Writing A Journal Article
There are a variety of factors and important considerations that contribute to writing a journal article. It is important that you understand how to write for academic purposes as there are different types of journal writing, and not all writing styles are sufficient or appropriate for certain audiences. There are a few keys to writing for academic journals that should be recognised, these will be highlighted below:
Academic formality
It is important for you to remember that academic writing is very formal. It is not the same as writing a short story or poetry. Understanding this will allow you, as the writer, to make sure that the tone of the written piece is very professional and free from the use of clichés, jokes or personal anecdotes.
Writing quality
Journal article writing is analysed for its writing quality. It is very important that you take the time to make sure that such aspects as spelling, grammar and format are correct. Academic pieces that have numerous errors will not be taken seriously.
Correct citations
Effective academic journal writing should always be supported by citations and references. Correctly citing your sources is extremely important when writing for academic purposes as it shows that the proper credit is given to the individuals that were used throughout your academic piece for support of subject matter.
One of the most important aspects of academic journal writing is the writing quality.
The content for academic writing should be well identified by the topic. The reader is expecting that the content matter will be related to the topic. Likewise, when you place subtopics within a journal writing piece, the content should match the subtopic. There should be an obvious flow to the article. In fact, in most cases, someone reading your academic piece for specific information should be able to go to a subtopic and obtain all the information that is needed.
The structure of the journal article is also a part of the writing quality. It would be very hard for people to understand what you are writing if the structure is lacking. Proper structure within an article allows you, as the writer, to effectively communicate ideas about a particular topic. Likewise, proper structure also enables the reader to access information efficiently. The ability for others to access information in your journal writing piece is also very important if you desire for it to be published.
The goal of a journal article is to inform an audience about a particular topic in a very professional manner. Academic journal writing calls for:
- Presenting your information in a manner that is simplistic enough for others to read and understand while still having the tone of an academic piece.
- Presenting your ideas clearly when writing an academic piece.
- Being concise, without being completely stripped of the necessary facts that are needed to support your topic.
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Express Proofreading Lancaster
Proofreading Lancaster
Express Proofreading Lancaster is a leading proofreading and editing service. We provide a professional proofreading and editing service for students and to businesses. We offer a variety of services from proofreading, content creation to application and CV review services. Placing an order with us is easy, simply click the Instant Quote button below. Upload your document then our Quote Generator will calculate an individual quote for you, based upon the word count of your document.
Academic Proofreading
Express Proofreading Lancaster is a specialist proofreading service. Specialising in academic proofreading and editing services for students. We cover all academic disciplines, and match your work to an editor with the relevant background and experience in your field. For more information please visit our Academic Proofreading page. Alternatively, to obtain an instant quote, visit our Instant Quote page.
Business Proofreading
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Content Creation
Express Proofreading Lancaster also provides original content creation, our team of editors and writers have years of experience in writing content for new websites and maintaining and developing brands via the use of online blogging to promote brands. We offer two levels of content creation services;
- Website Content Creation
- Online blogging
For more information about our content creation service and how to place an order, please visit the Content Creation page, or contact a member of our team.
Qualified & Experienced Editors
Our proofreading service is of the highest quality, all of our editors have the highest levels of expertise. As a minimum we ensure that all of our editors hold Masters/PhD qualifications, from leading British universities, and have extensive experience in proofreading.
Our Company
Express Proofreading Lancaster was established with the primary aim of providing a professional, reliable and streamlined proofreading service to students, academics and to businesses. Our comprehensive and professional proofreading service means that we can offer a wide variety of services, and offer our services at varying turnaround times to meet your needs.
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Scientific Proofreading
Professional Scientific Proofreading & Editing
At Express Proofreading we provide a comprehensive scientific proofreading and editing service for students, international students and senior academics. We will not only proofread your scientific papers and material but we will also edit accordingly to ensure that your work reads well. We cover all scientific disciplines and match your work to our scientific editors with the relevant background and experience in your field.
Qualified & Experienced Academic Editors
We maintain the highest of standards for our scientific proofreading service by ensuring that all of our scientific editors have the highest levels of expertise. As a minimum we ensure that all of our proofreaders and editors hold Masters/PhD qualifications from leading British universities, and have extensive experience in the field of scientific proofreading. For added peace of mind you may also submit a 500 word sample of your work to be proofread by us for free, to do this simply ‘Register’ and activate your account, then you will be prompted to upload a sample.
