All Questions
Tagged with technical-writing academic-writing
54 questions
1
vote
1
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24
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Should the APA In text citation go before or after organization name when the organization is used descriptively?
As examples, which would be considered correct in APA style?
A:
Researchers from the University of Michgian's Department of Computational Analysis (John et al., 2023) determined that...
B:
Researchers ...
- 13
0
votes
3
answers
200
views
I’m back in graduate school and I’m struggling with writing APA. What’s the best way to learn?
What is the best way of learning APA writing if you have never written in that format?
- 1
3
votes
1
answer
91
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How do you structure a term paper that involves comparing journal articles?
As part of a course on statistics and stochastic processes, I have to read 3-4 journal articles and write a paper explaining and comparing them and explaining my learnings from them as they relate to ...
- 145
0
votes
0
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52
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How to detect if a research team is outsourcing writing to increase paper publishing?
I have suspicions of a situation where a Computational Science research group is using paid writing services (outsourcing, using AI or human services) to increase their publication ratio in scientific ...
- 101
3
votes
2
answers
241
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Using "etc." at the end of list introduced by "e.g."
According to the Strunk & White's The Elements of Style (p. 46)
at the end of a list introduced by such as, for example, or any similar expression, etc. is incorrect.
However, I have seen "...
- 141
2
votes
2
answers
65
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Referring to an earlier defined phrase so that it's not taken literally
Say I define a phrase like 'pen' or '10 miles'. Then when I refer to these defined phrases inline in the text, how should I refer to them to let the reader know that I am referring to the defined ...
- 21
1
vote
2
answers
190
views
Resources for beginner/intermediate writers
I'm an undergraduate student who's currently self-studying writing in quarantine. At present, I've read some books and browsed writing workshop websites on academic or technical writing. However, the ...
- 29
2
votes
1
answer
145
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Effort equivalence between video course and written course
If 1 page of a technical course is worth 1 point, how many points is 1 hour of a technical video course worth, creation effort-wise?
Background and context:
I work in academia in a technical field (...
- 37
0
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2
answers
56
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Citation throughout my book rather than at the end as a bibliography
My book is a health/ wellness/ diet book/ metabolic issues etc. Throughout my book which I am 3/4 of the way through I have added in the website links after a piece of evidence. I have used 95% of my ...
- 1
1
vote
3
answers
3k
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Referencing figures, tables, sections and chapters: When to capitalize and when to use lower case letters
I know this question has been asked before, but I am still confused. That’s why I am asking again, but in a detailed way.
In a scientific work, a master’s thesis for example, you will insert figures ...
- 111
2
votes
1
answer
289
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mentioning verbatim sentence of another research
Is it possible to use a verbatim sentence of another research in our own studies?
I, as an undergraduate psychology student who doesn't have any research experience, have heard that this is not ...
- 23
1
vote
2
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47
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Will I use "the" in that instance or leave it with no article? [closed]
If I'm given a choice, to put "the" or leave the word with no article, what's the better answer?
The world helps in boosting young confidence.
The world helps in boosting the young confidence.
Thank ...
- 21
1
vote
1
answer
109
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Explicit scientific syntax for academic writing (like a programming language but for scientific reports and publishing)?
This is a project I am thinking of working on in the future.
Is anyone familiar with attempts to codify and create an explicit syntax for reporting science?
E.g. like you would have specific ...
2
votes
1
answer
501
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The excessive use of 'and'
The word 'and' is an indispensable conjoining tool in any form and discipline of writing. Although, a repetition of the word can make a paragraph too tedious to read, and it only lengthens a sentence ...
user42083
17
votes
3
answers
10k
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In academic writing why do some recommend to avoid "announcing" the topic?
In academic writing, several articles on the topic of writing papers denounce the practice of "announcing" the topic.
As an example, if a paper were to read...
The goal of this study is to not be ...
- 281
4
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Subfigures in a figure, how to label?
So if I later refer to figure 2 (i) or figure 2 (ii) would it be better for the figure to be labelled as is Figure 2: Figure (i) shows cycle C? or
Figure 2: (i) shows cycle C or
Figure 2: ...
- 151
0
votes
1
answer
494
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How to link paragraphs in essays and articles?
