Dear Sir,
I did write my literature review (Chapter 2) and got feedback from my supervisor ( Dental field). It will require re-arrangement to some of the sections and addition of subheadings. I have included the things that need to be done in the same document under each heading in “RED” of the literature review chapter. The rest of the information’s in black are what I did sent to my supervisor which is the core of my literature review. Most of the information’s are already written apart from what I have mentioned in “RED”. Please read the Literature review before you make any adjustments. Please read the guideline given below for writing. Focus on the flow of the headings and make it easy to follow and read. Write in clear English. Please make sure that there are no errors as it will be my final draft.
write as well the introduction following the points provided under Chapter 1. Introduction.
check each reference carefully and make sure that they are all done perfectly. Harvard system is used as referencing style. Make sure that the references are right and correct if needed.
Those are the rules that needs to be followed regarding the text format and writing style
Headings
Main headings should be in bold, usually font 13 with subsequent subheadings in bold font 12 and sub-sub-headings in bold font 11.
Body Text
Arial font size of 11. Please avoid underlining titles, it looks naf! Please note “et al”, “in vitro” and “in vivo” should be in italics.
Line Spacing
Double line spacing except for subsection headings, titles for figures and tables, tables (single line spacing) and references (1.5 line spacing). Please have a line space between paragraphs.
Margins
A margin of 4cm. must be present on the left-hand side to allow for binding. A margin of 2cm for the right-hand side will ensure that the final guillotining of pages after binding does not encroach on the text. The text should be right and left justified.
Illustrations
These are usually inserted in the text. Care should be taken to position illustrations and tables so that they are adjacent to the text which refers to them. It is not desirable to group all illustration together as has sometimes been recommended.
Line Diagrams & Graphics.
Candidates are expected to produce their own original artwork or computer graphic illustrations. Where outside help is obtained this must be acknowledged in the Report. Reproduction of illustrations from journals or previous reports should not be undertaken without the usual regard for copyright and acknowledgement is required. All illustrations, figures and tables must be accompanied by a figure or table number and a caption which gives sufficient information for the reader to be able to understand their contents without referring to the text. The table caption should be above the table and the figure caption should be standardized throughout your project, either above or below. These should be numbered consecutively. Single line spacing can be used for the figure and table titles.
Use language that is easy to understand. Do not use elaborate wording when something more simple will do
1) Use ENGLISH !
English spelling, which is simple to check by reference to the Oxford English Dictionary, is to be used in preference to American spelling as found in Webster’s Dictionary. If you rely on a computer spell checker make sure that it is configured to use UK English. Usually the default is North American English. American usage and “grammar” are constantly before us in the media, but frequently constitute the linguistic equivalent of grievous bodily harm to what should be a beautiful language. Please make sure that your project does not become another wound.
2) WRITTEN AND SPOKEN ENGLISH
What we say is not the same as what we should write. The same words, written down for all time, are unacceptable. Greater precision and clarity of expression are required.
3) WORDS
Masters students generally have no problems in covering expanses of paper with words. Alas, several things tend to go wrong :-
i) Words are incorrectly spelled. You probably don’t regard spelling as important, but mistakes which would escape criticism in a hastily-written examination answer do mar a project report. Certain words are particularly prone to mis-spelling – check them.
Tendency( for tendency )
occurred( instead of occurred )
temperomandibular ( temporomandibular )
ii) The word does NOT mean what the writer thinks it means.
“When I use a word it means precisely what I intend it to mean, nothing more, nothing less”
( Lewis Carroll ) We all suffer from this type of feeling, but it is fatal to precise communication. In scientific writing, we should take more notice of Voltaire :
“If you wish to converse with me, first define your terms ”
Fortunately both i) and ii) can be avoided by the practice of writing with a dictionary (paper or electronic ) at hand. They are therefore inexcusable. If in doubt, tell the reader your definition rather than risk ambiguity.
iii) The correct word is chosen, but the precise form does not match the context e.g.
Smith and Jones. ….in his paper……
The data indicated that the main factor affecting success was temperature and humidity…
G.V.Black ( 1909 ) states that. ….
English is not the easiest language to use accurately but I hope you managed to spot what was wrong in each case.
iv) Having selected a good word, it is easy to use it too often :
“..this study may be criticised because the Critical Point Dryer was not fitted with a
double-barrelled decombooberator which Bloggs ( 1978 ) , in an authoritative critique of the method, demonstrated to be essential for critical accuracy.
or ( and this one really happened )
The main aim of this study is to study the effect of. …
You may find a Thesaurus helpful as a source of different words which mean the same thing, but usually a passage can be rewritten to avoid the problem.
v) Use the simplest word which conveys your intended meaning. e.g “mouth” rather than “oral cavity”.
Avoid fashionable buzz words like “fabricated” for “made” or “visualise” for “see”.
vi) Be concise . Edit your work vigorously to leave the smallest number of words which will serve.