Comprehensive Scientific Proofreading Service
Due to the expertise of our scientific editors we are able to ensure that your scientific material will not only be free from spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. We will also check syntax, sentence structure and our editors may also recommend improvements and suggestions that may be relevant to your work. We will also check that your tables and footnotes are accurate and consistent with your bibliography.
Academic Tone
Vocabulary
Consistency of verb tenses
Sentence and paragraph structure
Grammar and punctuation
Presentation and layout
Consistency of reference and bibliography
In academia it is fundamental that work is clear, coherent and is grammatically accurate. This will not only assist the reader in ensuring that they are able to understand the points that you are making but it will also create a positive, professional, academic tone to your work. This will also aid an examiner who is marking your work to understand the points that you are making, and consequently award you with higher marks.
Over the years we have helped many academics improve their work, from students to professors. Often when proofreading your own work errors begin to go unnoticed due to your engrossment in the content. We are able to take a fresh look at your work and ensure that your work is free from any such errors. We have many success stories of students achieving significantly higher marks due to our academic proofreading service.
Our Proofreading Prices
Our prices are based per word and are calculated at 9 pence per word. Our standard turnaround time is 48 hours for all documents under 10,000 words. If you wish to upgrade then please select the option to upgrade to a faster turnaround time at checkout and the additional fee provided below will be added to your total.
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For documents greater than 10,000 words the completion date of your document will be confirmed once your order is reviewed by a member of our team. As a guide for all documents greater than 10,000 words your proofread document will be returned to you within a week. However for an exact return date please feel free to contact us to discuss your order and confirm a turnaround time with us.
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Making Your CV Stand Out
A thorough CV check
Your CV is often the first glimpse a prospective employer or recruiter will gain when it comes to the ins and outs of your professional life. Use your CV as your chance to stand out and showcase your skills and abilities.
Format and design may vary between industries and personal preference, but if you take the time to tailor your CV to every role you apply for and follow our golden rules, your CV should be finding its way to the top of the pile.
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Contact Information
It’s essential to include your contact details on your CV, without these how will employers get hold of you? A phone number and email address should be the minimum – but make sure your email is professional, when it comes to your CV first impressions really do count.
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Headline
Your CV should start with a short statement that outlines who you are and exactly what you can offer. Highlight your skills and attributes that you can bring to the job. This is your chance to sell yourself as the perfect candidate for the role.
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Previous Employment
Write in reverse chronological order of your previous places of work. Include concise details of what the job entailed and the skills you learnt – relate these to the job you are applying for to show you are more than capable. Generally, it is better to include more detail in recent positions.
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Spelling and Grammar
Do a thorough CV check for spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. Get a friend to do a CV check in case you have missed anything as a simple spelling error can be costly.
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Up-to-date
It is better to keep your CV up to date then to include gaps leaving employers to wonder why and what you have been doing. Review your CV on a regular basis with a CV check to add in any skills or experience you may have gained.
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Skills
Tailor your CV for every role you apply to. Focus on the skills, experience and qualifications you have that relate best to the job you’re applying for.
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Pictures
A good rule is to leave a picture off your CV, if you really think that it is required then make sure you choose a professional picture – the same goes for your LinkedIn profile!
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Font and Format
Whilst you want your CV to stand out from the crowd it is best to keep to an easily readable format with uniform text and minimal colour. If you work in more of a creative industry where you want to showcase your design skills, then a separate portfolio could be supplied.
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Achievements
Employers want to understand the value that a potential employee can bring. By stating clear and quantifiable achievements it can help to make your CV stand out. These can be put at the top of your CV or as a sub header on your different positions.
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Length
One of the biggest CV turn-offs we hear from employers is an overly lengthy CV. The key to CV length is to tailor it to your experience – a CV of 1 or 2 pages in length for a graduate may be right, however there is nothing wrong with a CV of 3 to 4 pages for a seasoned professional.
Punctuation Rules
The basics
Punctuation marks are symbols which organise the structure of written language, and indicate intonation and pauses to be observed when reading. Punctuation marks are also used for clarity and to avoid ambiguity. Eg. “woman, without her man, is nothing” has a different meaning from “woman: without her, man is nothing”…
This is a summary of some basic punctuation rules:
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Full stop, or period (.)