All I can find online is cohesion and coherence for paragraphs. But in a essay how can I link all the paragraphs. Any good methods for the university level.
It would be great if I can find an ...
- 103
6
votes
2
answers
196
views
In scientific writing, what is the protocol for shortening nouns?
I often see place or species names shortened in scientific journal articles and would like to know what the correct protocol is.
Can I shorten "Gough Island" to just "Gough"? Or "leatherback turtle" ...
- 63
4
votes
1
answer
2k
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Is it ok to use long footnotes?
In my text, I have a footnote (6 or 7 lines) that is meant to be an extra insight. It does seem, however, to be a bit large for a footnote.
On the other hand, if I try to place it inside the text, ...
- 155
1
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0
answers
166
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I have a retracted article for ethical misconduct, this means my career is over? [closed]
When I was in my first year of M.SC. A professor told me to work on a project that the main data were belong to him. He had sent me a early draft and told me to translate it to english so I did along ...
- 11
3
votes
1
answer
103
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How could I improve my article writing? [closed]
I am a teenager and would like to know more about article writing. I was to write some articles someday. Should I be casual or formal? What POV should I use? How should I arrange the paragraphs? ...
- 31
8
votes
1
answer
142
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Repository of My Academic Writing - Which License to Use?
I'm adding a repository containing selected academic papers I wrote. I'd like to add a license to this repository that works similarly to the MIT license (but for writing and not code), where others ...
- 235
8
votes
8
answers
2k
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How can I stop overusing "I" in my writing?
I won't edit this question, so you can see how much I use it. The current count is 3 times. I've been told that the solution is to revise, revise, revise, but is there a particular strategy for ...
6
votes
4
answers
5k
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What are alternatives to "is that" as in "[something] is that [something]"?
I am writing a thesis and I frequently find my self using the phrase 'is that'.
For example: "The other feature that has been neglected is that the expert system would ..."
I have been told that ...
- 163
3
votes
2
answers
205
views
Putting code examples in BSC thesis
I am writing my bachelor's thesis in software engineering. It is split into two parts: a theoretical part where I analyze existing literature, compare models and draw conclusions; and a part where I ...
- 133
0
votes
1
answer
104
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How to write a doctoral thesis? [closed]
A few days ago I attended a seminar titled "How to write your doctoral thesis?". I was not able to follow all the points during the seminar. However, the most remarkable ones are easily conceivable.
...
- 143
4
votes
2
answers
579
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Do I always need to use linkers and connectors?
I have a question on linkers and connectors. I'm from Spain, so I learnt English at school and all my English teachers have told me throughout secondary school that we always have to use linkers to ...
Arnau
4
votes
2
answers
81
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Indexing: after or during the writing process
I use Latex for writing articles/papers/longer documents. Most of these documents are scientific in nature, and therefore it is often useful to add an index of the most important terms at the end of ...
- 173
2
votes
1
answer
353
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MLA Background Research Paper: Noting a citation in the text?
I need to write a background research paper on a science fair experiment, but it needs to be formatted in MLA. I looked up some examples of a MLA essay and research paper but there seems to be ...
- 85
2
votes
1
answer
334
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How does one evaluate his own writing ability?
I'm considering working in writing. I'd like to save myself some time in case I'm not up for the job. How do I go about evaluating myself as a professional writer? I was going to ask for a peer ...
- 208
4
votes
4
answers
293
views
How to move back to main section after finishing a sub-section
I am writing a paper but I don't know how to move back to the main section after I'm done writing a sub-section, like this:
1.1 Main section
1.1.1 subsection 1
1.1.2 subsection 2
As I write long ...
user19485
0
votes
1
answer
650
views
How can I rewrite the sentence for technical writing style [closed]
I want to rewrite my sentence in technical writing style. Could you help me rewrite my sentence? Thank you in advance
The proposed methods has 4 variables need to update in a optimization process, ...
- 103
2
votes
1
answer
96
views
Concepts for more interesting introductions in papers
What are the key concepts for writing introductory text more interesting to the reader?
An example:
The Deutsche Bahn AG is the company with the most energy consumption
in Germany. It has ...
- 121
2
votes
2
answers
179
views
Wording of comparing X vs Y and X vs Z but not X vs Y vs Z
As per the title I compared my system against two other systems separately but I'm worried about it coming across as that it was a three way comparison.
