Summary of Chapter 3: Mechanics of Writing 37
- Explicitly maintain versions, with dates. Don’t rely on ‘track changes’.
- Always label draft documents with the document name, your name, page num-
bers and the date. Start the document with a table of contents. - Be systematic in your maintenance of a database of references.
Writing tips:
- Get feedback on your style early in the thesis-writing process. And listen to it.
- Write in a natural, conversational style. Be easy to read rather than self-con-
sciously intellectual. Avoid the passive voice. - Use an appropriate referencing style.
- Be alert to common problems in academic writing.
- Do not plagiarize or in any way inappropriately use text that is not yours. Do
your own writing.
Online resources:
- There are plenty of online guides to preparing theses with specific word-pro-
cessing tools; a web search such as ‘using Word to write thesis’ or ‘templates for
thesis’ will return many useful results.