A full stop is used at the end of a sentence:
She stood up and went away. She was furious.
It is also commonly used for abbreviations:
Co. (Company)
M.P. (Member of Parliament)
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Question Marks (?)
Question marks are used at the end of direct questions:
Where do you live?
Are you crazy?
Did you do the homework?
They are also used at the end of tag questions:
You will help me, won’t you?
He likes soccer, doesn’t he?
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Exclamation marks (!)
Used to indicate strong emotions:
She’s so beautiful!
What a nice girl!
How interesting!
Also used after interjections
Oh! It’s awful.
Hi! What’s up?
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Commas (,)
Commas are used between items in a series or list. The last two items of the series usually do not need a comma between them. They are separated by “and”.
I like spaghetti, fish, pizza, and couscous.
Commas are also used between adjectives or adverbs:
I’d like to have a big, German car.
She speaks slowly, quietly and eloquently.
After the street address and city, in an address:
83 Ducie Street, Manchester.
Before or after direct speech:
He said, “I hate being treated like that.”
“I’m sorry,” she replied.
Before a coordinating conjunction (for, and, but, or yet, so).
He woke up late, so he had to drive to work.
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Semicolons (;)
Semicolons are used instead of a full stop or period to separate independent sentences:
They woke up early; then they went jogging.
Use a semicolon to separate items in a series when those items contain punctuation such as a comma:
They visited the Eiffel Tower, Paris; Big Ben, London; and the statue of liberty, New York.
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Colons (:)
Use a colon to introduce a list:
He visited three cities last summer holiday: Madrid, Roma and Athens.
To introduce an idea or an explanation:
He had one idea in mind: to see her as soon as possible.
To introduce direct speech or a quotation:
The secretary whispered in his ear: “Your wife is on the phone,”
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Dashes (-)
To introduce parenthetical information:
I put on a blue jacket – the one my mother bought me – and blue jeans.
To show an afterthought:
I explained to him my point of view – at least I tried!
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Apostrophes (‘)
Use an apostrophe to indicate a missing letter or letters in a contraction.
I’m fed up with his stories.
Use an apostrophe plus the letter “s” to show possession.
My brother’s girlfriend is such a sweet girl.
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Quotation marks (“ “)
Quotation marks are used to quote speech, sentences or words.
She said, “I love you.”
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Choosing A Dissertation Title
Highlighting your topic
One of the most important steps in the writing process is choosing a a dissertation title that does justice to your work. The title of a dissertation or thesis must do several things in a relatively small number of words. First and most importantly, your title must tell the readers what you are about to discuss at length in a clear and coherent way.
Adding a creative or unique element
Secondly, your title must also include a creative or unique element, something that lets readers know that your personality is present in your work. Classic titles for dissertations or theses typically contain a common punctuation mark used by many academics: the colon. Titles with two phrases separated by a colon allow you to express two sides of your study and to draw readers into your work through information and creativity.
The most important thing to consider when choosing a dissertation title is your personality. Because the body of your work reveals your writing style, you should remain true to your style in your title. Don’t try to write a title that you feel is attractive but that ultimately misleads readers in some way. Most of your colleagues who will be reading your work have professional interests that are similar to your own. Therefore don’t worry about what will draw people outside of your academic circle because most people who come across your thesis or dissertation will likely be researching a similar topic.
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Divulging Descriptive Information
Your title should clearly and directly report to your readers what the following paper will contain. You do not want to ruin your dissertation or thesis with a sarcastic or misleading title! When choosing words for your title, you should avoid any words with double meanings. Consider what a person searching your title might find. Scholars should never accidentally stumble across your paper when they were looking for something else. Your title should be simple enough to make it easily accessible for someone who is looking for information regarding your topic.
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Keeping Readers in Mind
Always remember who will be reading your dissertation or thesis. If yours is a work that will only be read by academics, you will need to consider your audience before choosing a catchy or humorous title. For example, a humorous or ironic title might not appeal to the scientific colleagues of a nuclear engineer. However, professors of the arts and humanities might appreciate or even encourage humorous or ironic titles. Lastly, you should never include any terms in your dissertation titles that could be offensive to any group of people for any reason.
