thesis how to improve writing skills

How To Write A Dissertation Or Thesis

8 straightforward steps to craft an a-grade dissertation.

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) Expert Reviewed By: Dr Eunice Rautenbach | June 2020

Writing a dissertation or thesis is not a simple task. It takes time, energy and a lot of will power to get you across the finish line. It’s not easy – but it doesn’t necessarily need to be a painful process. If you understand the big-picture process of how to write a dissertation or thesis, your research journey will be a lot smoother.  

In this post, I’m going to outline the big-picture process of how to write a high-quality dissertation or thesis, without losing your mind along the way. If you’re just starting your research, this post is perfect for you. Alternatively, if you’ve already submitted your proposal, this article which covers how to structure a dissertation might be more helpful.

How To Write A Dissertation: 8 Steps

• Clearly understand what a dissertation (or thesis) is
• Find a unique and valuable research topic
• Craft a convincing research proposal
• Write up a strong introduction chapter
• Review the existing literature and compile a literature review
• Design a rigorous research strategy and undertake your own research
• Present the findings of your research
• Draw a conclusion and discuss the implications

Step 1: Understand exactly what a dissertation is

This probably sounds like a no-brainer, but all too often, students come to us for help with their research and the underlying issue is that they don’t fully understand what a dissertation (or thesis) actually is.

So, what is a dissertation?

At its simplest, a dissertation or thesis is a formal piece of research , reflecting the standard research process . But what is the standard research process, you ask? The research process involves 4 key steps:

• Ask a very specific, well-articulated question (s) (your research topic)
• See what other researchers have said about it (if they’ve already answered it)
• If they haven’t answered it adequately, undertake your own data collection and analysis in a scientifically rigorous fashion
• Answer your original question(s), based on your analysis findings

In short, the research process is simply about asking and answering questions in a systematic fashion . This probably sounds pretty obvious, but people often think they’ve done “research”, when in fact what they have done is:

• Started with a vague, poorly articulated question
• Not taken the time to see what research has already been done regarding the question
• Collected data and opinions that support their gut and undertaken a flimsy analysis
• Drawn a shaky conclusion, based on that analysis

If you want to see the perfect example of this in action, look out for the next Facebook post where someone claims they’ve done “research”… All too often, people consider reading a few blog posts to constitute research. Its no surprise then that what they end up with is an opinion piece, not research. Okay, okay – I’ll climb off my soapbox now.

The key takeaway here is that a dissertation (or thesis) is a formal piece of research, reflecting the research process. It’s not an opinion piece , nor a place to push your agenda or try to convince someone of your position. Writing a good dissertation involves asking a question and taking a systematic, rigorous approach to answering it.

If you understand this and are comfortable leaving your opinions or preconceived ideas at the door, you’re already off to a good start!

Step 2: Find a unique, valuable research topic

As we saw, the first step of the research process is to ask a specific, well-articulated question. In other words, you need to find a research topic that asks a specific question or set of questions (these are called research questions ). Sounds easy enough, right? All you’ve got to do is identify a question or two and you’ve got a winning research topic. Well, not quite…

A good dissertation or thesis topic has a few important attributes. Specifically, a solid research topic should be:

Let’s take a closer look at these:

Attribute #1: Clear

Your research topic needs to be crystal clear about what you’re planning to research, what you want to know, and within what context. There shouldn’t be any ambiguity or vagueness about what you’ll research.

Here’s an example of a clearly articulated research topic:

An analysis of consumer-based factors influencing organisational trust in British low-cost online equity brokerage firms.

As you can see in the example, its crystal clear what will be analysed (factors impacting organisational trust), amongst who (consumers) and in what context (British low-cost equity brokerage firms, based online).

Need a helping hand?

Attribute #2:   Unique

Your research should be asking a question(s) that hasn’t been asked before, or that hasn’t been asked in a specific context (for example, in a specific country or industry).

For example, sticking organisational trust topic above, it’s quite likely that organisational trust factors in the UK have been investigated before, but the context (online low-cost equity brokerages) could make this research unique. Therefore, the context makes this research original.

One caveat when using context as the basis for originality – you need to have a good reason to suspect that your findings in this context might be different from the existing research – otherwise, there’s no reason to warrant researching it.

Attribute #3: Important

Simply asking a unique or original question is not enough – the question needs to create value. In other words, successfully answering your research questions should provide some value to the field of research or the industry. You can’t research something just to satisfy your curiosity. It needs to make some form of contribution either to research or industry.

For example, researching the factors influencing consumer trust would create value by enabling businesses to tailor their operations and marketing to leverage factors that promote trust. In other words, it would have a clear benefit to industry.

So, how do you go about finding a unique and valuable research topic? We explain that in detail in this video post – How To Find A Research Topic . Yeah, we’ve got you covered 😊

Step 3: Write a convincing research proposal

Once you’ve pinned down a high-quality research topic, the next step is to convince your university to let you research it. No matter how awesome you think your topic is, it still needs to get the rubber stamp before you can move forward with your research. The research proposal is the tool you’ll use for this job.

So, what’s in a research proposal?

The main “job” of a research proposal is to convince your university, advisor or committee that your research topic is worthy of approval. But convince them of what? Well, this varies from university to university, but generally, they want to see that:

• You have a clearly articulated, unique and important topic (this might sound familiar…)
• You’ve done some initial reading of the existing literature relevant to your topic (i.e. a literature review)
• You have a provisional plan in terms of how you will collect data and analyse it (i.e. a methodology)

At the proposal stage, it’s (generally) not expected that you’ve extensively reviewed the existing literature , but you will need to show that you’ve done enough reading to identify a clear gap for original (unique) research. Similarly, they generally don’t expect that you have a rock-solid research methodology mapped out, but you should have an idea of whether you’ll be undertaking qualitative or quantitative analysis , and how you’ll collect your data (we’ll discuss this in more detail later).

Long story short – don’t stress about having every detail of your research meticulously thought out at the proposal stage – this will develop as you progress through your research. However, you do need to show that you’ve “done your homework” and that your research is worthy of approval .

So, how do you go about crafting a high-quality, convincing proposal? We cover that in detail in this video post – How To Write A Top-Class Research Proposal . We’ve also got a video walkthrough of two proposal examples here .

Step 4: Craft a strong introduction chapter

Once your proposal’s been approved, its time to get writing your actual dissertation or thesis! The good news is that if you put the time into crafting a high-quality proposal, you’ve already got a head start on your first three chapters – introduction, literature review and methodology – as you can use your proposal as the basis for these.

Handy sidenote – our free dissertation & thesis template is a great way to speed up your dissertation writing journey.

What’s the introduction chapter all about?

The purpose of the introduction chapter is to set the scene for your research (dare I say, to introduce it…) so that the reader understands what you’ll be researching and why it’s important. In other words, it covers the same ground as the research proposal in that it justifies your research topic.

What goes into the introduction chapter?

This can vary slightly between universities and degrees, but generally, the introduction chapter will include the following:

• A brief background to the study, explaining the overall area of research
• A problem statement , explaining what the problem is with the current state of research (in other words, where the knowledge gap exists)
• Your research questions – in other words, the specific questions your study will seek to answer (based on the knowledge gap)
• The significance of your study – in other words, why it’s important and how its findings will be useful in the world

As you can see, this all about explaining the “what” and the “why” of your research (as opposed to the “how”). So, your introduction chapter is basically the salesman of your study, “selling” your research to the first-time reader and (hopefully) getting them interested to read more.

How do I write the introduction chapter, you ask? We cover that in detail in this post .

Step 5: Undertake an in-depth literature review

As I mentioned earlier, you’ll need to do some initial review of the literature in Steps 2 and 3 to find your research gap and craft a convincing research proposal – but that’s just scratching the surface. Once you reach the literature review stage of your dissertation or thesis, you need to dig a lot deeper into the existing research and write up a comprehensive literature review chapter.

What’s the literature review all about?

There are two main stages in the literature review process:

Literature Review Step 1: Reading up

The first stage is for you to deep dive into the existing literature (journal articles, textbook chapters, industry reports, etc) to gain an in-depth understanding of the current state of research regarding your topic. While you don’t need to read every single article, you do need to ensure that you cover all literature that is related to your core research questions, and create a comprehensive catalogue of that literature , which you’ll use in the next step.

Reading and digesting all the relevant literature is a time consuming and intellectually demanding process. Many students underestimate just how much work goes into this step, so make sure that you allocate a good amount of time for this when planning out your research. Thankfully, there are ways to fast track the process – be sure to check out this article covering how to read journal articles quickly .

Literature Review Step 2: Writing up

Once you’ve worked through the literature and digested it all, you’ll need to write up your literature review chapter. Many students make the mistake of thinking that the literature review chapter is simply a summary of what other researchers have said. While this is partly true, a literature review is much more than just a summary. To pull off a good literature review chapter, you’ll need to achieve at least 3 things:

• You need to synthesise the existing research , not just summarise it. In other words, you need to show how different pieces of theory fit together, what’s agreed on by researchers, what’s not.
• You need to highlight a research gap that your research is going to fill. In other words, you’ve got to outline the problem so that your research topic can provide a solution.
• You need to use the existing research to inform your methodology and approach to your own research design. For example, you might use questions or Likert scales from previous studies in your your own survey design .

As you can see, a good literature review is more than just a summary of the published research. It’s the foundation on which your own research is built, so it deserves a lot of love and attention. Take the time to craft a comprehensive literature review with a suitable structure .

But, how do I actually write the literature review chapter, you ask? We cover that in detail in this video post .

Step 6: Carry out your own research

Once you’ve completed your literature review and have a sound understanding of the existing research, its time to develop your own research (finally!). You’ll design this research specifically so that you can find the answers to your unique research question.

There are two steps here – designing your research strategy and executing on it:

1 – Design your research strategy

The first step is to design your research strategy and craft a methodology chapter . I won’t get into the technicalities of the methodology chapter here, but in simple terms, this chapter is about explaining the “how” of your research. If you recall, the introduction and literature review chapters discussed the “what” and the “why”, so it makes sense that the next point to cover is the “how” –that’s what the methodology chapter is all about.

In this section, you’ll need to make firm decisions about your research design. This includes things like:

• Your research philosophy (e.g. positivism or interpretivism )
• Your overall methodology (e.g. qualitative , quantitative or mixed methods)
• Your data collection strategy (e.g. interviews , focus groups, surveys)
• Your data analysis strategy (e.g. content analysis , correlation analysis, regression)

If these words have got your head spinning, don’t worry! We’ll explain these in plain language in other posts. It’s not essential that you understand the intricacies of research design (yet!). The key takeaway here is that you’ll need to make decisions about how you’ll design your own research, and you’ll need to describe (and justify) your decisions in your methodology chapter.

2 – Execute: Collect and analyse your data

Once you’ve worked out your research design, you’ll put it into action and start collecting your data. This might mean undertaking interviews, hosting an online survey or any other data collection method. Data collection can take quite a bit of time (especially if you host in-person interviews), so be sure to factor sufficient time into your project plan for this. Oftentimes, things don’t go 100% to plan (for example, you don’t get as many survey responses as you hoped for), so bake a little extra time into your budget here.

Once you’ve collected your data, you’ll need to do some data preparation before you can sink your teeth into the analysis. For example:

• If you carry out interviews or focus groups, you’ll need to transcribe your audio data to text (i.e. a Word document).
• If you collect quantitative survey data, you’ll need to clean up your data and get it into the right format for whichever analysis software you use (for example, SPSS, R or STATA).

Once you’ve completed your data prep, you’ll undertake your analysis, using the techniques that you described in your methodology. Depending on what you find in your analysis, you might also do some additional forms of analysis that you hadn’t planned for. For example, you might see something in the data that raises new questions or that requires clarification with further analysis.

The type(s) of analysis that you’ll use depend entirely on the nature of your research and your research questions. For example:

• If your research if exploratory in nature, you’ll often use qualitative analysis techniques .
• If your research is confirmatory in nature, you’ll often use quantitative analysis techniques
• If your research involves a mix of both, you might use a mixed methods approach

Again, if these words have got your head spinning, don’t worry! We’ll explain these concepts and techniques in other posts. The key takeaway is simply that there’s no “one size fits all” for research design and methodology – it all depends on your topic, your research questions and your data. So, don’t be surprised if your study colleagues take a completely different approach to yours.

Step 7: Present your findings

Once you’ve completed your analysis, it’s time to present your findings (finally!). In a dissertation or thesis, you’ll typically present your findings in two chapters – the results chapter and the discussion chapter .

What’s the difference between the results chapter and the discussion chapter?

While these two chapters are similar, the results chapter generally just presents the processed data neatly and clearly without interpretation, while the discussion chapter explains the story the data are telling  – in other words, it provides your interpretation of the results.

For example, if you were researching the factors that influence consumer trust, you might have used a quantitative approach to identify the relationship between potential factors (e.g. perceived integrity and competence of the organisation) and consumer trust. In this case:

• Your results chapter would just present the results of the statistical tests. For example, correlation results or differences between groups. In other words, the processed numbers.
• Your discussion chapter would explain what the numbers mean in relation to your research question(s). For example, Factor 1 has a weak relationship with consumer trust, while Factor 2 has a strong relationship.

Depending on the university and degree, these two chapters (results and discussion) are sometimes merged into one , so be sure to check with your institution what their preference is. Regardless of the chapter structure, this section is about presenting the findings of your research in a clear, easy to understand fashion.

Importantly, your discussion here needs to link back to your research questions (which you outlined in the introduction or literature review chapter). In other words, it needs to answer the key questions you asked (or at least attempt to answer them).

For example, if we look at the sample research topic:

In this case, the discussion section would clearly outline which factors seem to have a noteworthy influence on organisational trust. By doing so, they are answering the overarching question and fulfilling the purpose of the research .

For more information about the results chapter , check out this post for qualitative studies and this post for quantitative studies .

Step 8: The Final Step Draw a conclusion and discuss the implications

Last but not least, you’ll need to wrap up your research with the conclusion chapter . In this chapter, you’ll bring your research full circle by highlighting the key findings of your study and explaining what the implications of these findings are.

What exactly are key findings? The key findings are those findings which directly relate to your original research questions and overall research objectives (which you discussed in your introduction chapter). The implications, on the other hand, explain what your findings mean for industry, or for research in your area.

Sticking with the consumer trust topic example, the conclusion might look something like this:

Key findings

This study set out to identify which factors influence consumer-based trust in British low-cost online equity brokerage firms. The results suggest that the following factors have a large impact on consumer trust:

While the following factors have a very limited impact on consumer trust:

Notably, within the 25-30 age groups, Factors E had a noticeably larger impact, which may be explained by…

Implications

The findings having noteworthy implications for British low-cost online equity brokers. Specifically:

The large impact of Factors X and Y implies that brokers need to consider….

The limited impact of Factor E implies that brokers need to…

As you can see, the conclusion chapter is basically explaining the “what” (what your study found) and the “so what?” (what the findings mean for the industry or research). This brings the study full circle and closes off the document.

Let’s recap – how to write a dissertation or thesis

You’re still with me? Impressive! I know that this post was a long one, but hopefully you’ve learnt a thing or two about how to write a dissertation or thesis, and are now better equipped to start your own research.

To recap, the 8 steps to writing a quality dissertation (or thesis) are as follows:

• Understand what a dissertation (or thesis) is – a research project that follows the research process.
• Find a unique (original) and important research topic
• Craft a convincing dissertation or thesis research proposal
• Write a clear, compelling introduction chapter
• Undertake a thorough review of the existing research and write up a literature review
• Undertake your own research
• Present and interpret your findings

Once you’ve wrapped up the core chapters, all that’s typically left is the abstract , reference list and appendices. As always, be sure to check with your university if they have any additional requirements in terms of structure or content.  

Psst... there’s more!

This post was based on one of our popular Research Bootcamps . If you're working on a research project, you'll definitely want to check this out ...

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20 Comments

thankfull >>>this is very useful

Thank you, it was really helpful

unquestionably, this amazing simplified way of teaching. Really , I couldn’t find in the literature words that fully explicit my great thanks to you. However, I could only say thanks a-lot.

Great to hear that – thanks for the feedback. Good luck writing your dissertation/thesis.

This is the most comprehensive explanation of how to write a dissertation. Many thanks for sharing it free of charge.

Very rich presentation. Thank you

Thanks Derek Jansen|GRADCOACH, I find it very useful guide to arrange my activities and proceed to research!

