they can get trapped into embracing overelaborate systems or
mystifying the issues involved. But in stark contrast to stylistic
issues, good referencing practice can be clearly and objectively
defined in terms of key principles. In the second part of the
chapter I show how two simple core referencing systems meet
these needs.
The elements of good research style
Below the zoom level of the chapter and the section, we enter
the realm of new and smaller organizing entities, the paragraph
and the sentence. Good style consists of stringing these tiny
elements together in connected chains that strike the maxi-
mum number of other people, your achieved readers, as logical,
meaningful, accessible and plausible. But it is wise to acknowl-
edge from the outset that there is no single route to good style.
Such judgements are particular, varying with the nature of the
materials, the readership and the author’s purposes. It would be
easy to say also that ‘good style’ is a subjective issue, and to
adopt a philosophy of ‘each to their own taste’. But underneath
this appearance of irreconcilable diversity I actually think there
lie some more fundamental authoring dilemmas in professional
writing. I begin by exploring these divergent style pressures
in doctoral work. I move on to some checklists of style issues
particularly relevant for writing dissertations, at the level of
paragraphs, then sentences, and last vocabulary.
Conflicting style pressures
Every difficult work presents us with a choice of
whether to judge the author inept for not being
clear, or ourselves stupid for not grasping what is
going on ... Writing with simplicity requires
courage, for there is a danger that one will be
overlooked, dismissed as simpleminded by those
with a tenacious belief that impassable prose
is a hallmark of intelligence.
Alain de Botton^2104 ◆AUTHORING A PHD