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Structuring Your Dissertation
Writing a dissertation for the first time may appear a challenging prospect. However, once broken down into stages it should seem more manageable. The first aspect of this is understanding the basics of structuring your dissertation in the best way possible. There is a set pattern that should be followed when trying to write a dissertation. The following is a format and style that is often followed when writing a dissertation:
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Title Page
A clear and good title page should be included.
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Abstract
The abstract should state the aim of the dissertation, give a brief insight into the main literature that is to be covered. Give a brief overview of the methodology used for the research, a brief indication of what the main findings were, and then a brief outline of what the main conclusion of the research was:
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Acknowledgement
This should include those who assisted you with the research e.g. companies who have given you access to data and individuals who have helped you. Recognition in this section should not be exhaustive.
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Table of Contents
This section should list all the headings and sub-headings exactly as they appear in the text. These should also be given page numbers.
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List of Tables / List of Figures
This page should list all the tables that have appeared in the dissertation. The table number, the table label and the page number should be on this page.
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Chapter 1 – Introduction
This chapter should show the importance and relevance of your research. An important part of this chapter is to clearly state the aim and objectives of the dissertation. This tells the reader exactly what it is you are trying to achieve. An aim is what you want to achieve overall. Objectives are smaller stepping stones that you take to achieve the aim.
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Chapter 2 – Literature Review
You are expected to provide a critical review of the existing literature (published and unpublished) on the research topic being studied. It considers the work of theorists in the area and compares their work with others. The purpose of this is to show that you have the ability to examine the literature available and criticise it constructively. It should also show how your ideas are related to previous research.
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Chapter 3 – Methodology
This chapter provides detail of the design of the research and the methodological approach taken to do the dissertation. It explains the ‘how’ and the ‘why’ of the research. That is, it reports the methods of investigation.
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Chapter 4 – Analysis
This chapter should begin with a brief explanation of how results are to be presented. You should break presentation of your results into logical groupings. Much data will be given in the form of tables and graphs.
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Chapter 5 – Conclusions and Recommendations
This chapter should not contain any new material. Your critical evaluation is seen here – what do you conclude overall from the literature and primary data?
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References
Full details of all the books and journal articles cited or referenced throughout the dissertation should be included in this section.
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Appendices
Information contained in the appendices should be considered relevant to the work, but not be too long, detailed or in some form that would interrupt the flow of the work.
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Writing A Compelling Dissertation Abstract
Importance of a dissertation abstract
The dissertation abstract of your research project needs to be well-organised, as you will have a limited word count to convey important information about the research. Keep in mind that a poorly researched and uninteresting dissertation project will make it harder to engage the reader. Therefore you will need to prepare as thoroughly as possible to prepare a compelling dissertation abstract. Below we will highlight some of the key ingredients of a compelling abstract.
Important ingredients of an abstract
- An abstract should be based on a more pertinent research summary. Such a summary includes a short statement along with the study significance and objectives;
- An abstract should have key theories to underpin the dissertation;
- An abstract should briefly explain the research methodology that would be applied to collect information;
- An abstract should summarise the study results and findings; and
- An abstract should have a principal conclusion. The conclusion should be summarised and phrased in such a manner that the readers can easily comprehend the research.
Of course you do not need to use all of these structural components in your dissertation. It will depend on your particular dissertation type and nature. However, all these components are intended to assist you in summarising the main facets of your dissertation.
Types of abstract
There are two types of dissertation abstracts commonly employed: (1) The descriptive abstract and (2) The informative abstract.
- The descriptive abstract: This type of dissertation abstract includes the data (facts and information) provided inside the whole dissertation. In this abstract, you will have to explain the entire research work along with the study scope. It also has the research purpose and methodology. Typically, descriptive abstracts do not include the study results and findings.
- The informative abstract: This type of abstract includes the informative details that will be described in detail later. This abstract is based on the information associated with the study scope, aims and purpose and the research methodology. Besides these, an informative abstract also has a brief summary of results and findings.
A dissertation abstract is an important part of a dissertation and sets an important impression for the rest of your research. Thus this section should be prepared in such a way that it captures the readers mind. It should be comprehensive and everything from the introduction, to conclusion and the chapters should be comprehensible for the supervisor. Remember, key information from all chapters should be briefly explained in the abstract in order for the reader to get immediate insight into the nature and scope of your research project.
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