Thank you so much for such a marvelous teaching .I am so convinced that am going to write a comprehensive and a distinct masters dissertation

It is an amazing comprehensive explanation

This was straightforward. Thank you!

I can say that your explanations are simple and enlightening – understanding what you have done here is easy for me. Could you write more about the different types of research methods specific to the three methodologies: quan, qual and MM. I look forward to interacting with this website more in the future.

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions 🙂

Hello, your write ups is quite educative. However, l have challenges in going about my research questions which is below; *Building the enablers of organisational growth through effective governance and purposeful leadership.*

Very educating.

Just listening to the name of the dissertation makes the student nervous. As writing a top-quality dissertation is a difficult task as it is a lengthy topic, requires a lot of research and understanding and is usually around 10,000 to 15000 words. Sometimes due to studies, unbalanced workload or lack of research and writing skill students look for dissertation submission from professional writers.

Thank you 💕😊 very much. I was confused but your comprehensive explanation has cleared my doubts of ever presenting a good thesis. Thank you.

thank you so much, that was so useful

Hi. Where is the excel spread sheet ark?

could you please help me look at your thesis paper to enable me to do the portion that has to do with the specification

my topic is “the impact of domestic revenue mobilization.

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Is English Your Second Language? Here Are 7 Ways To Improve Your Academic Writing

Nov 3, 2018

Writing a PhD when English is your second language is scary. It’s scary enough when English is your first language. 80,000 words, sometimes even more, in a technical language and at the highest level of academic rigour. Terrifying, right?

Here I present 7 tips you can use to improve your academic writing when writing your PhD.

I’ve   proofread countless PhDs   from people just like you and one thing stands out –   you’re doing great.  Sure, it’s hard and you sometimes struggle, but how many native English speakers can write a PhD in a second language? Not many. 

  So stop worrying. International students  pass at the same rate  as native English speaker and they do so quicker. To get onto your PhD program in the first place, you already had to show your competence in English. Don’t forget that.   

If your supervisor has ever criticised you, you’ve ever been told your English can be improved, you’ve ever had a chapter sent back for language errors or you simply want to improve your own English-language skills,  these strategies are for you.  

Interested in group workshops, cohort-courses and a free PhD learning & support community? 

The team behind The PhD Proofreaders have launched The PhD People, a free learning and community platform for PhD students. Connect, share and learn with other students, and boost your skills with cohort-based workshops and courses.

Tip 1: spot your mistakes.

We know from our years of proofreading experience that most international students writing in English make the same few mistakes over and over again.

Overall their language is great, but a few errors show up time and time again.   Try and think about what mistakes you make most frequently . If you’ve ever had your work proofread, have a look at the changes that the proofreader made. Can you spot any patterns? If you can, make a note of the changes the proofreader made and see if you can learn them.

When you write something new, take another read through it, paying attention to these common mistakes.

Read it out loud – it helps.

Tip 2: Read, read, read

Spend time each week reading well-written journal articles or book chapters. Carefully consider how they have been written.

Often the problem with writing English in a second language isn’t just spelling or grammar, but sentence structure and academic tone. So think about how the authors have introduced their argument.

Ask yourself:

How have they structured their introduction? How have they structured the article as a whole? Do they use long sentences with lots of commas or do they keep their sentences short? How do they conclude? Thinking carefully about these things will help you understand your own writing. How do you introduce your argument? How do you structure your introduction? How does that compare? Is there anything you can learn?

Tip 3: Write as much as possible

Write as much as possible. The more you practice, the better you will become, especially if you’re having your work checked by a proofreader, taking note of their suggestions for changes and keeping an eye out for repeated mistakes and patterns. Writing PhD chapters as early as possible is good practice anyway, so it’s a double-win.

If your PhD doesn’t give you much opportunity to write until later years (maybe if you’re doing lots of fieldwork first), you can find other ways to practice. You can write detailed notes in English on your reading, or you could join the editorial board of a journal.

Tip 4: Take advantage of your university

Take advantage of the resources offered your university. Many universities now have dedicated departments to offer courses and training for those for whom English is a second language. You should definitely take advantage of these. They are often run by academics who are experts in teaching ESL students.

Tip 5: Write in English, but if you get stuck on a word include it in your first language

The worst thing you can do is write your thesis in your first language and then translate it to English. It’ll take you ages and it’ll make it difficult for a proofreader to understand, because different languages have different rules about things like sentence structure and word order, which means your translated text will read in a strange way.

Instead, write the text in English primarily, but if you are having trouble with a particular word, include it in your native language. You may already do this when you’re speaking in English and don’t know a particular word. It’s the same principle in writing.

Doing this will mean you can move forward in your thesis. Then, when you go through and edit things, you can translate the individual words into English.

Tip 6: Bigger is not always better

Lastly, you don’t need to write with long, complex sentences. These are hard to read and add an unnecessary level of complication to your work.

Instead, focus on presenting your ideas in short, concise sentences that are easy to read. Many of the problems we see when we proofread PhDs are down to poor sentence structure and using overly complex sentences.

If you use simple, shorter sentences, you will avoid these common mistakes.

Tip 7: Hire a proofreader

This advice applies to both native and international students. You can be the best writer in the world, but after you’ve written 80,000 words, edited it and re-read it twice, you’ve become so familiar with it that you will miss mistakes. Guaranteed. Everyone does.

You need a fresh set of eyes, those of a professional proofreader. They will be able to make sure you haven’t made mistakes and that your ideas and arguments are clearly presented.

Don’t forget that a PhD is a very technical document. It is difficult to separate how much of the struggle you have is because of the difficulty with learning the new technical language of your discipline – which native speakers also have to do and also find difficult – and how much is because of speaking another language. Often, the problem is because words that you already know are being used in new ways that are often contested. We know that definitions in academia are often hard to pin down; you may not understand the meaning of a word simply because the meaning of the word isn’t really known by anyone!

Again though, it’s hard not to assume it’s because of your problems with English. Remember that native speakers often struggle to understand academic text.

Remember, you’re doing great. There’s always room for improvement though, so follow these seven steps and you’ll be improving in no time. For more on how to improve your writing and to see how we can help you, visit our Knowledge Base.

Hello, Doctor…

Sounds good, doesn’t it?  Be able to call yourself Doctor sooner with our five-star rated How to Write A PhD email-course. Learn everything your supervisor should have taught you about planning and completing a PhD.

Now half price. Join hundreds of other students and become a better thesis writer, or your money back. 

Share this:

I received much knowledge from your tips and guides me to improve my writing dissertation. Thanks indeed, really support me.

I’m glad the guide helped. Good luck with the thesis!

These are very practical tips. Really helpful. What do you think about the use of Apps like Grammarly?

I think for most people Grammarly is really useful. For some though it won’t be enough – it’s not great at huge bodies of text, or if your English language skills aren’t great. That’s where a proofreader comes in.

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• 28 October, 2021

Writing a thesis is a substantial undertaking : it takes discipline, organisation and most of all, time, to produce a high-quality thesis. You may worry about many aspects of it, like whether you have done enough reading or gathered enough data, but as with most PhD students in your position, you’re most likely overthinking it. You have worked on this research for years, so you can be sure that you do have enough data and you have read enough. The final worry is how to actually write it. Let’s discuss three of the best practices to help you prepare for this.

Read more – and better

A thesis is, in essence, an enormous journal paper . Usually split into Introduction , Methodology, Results and Analysis/ Discussion chapters, the overall structure of a thesis follows a similar formula to that of a paper. It therefore follows that you can take inspiration from academic papers in your field to help you structure the flow and language of your thesis. 

The next time you read a paper, don’t think only about the content, but also how it is written, structured and presented. You want your thesis to have a certain narrative , to be easy to read and to follow similar stylistic and linguistic conventions to what academics in your field will be used to. Already existing publications are a valuable resource for you to tap into.

Write more frequently

The single best way to get better at anything is to practise frequently and consistently, and writing is no different. Find ways to can get involved in any writing, whether it is a paper your lab is working on, a personal or professional blog post or an article on online platforms like LinkedIn. You will become more familiar with your writing habits , your own voice as a writer and any weaknesses you might identify along the way, so you can focus on addressing them and refining your writing skills. 

Seek (relevant) feedback

Finally, do not be afraid to ask for feedback from your supervisor, colleagues, friends and family. Your writing will probably require a high level of technical detail, but should still be readable for diverse audiences . A great way to gain an understanding of how you’re doing in this regard is to ask as varied a group of people for as much feedback as you can, so as to identify areas that may require refinement.

Writing comes easily to some, and less easily to others. The key to improving your writing is understanding the level you are currently at, and identifying what needs improvement. Compare your own writing to published papers, and learn from feedback. Practise as much as you can, and you’ll no doubt be successful in writing your thesis.

Read next in series:  PhD Writing 3: How to write the introduction chapter of a thesis

Read previous in series: PhD Writing 1: Things you should do in preparation for writing your thesis

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Paper structure.

How to write an Introduction to an academic article

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Writing an effective Discussion section in a scientific paper

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Writing a Paper: Reflecting & Improving

Introduction.

The writing process is circular; it does not end when you submit the paper to your instructor. In order to make progress with each assignment, you will need to optimize feedback, reflect on your strengths and weaknesses, and plan for improvement. Review the sections below for more guidance on evaluating and improving your own writing.

Reflecting on Strengths & Weaknesses

To reflect is to think deeply about something. The activity of reflection does not need to be formal in nature.  Simply sit down with a copy of your paper and consider the last week or so you spent writing it.

Areas to consider:

• Time management (Did I plan out time to complete this assignment effectively? What steps should I devote more to in the future?)
• Research skills and use of sources (What great research resources did I discover?  Where can I look for help?)
• Critical reading and note taking (Did I read the assignment closely to make sure I addressed every component? What prewriting strategies seemed to work for me?)
• Organization (Was there an introduction and a conclusion? Did each paragraph have a topic sentence?)
• Argument and analysis (Was my thesis statement clear and specific? Did I explain the evidence for the reader by integrating analysis with summary?)
• Rhythm and flow of the language (Did I use transitions to show relationships? Were my sentences a variety of long and short?)
• In-text citation and references (Did I cite sources appropriately? What aspects of citation or references are still confusing to me?)
• Grammar and punctuation (Were all sentences complete, with a subject and verb? What punctuation was problematic for me?)

Actions to consider:

• Take notes on what difficulties you encountered during the writing process and brainstorm solutions for the future.
• Record your instructor's comments and track these for each assignment.
• Read through the paper, highlighting problem areas in one color and successful areas in another.
• Jot down these strengths and weaknesses and keep them by your writing desk.
• Compare an earlier paper to the one you just completed. Do you see positive change?

Planning for Improvement

Reflection can help you identify the areas for improvement, but in order to actually move forward, you will need to make a plan and remind yourself of your goals. After identifying your writing strengths and weaknesses:

• Celebrate your strengths by congratulating yourself on what you did well.
• Browse the Writing Center website for material on the particular skills you would like to acquire. 
• Attend a live webinar or view past lessons on anything from academic argument to engaging sentence structure. 
• Sign up for a writing course to supplement your other courses and elevate your writing.
• Use the automated grammar checker Grammarly , free for Walden students.
• Practice new writing techniques in discussion post assignments, where there is less pressure to perform well.
• Take one of the Writing Center's interactive quizzes to test your knowledge as you learn.
• Create a checklist for your next writing assignment. The most important thing to remember is that becoming a better writer takes time.

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Essay and dissertation writing skills

Planning your essay

Writing your introduction

Structuring your essay

• Writing essays in science subjects
• Brief video guides to support essay planning and writing
• Writing extended essays and dissertations
• Planning your dissertation writing time

Structuring your dissertation

• Top tips for writing longer pieces of work

Advice on planning and writing essays and dissertations

University essays differ from school essays in that they are less concerned with what you know and more concerned with how you construct an argument to answer the question. This means that the starting point for writing a strong essay is to first unpick the question and to then use this to plan your essay before you start putting pen to paper (or finger to keyboard).

A really good starting point for you are these short, downloadable Tips for Successful Essay Writing and Answering the Question resources. Both resources will help you to plan your essay, as well as giving you guidance on how to distinguish between different sorts of essay questions. 

You may find it helpful to watch this seven-minute video on six tips for essay writing which outlines how to interpret essay questions, as well as giving advice on planning and structuring your writing:

Different disciplines will have different expectations for essay structure and you should always refer to your Faculty or Department student handbook or course Canvas site for more specific guidance.

However, broadly speaking, all essays share the following features:

Essays need an introduction to establish and focus the parameters of the discussion that will follow. You may find it helpful to divide the introduction into areas to demonstrate your breadth and engagement with the essay question. You might define specific terms in the introduction to show your engagement with the essay question; for example, ‘This is a large topic which has been variously discussed by many scientists and commentators. The principle tension is between the views of X and Y who define the main issues as…’ Breadth might be demonstrated by showing the range of viewpoints from which the essay question could be considered; for example, ‘A variety of factors including economic, social and political, influence A and B. This essay will focus on the social and economic aspects, with particular emphasis on…..’

Watch this two-minute video to learn more about how to plan and structure an introduction:

The main body of the essay should elaborate on the issues raised in the introduction and develop an argument(s) that answers the question. It should consist of a number of self-contained paragraphs each of which makes a specific point and provides some form of evidence to support the argument being made. Remember that a clear argument requires that each paragraph explicitly relates back to the essay question or the developing argument.

• Conclusion: An essay should end with a conclusion that reiterates the argument in light of the evidence you have provided; you shouldn’t use the conclusion to introduce new information.
• References: You need to include references to the materials you’ve used to write your essay. These might be in the form of footnotes, in-text citations, or a bibliography at the end. Different systems exist for citing references and different disciplines will use various approaches to citation. Ask your tutor which method(s) you should be using for your essay and also consult your Department or Faculty webpages for specific guidance in your discipline. 

Essay writing in science subjects

If you are writing an essay for a science subject you may need to consider additional areas, such as how to present data or diagrams. This five-minute video gives you some advice on how to approach your reading list, planning which information to include in your answer and how to write for your scientific audience – the video is available here:

A PDF providing further guidance on writing science essays for tutorials is available to download.

Short videos to support your essay writing skills

There are many other resources at Oxford that can help support your essay writing skills and if you are short on time, the Oxford Study Skills Centre has produced a number of short (2-minute) videos covering different aspects of essay writing, including:

• Approaching different types of essay questions  
• Structuring your essay  
• Writing an introduction  
• Making use of evidence in your essay writing  
• Writing your conclusion

Extended essays and dissertations

Longer pieces of writing like extended essays and dissertations may seem like quite a challenge from your regular essay writing. The important point is to start with a plan and to focus on what the question is asking. A PDF providing further guidance on planning Humanities and Social Science dissertations is available to download.

Planning your time effectively

Try not to leave the writing until close to your deadline, instead start as soon as you have some ideas to put down onto paper. Your early drafts may never end up in the final work, but the work of committing your ideas to paper helps to formulate not only your ideas, but the method of structuring your writing to read well and conclude firmly.

Although many students and tutors will say that the introduction is often written last, it is a good idea to begin to think about what will go into it early on. For example, the first draft of your introduction should set out your argument, the information you have, and your methods, and it should give a structure to the chapters and sections you will write. Your introduction will probably change as time goes on but it will stand as a guide to your entire extended essay or dissertation and it will help you to keep focused.

The structure of  extended essays or dissertations will vary depending on the question and discipline, but may include some or all of the following:

• The background information to - and context for - your research. This often takes the form of a literature review.
• Explanation of the focus of your work.
• Explanation of the value of this work to scholarship on the topic.
• List of the aims and objectives of the work and also the issues which will not be covered because they are outside its scope.

The main body of your extended essay or dissertation will probably include your methodology, the results of research, and your argument(s) based on your findings.

The conclusion is to summarise the value your research has added to the topic, and any further lines of research you would undertake given more time or resources. 

Tips on writing longer pieces of work

Approaching each chapter of a dissertation as a shorter essay can make the task of writing a dissertation seem less overwhelming. Each chapter will have an introduction, a main body where the argument is developed and substantiated with evidence, and a conclusion to tie things together. Unlike in a regular essay, chapter conclusions may also introduce the chapter that will follow, indicating how the chapters are connected to one another and how the argument will develop through your dissertation.

For further guidance, watch this two-minute video on writing longer pieces of work . 

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Writing a Dissertation or Thesis

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The aim of the dissertation or thesis is to produce an original piece of research work on a clearly defined topic.

Usually a dissertation is the most substantial piece of independent work in the undergraduate programme, while a thesis is usually associated with master's degrees, although these terms can be interchangeable and may vary between countries and universities.

A dissertation or thesis is likely to be the longest and most difficult piece of work a student has ever completed. It can, however, also be a very rewarding piece of work since, unlike essays and other assignments, the student is able to pick a topic of special interest and work on their own initiative.

Writing a dissertation requires a range of planning and research skills that will be of great value in your future career and within organisations.

The dissertation topic and question should be sufficiently focused that you can collect all the necessary data within a relatively short time-frame, usually about six weeks for undergraduate programmes.

You should also choose a topic that you already know something about so that you already have a frame of reference for your literature search and some understanding and interest in the theory behind your topic.

There are many ways to write a dissertation or thesis.

Most universities and colleges provide very specific guidance to their students about their preferred approach.

This page, and those that follow, are designed to give you some ideas about how you might carry out your literature review , and then write each of the various sections of your dissertation in the absence of, or in addition to, any specific guidance from your university.

Organising your Time

However organised you are, writing your dissertation is likely to be one of the most challenging tasks you have ever undertaken.

Take a look at our pages on Organising your Study Time and Organisation Skills , as well as Project Management Skills and Project Planning , to give you some ideas about how to organise your time and energy for the task ahead.

General Structure

Like an academic paper for journal publication, dissertations generally follow a fairly standard structure. The following pages discuss each of these in turn, and give more detailed advice about how to prepare and write each one:

• Research Proposal
• Introduction
• Literature Review
• Methodology
• Results and Discussion
• Conclusions and Extra Sections

Particularly for master's programmes, your university may ask for your thesis to be submitted in separate sections, rather than as a single document. One breakdown that is often seen is three-fold:

Introduction and/or Research Proposal , which should set out the research question that you plan to explore and give some ideas about how you might go about it. If you are submitting it as a research proposal, it will be fairly sketchy as you won’t have had a chance to review the literature thoroughly, but it should contain at least some theoretical foundation, and a reasonable idea of why you want to study this issue;

Literature Review and Methodology , which are often combined because what you plan to do should emerge from and complement the previous literature; and

Results and Discussion , which should set out what you actually did, the results you obtained, and discuss these in the context of the literature.

You will probably have an overall word count for the total dissertation or thesis. If you are required to submit in sections, ensure that you have left yourself enough words for the Results and Discussion. It is easy to get carried away with the literature review.

As a general guide, use the marking scheme to show you the approximate split for the word count. For example, if the introduction is worth 20%, and each of the other two submissions 40%, for a total word count of 10,000 words, the introduction should be at most 2,000 words, and each of the other two around 4,000 words.

If you’re submitting your dissertation as a single piece of work, and not in separate submissions, you may find it easier not to write it in order.

It is often easier to start with the literature review and then write the methodology .

The introduction may be the last part you write, or you may wish to rewrite it once you’ve finished to reflect the flow of your arguments as they developed.

One of the best ways to write a dissertation is as you go along, especially the literature review.

As you read each reference, summarise it and group it by themes. Don’t forget to reference it as you go!

You should be used to referencing by the time you write your dissertation but if you need a refresher then see our page: Academic Referencing .

Writing Style

Dissertations and academic articles used always to be written in the third person, and in the passive voice; as an example, you might write ‘ An experiment was carried out to test… ’

However, many journals have now moved away from that convention and request first person and active voice, which would require you to write ‘ I carried out an experiment to test… ’

Check with your university about their requirements before you start to write.

If you cannot find any guidelines, then ask your supervisor and/or the person who will be marking your thesis about their preferences. Make sure that the voice and person are consistent throughout.

Whatever style is preferred, aim to keep your language simple and jargon-free. Use shorter, simpler words and phrases wherever possible. Short sentences are good as they are easier to follow. Any sentence that runs to more than three lines needs to be cut down or split.

Phrases to avoid include:

Remember the Golden Rule

K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple, Stupid

The Role of your Academic Supervisor

The role of your supervisor is to supervise your work. It is not to do it for you, nor to tell you how to do it.

However, their academic reputation is bound up in the results of the students that they supervise so they have a vested interest in helping you to get the best possible marks. You should therefore not feel shy or embarrassed about asking them for help if you get into difficulties, or if you need some advice.

Academics tend to take a highly personal approach to supervision. Some will be prepared to spend a lot of time with you, talking about what you are planning to do by way of research and your emerging findings. Others will have very little contact with you, apart from being prepared to read a draft of your dissertation.

It’s worth spending a bit of time building up your relationship with your supervisor (have a look at our page on Building Rapport for help). It’s also worth discussing and clarifying with them exactly what they are prepared to do to support you, and in particular practical details such as:

How often are they prepared to meet with you during your research?

How quickly will they respond to emails asking for advice and/or guidance?

How much time do they need to review drafts of work?

How many drafts of your work are they prepared to read? University guidelines usually say ‘a first draft’ but many academics are prepared to read a preliminary draft to check that you are on the right track, and then a more polished version.

Having reviewed a draft, will they send you comments by email, or would they prefer to meet to discuss it?

One final piece of advice about your supervisor: if you don’t get on, then change supervisor. But do so as early as possible. Nobody wants you or your supervisor to struggle with the relationship, but they won’t be very sympathetic if you’re asking for a change a month before your deadline.

Formatting and Templates

If your university has a required format for a dissertation, and particularly if they supply a template, then use it! Start your writing straight into the template, or format your work correctly from the start. There is very little worse than cutting and pasting your work frantically into a template 10 minutes before your submission deadline. Templates are designed to make your life easier, not harder.

You will also need to format the references in the university’s preferred style. It is easier to do this as you go along. If the format is MLA, APA or Chicago, you can use Google Scholar to format it for you: search for the article title, then click on ‘cite’. This will save you typing out all the names, and can also be used, with minor tweaks, for other formats. But beware: it’s not always right! If it looks odd, check the original source.

Proof-reading

You’ll need to give yourself plenty of time to proof-read your work, to make sure that you haven’t made any stupid errors, and that it all flows correctly. This is likely to take longer than you think. You’ll also need to do this when you’re fresh, not last thing at night when you’re tired.

If possible, try to find a friend or fellow-student in the same position with whom you can swap dissertations for proof-reading. Fresh eyes are likely to spot errors much more effectively than those who already know what it should say.

Language Editing

The international language of academic publishing is English and many universities require their students to publish their dissertations in English. If your first language is not English, this is going to be a problem because your English will almost certainly not be up to the task. You have two choices about how you approach this:

You find a native English speaker , perhaps a fellow student, who is prepared to read your thesis for you and help you improve the English (preferably for free, or at least for the price of not much more than a meal and a few drinks); or

You pay an editor to do the work for you. This will not be cheap; the going rate for high quality academic language editing is about $7 per 250 words. You can find professional language editors via the websites of publishers of academic journals such as Emerald and Springer.

You will need to ensure that you build in sufficient time to allow someone else to read over your work. Nobody, not even if you are paying them, is going to want to stay up all night to edit your work because you left it too late. Many will also prefer not to work at weekends. Allow at least two weeks for professional language editing.

A Note on Plagiarism

DO NOT PLAGIARISE

If you are found to have plagiarised you will be heavily penalised and will probably lose your degree.

Ways to avoid being caught out inadvertently include:

• Never copy and paste from a journal article. Always summarise it in your own words, which also helps to make sure that you have understood it.
• If, for the sake of time, you want to copy and paste specific sentences which sum up the argument particularly well, always put them in quotation marks in your summary, with the source, so that you will remember that they are direct quotes and need to be acknowledged as such.

See our page: Academic Referencing for more information.

This page sets out general advice on issues connected with writing a dissertation, also known as a thesis.

The following pages set out in more detail how to approach each section of your dissertation, including the Literature Review , Methodology , Results and Discussion .

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Continue to: Writing a Research Proposal Writing a Dissertation: The Introduction Writing the Methodology

See also: Research Methods Dissertation Conclusions and Extra Sections Printing and Binding a Thesis: The Ultimate Step-By-Step Guide

• Thesis writing tips
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• How to write a thesis

Use these tips to help you improve your thesis writing skills for your HDR program.

Before you begin writing your thesis, make sure you've read our advice on thesis preparation for information on the requirements you'll need to meet.

Once you understand the requirements, here are some tips to help you get started:

Structure your ideas

Write as you go, be aware of examiner expectations, provide evidence for personal experience, learn from others, check for logic and clarity, ask for feedback, proofread your work.

If you're struggling with how to structure your ideas, it can help to create a concept map – this way you don't have to worry about the order of your work while you brainstorm. Once you've finished your map, you can put your ideas into a logical order.

You may also want to read our general advice on how to structure your thesis .

It takes time and effort to write a thesis, so it's best to spread your writing out over the length of your research degree, rather than trying to rush it all at the end – writing as you go gives you time to refine the structure and content.

As you start to write, you may discover gaps in your reasoning or things you need to consider further. Use this as an exercise to focus on your ideas – it's better to find problems earlier rather than later.

If you're struggling to work out what you want to say, try:

• explaining yourself aloud or to a friend – this can help you discover why you're having problems
• writing dot points on key ideas – this gives you something to work from
• free writing – write whatever pops into your head without worrying about grammar, punctuation, complete sentences or a logical flow.

Don't worry about your writing being perfect: once you have something to work with you can identify how to improve it.

When reading your thesis, your examiners will be looking for:

• a coherent, well-written argument
• logical, reasonable links between theoretical perspectives
• a solid understanding of the theory
• original, creative and clever work
• confidence in your own work.

Overall, your examiners will expect your thesis to demonstrate:

• advanced knowledge of the research methods and principles relating to your discipline
• work that engages with the literature and work of others
• for PhD theses , a significant and original contribution to knowledge
• for MPhil theses , originality in the application of knowledge.

Relevant personal experience, such as extensive experience working in a government agency or as a practitioner in a field, may help you to describe what motivated you to pursue a certain line of research.

While it's okay to refer to your personal experience, remember that statements without any supporting evidence or arguments are unacceptable – you'll need to be able to describe your experience and back up your observations with research.

Reading other theses can help you understand what you're expected to produce. You can search for UQ theses on the Library website. For prime examples, search for theses that received commendations from their examiners.

When reviewing others' theses, pay attention to:

• how they introduce and link ideas
• how they structure their arguments
• how they indicate their level of confidence in the conclusions they draw from their evidence
• what sort of questions they address in different sections.

It can be helpful to build up a collection of standard phrases for your writing, such as:

• "these results suggest that"
• "a second approach to addressing the problem of X is to do Y".

Ensure that there is a logical flow of ideas in your writing and that your arguments are clear.

To help you check your logic, you can:

• create an outline – either when you are initially planning, or when you have started structuring your ideas
• plan out your paragraphs in a logical sequence of questions that need answering
• create a flow chart of your main ideas to see how they link together.

You can also ask someone to read your thesis to check for a logical flow and to make sure you are explaining your research clearly.

All writers can benefit from feedback on their writing. To get useful feedback on your thesis, ask your advisor specific questions, such as:

• Do you think the structure is okay?
• Are my explanations clear?
• Is the argument in this section convincing enough?
• Do you think I need more supporting data in this section?

Make sure you clarify any feedback you don't understand and continue to ask for feedback as you progress through your thesis.

You should always proofread your work to look for spelling and grammatical errors. Proofreading requires close, careful reading.

To help you thoroughly proofread your thesis:

• work from a paper copy rather than on a screen – it's can be easier to find errors this way
• read your work aloud – reading aloud helps you to focus on every word
• look out for sentences that sound odd, incomplete or are awkward to say – this can help identify grammatical problems.

You should always proofread your work last, after other structural changes have been made, so you haven't wasted time proofreading sections that may be removed later.

• Structuring your thesis

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12 Ways to Quickly Improve Your Academic Essay Writing Skills

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Written by  Scribendi

Anyone can learn to produce an academic essay if they begin with a few basic essay-writing rules. 

An academic essay must be based upon a solid but debatable thesis, supported by relevant and credible evidence, and closed with a succinct and thorough conclusion.

By adhering to the best way to write an essay, you can create valuable, persuasive papers even when you're under a time crunch!

What Makes a Good Essay?

As previously noted, the foundation of any good academic essay is its thesis statement. 

Do not confuse your thesis with your opening sentence. There are many good ways to start an essay , but few essays immediately present their main ideas.

After you draft your thesis, you can begin to develop your essay around it. This development will include the main supporting points of your essay, which will scaffold its main body. 

Essays also typically include a relevant and compelling introduction and conclusion.

Learn How to Write a Great Thesis Statement .

Understanding How to Write a Good Essay

When writing an academic essay, you must take a number of qualities and characteristics into careful consideration. Focus, development, unity, coherence, and correctness all play critical roles when it comes to distinguishing an exceptional essay from one that is less than perfect.

The following essay-writing tips can help writers organize, format, and support their essays in ways that fit their intended purpose and optimize their overall persuasiveness. Here are 12 essay tips for developing and writing your next academic paper.

1. Know What You Are Going to Write About Before You Start Writing

While untrained writers might just sit down and start typing, educated and experienced writers know that there are many steps to writing an essay.

In short, you should know what you want to say before you type a single word. The easiest way to narrow down a thesis and create a proper argument is to make a basic outline before you begin composing your essay.

Your outline should consist of rough notes that sketch out your introduction (including your thesis), the body of your essay (which should include separate paragraphs that present your main supporting points with plenty of evidence and examples), and your conclusion (which ties everything together and connects the argument back to your thesis).

2. Acquire a Solid Understanding of Basic Grammar, Punctuation, and Style

Before getting into more refined essay-writing techniques, you must have a solid grasp of grammar, punctuation, and style. Without these writing fundamentals, it will be difficult to communicate your ideas effectively and ensure that they are taken seriously.

Grammar basics include subject and verb agreement, correct article and pronoun use, and well-formed sentence structures. Make sure you know the proper uses for the most common forms of punctuation. Be mindful of your comma usage and know when a period is needed.

Finally, voice is tremendously important in academic essay writing. Employ language that is as concise as possible. Avoid transition words that don't add anything to the sentence and unnecessary wordiness that detracts from your argument.

Furthermore, use the active voice instead of the passive whenever possible (e.g., "this study found" instead of "it was found by this study"). This will make your essay's tone clear and direct.

3. Use the Right Vocabulary and Know What the Words You Are Using Actually Mean

How you use language is important, especially in academic essay writing. When writing an academic essay, remember that you are persuading others that you are an expert who argues intelligently about your topic.

Using big words just to sound smart often results in the opposite effect—it is easy to detect when someone is overcompensating in their writing.

If you aren't sure of the exact meaning of a word, you risk using it incorrectly. There's no shame in checking, and it might save you from an embarrassing word misuse later!

Using obscure language can also detract from the clarity of your argument—you should consider this before pulling out a thesaurus to change a perfectly appropriate word to something completely different.

4. Understand the Argument and Critically Analyze the Evidence

While writing a good essay, your main argument should always be at the front of your mind. While it's tempting to go off on a tangent about an interesting side note, doing so makes your writing less concise.

Always question the evidence you include in your essay; ask yourself, "Does this directly support my thesis?" If the answer is "no," then that evidence should probably be excluded. 

When you are evaluating evidence, be critical and thorough. You want to use the strongest research to back up your thesis. It is not enough to simply present evidence in support of an argument. A good writer must also explain why the evidence is relevant and supportive.

Everything you include should clearly connect to your topic and argument.   

5. Know How to Write a Conclusion That Supports Your Research

One of the most overlooked steps to writing an essay is the conclusion. Your conclusion ties all your research together and proves your thesis. It should not be a restatement of your introduction or a copy-and-paste of your thesis.

A strong conclusion briefly outlines the key evidence discussed in the body of an essay and directly ties it to the thesis to show how the evidence proves or disproves the main argument of your research.

Countless great essays have been written only to be derailed by vague, weakly worded conclusions. Don't let your next essay become one of those.     

6. Build a Solid Thesis to Support Your Arguments

A thesis is the main pillar of an essay. By selecting a specific thesis, you'll be able to develop arguments to support your central opinion. Consider writing about a unique experience or your own particular view of a topic .

Your thesis should be clear and logical, but it should also be debatable. Otherwise, it might be difficult to support it with compelling arguments.

