How-to-Write-a-Better-Thesis
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Use of the Passive Voice <br />
27<br />
rather than ‘will analyze and apply’); their sentences are long and complicated;<br />
they prefer long and seldom-used words <strong>to</strong> the short equivalent words common in<br />
everyday communication; some phrases carry little information (‘scenarios’; ‘political<br />
institutional impediments’); and so on. You can see from these examples why<br />
thesiese does not impress examiners. You are far more likely <strong>to</strong> impress them by<br />
using simple, direct words and sentences. Remember that the university has asked<br />
them <strong>to</strong> look for critical thinking, not obfuscation. Things <strong>to</strong> avoid:<br />
• ‘Carpet-bag’ sentences. Allow me <strong>to</strong> illustrate. Such sentences, like this one,<br />
which I hate <strong>to</strong> encounter in a thesis because I know they will be impossible <strong>to</strong><br />
correct, sometimes seem <strong>to</strong> arise from lack of confidence, where a writer isn’t<br />
quite sure what she or he wants <strong>to</strong> say, or may even have lost track of what they<br />
want <strong>to</strong> say, and so says several things in the one sentence that might almost be<br />
contradic<strong>to</strong>ry; and sometimes arise from overconfidence, where the writer genuinely<br />
has a complex concept <strong>to</strong> communicate <strong>to</strong> the reader and tries <strong>to</strong> discharge<br />
the whole explanation in a single sentence, and the effect is the same, namely, a<br />
confused mess with excessive, or even absurd, punctuation, and a strangled syntax<br />
that no likely reader will be able <strong>to</strong> digest, if they even get that far. That was a<br />
carpet-bag sentence—get the idea? Most examples are not punctuated that carefully,<br />
either. If you can cut a sentence in<strong>to</strong> parts without destroying the meaning<br />
or <strong>to</strong>ne, do so.<br />
• Excessively long paragraphs. I know there is a culture in some disciplines of<br />
showing intellectual power through complex writing structures, but is it a true<br />
display of intellectual virtuosity, or mere showing-off? Examiners are not impressed<br />
by ego.<br />
• Cliché, homespun phrasing, and folksy metaphors.<br />
• Empty adjectives and phrases. Examples include very, quite, accordingly, of<br />
course, and the fact that. If a word or phrase can be deleted without affecting the<br />
meaning of the sentence, then delete it. The sentence will probably look stronger<br />
afterwards.<br />
• Pointless qualifiers. Examples include may, might, perhaps, and possible. Like<br />
empty adjectives, such words can be a kind of padding that the author believes<br />
gives the writing a more academic ‘feel’. I suspect the underlying motivation is<br />
that academics are not supposed <strong>to</strong> express absolute opinions, as there is always<br />
room for doubt, but the overall impact can be that the reader doesn’t learn what<br />
the writer is trying <strong>to</strong> say—every assertion is, in effect, qualified by ‘maybe, but<br />
then again, maybe not’. Only use a qualifier if you really need <strong>to</strong>.<br />
Use of the Passive Voice<br />
You will write more clearly if you use the active voice for verbs rather than the<br />
passive voice. Although it is not always appropriate, active voice should usually be<br />
your first choice. Here is an example of passive voice: