10 Tips on Effective Writing from Editors of SETS In order to make a research paper effective, a student must remember the significance of 3 Cs in academic writing. The 3 Cs are Clarity, Conciseness and Consistency. Clarity of thought helps a researcher in presenting his or her ideas in a logical manner so that it is easily comprehensible. The art of expressing an idea or thought in a precise manner should be the primary focus of a researcher and it is, herein, that conciseness becomes a vital part of writing thesis or academic paper . After conciseness, comes consistency. Consistency is intermingled with conciseness and clarity because a student having clarity of thought can only present a research idea in a concise manner while maintaining constancy in the flow of the manuscript. Apart from the 3 Cs, there are other facts that are imperative for effective writing. 10 tips that will be extremely helpful for making an academic paper effective are: ● Use of language should be concrete and not ambiguous, as ambiguity in the presentation reflects uncertainty in thought For example: As a graduate student, my professor gave me valuable advice. (Incorrect) I got valuable advice from my professor when I was a graduate student. (Correct) ● Use of active voice in writing thesis or research paper is preferable For example: The researcher conducted the test to prove the hypothesis. (Active) For proving the hypothesis, the test was conducted by the researcher. (Passive) ● Avoid overuse of it and there For example: It is recommended to put the results in tabular form. The results must be given in a tabular form. (Revised) ● Try presenting the thought in a direct manner, such as avoiding use of two negatives for giving a positive meaning when not necessary For example: The students chosen for carrying out the research were not unwilling to help. (Incorrect) The students chosen for carrying out the research were willing to help. (Correct) ● Use parallel expressions to maintain constancy in writing by primarily making uniform grammatical use For example: Editing focuses on perfection of language usage, flow of thought, and having readability. (Incorrect) Editing focuses on perfection of language usage, flow of thought, and readability. (Correct) ● Try avoiding use of dangling modifiers and never start a sentence with incomplete phrase For example: While conducting the interview, the recorder went dead. (Incorrect)
While conducting the interview, the battery of the recorder went dead. (Correct) [The recorder cannot die, but the battery can go dead if there is no charge in it.] ● Modifier (words or phrases) must be placed close to the modified word For example: I have paratha made by my mom in my lunch box. (Incorrect) In my lunch box, I have paratha made by my mom. (Correct) ● Use of commas and semi-colons correctly make a sentence effective For example: I will have vegetable paratha and dahi in lunch. I will have vegetable, paratha, and dahi in lunch. [Proper use of comma is necessary to deliver the actual meaning.] ● Use of correct verb (subject-verb agreement) For example: The couple are enthusiastic about their performance. (Incorrect) The couple is enthusiastic about their performance. (Correct) ● Avoid faulty comparisons and omissions For example: The research department is more productive. (Incomplete comparison) The research department is more productive than the administrative department. (Correct) Academic paper can be effective if the above mentioned points are followed while writing or editing any research paper or thesis. Researchers being engrossed while writing their academic paper or thesis may overlook the tips for effective writing. For this reason, it is recommended that they take assistance of editorial houses where end to end services, such as thesis editing , academic paper editing , scientific paper editing , scientific proofreading, formatting, journal selection, etc. are provided before final selection of the manuscript for publication in a journal.