7. Develop an Interesting Opening Paragraph to Hook In Readers from the Get-Go

No matter how you begin your essay, you must strive to capture the reader's interest immediately. If your opening paragraph doesn't catch the eye and engage the brain, any attempt at persuasion may end before the essay even starts. 

The beginning of your essay is crucial for setting the stage for your thesis.

8. Always Remember to Edit and Proofread Your Essay

Any decent writer will tell you that writing is really rewriting. A good academic essay will inevitably go through multiple drafts as it slowly takes shape. When you arrive at a final draft, you must make sure that it is as close to perfect as possible.

This means subjecting your essay to close and comprehensive editing and proofreading processes. In other words, you must read your paper as many times as necessary to eliminate all grammar/punctuation mistakes and typos.

It is helpful to have a third party review your work. Consider consulting a peer or professional editing service. Keep in mind that professional editors are able to help you identify underdeveloped arguments and unnecessarily wordy language, and provide other feedback.

Get Critical Feedback on Your Writing

Hire an expert academic editor , or get a free sample, 9. when developing your essay's main body, build strong and relevant arguments.

Every sentence in the main body of your paper should explain and support your thesis. When deciding how much evidence to include in an academic essay, a good guideline is to include at least three main supporting arguments.

Those main supporting arguments, in turn, require support in the form of relevant facts, figures, examples, analogies, and observations. 

You will need to engage in appropriate research to accomplish this. To organize your research efforts, you may want to develop a list of good research questions . 

10. Choose the Format of Your Essay before Writing It

The final shape that your essay takes depends a great deal on what kind of format you use. Popular college essay format types include the Modern Language Association of America ( MLA ), American Psychological Association ( APA ), and Chicago Manual of Style ( Chicago style).

These formats govern everything from capitalization rules to source citation. Often, professors dictate a specific format for your essay. If they do not, you should choose the format that best suits your field.

11. Create Clear Transitions between Your Ideas

Although unnecessary transition words are the enemy of clarity and concision, they can be invaluable tools when it comes to separating and connecting the different sections of your essay. 

Not only do they help you express your ideas but they also bring a cohesive structure to your sentences and a pleasant flow to your writing. Just be sure that you are using the right transition words for the right purpose and to the proper effect.

12. Always Include an Organized Reference Page at the End of Your Essay

As a key component of MLA, APA, and Chicago Style formatting, the reference or Works Cited page is an essential part of any academic essay.

Regardless of the format used, the reference page must be well organized and easy to read so that your audience can see exactly where your outside information came from. 

To produce a properly formatted reference page, you may have to familiarize yourself with specialized phrases and abbreviations, such as " et al ." 

How to Write a Good Hook for an Essay

The key to a good hook is to introduce an unexplored or absorbing line of inquiry in your introduction that addresses the main point of your thesis. 

By carefully choosing your language and slowly revealing details, you can build reader anticipation for what follows. 

Much like an actual worm-baited fishing hook, a successful hook will lure and capture readers, allowing the writer to "reel them in."

How to Get Better at Writing Essays

You can get better at writing essays the same way that you improve at anything else: practice, practice, practice! However, there are a few ways that you can improve your writing quickly so you can turn in a quality academic essay on time.

In addition to following the 12 essay tips and guidelines above, you can familiarize yourself with a few common practices and structures for essay development. 

Great writing techniques for essays include brainstorming and tree diagrams, especially when coming up with a topic for your thesis statement. Becoming familiar with different structures for organizing your essay (order of importance, chronological, etc.) is also extremely helpful.

How to Write a Good Introduction for an Essay

To learn how to write a good essay, you must also learn how to write a good introduction. 

Most effective essay introductions begin with relatively broad and general subject matter and then gradually narrow in focus and scope until they arrive at something extremely specific: the thesis. This is why writers tend to place their thesis statements at the very end of their introductory paragraph(s).

Because they are generally broad and often relate only tangentially to an essay's main point, there is virtually no limit on what the beginning of a good introduction can look like. However, writers still tend to rely on somewhat cliché opening sentences, such as quotations and rhetorical questions.

How to Write a Good Conclusion for an Essay

Briefly put, a good conclusion does two things. It wraps up any loose ends and drives home the main point of your essay. 

To learn how to write a good conclusion, you will want to ensure that no unanswered questions remain in the reader's mind. A good conclusion will restate the thesis and reinforce the essay's main supporting points.

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Thesis Writing Skills Every Ph.D. Student Needs to Improve

Before you begin writing your thesis, you need to be aware of the skills required to write a good thesis. This is because these skills are usually taken for granted by many Ph.D. students. To ensure that you have made the right decision about choosing the topics of your thesis, it is also essential to understand what makes good research.

Writing a good thesis requires excellent focus, organization, and self-discipline since it is very challenging to deal with all the complex situations that may arise during writing your thesis.

A good thesis ensures that you have used all the skills required to perform inductive and deductive reasoning to reach your conclusions.

Tips on how a Ph.D. student should perform your level best to ensure that they can apply the skills required to write a good thesis? But if it’s still not enough you can always just buy dissertation online and be done with it.

Here are the 5 thesis writing skills that every Ph.D. students need to improve:

1. Writing a good outline

Writing an outline for your thesis is one of the thesis writing skills that help you develop a strong foundation for your ideas. The design should be able to guide you in the theory and research development process. It also assists you in reviewing your research findings and integrating them into your thesis. A well-written outline should help you clarify the aim and goals of your research, identify the topic you want to research on, establish a systematic research plan, and shape a compelling argument for the thesis statement.

2. Proofreading skills

Writing a good thesis involves paying attention to specific details, such as grammar, spelling, formatting style (APA or MLA), and ensuring that you have proofread your work thoroughly before submission. Further, it involves making reference to your sources and following relevant citation rules.

To ensure that you have proofread your work, you should use a grammar checker and spell checker and refer to other professional writers' guidelines on how best to handle formatting style, punctuation, etc.

3. Time management skills

Writing a thesis is very time-consuming; therefore, you must develop good time management skills. This is because it will help you overcome time constraints that may arise during writing your thesis. It would be best if you organized your schedule in a way that enables you to meet all deadlines. This is important because missing a deadline may result in the loss of valuable information that was supposed to be included in your research paper. It also exposes you to risks of losing your scholarship, not graduating on time, and even getting expelled from the university for lack of attendance.

4. Research skills & the ability to integrate your research findings

A Ph.D. student needs to be able to conduct good research to write a good thesis. A good thesis should be able to integrate all your research findings and arguments into a compelling argument. This is because you are required to justify your claims based on a reliable body of evidence. By integrating all your research findings into a view, you help other researchers to build up their arguments based on comparable sources and outcomes.

In reality, developing good research skills is among the main factors that affect your writing of a quality thesis. Therefore, it is essential that you acquire research skills, such as note-taking skills, and use them effectively in your study. This will help you identify the key issues necessary to discuss within your thesis and organize all of these issues into a coherent argument framework.

5. Research findings presentation

As a Ph.D. student, you must know to speak your mind in public using the data you gathered. You must consider that you already are a professional in your area, and all the data you collected must be presented as a whole body of evidence. Your presentation can be informal or formal, but the general public must always understand it. Do not try to sound fancy and complicated if this is not the case.

You should always present all the findings and data you gathered in the way your readers will understand them.

To write a good thesis, you need proper organization, time management, and excellent research skills. Want to improve your thesis writing skills? Make sure to follow these tips and tricks.

For more lessons and tips on how to write a good thesis, check out our education blog where you'll find research writing tips and the best guide on how to write dissertations.

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• Writing Worksheets and Other Writing Resources

Nine Basic Ways to Improve Your Style in Academic Writing

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1. Use ACTIVE VOICE

Don't say:  "The stepmother's house was cleaned by Cinderella."  (Passive.)

Say instead:  "Cinderella cleaned the stepmother's house."  (Active voice.)

Passive voice construction ("was cleaned") is reserved for those occasions where the "do-er" of the action is unknown.

Example:  "Prince Charming saw the glass slipper that was left behind."

2. Mix it up in terms of PUNCTUATION

Here are a few commonly misused punctuation marks that a lot of people aren't sure about:

The  semi-colon (;)  separates two complete sentences that are complementary.

Example:  "She was always covered in cinders from cleaning the fireplace; they called her Cinderella."

The  colon (:)  is used...

a. preceding a list.

Example:  "Before her stepmother awoke, Cinderella had three chores to complete: feeding the chickens, cooking breakfast, and doing the wash." 


b. as a sort of "drum roll," preceding some big revelation.

Example:  "One thing fueled the wicked stepmother's hatred for Cinderella: jealousy."  


The  dash (--)  is made by typing two hyphens (-). No spaces go in between the dash and the text. It is used...

a. to bracket off some explanatory information.

Example:  "Even Cinderella's stepsisters-who were not nearly as lovely or virtuous as Cinderella--were allowed to go to the ball." 


b. in the "drum roll" sense of the colon.

Example:  "Prince Charming would find this mystery lady--even if he had to put the slipper on every other girl in the kingdom."  


3. Vary your SENTENCE STRUCTURE

Don't say:  "Cinderella saw her fairy godmother appear. She was dressed in blue. She held a wand. The wand had a star on it. She was covered in sparkles. Cinderella was amazed. She asked who the woman was. The woman said, 'I am your fairy godmother.' She said she would get Cinderella a dress and a coach. She said she would help Cinderella go to the ball."

Instead say: (there are multiple correct ways to rewrite this, but here's one)  "Amazed, Cinderella watched as her fairy godmother appeared. The woman dressed in blue was covered in sparkles and carried a star-shaped wand. Cinderella asked the woman who she was, to which the woman replied, 'I am your fairy godmother." The fairy godmother would get Cinderella a dress and a coach; she would help Cinderella get to the ball."

4. Closely related to this, avoid CHOPPINESS

Don't say:  "She scrubbed the floors. They were dirty. She used a mop. She sighed sadly. It was as if she were a servant ."

Instead say : (again, there are multiple ways to do this)  "She scrubbed the dirty floors using a mop, as if she were a servant. She sighed sadly."

5. Avoid REPETITION.

Don't say:  "The stepsisters were jealous and envious ."

Instead say :  "The stepsisters were jealous ."  (...or envious. Pick one.)

6. Be CONCISE

Don't say:  "The mystery lady was one who every eligible man at the ball admired."

Instead say :  "Every eligible man at the ball admired the mystery lady."

7. Use the VOCABULARY that you know.

Don't always feel you have to use big words. It is always better to be clear and use simple language rather than showing off flashy words you aren't sure about and potentially misusing them. This is not to say, however, that you should settle for very weak vocabulary choices (like "bad" or "big" or "mad").

8. But also work on expanding your VOCABULARY.

When reading, look up words you don't know. See how they're used. Start a list. Incorporate them into your writing as you feel comfortable and as they are appropriate.

9. Keep language FORMAL and avoid language of everyday speech.

Don't say:  "Cinderella was mellow and good. She never let her stepmother get to her ."

Say instead:  "Cinderella was mild-mannered and kind. She never let her stepmother affect her high spirits ."

So, essentially, when it comes to working on style, there are three things to remember:

Empower yourself with knowledge..

Learn to punctuate correctly, enhance your vocabulary, etc. Give yourself all the tools there are so that you are free to...

...Mix it up!

Avoid repetition of words and sentence structure. Variance promotes good "flow" and is more interesting for your reader.

"Write to EXPRESS, not to IMPRESS."

Above all, write actively, clearly, and concisely.

Amber Carini

Student Learning Center, University of California, Berkeley

©2002 UC Regents

  This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Writing skills

No matter how novel your research, or how much time you’ve invested in your work, you still need to pay attention to some basic writing rules if you want to get published.

Our writing skills modules contain some helpful advice so you can ensure poor use of language or sloppy article structure doesn’t let you down.

You will discover the 10 most common mistakes researchers make in their manuscripts, from ambiguity and inconsistency to incorrect referencing. And then, of course, there’s the ethics issue of plagiarism….

We also look at the topic of manuscript language in detail, and offer some advice on where you can find support to improve it.

What you will learn

• Information on common writing mistakes
• Advice on how to avoid those errors
• A guide to correct manuscript language

Modules in Writing skills

How to prepare a proposal for a review article

Writing a persuasive cover letter for your manuscript

How to turn your thesis into an article

5 Diseases ailing research – and how to cure them

Using proper manuscript language

10 tips for writing a truly terrible journal article

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A (Very) Simple Way to Improve Your Writing

• Mark Rennella

It’s called the “one-idea rule” — and any level of writer can use it.

The “one idea” rule is a simple concept that can help you sharpen your writing, persuade others by presenting your argument in a clear, concise, and engaging way. What exactly does the rule say?

• Every component of a successful piece of writing should express only one idea.
• In persuasive writing, your “one idea” is often the argument or belief you are presenting to the reader. Once you identify what that argument is, the “one-idea rule” can help you develop, revise, and connect the various components of your writing.
• For instance, let’s say you’re writing an essay. There are three components you will be working with throughout your piece: the title, the paragraphs, and the sentences.
• Each of these parts should be dedicated to just one idea. The ideas are not identical, of course, but they’re all related. If done correctly, the smaller ideas (in sentences) all build (in paragraphs) to support the main point (suggested in the title).

Where your work meets your life. See more from Ascend here .

Most advice about writing looks like a long laundry list of “do’s and don’ts.” These lists can be helpful from time to time, but they’re hard to remember … and, therefore, hard to depend on when you’re having trouble putting your thoughts to paper. During my time in academia, teaching composition at the undergraduate and graduate levels, I saw many people struggle with this.

• MR Mark Rennella is Associate Editor at HBP and has published two books, Entrepreneurs, Managers, and Leaders and The Boston Cosmopolitans .  

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7 Effective Strategies to Improve Your Essay Writing Skills

Essay writing is an essential aspect of academic and professional life. Whether you are a student, a researcher, or a professional, your ability to convey your ideas effectively through writing can significantly impact your success. Therefore, it is crucial to improve your essay writing skills to excel in your academic or professional career.

While some people possess a natural talent for writing, most individuals can learn to write well with some effort and practice. This essay explores various strategies that can help you improve your essay writing skills and elevate your writing to the next level.

1. Develop Strong Writing Habits

To become a skilled writer, you must develop strong writing habits. One of the most effective ways to do this is by setting aside dedicated time each day to write. Whether it's for 30 minutes or an hour, making writing a regular habit can help you improve your skills over time. 

Additionally, it's crucial to create a comfortable and distraction-free writing environment. Find a quiet and comfortable place to write, turn off your phone and other electronic devices, and focus solely on the task at hand.

2. Read Extensively and Analyze Writing Styles

Reading extensively is another effective strategy for improving your essay writing skills. By exposing yourself to a wide variety of writing styles and genres, you can learn different techniques and approaches to writing that you can then apply to your own work. 

Pay attention to how authors structure their arguments, how they use language to convey meaning, and how they engage readers. By analyzing these elements of good writing, you can incorporate them into your own work and improve your writing skills.

3. Develop Strong Research Skills

Good research skills are a critical component of effective essay writing . The ability to find, evaluate, and use sources effectively can help you write well-informed and well-structured essays. 

Start by familiarizing yourself with different research methods and sources, such as academic journals, books, and online databases. Additionally, ensure that you properly cite all sources in your work, as plagiarism can result in serious consequences.

4. Use a Clear and Concise Writing Style

Clear and concise writing is essential for effective communication. Avoid using overly complicated vocabulary and convoluted sentence structures that can confuse readers.

Instead, strive to write in a simple, straightforward, and easy-to-understand style. This will make your arguments more accessible and help you connect with your readers.

5. Edit and Revise Your Essay

Editing your essay and revising it is a critical step in improving your essay writing skills. Start by reading through your work to identify any errors in spelling, grammar, or punctuation. Then, revise your work for clarity and organization.

Ensure that each paragraph has a clear topic sentence and supports your thesis. Additionally, ensure that your writing flows smoothly and logically from one idea to the next.

6. Seek Feedback and Learn from Criticism

Seeking feedback is an essential strategy for improving your essay writing skills. Share your work with others and ask for their honest opinions and suggestions for improvement. 

This can help you identify areas where you need to improve and provide you with valuable insights into your writing. Additionally, be open to constructive criticism and use it as an opportunity to learn and grow as a writer.

7. Practice Writing on Different Topics

Writing on different topics is an effective way to challenge yourself and expand your writing skills. Experiment with different writing styles and genres, and practice writing on topics that you're not familiar with. This will help you develop a broader range of writing skills and increase your versatility as a writer.