Neither of the below titles convey what I want ...
- 123
3
votes
2
answers
330
views
Report writing: should I use ® © symbols?
I am busy writing a report for university.
For this, I did some programming in MATLAB and simulations in Aspen Plus and HYSYS.
When referring to these software in the report, should I symbols such ...
- 131
0
votes
3
answers
99
views
academic writing: direct quote
I have a simple question regarding scientific quotes. Which of the following alternatives is correct?
Alt. 1:
The literature has made substantial strides towards identifying causal effects of X on Y ...
- 1
1
vote
2
answers
11k
views
Can you use et al. in a Bibliography?
In the text, I have, e.g.
"...a major role to play in role-playing (Smith et al., 1990)."
But can I use the same abbreviation in the bibliography?
Smith, K. et al. 1990. Playing major roles in ...
- 21
2
votes
1
answer
237
views
Footnote placement -- inside or outside terminal quote?
When you are referencing information in the footnote, is it customary to put the footnote number inside the quote or outside?
For instance is it:
"The pink pig."1
or:
"The pink pig.1"
- 21
0
votes
1
answer
257
views
How to change Microsoft Word Heading style [closed]
For example, Heading 1 is automatically typeset as Chapter 1: Chapter 1 Title. I would like to change this to Chapter 1 - Chapter 1 Title however. How can I achieve this? I'm using Word 2013.
- 103
6
votes
2
answers
485
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Writing a PhD thesis. Question about (an informal) introduction
I am preparing scientific thesis for the degree of PhD. It is a mathematical thesis.
It is usually very difficult to tell your colleagues and friends what are the things you exactly work on with ...
- 61
6
votes
4
answers
752
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Ending a PhD thesis by saying "there is more to do"
I am ending the conclusion of my PhD thesis by saying something like this (not even remotely in these words):
There was a lot of work gone in the thesis, yada yada yada, however there is room for ...
- 185
-1
votes
1
answer
150
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How to write "number of cups per user" for short using symbols?
I want to insert a text segment in a figure in my conference paper. Like "number of cups per user", can I use
#cups/user ?
I think "cups/user" means an average value, right?
What I need is a X-Y ...
- 109
2
votes
1
answer
91
views
Author order and grouping on technical document
This question pertains to author/contributor order and grouping on a technical document.
I performed tests on some equipment and had two other people directly involved.
My boss and his boss need to ...
- 123
6
votes
2
answers
12k
views
Bullets vs. Numbering: which to use when?
A writer can either choose to use bullets or else stick to conventional (or in certain cases non-conventional) numbering. Are there set guidelines about when to use what? Is the use of numbering ...
- 1,805
3
votes
5
answers
961
views
Struggling to writing in English
I always struggle to write my ideas in English. Structuring my work/idea when it comes to writing leaves me blank.
Even when I'm very clear about what I want to write, I will still struggle with ...
- 33
4
votes
3
answers
4k
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Thesis writing: how to address "self"
This came up when I was writing my thesis:
Usually it is recommended that when writing a thesis, one sticks to passive voice and use sentences that read like "The study showed the effect that blah ...
- 1,805
5
votes
2
answers
319
views
Should subsection headings sometimes repeat section headings?
In a technical or scientific text, such as a PhD thesis, should headings for (sub)sections be complete and sometimes repeat information from the headings of the levels above, or is it sufficient to ...
- 247
3
votes
1
answer
662
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Using the Minto Pyramid
Using the Minto Pyramid, should I order the paragraphs of my paper by going through the rows of the pyramid like this?
Thesis > Why > How > Where > A > B > C > D > E
Or should I start at the top of ...
- 195
0
votes
2
answers
101
views
What is the correct word/term that needs to be before the names of the maker of the project?
I am doing a project with one other person, we have finished the project
and we are working on a cover page.
We are not sure what to write out before our names, we have thought
of a couple of options,...
- 103
4
votes
1
answer
257
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What tense to use in an academic paper when speaking about correspondence?
What is the correct tense to use in an academic paper when speaking about correspondence? Say one of my source materials is a letter written by someone named William, in which he says he went to the ...
- 143