 |
|
|
|
|
|
Get outside review Getting comments from others on what you have written will also help improve your report. Before you show your writing to your research advisor, ask classmates, friends, or others to review your material. What you think is clear may not be clear to others. f your friends or classmates do not understand something, your advisor and readers of your final report will probably not understand it either. Exposing one's self to criticism is not easy and can be unpleasant, but it can be a great help in writing a well organized, clearly written report. Use a word processor If at all possible, type your report, beginning with your first drafts, on a computer with a word processing program. Earlier we urged use of a computer for analyzing your data. The same computer will probably have some kind of word processing program. With a word processing program, you can type your report (or have someone else do it), add charts and graphs, and quickly revise and retype various drafts. Using a word processor makes revisions much easier to do. Also, most word processing programs will identify misspelled words and give you the correct spelling for them. These features will help you prepare a much more readable and professional looking report. The preceding points are offered to help you get ready to start writing. Now, let's turn to the process of writing. Guidelines for clear writing Following are a few additional suggestions for ways to make your writing clear and easily understood:
Use simple language While use of some technical words is necessary, avoid excessive use of them. Whenever possible, use simple, everyday, easily understood words and phrases. If you cannot express yourself in simple language, you probably are not sure what you want to say. Use short sentences Another way to ensure clarity is to use short sentences and paragraphs. As a rule, keep most sentences to 10 to 15 words or less. Short sentences are easier to read and understand. Some sentences, of course, will exceed the 15 word limit, but these should be the exception and should be mixed in with shorter ones. Using short paragraphs will also improve the readability of your report. Most paragraphs should be less than one page long (typed, double-spaced). Watch use of tenses Scientific writing uses both past and present tenses. Past tense is generally used to state the problem (the problem investigated was, etc.); to present the review of literature (Fattah found that, etc.); and to describe the design used (a longitudinal design was used). Past tense is also used to present the findings. After all, the writer is reporting on data that was collected at some previous time. Most writers, however, shift to the present tense for presentation of the discussion or interpretation of the findings and conclusions. This is proper because both forms of discussion apply to the present. Also, hypotheses are usually expressed in the present tense (years of schooling is positively related to later income). We suggest you use these practices — past tense for most of the report and present tense for discussing results and presenting conclusions. |