Improving your essay writing skills is a challenging but rewarding journey. It requires dedication, perseverance, and a willingness to learn and grow. By utilizing the strategies discussed in this article, you can improve your writing and increase your chances of success in academia, career, and personal endeavors.

Remember that writing is not just about conveying information or ideas; it is also about engaging and inspiring your readers. Your ability to articulate your thoughts effectively and persuasively can make all the difference in achieving your goals.

So, take the time to develop your writing skills, practice regularly, and seek feedback from others. With patience and hard work, you can become a proficient and confident writer who can express yourself clearly and effectively.

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Building Graduate Level-Writing Skills

On this page, you'll find:

What Makes Graduate-Level Writing Unique?

How to join a scholarly conversation.

Keeping the Conversation Going

Glossary of Common Terms for Graduate Writers

Students enter graduate school with a range of different experiences and skills as writers. It’s normal to encounter assignments that are new to you, and you’re not alone—even if it seems like everyone knows what they’re doing, your peers are also figuring out how graduate-level writing works! This guide summarizes how graduate-level writing builds on the writing you may have done as an undergraduate, reviews strategies you can use in your writing, and provides a glossary of frequently used terms.   

  This guide offers general strategies, but part of being a graduate student also includes building discipline-specific expertise. You can build from the information found in this guide by talking to peers and advisors in your specific discipline and by reading scholarship on topics in your discipline that interest you.

As an undergraduate, you may have practiced creating your own arguments (for instance, perhaps you developed an interpretation of a literary work) or conducting research. You may have applied your research (or outside sources provided by your instructor) to another text, study, or event you were analyzing. Graduate-level writing is an opportunity for students to synthesize these skills by joining scholarly conversations.   

In this case, a conversation isn’t a verbal discussion (though scholars in your field certainly talk about their research and ideas in presentations, panels, and more). Rather, this kind of conversation refers to a body of writing on a particular topic or question. Scholars don’t work in isolation: their ideas are informed by and build on previous research. In a face-to-face conversation with a friend, you wouldn’t simply repeat what they said. In addition, you’d likely reference past conversations and shared experiences. Scholarly conversations work in the same way. If you’re a sociologist interested in studying how social media use influences teenagers’ friendship dynamics, for instance, you need to become an expert on what others have learned about this topic before contributing your own ideas. In other words, you’re putting your work in conversation with others’ work by responding to what they’ve already found, and often by expanding, complicating, or providing new ways of engaging with previous work/scholarship.   

The idea of contributing to a scholarly conversation can feel overwhelming at first. You may wonder, “How can I possibly come up with something new that hasn’t been said before?” A helpful strategy is the CaRS Model developed by scholar John Swales , which many scholars use when crafting introductions to their work (but you can also use it as a thought exercise when seeking a direction for your own project s ) . CaRS , which stands for “Create a Research Space,” has three “ move s ” (or steps) :  

• Move 1- Establish a Research Territory: Your research territory is the topic you will investigate . Although the word “topic” sounds quite general, be specific when defining your area of focus. For instance, a topic like “Spanish film over the last 50 year s” is too wide; you might narrow down that topic to “ Pedro Almodóvar’s films with female protagonists . ” E stablishing your research territory in writing means provid ing an overview of what’s already known about your topic ( in other words, summarizing accepted facts and relevant/recent research). D escrib ing what has already bee n proven or discussed by other scholars indicates why your topic matters and is worth exploring.   
• T h e gap you identify could be an aspect of your topic that scholars haven’t investigated before (“While previous studies have explored X , little is known about Y ”).   
• Another kind of gap could be a counterargument (“Although previous studies have found X , that perspective is limited because Y ”). Identifying why gaps exis t can also be a n interesting way of finding a niche.   
• Yet another kind of gap could be an area in someone else’s work that you plan to clarify or build on (“Smith’s exploration of X established Y , but further research is necessary in order to fully understand Z ,” “Smith’s theory regarding X can be applied to Y in order to Z ”) .    
• Move 3 – Occupy the Niche: Once you’ve defined the gap that your work will fill, you need to explain how you will fill it. Occupying your niche means describing your particular project and approach. What is your research question /goal ? How will you address it? Will your work result in a new theory or methodology , or perhaps a solution to a troubling issue or debate? In STEM fields , occupying your niche may also ne cessitate describ ing your methods, timeline, and hypothes is. In Humanities fields, part of occupying your niche is stating your thesis .   

To learn more , check out this resource about the CaRS Model ( which includes a sample introduction using all three moves).   

One final note:  The University of Vermont’s Graduate Writing Center provides this important reminder: “In occupying a gap, avoid wherever possible words like ‘neglected,’ ‘failed,’ or ‘ignored’ to critique other researchers in your field. (Those researchers may well be among your readers and, in the case of proposals, your referees !) Try framing your contribution in positive terms: ‘While X pioneered research in..., my work contributes to/supplements/responds/resolves...’” This framing can help you build on previous conversations and can be an additional way to show your familiarity with prior work.  

Keep ing the Conversation Going  

F ollowing the three moves of the CaRS Model will allow you to position your work in relationship to previous scholarship—but the conversation doesn’t end there. Think of your writing as an ongoing conversation about your topic , and actively participate in that conversation by responding to others’ work/research throughout the body of your text, not just in the introduction. Here are “moves” you can use in your writing to keep the conversation g o ing:  

• Identify where you’re coming from: The projects graduate students undertake are often rooted in their personal identities, stemming from a core experience, belief, or goal. If you think your background may influence the perspective you bring to your work, say so! The University of Vermont’s Graduate Writing Center encourages students to “Reflect on your method, on your socio-cultural standpoint, on the values/assumptions you might be bringing to the table, and on your language choices.” Explaining the specific choices you make (e.g., using one term instead of another), acknowledging the unconscious biases that may impact your thinking, and describing how the work of key sources may have influenced your approach helps your readers trust and contextualize your point of view. These kinds of moves are more accepted in some disciplines than others, so if you’re unsure, check with a trusted mentor.  
• Forward: Forwarding the work of others means agreeing with them as a way of connecting to or emphasizing your own idea(s). For instance, you might describe a key principle from another scholar’s research that underlies your work as a way of establishing the basis for your argument. Using their research as a starting point, you can show how your findings rely on previously established facts. According to the University of Vermont’s Graduate Writing Center, this move is effective because “you are pulling your audience along with you towards your idea because you’re all on the same side: ‘Yes, X, ... and XY too!’”  
• Borrow: One way of forwarding another scholar’s work is to borrow a specific term or theoretical framework that you can apply to your work (presumably a context to which the term or framework hasn’t previously been applied). After reviewing that scholar’s definition, you can explain how their ideas correspond to your particular area of focus (e.g., “Smith coined the term X to mean...In this study, we apply X to Y in order to...”).  
• Extend: Extending takes borrowing one step further: rather than applying another scholar’s term or theoretical framework as they defined it, redefine it and apply your version. In other words, you might develop, build on, or add to the term or framework; update it to be more current; change, adjust, or cut parts of it; etc. (e.g., “While Smith coined the term X to mean...I propose amending X to Y in this particular context because...”).  
• Illustrate: As an undergraduate writer, you likely had lots of practice using evidence to support your claims. “Illustrating” is another way of saying “give examples!” More specifically, you might illustrate ideas that are foundational to your work by tracing trends. If you notice that several scholars make the same point or have proven the same idea, you can provide multiple examples from different scholars’ work to illustrate that experts in your field agree on those issues. You might also include evidence from your own research to show how your work aligns with a particular trend or finding.   
• Counter: Countering another scholar’s work means politely disagreeing. You might disagree with someone’s entire argument, part(s) of their argument, or the ideas underlying their argument. Likewise, you might believe that their work is incomplete or only applies to certain situations or contexts. You might even agree with their overall conclusions but have an alternative (better) way of arriving at the same idea. As when identifying gaps in someone else’s research, it’s important to counter kindly—disagree, but don’t disregard! If you harshly reject another scholar’s work, you risk seeming less thoughtful (and credible).   

Glossary of Common Terms for Graduate Writers  

This glossary provides brief descriptions of concepts, opportunities, and different types of writing you may encounter during your graduate study. If you’re having difficulty figuring out what an assignment is asking, you can consult ou r guide to Understanding an Assignment . Additionally, remember that you can bring writing related to any of the following terms (at any stage of the writing proce ss) to the Writing Center to get feedback from a consultant.   

• C heck out this resource for more information about writing abstracts (you’ll find an overview of different types of abstracts , tips about how to write abstracts in different disciplines, and models of well-written abstracts ) .     
• A dissertation grows out of original research conducted by a graduate student (typically a doctoral candidate) intended to fill a gap in their field or build on prior research in a way that hasn’t been done before.   
• A thesis (typically the capstone project within a master’s degree program) develops an argument based on previous research conducted by other scholars rather than contributing new research , though this can vary depending on the discipline and specific program requirements .  
• Whereas dissertation writers typically defend their research methodology and findings before a committee of evaluators (meaning they give an extensi ve presentation /discussion ) , a defense is less common for thes es.    
• Check out UMB’s Fellowships page to learn more about the types of fellowships available and the services UMB provides to applicants (which include helping compile your application, facilitating practice interviews, and more).   
• Check out UMB’s page on graduate research grants for more information about grants available to graduate students through the University (including those from the Institute for Asian American Studies and the Graduate Student Assembly) as well as external organizations.   
• Doctoral s tudents whose dissertation proposals have been formally approved by their committees (or who have received a letter of support from the dissertation committee chair confirming that their proposal will be approved) can apply for UMB’s Doctoral Dissertation Research Grant Program .   
• The National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP) provides funding for master ’ s and doctoral student researchers in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines.  
• UMB’s Transdisciplinary Dissertation Proposal Development Program provides funding for students who are ready to develop dissertation proposals that draw on inter- or transdisciplinary theories, methods, or approaches.  
• If you’re pursuing a teaching career post-graduat ion , learn more about Fed eral TEACH Grants  
• Explore GoGrad’s list of grants available to graduate students .  
• UMB’s Healey Library has created this resource on literature reviews that includes instructions on how to find published examples of literature reviews that you can use as models for your own work.  
• This resource provides examples of prospectuses within different disciplines (Humanities, Social Sciences, and Sciences) .   According to Purdue’s Online Writing Lab, the rhetorical situation “refers to any set of circumstances that involves at least one person using some sort of communication to modify the perspective of at least one other person.” In other words, the rhetorical situation is the particular set of c ondition s surrounding a piece of writing . R hetorical situations have five elements: 1) The text (genre), 2) the author (person doing the communicating), 3) the audience (those receiving the communication), 4) the purpose of the communication ( why it’s being written), and 5) the setting (the context: time and place). As you read different types of writing, try to define the specific rhetorical situation of each piece. Developing your understanding of rhetorical situations will help you learn how to shape your own writing in a way that “meets your audience’s needs.”
• The text is a glossary providing definitions and links to additional resources .   
• T he author is a member of the Writing Center’s administrative team with a background in teaching and writing .  
• T he audience is graduate students seeking writing support or getting oriented to graduate-level writing .   
• T he purpose is to c hallenge the assumption that students begin graduate school with prior understanding of frequently referenced vocabulary and writing assignments . This guide aims to help students make sense of this “hidden curriculum ” and therefore increase equity and inclusion.   
• Finally, the setting is 2023 in Boston, MA in the United States. 
• Taking note of these circumstances allows readers to distinguish this piece of writing from, for instance, an article in The Guardian (a British newspaper) , which would have different “answers” to each of the five elements, as well as understand the reasoning behind the writer’s choices.   
• Check out this resource for more information on rhetorical situations .  

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• Research-Based Teaching Tips

Efficient Ways to Improve Student Writing

Strategies, Ideas, and Recommendations from the faculty Development Literature

General Strategies

• View the improvement of students’ writing as your responsibility. Teaching writing is not only the job of the English department alone.  Writing is an essential tool for learning a discipline and helping students improve their writing skills is a responsibility for all faculty.
• Let students know that you value good writing. Stress the importance of clear, thoughtful writing. Faculty who tell students that good writing will be rewarded and poor writing will be penalized receive better essays than instructors who don't make such demands. In the syllabus, on the first day, and throughout the term, remind students that they must make their best effort in expressing themselves on paper. Back up your statements with comments on early assignments that show you really mean it, and your students will respond.
• Regularly assign brief writing exercises in your classes. To vary the pace of a lecture course, ask students to write a few minutes during class. Some mixture of in-class writing, outside writing assignments, and exams with open-ended questions will give students the practice they need to improve their skills.
• Provide guidance throughout the writing process. After you have made the assignment, discuss the value of outlines and notes, explain how to select and narrow a topic, and critique the first draft, define plagiarism as well.
• Don't feel as though you have to read and grade every piece of your students' writing. Ask students to analyze each other's work during class, or ask them to critique their work in small groups. Students will learn that they are writing in order to think more clearly, not obtain a grade. Keep in mind, you can collect students' papers and skim their work.
• Find other faculty members who are trying to use writing more effectively in their courses. Pool ideas about ways in which writing can help students learn more about the subject matter. See if there is sufficient interest in your discipline to warrant drawing up guidelines. Students welcome handouts that give them specific instructions on how to write papers for a particular course or in a particular subject area.

Teaching Writing When You Are Not an English Teacher

• Remind students that writing is a process that helps us clarify ideas. Tell students that writing is a way of learning, not an end in itself. Also let them know that writing is a complicated, messy, nonlinear process filled with false starts. Help them to identify the writer's key activities:
• Developing ideas
• Finding a focus and a thesis
• Composing a draft
• Getting feedback and comments from others
• Revising the draft by expanding ideas, clarifying meaning, reorganizing
• Presenting the finished work to readers
• Explain that writing is hard work. Share with your class your own struggles in grappling with difficult topics. If they know that writing takes effort, they won't be discouraged by their own pace or progress. One faculty member shared with students their notebook that contained the chronology of one of his published articles: first ideas, successive drafts, submitted manuscript, reviewers' suggested changes, revised version, galley proofs, and published article.
• Give students opportunities to talk about their writing. Students need to talk about papers in progress so that they can formulate their thoughts, generate ideas, and focus their topics. Take five or ten minutes of class time for students to read their writing to each other in small groups or pairs. It's important for students to hear what their peers have written.
• Encourage students to revise their work. Provide formal steps for revision by asking students to submit first drafts of papers for your review or for peer critique. You can also give your students the option of revising and rewriting one assignment during the semester for a higher grade. Faculty report that 10 to 40 percent of the students take advantage of this option.
• Explain thesis statements. A thesis statement makes an assertion about some issue. A common student problem is to write papers that present overviews of facts with no thesis statement or that have a diffuse thesis statement.
• Stress clarity and specificity. The more the abstract and difficult the topic, the more concrete the student's language should be. Inflated language and academic jargon camouflage rather than clarify their point.
• Explain the importance of grammar and sentence structure, as well as content. Students shouldn't think that English teachers are the only judges of grammar and style. Tell your students that you will be looking at both quality of their writing and the content.
• Distribute bibliographies and tip sheets on good writing practices. Check with your English department or writing center to identify materials that can be easily distributed to students. Consider giving your students a bibliography of writing guides, for example:

Crews, F.C. Random House Handbook. (6th ed.) New York: McGraw-Hill, 1992.

A classic comprehensive textbook for college students. Well written and well worth reading.

Lanham, R.A. Revising Prose . (3rd ed.) New York: Scribner's, 1991. Techniques for eliminating

bureaucratese and restoring energy to tired prose.

Tollefson, S. K. Grammar Grams and Grammar Grams II . New York: HarperCollins, 1989,

1992. Two short, witty guides that answer common questions about grammar, style, and usage. Both are fun to read.

• Science and Engineering Barrass, R. Scientists Must Write. New York: Chapman and Hall, 1978. Biddle, A. W., and Bean, D. J. Writer's Guide: Life Sciences. Lexington, Mass.: Heath, 1987.
• Arts and Humanities Barnet, S. A Short Guide to Writing About Art . Boston: Little, Brown, 1989. Goldman, B. Reading and Writing in the Arts. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1978.
• Social Sciences Biddle, A. W., Fulwiler, T., and Holland, K.M. Writer's Guide: Psychology . Lexington, Mass,:

Heath, 1987. McCloskey, D. N. The Writing of Economics . New York: Macmillan, 1987.

