You must try to create your thesis stylish and sophisticated to amaze your research committee. As long as your thesis is constructed with appropriate words, style, tone and consistency, there are chances that the doctoral research board will approve your work quickly, but this does not seem easy when it comes to the English language. This blog discusses the importance of creating your own style to originate your thesis.
During writing, you are hit with several complex ideas that you are to jot down. There are a lot of ambiguities that you need to think about to ensure that you are not choosing an equivocal term. This is where a style guide can make your task less demanding.
A style guide is a set of rules to follow while writing a thesis, and to ensure consistency at the time of editing stage. These rules ensure that your writing is not confusing to your examiner.
There are several words that will bewilder you at the time of developing your thesis. For instance, in theatre studies, “actor” word is used for both genders, but how about other gendered words such as hero and heroine. Another important question to ponder is which pronoun you will use to refer more than one person - he or she, they or some other combinations. The fact is these combinations are right, but switching between lots of different combinations will flummox readers.
Other questions to ask yourself:
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Will you use standard or non-standard syntax?
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Which English language will you use - British/ American/ Australian/ Canadian?
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British English - colour
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American English - color
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Be consistent with the type of English that you choose for your thesis.
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Which case are you using for headings and subheadings? The first letter of each word is capitalised when you use title case and the first letter of the first word is capital when you use sentence case.
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Will you use original spellings or correct them while quoting from sources?
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Will you use the Oxford comma? The Oxford comma comes before the last “and” of a sentence.
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He likes cats, dogs, and elephants.
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He likes cats, dogs and elephants.
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Will you use words that are not common in spoken English like “plethora”?
Once you have answered these questions, your style guide is ready. You can have it in print and place it somewhere so that you can refer it at the time of editing. The guide will help you be consistent throughout your thesis. Be sure to refer it at the time of editing.