SUGGESTION #1: HAVE YOUR COMPUTER READ YOUR WRITING OUT LOUD AS YOU EDIT IT

Editors have long recognized that reading out loud is one of the best ways of catching mistakes.  This can be automated!  Macintosh computers come with the "Simpletext" program that will read your writing out loud for you.  You can obtain similar programs for PCs.
[HINT: The most efficient solution is to put two computers, side-by-side. One computer (e.g., an old Macintosh computer that cost you $20 at a garage sale) does the reading.  You then edit on the second computer.  Just remember to get a cup of coffee before you start.]

SUGGESTION #2: FORMULAE FOR WRITING AN ABSTRACT

Step 1: Make a list of all of the words that YOU would select as key words in your searching about your research.  Think methodologically. Think topically.  Think geographically.  Think applied.

Step 2: Use all of those words to prepare the equivalent of a "movie promo".  Don't oversell.  But don't undersell.  This is your one shot at international access.

Step 3: Use suggestion #5 below in destroying all passive verbs before you finish.
 

SUGGESTION #3: THROW YOUR READER A BONE! GIVE THEM A ROAD MAP!

You must tell your reader the organization of your paper or chapter.  Do this as soon as you can in the introduction.

Then, you must also tell the reader the organization of each large section of your paper or chapter.  Do this as soon as you can in the first paragraph of each section.

You simply cannot go wrong in telling them what's coming in advance.

As a part of your road map, be sure to practice proper scholarship in citing (referencing) your sources.  If you are unsure of the right way to cite references, including electronic references, click here.
 

SUGGESTION #4: REMEMBER TO DO A VICTORY LAP

This section is for those of you who are writing a research paper for publication or a thesis.

You spent a huge chunk of your life reading the literature on your research topic.  You spent another big chunk of your paper or thesis in reviewing that literature.

When your paper/thesis is over, connect your research advances to that literature.  Nobody expects you to rewrite a field of study.  Your reader expects that you added a sand grain of knowledge to the hour glass of your field of study.  But for goodness sakes, explain how your sand grain adds to your field and connects to the bigger picture.
 

SUGGESTION #5: NUKE PASSIVE VOICE

Some silly scientists think that passive voice (it is believed; some have found; the field site is located; the sample was first ground) somehow makes them sound scientific and objective.  I think that these beliefs are a refuge of lazy writers.  Please, pretty please, search and destroy passive voice.  This section explains how to use word processors to take control of your writing and dig out all passive verbs from your research paper/thesis.

Why Active Verbs?

Writers often make lazy choices. We use generic all-purpose verbs such as been, be, had, have, were, was, and is. Especially in scientific journal articles, these verbs make encore appearances with more regularity than car commercials in a football game. Yet these "passive" words convey little. Even worse are the catch all "deal with" and "show" choices. I scream in frustration everytime I read another: "it has been thought by Schuckitelly that..."

Why not try something more exciting, such as:"Schmuckitelly revealed"...

Active verbs convey meaning as you describe work and ideas. As a rule, passive verbs show up most commonly in:

• literature reviews, where your job describes work of others in concise, analytical terms.
• describe your own experimental work, where you efficiently describe jobs completed.
• present a thesis or objective statement, where you forecast information that will follow in the paper.
• even as you refer to figures, tables or equations, where your job is to define the purpose of the figure, table, or equation
• abstracts or summaries, where you either catch the reader's attention or you've lost them forever.

How do I get rid of the Passive Voice?

You can get rid of passive voice writing in one night.  Well.  Okay.  It may take a little bit longer.  But you can identify all of your targets in a few seconds.

Step 1: Make your word processor show revisions.  You will have to search for this choice in your word processes.  For example, in Microsoft Word, revisions... is under "tools."  You must select the show revisions option.

Step 2: Use the "search and replace" ability of your program, by

replace ^is^ with ^REPLACE ME^ (^ is my way of telling you to put in a space before and after the verb)

replace ^was^ with ^REPLACE ME^
replace ^were^ with ^REPLACE ME^
replace ^had^ with ^REPLACE ME^
replace ^have^ with ^REPLACE ME^
replace ^get^ with ^REPLACE ME^
replace ^got^ with ^REPLACE ME^
replace ^be^ with ^REPLACE ME^
replace ^been^ with ^REPLACE ME^
replace ^deal with^ with ^REPLACE ME^
replace ^show^ with ^REPLACE ME^
replace ^any other passive verb your editor/teacher hates^ with ^REPLACE ME^

Step 3: Rewrite each sentence with an active verb. Passive sentences typically place the true subject at the end.   Thus, you may need to turn the sentence backwards to destroy passive voice.

Step 4: You can see all the changes at once by clicking off the show revisions option, or some programs allow you to accept or reject the changes one-by-one.
 

Look below for two lists of active words developed by Dr. Joe Schall at Penn State University.  I recommend that you visit his website for more insights into writing at http://www.ems.psu.edu/~schall/Schall.html
 

Yet be careful!  Each of these words infers specific individual, analytical meaning. When using this list, be sure to choose the best verb for a situation. For efficiency, accuracy, and your own credibility, always aim for the best and simplest verb. If you are unsure of meaning, be sure to look it up.
 

Active Verbs That Describe Work

yield	illustrate	illuminate	reveal	employ	mean	suggest
clarify	indicate	represent	prove	insist	propose	imply
assert	postulate	consider	infer	state	extrapolate	estimate
define	classify	invoke	analyze	compare	hypothesize	synthesize
summarize	disagree	generalize	narrate	evaluate	simplify	measure
note	predict	introduce	report	chalenge	delineate	depict
construe	interpret	provide	acknowledge	distinguish	inform	specify
restrict	determine	detail	sum up	designate	point out	set forth
deduce	derive	characterize	guide	maintain	believe	speculate
present	organize	investigate	assess	determine	calculate	support
devise	construct	evaluate	attribute	obtain	argue	reiterate

Active Verbs That Describe Phenomena
 

discharge	overlie	emanate	radiate	scatter	exchange	separate
surround	combine	eliminate	emit	transmit	carry	bombard
exert	exude	interact	behave	exchange	absorb	converge
extend	constrain	force	elongate	contract	trend	plunge
occur	fracture	continue	mix	slow	quicken	produce
bond	interlock	fuse	deteriorate	migrate	encompass	access
traverse	join	dominate	deposit	underlie	overlap	originate
isolate	invade	permeate	evolve	divide	sinter	reclaim
restore	abandon	contain	accrue	precede	influence	saturate
circulate	orient	forecast	distribute	allow	lag	terminate
activate	cease	record	form	transect	condense	enrich
invert	convert	alter	link	superimpose	rotate	rupture
streamline	appear	require	ascend	descend	collapse	superpose
crystallize	bisect	coalesce	disperse	propel	disseminate	cede

Good luck on your paper!