Vertical lists, sometimes referred to as ‘dot points’, have an important role in writing. The Style Manual (2002, p. 141) describes their role as a ‘visual signpost’ to help ‘readers absorb information, particularly when they are scanning material’. The material itemised in a list should have some importance to justify the emphasis.…
In the first article of this series ‘What is Find and Replace? And Why You Should Be Using It’, you were oriented to the Find and Replace dialogue box and the many options at your disposal when creating a Find and Replace search. These next articles carry this theory over…
Knowing the difference between active and passive voice is important for academic writing. It’s important to state upfront that neither voice is wrong per se; when used correctly, they each serve a purpose in academic writing. This article will explain the difference between the active and passive voice and our…
This is the third, and final, instalment in our ‘Understanding Verb Forms’ series. We encourage you to catch up on ‘Understanding Verb Forms—Part One’ and ‘Understanding Verb Forms—Part Two’, which cover plain and past tense form, and past participle form respectively. This article will explain the present participle form of…
You may have read some articles from our ‘Commonly Confused Words’ series: a series where we explain the difference between some of the most misused words in academic writing. As a tangent to that series, we want to spend some time exploring the confusing aspects of tense. What is the…
Our previous article, ‘Using Lists—Vertical Lists’, outlined how to create emphasis in your writing through effective construction of lists. What happens if you have a list, but don’t want that much emphasis or visual signposting? What if you don’t have the physical space to present dot points? Horizontal lists, lists…
You might remember from your early schooling that it’s a pretty safe bet to put an apostrophe before an ‘s’ at the end of a word. Chances are you’ll need one there, right? This is not always the case. There is nothing more irksome for a reader than to wade…
Increasing Numbers of Students are Using Ghostwriters In early 2016, I wrote an article on ghostwriting—more specifically, on the quality of the output of the ghostwriting industry. This article was the first study into the actual quality of ghostwritten papers, as opposed to the relatively common, and quite honestly redundant,…
My previous blog referenced the Macquarie Dictionary’s definition of plagiarism: Plagiarism (noun): 1. the appropriation or intimidation of another’s ideas and manner of expressing them, as in art, literature, etc., to be passed off as one’s own. 2. a piece of writing, music, art, etc., appropriated or commissioned from another and…
Did you know that ‘swum’ and ‘swam’ are both correct forms of the verb ‘swim’? This article explains how to use irregular verbs, such as ‘swim’, correctly as their role in a sentence changes. This three-part series explores the tricky transformations of verbs as they move from plain form, to…