Subject Guides: Research Guide: Writing support

Some Guidelines

Writing Center

Past Presentations

Writing support

For writing support, you can visit the following pages:

visit the Writing Centre
have your work edited by a Language editor

Editing and Proofreading Applications

With the help of Artificial Intelligence, you can install a proofreader onto your computer's word processor or use it as an extension to your web browser. These programs edit your work as you write!

Some of our Top Picks:

ProWritingAid (available at https://prowritingaid.com/ or as an extension for your Google Chrome browser)
Hemmingway editor (available at http://www.hemingwayapp.com/ and now available as a desktop application)
Grammarly writing assistant (available at https://www.grammarly.com/ as an extension on your word processor and Google Chrome browser)

Some other editing tools to consider:

GradeProof
Sapling Grammar Checker and Writing Assistant
Linguix

External Sources

The thesis whisperer, Prof Inger Mewburn Director of researcher development at The Australian National University
Academic Phrasebank The Academic Phrasebank is a general resource for academic writers. It aims to provide you with examples of some of the phraseological ‘nuts and bolts’ of writing organised according to the main sections of a research paper or dissertation (see the top menu ). Other phrases are listed under the more general communicative functions of academic writing (see the menu on the left). The resource should be particularly useful for writers who need to report their research work.
Enhancing Postgraduate Environments The EPE project takes as its philosophical underpinning the need for social justice by focusing on the issue of who gets access to the postgraduate environment, what knowledge is included or excluded, and what levels of quality are enabled.
Supporting Academic Writing Practices in Postgraduate Studies: A theoretical and practice-based overview of academic writing support approaches and initiatives by Rhodes University Centre for Postgraduate Studies (2015)

Tips

Read an article a day to help you learn the writing style in your specific field is done
Always keep the information presented relevant to the message you want to get across
Write for reader and not for yourself
Introduce, justify and conclude
Be concise and avoid repetition
Make use of your vocabulary and expand on it
Use writing tools and proofread your work when done
Avoid over-quoting and plagiarism
Avoid the use of contractions (can’t, don’t, couldn’t etc.)
Practice makes perfect! Draft short essays and give to your colleague or friend for evaluation

Recommended books

Helping Doctoral Students Write by Kamler This essential guide offers a new approach to doctoral writing, written specifically for doctoral supervisors. Rejecting the DIY websites and manuals that promote a privatised skills-based approach to writing research, Kamler and Thomson offer a new framework for scholarly work to help doctorate students produce clear and well-argued dissertations. Drawing on a wide range of research and hands-on experience, the authors argue that making an original contribution to scholarly knowledge requires doctoral candidates to do both text and identity work. Their discussion of the complexities of forming a scholarly identity is illustrated by the stories and writing of real doctoral students.
ISBN: 0203969812
Publication Date: 2006-09-27