• Ask a composition instructor to give a presentation to your students. Invite a guest speaker from the composition department or student learning center to talk to your students about effective writing and common writing problems. Faculty who have invited these experts report that such presentations reinforce the values of the importance of writing.
• Let students know about available tutoring services. Individual or group tutoring in writing is available on most campuses. Ask someone from the tutoring center to give a demonstration in your class.
• Use computers to help students write better. Locally developed and commercially available software are now being used by faculty to help students plan, write, and revise their written work. Some software available allows instructors to monitor students' work in progress and lets students collaborate with their classmates.

Assigning In-Class Writing Activities

• Ask students to write what they know about a topic before you discuss it. Ask your students to write a brief summary of what they already know or what opinions they hold regarding the subject you are about to discuss. The purpose of this is to focus the students' attention, there is no need to collect the summaries.
• Ask students to respond in writing to questions you pose during class. Prior to class starting, list two or three short-answer questions on the board and ask your students to write down their responses. Your questions might call for a review of material you have already discussed or recalling information from assigned readings.
• Ask students to write from a pro or con position. When presenting an argument, stop and ask your students to write down all the reasons and evidence they can think of that supports one side or the other. These statements can be used as the basis for discussion.
• During class, pause for a three-minute write. Periodically ask students to write freely for three minutes on a specific question or topic. They should write whatever pops into their mind without worrying about grammar, spelling, phrasing, or organization. This kind of free writing, according to writing experts, helps students synthesize diverse ideas and identify points they may not understand. There is no need to collect these exercises.
• Have students write a brief summary at the end of class. At the end of the class period, give your students index cards to jot down the key themes, major points, or general principles of the day's discussion. You can easily collect the index cards and review them to see whether the class understood the discussion.
• Have one student keep minutes to be read at the next class meeting. By taking minutes, students get a chance to develop their listening, synthesizing, and writing skills. Boris (1983) suggests the following:
• Prepare your students by having everyone take careful notes for the class period, go home and rework them into minutes, and hand them in for comments. It can be the students' discretion whether the minutes are in outline or narrative form.
• Decide on one to two good models to read or distribute to the class.
• At the beginning of each of the following classes, assign one student to take minutes for the period.
• Give a piece of carbon paper to the student who is taking minutes so that you can have a rough copy. The student then takes the original home and revises it in time to read it aloud at the next class meeting.
• After the student has read their minutes, ask other students to comment on their accuracy and quality. If necessary, the student will revise the minutes and turn in two copies, one for grading and one for your files.
• Structure small group discussion around a writing task. For example, have your students pick three words that are of major importance to the day's session. Ask your class to write freely for two to three minutes on just one of the words. Next, give the students five to ten minutes to meet in groups to share what they have written and generate questions to ask in class.
• Use peer response groups. Divide your class into groups of three or four, no larger. Ask your students to bring to class enough copies of a rough draft of a paper for each person in their group. Give your students guidelines for critiquing the drafts. In any response task, the most important step is for the reader to note the part of the paper that is the strongest and describe to the writer why it worked so well. The following instructions can also be given to the reader:
• State the main point of the paper in a single sentence
• List the major subtopics
• Identify confusing sections of the paper
• Decide whether each section of the paper has enough detail, evidence, and information
• Indicate whether the paper's points follow one another in sequence
• Judge the appropriateness of the opening and concluding paragraphs
• Identify the strengths of the paper

Written critiques done as homework are likely to be more thoughtful, but critiques may also be done during the class period.

• Use read-around groups. Read-around groups are a technique used with short assignments (two to four pages) which allows everyone to read everyone else's paper. Divide the class into groups no larger than four students and divide the papers (coded for anonymity) into as many sets as there are groups. Give each group a set and ask the students to read each paper silently and decide on the best paper in the set. Each group should discuss their choices and come to a consensus on the best paper. The paper's code number is recorded by the group, and the same process is repeated with a new set of papers. After all the groups have read all the sets of papers, someone from each group writes on the board the code number from the best paper in each set. The recurring numbers are circled. Generally, one to three papers stand out.
• Ask students to identify the characteristics of effective writing. After completing the read-around activity, ask your students to reconsider those papers which were voted as excellent by the entire class and to write down features that made each paper outstanding. Write their comments on the board, asking for elaboration and probing vague generalities. In pairs, the students discuss the comments on the board and try to put them into categories such as organization, awareness of audience, thoroughness of detail, etc. You might need to help your students arrange the characteristics into meaningful categories.

The Strategies, Ideas and Recommendations Here Come Primarily From:

Gross Davis, B. Tools for Teaching . San Francisco, Jossey-Bass, 1993.

And These Additional Sources…

Boris, E. Z. "Classroom Minutes: A Valuable Teaching Device." Improving College and

University Teaching, 1983,31(2), 70-73.

Elbow, P. "Using Writing to Teach Something Else." Unpublished paper, 1987.

Hawisher, G. E., and Selfe, C. L. (eds.). Critical Perspectives on Computers and

Composition Instruction.  New York:  Teachers College Press, 1989.

Holdstein, D. H., and Selfe, C. L. (eds.). Computers and Writing: Theory, Research,

Practice. New York: Modern Language Association, 1990.

Lowman, J. Mastering the Techniques of Teaching . San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1984.

Petersen, B. T. "Additional Resources in the Practice of Writing Across the Disciplines."

In C. W. Griffin (ed.), Teaching Writing in All Disciplines . New Directions in Teaching and Learning, no. 12. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1982.

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education.

Bright Idea Network , 1989. (For information contact David Graf, Iowa State University, Ames.)

Pytlik, B. P. "Teaching Teachers of Writing: Workshops on Writing as a Collaborative

Process." College Teaching , 1989, 37(1), 12-14.

Tollefson, S. K. Encouraging Student Writing . Berkeley: Office of Educational

Development, University of California, 1988.

Walvoord, B. F. Helping Students Write Well: A Guide for Teachers in All Disciplines.

(2nd ed.) New York: Modern Language Association, 1986.

Watkins, B. T. "More and More Professors in Many Academic Disciplines Routinely

Require Students to Do Extensive Writing." Chronicle of Higher Education, 1990, 36(44), pp. A13-14, A16.

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THESIS IMPROVING WRITING SKILL THROUGH GUIDED WRITING OF THE EIGHTH GRADE STUDENTS OF SMPN 2 SELAT IN ACADEMIC YEAR 2013/2014 ENGLISH EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING EDUCATION MAHASARASWATI DENPASAR UNIVERSITY DENPASAR 2014

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10 آسان مراحل میں اپنی مضمون لکھنے کی مہارت کو کیسے بہتر بنائیں

• سموڈن ایڈیٹوریل ٹیم
• تازہ کاری: 5 فرمائے، 2024

A مضمون کو B مضمون سے مختلف کیا بناتا ہے؟ ان گنت گذارشات میں سے ایک مضمون کو کس چیز سے الگ کرتا ہے جبکہ دوسرے بمشکل گریڈ بناتے ہیں؟

اس کا جواب آپ کی تحریر کے مواد اور عمل دونوں میں مضمر ہے۔ مضبوط مواد جو ناقص طریقے سے انجام دیا جاتا ہے مایوس کن نتائج کا باعث بن سکتا ہے، بالکل اسی طرح کمزور مواد کو صرف طرز تحریر سے محفوظ نہیں کیا جا سکتا۔

ایک مضبوط مضمون کو متوازن کرنے کی ضرورت ہے۔ تحریر معلوماتی اور دلچسپ ہونی چاہیے لیکن پڑھنے میں مزہ بھی آنا چاہیے۔ ایک ہی وقت میں، آپ کی گرامر، نحو، اور اوقاف کو نقطہ پر ہونا چاہیے۔

اگر آپ گریڈ بنانے کے لیے جدوجہد کر رہے ہیں اور آپ کو یقین نہیں ہے کہ آپ کیا غلط کر رہے ہیں، تو یہ مضمون آپ کی تحریری صلاحیتوں کو بہتر بنانے کے لیے دس بنیادی حکمت عملیوں کا احاطہ کرے گا۔

تھوڑی سی سمجھ بوجھ اور اپنے ہنر کو بہتر بنانے کے لیے مستقل عزم کے ساتھ، آپ کو اپنے مضمون کے درجات میں نمایاں اضافہ دیکھنا چاہیے۔

یہ حکمت عملی آپ کی تجزیاتی سوچ اور استدلال کی مہارت کو بڑھانے کے ساتھ ساتھ آپ کے تحریری انداز اور ساخت کو بہتر بنانے میں مدد کریں گی۔ ہم کچھ AI ٹولز پر بھی تبادلہ خیال کریں گے جو آپ مضمون لکھنے کے عمل کو مزید پرلطف اور قابل انتظام بنانے کے لیے آج سے استعمال کر سکتے ہیں۔

1. بہت کچھ پڑھیں

صحیح معنوں میں لکھنے کے فن میں مہارت حاصل کرنے کے لیے، آپ کو جتنا ہو سکے پڑھنا چاہیے۔ اپنی بہترین صلاحیت کے مطابق، اپنے آپ کو مختلف متن میں غرق کریں اور مختلف انواع اور مضامین کو پڑھیں۔

مضمون نگاری میں آپ جو بہترین کام کر سکتے ہیں وہ ہے شائع شدہ مضامین اور رسالوں کا مطالعہ کرنا تاکہ یہ بہتر طور پر سمجھا جا سکے کہ ماہر مصنفین اپنے دلائل کیسے تیار کرتے ہیں اور بہاؤ کو برقرار رکھتے ہیں۔

یقیناً پڑھنا ایک وقت گزارنے والی سرگرمی ہے۔ اگر آپ لائبریری میں ایک وقت میں گھنٹے گزارے بغیر اپنے علم کو بڑھانا چاہتے ہیں تو مدد کے لیے Smodin AI استعمال کرنے پر غور کریں۔

سموڈن کا AI سمریزر متن کے لمبے ٹکڑوں کو لینے اور ایک استخراجی یا تجریدی خلاصہ بنانے میں آپ کی مدد کر سکتا ہے۔ اس طرح، آپ متن کے ایک حصے کو پڑھ سکتے ہیں اور ہر ٹکڑے پر زیادہ وقت لگائے بغیر اہم نکات اور کلیدی دلائل کو سمجھنے کے لیے AI کا استعمال کر سکتے ہیں۔

اس نقطہ نظر کو استعمال کرتے ہوئے، آپ مختصر وقت میں مواد کی ایک وسیع رینج کا احاطہ کر سکتے ہیں، خاص طور پر اس صورت میں جب آپ مڈٹرم یا فائنل ہفتہ کے دوران متعدد اسائنمنٹس یا مضامین کو جگا رہے ہوں۔

2. موضوع کو سمجھیں۔

آپ کے مضمون کے موضوع کی ٹھوس تفہیم ایک دل چسپ اور بصیرت انگیز تحریر تیار کرنے کے لیے بہت ضروری ہے۔ ایک طالب علم کے طور پر آپ جو سب سے بری چیزیں کر سکتے ہیں وہ ہے موضوع کو اچھی طرح سے تحقیق اور سمجھے بغیر ایک مقالہ جمع کرنا۔

دوسرے لفظوں میں، ایک لفظ لکھنے سے پہلے ہدایات کو پڑھیں۔ متعلقہ معلومات کی تحقیق اور جمع کرنے میں جتنا بھی وقت درکار ہو صرف کریں۔

عمل میں جلدی نہ کریں، اور اپنے دلائل کی مضبوط بنیاد بنانے کے لیے وقت نکالیں۔ جوابی دلیلوں کا مطالعہ کریں اور اس بات کو یقینی بنائیں کہ آپ کا مقالہ حقیقتاً درست اور پوری طرح سوچا سمجھا ہے۔

اس نے کہا، اگر آپ اپنی میز پر بیٹھے ہیں، یہ جاننے کے لیے جدوجہد کر رہے ہیں کہ کہاں سے آغاز کرنا ہے، یا موضوع کو سمجھنے میں مدد کی ضرورت ہے، سموڈن کی اے آئی چیٹ آپ کو اپنے خیالات جمع کرنے میں مدد مل سکتی ہے۔

چیٹ آپ کو ریئل ٹائم گوگل انسائٹس کا استعمال کرتے ہوئے پیچیدہ موضوعات کو سمجھنے میں مدد دے سکتی ہے اور ایک کلک کے ساتھ معلومات کے خزانے تک فوری رسائی فراہم کر سکتی ہے۔

3. اپنے مضمون کا خاکہ پیش کریں

یہاں تک کہ بہترین لکھنے والے بھی اپنی تحریر کو شروع کرنے سے پہلے ہی خاکہ پیش کرتے ہیں۔ اپنے خیالات کو منظم کرنے اور اپنے مضمون کی تشکیل کے لیے ایک خاکہ بنانا بہت ضروری ہے تاکہ یہ منطقی اور ہم آہنگی سے چل سکے۔

ایک مضمون لکھتے وقت، آپ کا موضوع اکثر نئی جہتیں اختیار کرے گا جب آپ اپنی تحقیق میں گہرائی میں جائیں گے۔ کبھی کبھی، آپ کا مضمون بہت دور ختم ہو جاتا ہے اور آپ کے تصور سے بالکل مختلف ہوتا ہے۔

ایک ابھرتا ہوا خاکہ آپ کو ان خیالات کو منظم کرنے اور اس بات کو یقینی بنانے میں مدد کر سکتا ہے کہ وہ آپ کے مضمون میں اس طرح سے بنے ہیں جو معنی خیز اور معنی خیز ہے۔

کسی بھی تحریر کے لیے روڈ میپ کی ضرورت ہوتی ہے، چاہے وہ مضامین ہوں، مضامین ہوں، مختصر کہانیاں ہوں، ناول ہوں یا غیر افسانوی کتابیں۔ آپ کے خیالات کو منطقی طور پر ایک نقطہ سے دوسرے مقام تک بڑھنے کی ضرورت ہے تاکہ وہ قائل اور آپ کے قارئین کے لیے آسان ہوں۔

یاد رکھیں، موثر ٹائم مینجمنٹ ایک موثر مضمون لکھنے کے رازوں میں سے ایک ہے۔ اس لیے اس کا استعمال ضروری ہے۔ AI ٹولز جیسے Smodin اپنے خاکہ بنانے کے عمل کو بہتر بنانے کے لیے۔

4. بنیادی باتوں پر عبور حاصل کریں۔

A-سطح کا مضمون لکھنے کے لیے گرائمر، نحو، اور اوقاف کا ایک مضبوط حکم بنیادی ہے۔ اگرچہ زیادہ تر اساتذہ اور پروفیسر کبھی کبھار غلط ہجے یا کوما سپلائیس کے لیے پوائنٹس نہیں نکالیں گے، بہت ساری غلطیاں آپ کے قاری پر منفی تاثر چھوڑیں گی۔

اچھی خبر یہ ہے کہ AI کے عروج کی بدولت تحریر کی بنیادی باتوں پر عبور حاصل کرنا کبھی بھی آسان نہیں تھا۔ عام وسائل جیسے گرامر گائیڈز اور کتابوں کا استعمال کرتے ہوئے اچھی تحریر کی بنیادی باتوں پر عمل کرنے کی پوری کوشش کریں، پھر اپنے علم کو بڑھانے کے لیے AI کا استعمال کریں۔

اس علاقے میں، Smodin کے کئی ٹولز ہیں جو مدد کر سکتے ہیں۔ دی اے آئی ری رائٹر مواد کو بہتر بنانے کے لیے متن کے ٹکڑے کو دوبارہ لکھنے یا مکمل طور پر دوبارہ بنانے میں آپ کی مدد کر سکتا ہے تاکہ یہ چمکدار اور پڑھنے میں آسان ہو۔

آپ AI چیٹ کی خصوصیت کو گرامر کے اصولوں یا اسٹائلسٹک انتخاب کے بارے میں کوئی بھی سوال پوچھنے کے لیے بھی استعمال کر سکتے ہیں، اس بات کو یقینی بناتے ہوئے کہ آپ اچھی تحریر کے بنیادی اصولوں کو سمجھتے ہیں۔

5. تعارف کیل کریں۔

آپ کے مضمون کا تعارف قاری کو ٹون اور ہکس کرتا ہے۔ یہ آپ کو مضبوط تاثر بنانے اور اپنے ساتھیوں کے درمیان نمایاں ہونے میں بھی مدد کرتا ہے۔

ایک زبردست تعارف ایک مضبوط پہلے جملے سے شروع ہونا چاہئے جو تجسس کو بڑھاتا ہے اور قاری کو دوسرے جملے کی طرف لے جاتا ہے۔ وہ دوسرا جملہ قاری کو براہ راست تیسرے کی طرف لے جانا چاہئے، وغیرہ۔

ہمیشہ ایک ٹھوس ابتدائی بیان کے بارے میں سوچنے کی پوری کوشش کریں یا سوچنے والا سوال کھڑا کریں۔ یاد رکھیں، آپ کا مضمون ان بہت سے مضامین میں سے صرف ایک ہے جو استاد یا پروفیسر کو پڑھنا چاہیے، لہذا آپ کو نمایاں ہونے کے لیے ہر ممکن کوشش کرنی چاہیے۔

آپ ایک واضح اور جامع مقالہ چاہتے ہیں جو آپ کے مضمون کے پورے جسم میں آپ کے تیار کردہ دلائل کو ترتیب دیتا ہے۔ سموڈن کا AI مضمون نگار زبردست عنوانات اور ابتدائی پیراگراف کے ساتھ مضامین تیار کرنے میں آپ کی مدد کر سکتے ہیں۔

اگر آپ اضافی میل طے کرنا چاہتے ہیں، تو اپنی تحریر کو اگلی سطح تک لے جانے کے لیے ایک بہت زیادہ جدید اور نفیس AI ماڈل کی طاقت کو استعمال کرنے کے لیے "Supercharge" آپشن کو آزمانے پر غور کریں۔

6. فعال آواز استعمال کریں۔

عام طور پر، فعال آواز غیر فعال آواز سے زیادہ دلکش اور پڑھنے میں آسان ہوتی ہے۔ فعال آواز کی تعمیرات زیادہ براہ راست اور توانائی بخش ہیں۔ وہ قاری کو مشغول رکھتے ہیں اور ایسے بیانات دیتے ہیں جن کا تصور کرنا آسان ہوتا ہے۔

مثال کے طور پر، فعال جملے "سائنس دان نے تجربہ کیا" کا غیر فعال سے موازنہ کریں "تجربہ محقق نے کیا تھا۔"

فعال آواز آپ کو واضح طور پر شناخت کرنے کی اجازت دیتی ہے کہ کون کارروائی کر رہا ہے۔ یہ آپ کی تحریر کو مزید مضبوط اور سمجھنے میں آسان بنانے میں مدد کرتا ہے۔

تاہم، ایسے حالات ہیں جہاں غیر فعال آواز مناسب یا ضروری بھی ہے۔ مثال کے طور پر، اگر کارروائی کرنے والا شخص نامعلوم، غیر متعلقہ، یا سیاق و سباق سے واضح ہے، تو غیر فعال آواز بہتر انتخاب ہو سکتی ہے۔

مثال کے طور پر، سائنسی یا رسمی رپورٹس میں، غیر فعال آواز کا استعمال اکثر غیر ذاتی لہجہ بنانے اور شخص کے بجائے عمل پر زور دینے کے لیے کیا جاتا ہے۔

زیادہ تر معاملات میں، آپ کو اپنے دلائل کو مزید دل چسپ بنانے اور اپنے نثر کی پیروی کو آسان بنانے کے لیے فعال آواز کا استعمال کرنا چاہیے۔

7. تکرار سے گریز کریں۔

اگر آپ نے کبھی بھی کسی مخصوص لفظ کی گنتی تک پہنچنے کے لیے کسی مضمون کو "لفظوں کا سامان" کرنے کی کوشش کی ہے، تو آپ جانتے ہیں کہ غلطی سے خود کو دہرانا کتنا آسان ہوسکتا ہے۔ اپنے مضمون کو مشغول رکھنے کے لیے، ہمیشہ الفاظ یا خیالات کی غیر ضروری تکرار سے بچنے کی پوری کوشش کریں۔

ایک ہی لفظ کو کثرت سے استعمال نہ کریں، خاص طور پر ایک ہی پیراگراف میں۔ اپنی زبان اور جملے کی ساخت کو تبدیل کرنے سے قاری کو مشغول رکھنے میں مدد مل سکتی ہے اور آپ کے مضمون کے لیے ایک خوشگوار کیڈنس پیدا ہو سکتی ہے۔

ہمیشہ ایک ہی خیالات کو دو بار دہرانے سے گریز کریں جب تک کہ آپ کے مقالے یا دلیل کے لیے ضروری نہ ہو۔ جب شک ہو تو استعمال کریں۔ سموڈن کا مضمون نگار اپنے مضامین کو واضح بہاؤ اور سمجھنے میں آسان تعارف اور نتائج کے ساتھ ترتیب دینے میں مدد کرنے کے لیے۔

8. تاثرات حاصل کریں۔

رائے حاصل کرنا آپ کی تحریر کو بہتر بنانے کا ایک مؤثر ترین طریقہ ہے۔ بلاشبہ، آپ کے استاد یا پروفیسر کی رائے سب سے زیادہ اہمیت رکھتی ہے، لیکن اگر آپ حتمی جمع کرانے سے پہلے فیڈ بیک چاہتے ہیں تو کیا ہوگا؟

ساتھیوں یا ٹیوٹرز سے تعمیری تنقید طلب کریں جو آپ کی تحریر کو دیکھ سکتے ہیں اور آپ کو اپنی تحریر کو بہتر بنانے میں مدد کے لیے آپ کو رائے دے سکتے ہیں۔ فیڈ بیک تلاش کرنے اور شامل کرنے کے قابل ہونا ایک طالب علم کے پاس سب سے اہم مہارتوں میں سے ایک ہے۔

اس کے علاوہ، استعمال کرنے پر غور کریں AI ٹول جیسے Smodin جو کہ موازنہ کی بنیاد کے طور پر لاکھوں شائع شدہ اور ہم مرتبہ نظرثانی شدہ تعلیمی مضامین کو کھینچ سکتا ہے۔ AI کی لامحدود طاقت میں ٹیپ کرکے، آپ آسانی سے ایسے مضامین بنا سکتے ہیں جو کالج کی سطح کے تحریری معیارات سے مماثل ہوں۔

9. اپنے حوالہ جات کو منظم کریں۔

ایک مضمون لکھنے کے تحقیقی مرحلے کے دوران حوالہ جات کا انتظام اور انتظام بہت زیادہ ہو سکتا ہے۔

تعلیمی سالمیت کو برقرار رکھنے اور سرقہ سے بچنے کے لیے ان تمام ذرائع کا سراغ لگانا بہت ضروری ہے۔ یہ وہ جگہ ہے جہاں ٹولز پسند کرتے ہیں۔ سموڈن کا ریسرچ پیپر جنریٹر کھیل میں آو.

سموڈن کا خودکار حوالہ جات کا ٹول AI سے چلنے والے الگورتھم کو درست حوالہ جات بنانے کے لیے استعمال کرتا ہے۔ یہ گوگل اور گوگل اسکالر جیسے قابل اعتماد ڈیٹا بیس سے معلومات کھینچتا ہے، اس بات کو یقینی بناتا ہے کہ ہر حوالہ درست ہے اور تعلیمی معیارات پر پورا اترتا ہے۔

یہ فیچر وقت بچانے والا اور کسی بھی طالب علم کے لیے ایک اہم جزو ہے جو اس بات کو یقینی بنانا چاہتا ہے کہ ان کے کام کو مناسب طور پر کریڈٹ دیا جائے اور سرقہ کے خدشات سے پاک ہو۔

یہ ٹول حوالہ تخلیق کے عمل کو ہموار کرتا ہے۔ خودکار حوالہ جات کی خصوصیت آپ کے منتخب کردہ طرز گائیڈ کے مطابق ہر حوالہ کو درست طریقے سے فارمیٹ کرتی ہے، چاہے وہ APA، ایم ایل اے، شکاگو، یا کوئی اور تعلیمی حوالہ جات کا فارمیٹ ہو۔

یہ آپ کو دستی حوالہ دینے کے مشکل کام کے بجائے اپنے مضمون کے مواد پر زیادہ توجہ مرکوز کرنے کی اجازت دیتا ہے۔ یہ بٹن کے کلک پر پرسنل اسسٹنٹ رکھنے جیسا ہے۔

10. نظر ثانی کرنا، نظر ثانی کرنا، نظر ثانی کرنا

اپنی تحریر کو بہتر بنانے کے لیے آپ جو سب سے بہتر کام کر سکتے ہیں وہ ہے مستقل نظر ثانی کی عادت ڈالنا۔ اپنا مضمون پہلے سے لکھنے کی کوشش کریں تاکہ آپ اسے کچھ دیر بیٹھنے دیں اور تازہ آنکھوں کے ساتھ دوبارہ دیکھیں۔

آپ حیران ہوں گے کہ مختصر وقفے کے بعد بہتری کے کتنے شعبے ظاہر ہو جاتے ہیں۔ ابتدائی مسودے کے بعد آپ کی تحریر کو سانس لینے کی اجازت دینا اس کے معیار کو ڈرامائی طور پر بڑھا سکتا ہے۔

تین اہم چیزیں جنہیں آپ تلاش کرنا چاہتے ہیں وہ ہیں وضاحت کو بہتر بنانے، اپنی دلیل کو مضبوط کرنے اور اپنی زبان کو بہتر بنانے کے طریقے۔

ظاہر ہے، سموڈن کا ری رائٹر ٹول ایسا کرنے میں آپ کی مدد کر سکتے ہیں۔ اس ٹول کا استعمال کرتے ہوئے، آپ آسانی سے ان سیکشنز کو دیکھ اور بہتر کر سکتے ہیں جنہیں ریفریجنگ کی ضرورت ہے۔ اس ٹکنالوجی کو اپنی دستی اصلاحات کے ساتھ استعمال کرکے ایک ایسا لہجہ اور انداز بنائیں جو آپ کی آواز کے مطابق ہو اور ایک منفرد انداز تخلیق کرے۔

پھر، ایک بار جب آپ 99٪ مکمل کر لیں اور اپنے مضمون سے خوش ہو جائیں، تو اسے چلائیں۔ جادوگر اور AI مواد کا پتہ لگانے والا اس کی مکمل تعلیمی سالمیت کو یقینی بنانے کے لیے۔

بالآخر، آپ کی مضمون لکھنے کی مہارت کو بہتر بنانے کی آپ کی صلاحیت آپ کی لگن کی سطح پر منحصر ہوگی۔ زیادہ سے زیادہ وقت گزاریں جتنا آپ اوپر کی تکنیکوں میں مہارت حاصل کر سکتے ہیں اور مسلسل مشق کریں۔

یاد رکھیں، Smodin جیسے AI ٹولز نے مضمون لکھنے کو پہلے سے کہیں زیادہ قابل رسائی بنا دیا ہے۔ اگر آپ کو مضامین میں مدد کی ضرورت ہے اور مسلسل B، C، یا یہاں تک کہ D- سطح کے کاغذات گھر لاتے ہیں، تو Smodin کے AI ٹولز کی صف ہے جو آپ کو اپنی تحریر کو اگلے درجے تک لے جانے کی ضرورت ہے۔

• اے آئی چیٹ بوٹ
• طلباء کے لیے AI ٹیوشن
• AI مواد کا پتہ لگانا
• سرقہ کا چیکر
• مضمون، تحقیقی مقالہ، اور مضمون لکھنے کی خصوصیات
• متن کا خلاصہ کرنے والا
• ہوم ورک حل کرنے والا

جب آپ Smodin کے لیے سائن اپ کرتے ہیں، تو یہ اور بہت کچھ معیاری آتا ہے۔ اگر آپ شروع کرنے کے لیے تیار ہیں، تو اسے آزمانے کے لیے یہاں کلک کریں!

• From Our Grantees

How Quill.org is Working with Educators to Leverage AI to Improve Student Writing in the Classroom

• Posted On May 9, 2024

There’s a lot of buzz around AI in edtech. But often missing from the conversation—and the tools themselves—is the voice of the educator. Does the tool respond to teachers’ pain points? Does it help elevate teachers’ instruction? Does it provide a pedagogically sound and active learning experience for students? Does it offer teachers insight into students’ challenges? When it comes to subjective subjects like writing, these questions become even more salient and difficult to address within an edtech tool. 

We sat down with Peter Gault, Executive Director and co-founder at Quill.org , to discuss how his organization is addressing these challenges. Quill’s AI-powered literacy tools automatically grade and serve feedback on student writing, enabling students to revise their work and quickly build their skills. Quill has been working with AI long before it became a mainstay of the news cycle. Gault shared how Quill is managing the transition from predictive AI to generative AI; why writing is such an important skill; the process of constructing quality feedback; and why we need to engage teachers in the edtech development and implementation process.

What is Quill.org?

Quill.org provides free literacy activities that build reading comprehension, writing, and language skills for elementary, middle, and high school students. We offer a suite of online learning tools, as well as research-based reading and writing instruction in an accessible, open-source digital platform backed by a team of educators, designers, and engineers. 

What inspired the creation of Quill? What challenges were you seeking to address?

Quill was born out of a passion for writing and a belief that writing is a superpower. The most valuable learning experience I had growing up was being able to do journalism and debate. Those experiences of having to articulate a viewpoint on an issue or defend ideas built critical thinking skills. These are powerful skills for young people to have.

With Quill, we tried to apply that vision of teaching writing as critical thinking to millions of kids. In fact, the first version of Quill was a debate videogame where students could debate issues and be rewarded for using precise evidence or coming up with logical claims. 

We found that the product worked pretty well for many wealthy and privileged students, but not so well for many others—especially students from low-income schools who lacked foundational literacy skills. When you look at the most recent NAEP data , for example, 88% of all low-income students are not proficient with basic writing. We decided to pivot to think about how to address the really big needs that students had in the classroom today.

What approach did Quill take to helping students develop those more foundational literacy skills that are key to writing?

Peg Tyre’s piece in The Atlantic called “ The Writing Revolution ” became a frame of reference for us. It articulates a really effective methodological approach to writing, where students focus on building strong sentences and then chunk paragraphs. 

That’s a really common gap for students. Students often go from very basic writing in elementary school to being asked to write five-paragraph essays in middle school. But they don’t have a lot of explicit practice with building a thesis or using evidence to support a claim. 

Over the last ten years, we’ve worked on creating really great sentence-level writing practice with pedagogically sound tools. We’ve launched increasingly sophisticated features—combining sentences, using appositives, connecting ideas with conjunctions—to help students clearly express their ideas in writing. In the future, we’d like to work on providing feedback on paragraphs and essays, grounded in a pedagogy that’s focused on critical thinking through writing. 

That feedback piece is really core to Quill’s approach. What does feedback look like in Quill? In what ways does quality feedback help students become better writers?

If I were to describe Quill in one word, it’s feedback. Our theory of action is that when kids get really good feedback on their writing, they’re better able to learn and build their skills. Typically there isn’t a lot of writing that happens in the classroom because it’s so time-intensive for teachers to give that feedback. Instead, you often have students writing journal entries that no one reads, especially in Title I schools where teachers often don’t have time allocated for reading papers and offering feedback. 

As a result, there ends up being little reason for students to try to explain their ideas, and there are few opportunities to revise and improve those ideas. Kids often end up viewing videos or answering multiple-choice questions rather than engaging in active learning around writing. At Quill, we were looking for a way to help teachers with that feedback loop since it’s so hard to do manually. 

There are cases where entire schools have emphasized writing feedback. For example, the school featured in The Atlantic article was incredibly successful with this work largely because the principal emphasized that every teacher is now a writing teacher. It was not just ELA teachers. Social Studies, Science, and Gym teachers were all writing teachers. They integrated writing and feedback into all of their lessons. But that is a huge commitment that most schools aren’t able to make.

In what ways is Quill able to help teachers in schools where there isn’t that intensive focus on writing and feedback that you’ve just described?

Technology can play a big role in creating this feedback loop, which is especially helpful for schools that lack resources. From the beginning, we focused on students attending Title I schools. Unlike many other edtech products, Quill was always designed for classroom use. The vision has always been that the teacher drives teaching and learning, and Quill is available to supercharge their instruction. 

We have around 900 activities that span grades 4-12. Each activity takes about 10-15 minutes. There’s a lot of value in high-impact writing activities that give you immediate feedback. But we would never say that Quill is a tool that students should spend all day on. Instead, we believe that a teacher can use Quill to provide practice on a key lesson or skill that the teacher is teaching. 

