Use the Right Style and Tone in Your Thesis

Jan 15
14:48

2015

Rohit Kaushik

Rohit Kaushik

  • Share this article on Facebook
  • Share this article on Twitter
  • Share this article on Linkedin

You may structure a PhD thesis very well and may include rich content in it. However, your thesis gains on the quality parameter only when it is written in an appropriate style and correct tone.

mediaimage

These two aspects are critical to keep in mind while writing a thesis. If your style and tone are improper,Use the Right Style and Tone in Your Thesis Articles your readers are not going to treat your work well. If you are confused about these factors, then first try to understand the exact meaning of both.

What is the right style and tone?

When we talk about the style of writing, it plays an important part in delivering the right meaning of your thesis content. Your readers will only get the correct feel when you style your content appropriately. There are several predefined styles of academic writing that are important for you to comply while developing your thesis. A given style may make an impact on your grammatical rules, word choice, referencing, etc. For example, you may be asked by your institution to follow the APA, Chicago, Harvard or any similar style sheet. All these predefined styles have differences in the way you communicate things.

Your work may not be understood by your readers in the desired manner if you do not follow a professional style of writing. This happens because these styles rules are the standards that are set for specific academic areas. When everyone in that academic community writes or reads, they follow the same rules and treat the content accordingly. The same rule may communicate an idea differently when followed by separate style manuals. Thus, you should understand the right style that has been recommended by your faculty or academic institution. If you already do not have an idea of a specific style manual, then you must learn it or seek professional guidance. It is highly essential to follow the correct style rules.

The second aspect is your tone of communicating the ideas. This basically refers to the attitude that your content displays. While some writers like to add humor to their writing, it may not be appropriate for academic writing. It is required to maintain a formal tone when you develop content for your PhD thesis. The tone actually reflects from the way you choose your words and weave them to communicate. In certain types of theses, you get a scope to add your personal expressions. In such cases, you might be tempted to use an informal tone. However, make sure that you use a specific tone in an apt manner.

How to maintain the right style and tone

There are several factors that may affect the choice of an appropriate style and tone. You may follow the following tips that can help you in doing it.

• Knowledge of your readers: You should think from the perspective of your readers while using technical or special terms. Think about their knowledge of your subject. If your readers belong to a technical background and understand your field well, then you may use specialized terms. For a non-technical audience, you might require longer explanations and need to use less complex language. Thus, you may need to alter your expressive tone and style according to how your readers understand your work.

• Feel of future readers: Try to understand the way your future readers or audience would perceive or feel about your work. If there is scope of using a sophisticated or emotional tone, then you may definitely do so in a careful way. However, you must never sound offensive or incomprehensible to your readers. If you are unsure of their feelings, then avoid making use of informal tone and style in your writing. Restrict yourself to a formal way of presenting your ideas and arguments.

• Your aim: By writing a thesis, you aim is to present your ideas in front of your readers so they may be convinced about the validity of your study. You not only have to explain arguments within the context of your subject matter, but also need to present your attitude. Thus, it is better to support your work with proper evidences and make them easier to understand for target readers.

Article "tagged" as:

Categories: