Englishcourse. It is true that instructors in courses other than English are likely to focus more on thecontent of your report than on its style. But don't think they'll ignore its clarity and coherence.If a history or art instructor criticizes your report because it's badly written, don't plead Butthis isn't an English course. Every course in which you write is an opportunity to practicewriting clearly, coherently, and persuasively, a skill that will serve you well for the rest ofyour life.11.5 Give It Up and Print It OutIf one thing is harder than starting to write, it's stopping. We all want another day to get theorganization right, another hour to tweak the opening paragraph, another minute to . . . youget the idea. If experienced researchers know one more crucial thing about research and itsreporting, it's this: nothing you write will ever be perfect, that the benefit of getting the last 1percent or even 5 percent right is rarely worth the cost. Dissertation students in particularagonize over reaching a standard of perfection that exists largely in their own minds. Nothesis or dissertation has to be utterly perfect; what it has to be is done. At some point,enough is enough. Give it up and print it out. (But before you turn it in, leaf through it one lasttime to be sure that it looks the way you want it to: look at page breaks, spacing in margins,positions of tables and figures, and so on.)You might now think your job is done. In fact, you have one last task: to profit from thewww.itpub.net