Stylish writing

Writing with style is not something that is often fostered by academic training, which tends to encourage impersonal, abstract and often dry writing. However, it is possible to make your writing more compelling and eloquent if you are prepared to be a bit creative. Not every section of your thesis will lend itself to some of the suggestions below, but there are places in most theses, such as Introductions and Conclusions, where there may be scope to experiment with your prose.

The following list comes from an article by Helen Sword. It addresses the question of how to write more stylish academic prose. The suggestions can be hard to achieve, but you might find pointers here for adding a bit of panache to your writing.

• Title: Does the thesis or article have an interesting, concrete title?
• Opening: Does the thesis or article contain an engaging opening paragraph?
• Story: Does the thesis or article tell a story?
• Jargon: Is the book or article relatively jargon-free?
• Voice: Does the author write with an authentic and individual tone
• Examples: Does the thesis or article incorporate concrete examples, illustrations, anecdotes and/or metaphors?
• Elegance and craft: Are the sentences carefully and elegantly crafted?
• Verbal fitness: Does the author write clear, clean sentences that favour active verbs and concrete nouns?
• Creativity, engagement, humour: Does the thesis or article strongly convey any or all of the following qualities: creativity, imagination, originality; passion, commitment, personal engagement; a sense of humour?