1 Seminar on Master’s Thesis Writing Mgr. Antonín Zita, M.A., PhD. Class 1: Academic Style §Written language is relatively more complex than spoken language. Written language has longer words, it is lexically denser and it has a more varied vocabulary. It uses more noun-based phrases than verb-based phrases. Written texts tend to be longer and the language has more grammatical complexity, including more subordinate clauses and more passives (Cooper, P.: 2011:2) § §Longer words §Noun-based phrases §Grammar complexity §Subordinate clauses §Passive voice § Grammar §3rd person rather than 1st person §Emotionally neutral terms §“People suffering from dyslexia” vs. “People who have dyslexia” §Be consistent in language use (BrE vs AmE) §Passive voice §Draws attention to the thing/event described §Should not be overused Grammar (cont.) § §Avoid bias – word choice important! §No contractions (can’t, aren’t, …) §Keep phrasal verbs to a minimum § British English vs. American English British American colour color neighbour neighbor behaviour behavior favour favor honour honor metre (unit) meter meter (device) meter centre center analogue analog practice (noun) practise maths math speciality specialty Computer Science Writing Style §Exact §Repetition ok, understand your words, avoid ambiguity §Clear §Clear headings and presentation of ideas §Compact §Say only what is necessary, avoid wordiness/long sentences or paragraphs Computer Science Writing Style (cont.) §Objective §Acknowledge sources! §Point out positives and negatives! §Smooth §Logical progression from paragraph to paragraph and from chapter to chapter §Know the writing style required by the university! §General writing guide §Writing style §International Writing style (IEEE) § § § § § Useful Verbs in CS §represent, analyze, apply, compare, demonstrate, illustrate, summarize, optimize, §minimize, maximize, conclude, list, define, report, model, implement, §design, consider, involve, simplify, generalize, perform, reduce, obey, fit, contain, §increase, decrease, evaluate, predict, assign, require, satisfy, §Several phrasal verbs useful: §consists of, scale up to, be based on sg., take into account sg., depend on sg, § Frequent Irregular Verbs in CS §choose – chose – chosen §find – found – found §hide – hid – hidden §hold – held – held §lead – led – led §lose – lost – lost §rise – rose – risen §seek – sought – sought §show – showed – shown §spin – spun – spun §split – split – split §spread – spread – spread §stick – stuck – stuck