Quill enables students to have an active learning experience, but in a way that can scale. We now serve about three million kids a year across the country, with students coming from about 12,000 schools in the U.S. That’s about 10% of schools across the country and about 50,000 teachers. We’re dedicated to all of our content being free forever. We see that teachers really trust us as a result. 

How has your work to serve teachers and students been accelerated by the recent advances in AI? In particular, you’re moving from a predictive AI model (which forecasts future outputs based on past data) to a generative AI model (which creates new outputs resembling the original input using machine learning) to provide feedback. Why are you making this change?

We’ve been building AI models since 2019 and have deep expertise in predictive models. In that approach, we’re looking for some sort of pattern in the writing that we can then use to give feedback. To build that model, we have to capture thousands of sentences and look for the thing that we want in the writing—for example, asking students to use evidence to build a claim. 

Rather than creating a generic system for every single student writing prompt, we built a unique dataset of all the possible pieces of evidence a student could provide. Then we categorize that evidence as “strong” or “weak.” When a student uses weak evidence, we give them actionable feedback and coaching to help them revise their writing.

This process was really effective and very scalable in the sense that it could help millions of students. At the same time, it’s very labor-intensive for us to have to build a unique model for every prompt. We had to collect and categorize thousands of responses. We’re currently doing this at the level of individual sentences through our Quill Reading for Evidence tool, but it’s an exponential increase in complexity as you get into longer pieces of writing, such as paragraphs or essays. 

With generative AI, we can leverage the vastness of large language models but still build out our own custom rubrics that specify what strong writing looks like for a particular problem. This, in turn, allows us to give much better feedback. What are the exemplars? What are the responses that need feedback? It mirrors some of our work at building models, but it’s more aligned with how a teacher grades writing today, when they’re able to specify guidelines and then offer feedback based on those guidelines. 

We’re very excited to have some experienced partners helping us with this work. For example, Quill was recently named a member of Google.org’s new generative AI accelerator program , allowing us to work with Google engineers on this project.

You’re thinking a lot about how to use AI responsibly. What can the edtech field learn from Quill’s approach?

One thing that stood out to me at the recent ASU+GSV conference was that a lot of the AI work happening is not being driven by the education community. It’s being driven by technology folks who are interested in education, but who don’t have any formal sense of pedagogy. A lot of people at the conference were promising that their AI can do anything. It can look at essays. It can look at paragraphs. You can send it work samples. You can send it portfolios. You can send it any piece of writing to the AI and it will say something back to you. But I wonder, “Is AI feedback really helpful for student learning? Is that feedback actionable?”

You’re seeing a lot of low-quality AI products that work to some degree, but they’re not really specifically designed for students in a way that really helps them be effective in their learning. Dan Meyer has been writing pretty extensively about some of the issues with generative AI and in education. Dan’s core idea is that many of these systems just repeat the same feedback in response to very different student answers. For example, there’s a real tendency for AI models to simply reveal the answer to kids. It will say, “That’s not right. Have you thought about blank?” The blank states the answer explicitly. With such products, there’s a risk of harming students.

To do AI well requires extensive customization. We need to be very intentional about what good writing looks like, what success looks like. Unfortunately, clearly defining success in a way that allows the AI to pattern match isn’t very common in the field right now. And too often when they do exist, those definitions of success aren’t coming from educators.

How is Quill’s approach different from these other products that you’ve described? 

At Quill, we’re building a custom rubric for every student writing prompt where we define up to 100 examples of exemplary writing and where the writing needs to be improved. For every single prompt, we are doing this manual work of having it define what good and bad writing looks like. That’s really important because what’s a good answer for a fourth grader is different from an eighth grader or a twelfth grader. It’s not effective to ask the AI to make its own judgment calls about the writing. It’s much better to create your own judgment calls about what’s good and bad writing, and then let the AI do the work of pattern matching off of those judgment calls.

Quill isn’t trying to create a generic AI system. The manual customizations that we’re building allow us to give high-quality feedback. Virtually no one else in the space is taking this approach today. But it’s critical because it’s really damaging for students—especially low-income students—to get low-quality feedback. We all know how frustrating it can be when Siri doesn’t understand you. Imagine a sixth grader trying to use a chatbot that doesn’t really understand them. It can feel really bad. On the other hand, extensive customization can result in really great learning. 

The flip side of this is evaluation. You need good tooling to see whether the feedback is working and where it’s not working as well as it should. That tooling doesn’t exist off the shelf in the way that it should right now. It really requires building your own, and that’s a lot of work. With so much writing taking place on Quill, we can look at a series of metrics. Is feedback repeated? How often do students advance their writing forward? How often do students need to revise their writing to get to an adaptive response? Every single prompt has its own data set. Those evaluation systems allow us to really see when it’s working and when we need to improve it. In response, we retrain the AI to ensure that the feedback is always really high quality. We can also give teachers formative assessment data in a way that allows them to understand learning. 

Educators are crucial in all of this work. How do you recognize teachers’ perspectives, approaches, and needs in Quill’s design and implementation?

When it comes to AI development, working with teachers is not a nice-to-have. It’s absolutely essential to being successful with this work. An explicit principle of our approach to AI is developing with teachers. We have a group of more than 300 teachers in a Teacher Advisory Council (TAC). Every single learning activity goes first to the Council. We ask them, “Can you work with us to understand how this is supporting your students to develop this particular skill? Where is it working well, and where does it need to be improved?” Specifically, we look for teachers from Title I schools because we recognize that their needs and context may be different from teachers in wealthier communities; it’s that audience we want to serve. We compensate TAC teachers because we recognize that we’re asking them to share their time and expertise. Educators’ insights have been absolutely critical. 

With AI, getting from good to amazing requires iteration. That process is time intensive because we go through multiple cycles of revision and iteration for every single activity, working with teachers. That’s how we’re able to create such great feedback for kids. We’re trying to mimic great teacher feedback, so actual teacher feedback needs to drive improvements to the system. Again, if you don’t have that feedback loop in place, it results in a much weaker learning experience.

What’s next for Quill, especially as you consider the possibilities and challenges of moving to generative AI?

At the moment, we’re in the switchover process from predictive AI to generative AI. We’ve built about 300 AI models, and the plan is to throw out all those models and to rebuild everything. That requires enormous resources.

At the same time, having this new infrastructure in place unlocks our whole roadmap around more advanced learning strategies for students. We can offer better feedback and we’re not bound to sentence-level feedback. We can also teach other skills, like how to ask really good questions. From there, we want to do things like encourage students to build arguments and engage in Socratic dialogue with a debate bot. We could also help students with longer-form writing. In parallel, we also have the development of our Social Studies and Science offerings —our first offerings outside of the English classroom. 

In order to do those things, we have to switch over to generative AI. That means wrestling with the technology and figuring out some tricks for deploying it. For example, we learned that we could move the prompting process along if we used all capital letters or exclamation points. 

More importantly, at Quill and as a sector, we need to think about how to use technology that is very powerful but doesn’t have the level of reliability we want. Are there ways to coerce the model towards closing that gap? Or do we need to use a more powerful model? Over time that will be less of an issue, but right now, we’re still in an in-between period. At Quill, we’ve tried to be very thoughtful about approaching these questions and prioritizing the voices of the educators who are using this product with their students.

Peter Gault is the Founder and Executive Director of Quill.org , a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping millions of low-income students become strong readers, writers, and critical thinkers. Quill uses artificial intelligence to provide students with immediate feedback on their work, enabling them to revise their writing and quickly improve their skills. Quill has enabled nine million K-12 students in the United States to become stronger readers and writers by providing students with AI-powered feedback and coaching on more than two billion sentences. Teachers are provided with free access to Quill’s research-based curriculum, and the open-source organization works with academic researchers across the country to design and build its technology and curriculum.

Peter leads product strategy, fundraising, and strategic partnerships. He started designing educational software tools and games in high school and studied philosophy and history at Bates College, with a special focus on debate and critical thinking. Quill has been recognized by Fast Company’s Most Innovative Education Companies, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Literacy Courseware Challenge, and Google.org’s AI for Social Impact Challenge. 

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Intensive English Program

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Improve your English this summer!

The Intensive English Program is designed for international college students who want to improve their academic English language skills among a dynamic, diverse group of students. This summer, develop the skills, fluency, and confidence you need to communicate effectively in English. You will improve your overall abilities in both spoken and written English, as well as your understanding of the cultural diversity in the U.S.

You can expect to improve your English in the following ways: 

• communicate more confidently
• speak more accurately and fluently
• improve your written English
• expand your vocabulary
• improve your understanding of grammar
• socialize and network with greater confidence

At the beginning of the program, students take an English Placement Exam to determine their levels and are placed in class with students of a similar level.

Date: Program Dates: Session B, July 1 - August 2, 2024 Application Deadline:  May 6, 2024

Our application for Summer 2024 courses and programs is now open.

Intensive English Daily Schedule*

*Individual schedules may vary. This is for reference only.

Intensive English Courses

Core classes meet Monday through Thursday, 9:00 am to 12:15 pm.  

Morning Class​es 

Academic reading and writing.

• Read, discuss and write about dynamic issues
• Create projects with international colleagues
• Investigate U.S. cultures
• Develop critical reading and writing skills
• Improve revising and editing skills
• Increase your reading comprehension and analytical skills
• Study literature and learn to write critically about it

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• Participate effectively in academic discussions and presentations
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• Practice American English pronunciation
• Conduct oral presentations on topics of interest

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Elective classes are designed to be engaging, student-centered and participatory. The courses help you improve your English language skills while learning about a unique aspect of American culture.

Sample Elective classes:

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When prompted to select a program in the application, select Yale Summer Session . Then, select 2019 Session B: July 1 - August 2. You will see Intensive English Program ( SUMR S011)  listed on the course selection page. 

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How to Become a Freelance Writer, Plus Tips for Success

F reelance writing is a booming industry, and it could be a great way to enjoy remote work and set your own schedule. Yet becoming a freelance writer can be difficult and confusing, especially in the beginning.

Today, let's explore how to become a freelance writer step-by-step, plus break down some extra tips to ensure success in this field.

1. Decide what kind of writer you'll be

No freelance writer can do it all, so you need to decide what kind of writer you'll be before starting on this career path.

Here are some examples of freelance writing niches and focuses:

• Technical writers : have technical expertise or in-depth knowledge about a specific subject, like manufacturing, finance, programming, etc. This type of writing is the most profitable side hustle. However, it's also the hardest for new freelance writers to break into as small businesses.
• Content writers: create blog posts for a variety of websites, often retail or affiliate websites. Content marketing includes high-qualitycontent writing. Such content might include guest posts for bloggers and business owners. It might also include other freelance content, like creating social posts or email copy. Helpful skills to know are how to use WordPress, Slack, Google Suite, Asana and similar.
• Copywriters : create content for brands by mimicking brand voice, tone and language rules. This freelance writing work means providing writing services to a brand's own blog. Such purposes typically revolve around SEO/search engine optimization purposes.

Of these types of freelance writers, you can further specialize. For instance, you can be a retail content writer exclusively, a finance technical writer and so on. In many cases, you should choose your freelance writer niche based on your previous experience, interests or specializations.

Consider your working schedule, too. Full-time writers will have more access to freelance writing jobs. However, you can still build a writing portfolio with stellar writing samples to attract potential clients, even as a part-time writer.

There are lots of online writing clients to attract. In any case, you'll build up a byline reputation after you get your first client and start flexing your creative writing skills.

Related: How Much Should You Charge as a Freelance Writer ?

2. Learn your niche's writing conventions and strategies

Next, you'll need to learn and master your niche's writing conventions and strategies.

As an example, if you become a copywriter for retail brands, you need to understand typical writing conventions like:

• Reading through your clients' tone packages or portfolios (sometimes called brand guides). These will give you the information you need to mimic your client's voice appropriately.
• Writing in streamlined, short sentences without a lot of fluff. These days, most online readers skim written content rather than reading it word by word, so you need to know how to create compelling, attractive headers and content blocks.
• Using bullet points frequently (just like this.) to convey key informational points quickly and succinctly.

Many of these skills can be learned and practiced as you hone your writing skills and as you determine your ultimate freelance writing niche or focus. Outside of learning by pursuing writing opportunities and building an online presence, many good writers have positive experiences with writing courses designed to build professional writing skills for different types of content.

3. Build a portfolio and join freelance job sites

No one will want to hire you as a freelance writer without seeing some samples of your work. This can sound counterintuitive, as at the beginning of your career, you won't have any work to showcase. However, you should create a portfolio of sample or trial blog posts, copy and more. Even if you come up with this content from scratch, it can serve as a good example of the work future clients can expect.

Once you have your portfolio, put it up on your personal website and your social media pages (particularly your LinkedIn profile). Then add to freelance job websites like Upwork. Make profiles on all the freelance job boards you can.

In the earliest days of your freelance writing career, you'll be pursuing as many jobs as possible. The more places you have to advertise your skills, the better.

Related: Leaving a Steady Job to Start a Freelance Career ? Here Are 5 Things You Must Know

4. Start looking for work

Now it's time to put your nose to the grindstone and begin looking for work. As a freelance writer, the initial months of your career will be filled with proposals and requests for work. Don't expect to get a lot of clients initially. In fact, you'll probably spend most of your time seeking out clients instead of writing.

This isn't a bad thing. During this time, you'll learn how to write effective, persuasive proposals to your clients and how best to represent yourself as the ideal freelancer for their needs. In time, you'll get a few jobs, then use those jobs to open further doors and new professional opportunities.

5. Request good reviews

Each time you get a job from a client, do it to perfection. Then, at the end of your contract, request an excellent review or testimonial. Many freelance job board websites allow you to post reviews or automatically calculate a review or star score based on your performance.

The better your review score is, the easier you'll find it to acquire new, high-paying clients. In this way, your freelance writing career will start off very slow, then quickly pick up speed.

Related: The 9 Skills it Takes to Succeed as a Freelance Writer

6. Market your writing aggressively

As you earn initial success, you should market your writing aggressively. There are a few different ways in which you can do this:

• You can create a personal website for your freelance writing business, showcasing your best samples and reviews or testimonials.
• You can make online ads promoting your skills as a knowledgeable copywriter, particularly in a specific industry or niche.
• You can and should market yourself on social media by regularly posting that you are looking for work or new clients.

Don't feel bad about announcing your skills in this way: You have to hustle to make it in this industry, a truism that holds for all freelance professionals, in fact.

Other tips for freelance writing success

You now know the basics about how to become a freelance writer. But even with the step-by-step process above, you might not see initial success unless you keep some key tips and strategies in mind.

Pick a niche to excel at

First, and perhaps most importantly, you should pick a niche or specialization at the earliest opportunity. Generalized freelance writers don't make nearly as much money as specialized writers. That's because specialized writers can provide more raw value to their clients.

Imagine a situation in which a programming company needs a writer to create some in-depth blog posts for B2B clients. They can hire a generalized content writer or a specialized technical writer who knows the ins and outs of programming languages and computer science. The latter choice is always the better option for that client.

To that end, find a niche in which to excel based on your previous schooling, your interests and more.

Price your writing properly

Many freelance writers struggle with getting a living wage, partially because they price their writing too low. True, in the earliest stage of your career, you'll probably earn about one cent or two cents per word. However, as you earn your first initial reviews, you should counterintuitively increase your price to five cents per word or more.

Why? If you price your writing too low, clients will think that you aren't worth their time. By pricing your writing sufficiently high, you show that you are confident in your ability to deliver results to those clients.

Always be looking for new clients

The life of a freelance writer involves constantly looking for new clients and work opportunities. Even if you have a handful of solid clients who send you work consistently, don't rest on your laurels.

Always be cultivating new contacts and finding new professional clients who you can approach for work. You never know when your current jobs or projects might dry up, leaving you in desperate need of new income streams.

Always improve your writing skills

Similarly, always work to improve your writing skills by learning new words, practicing your grammar and so on. As a writing craftsman, it's up to you to make sure that your skills are as sharp and desirable as possible. Don't let your writing skills fall by the wayside just because you have achieved some initial success as a freelance writer.

Related: Examples of Writing Business Ideas

Start your journey as a freelance writer

As you can see, you can become a successful freelance writer in a variety of ways and niches. But keep the above tips in mind, and you'll be sure to land high-paying clients and master your new business in short order.

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