Academic Research Booklet

35

Sounding professional Here are some quick and easy ways to reduce the word count and write in a more academic and professional way. Cut out filler words Then, the, that, so, some, which ; for example: So I googled some possible titles and then asked the librarian if she could order some in them for me , which she did. Go through your work reading sentences without the filler words, if it still makes sense then cut the word out! Use CTRL+F (Microsoft) or CMD+F (Apple) to bring up the search bar and quickly find words in your document. Use of acronyms In the essay: write the name in full the first time followed by the acronym in parenthesis, thereafter you can use the acronym as usual, for example: Consider your phrasing Sometimes it sounds more professional to use a wider vocabulary, the following examples were taken from EE reflections: ‘I got stuck right away…’ becomes ‘I hit a snag immediately…’ ‘I made a new schedule…’ becomes ‘I devised a new schedule…’ Sometimes one or two words could take the place of multiple, for example: ‘To start with…’ becomes ‘Initially…’ ‘A couple of weeks in…’ becomes ‘Early on…’ Use linking words to create flow You should link your sections to other parts of your essay where appropriate by saying things like 'As discussed previously...' or '...this point will be expanded on in the next section.' The tables on the next pages provide helpful words and phrases you might want to incorporate in your writing. ‘The report from the National Health Service (NHS) suggested...' Note: this is how you should present all acronyms in your essay.