Jargon, verbiage and obfuscation abound in the dental literature.
vii) Respect the functional classification of words. Although particular roots may give rise to forms which are nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs and so forth, it is wrong to assume that any word can be used for any of these functions according to taste. There are far too many traps for comprehensive listing here, but look out for these :-
Don’t make your own verbs from nouns! Last year someone decided that since “impression” is a useful noun, obviously the act of making one is described by the transitive verb “to impression ” as in the phrase “the teeth to be impressioned were dried…” It would have been just as unacceptable to have written “the teeth to be impressed. .. “.
Whenever in doubt, don’t use nouns as adjectives ! This is a common habit of those who write newspaper headlines and telegrams, where the need to save space is allowed to drive out grammatical accuracy. It is so common that some examples have passed into general use and are called noun-adjuncts, but they remain wrong where appropriate adjectives exist. “Blood cell” and “coffee cup” are examples of accepted noun-adjuncts; we all know what they mean. What, however, is the reader to understand from the words “acrylic resin plugger” ? Is it a plugger constructed of acrylic resin, or one to be used for the plugging of acrylic resin ?
The multiple-nouns-as-adjectives syndrome is noticeable and objectionable. It is always easy to avoid :
A study of full crown zinc phosphate cement film thickness variations becomes
A study of variations in the thickness of the film of zinc phosphate cement beneath full crowns.
Often a simple hyphen or preposition makes all the difference, a well known example being:
” Police repair man killed by truck ” which is rather ambiguous.
” Police repair-man killed by truck ” is less liable to misinterpretation.
It is equally incorrect to use adjectives as nouns. One would not write about “a large red”, whereas “a large red bus ” would be explicit. Nevertheless it is common to read a dental article in which the adjectives “acrylic”, “centric” or “restorative” are used as nouns. “Acrylic resin”, “centric relation” and “restorative material” are correct because the adjective qualifies a noun in each case.
Particular care is required with participles, which can easily become annoying to the reader:
Silver amalgam, being the most suitable material, was selected.
could be rewritten :
The most suitable material, silver amalgam, was selected.
or in simple English :
Silver amalgam was selected because it was the most suitable material.
It is only when you read the third version that it becomes apparent that the statement is pretty daft in the first place. There is a great deal more which could be written about “words” but we shall leave the topic with a further reminder to be economical with them. Imagine that every word costs you money; when your project is typed it will. On the other hand, do not ruin your writing just to be brief: “Trim words but not the meaning ”
4) SENTENCES
There is no possibility of providing a comprehensive guide to sentence construction in this handout. A few remarks may nonetheless be helpful.
i) Remember that every sentence needs a subject and a verb. It is common to have an object and a variety of other qualifying words or phrases. The subject and verb must agree with one another and there must be consistency in the use of tenses. If in doubt, remember the mnemonic
“KISS”
Keep It Simple, Stupid !
Unless you are talented, it is better to write short sentences and thus avoid the pitfalls of the complex sentence with its opportunities for confusion. Most difficulties arise because the careless writer separates parts of the sentence which need to remain together, or because he places the components of his sentence in a ludicrous sequence.
A simple example is the division of the subject from its related verb by a lengthy description:
The articulator, a specially modified fully adjustable Denar D5A fitted with two brackets constructed by the Workshop to permit the attachment of a measuring rig consisting of two dial gauges and thoroughly coated with petroleum jelly to prevent the adhesion of the dental stone used to attach the cast already described in section 1.2, was turned upside down.
This type of mistake is common in project reports and usually shows that the writer has not thought out what he wants to say before putting pen to paper.
It is equally frustrating to divide up the verb:
The lid was, after making sure that the pressure inside the container had been fully vented,
removed to allow access to the specimen.
“was removed” is the verb – leave it in one piece! It is considered a particular vice to “split” infinitives, as in the famous Star Trek introduction:
“To boldly go where no man. …”
Even an adverb can disrupt the flow of ideas if thoughtlessly inserted in the wrong place and adverbial phrases do so magnificently :
“The apparatus was then, taking great care not to cause vibration or to disturb the orientation of the material under test, placed in the furnace. ”
The solution should be obvious. If in doubt, draft out your sentence and then identify the key elements to see whether or not the structure can be improved.
ii) Take care with conjunctions. It is easy to fall into the “multiple and ” trap :
I did this and then that and then something else and. …..
Use punctuation or division into smaller sentences to eliminate the problem. In scientific writing it is usually poor style to begin sentences with conjunctions, prepositions or any other word whose legitimate function is to link phrases within a sentence
And a further difficulty was encountered. …..
But when the results were examined. …
Because the first method took too long. …
Although the apparatus disintegrated. …
iii) Beware “comma-itis”. If you feel the need to insert multiple commas it is probable that your sentence is poorly designed. If not, maybe it would be fine without them. Many commas used by the well-intentioned do not need to be there at all.
iv) When you write a sentence, do what I am doing now and READ IT CRITICALLY before producing the definitive version. A word processor simplifies this task, but you can do the same job by drafting your work in PENCIL ( to permit erasure ) and leaving every other line blank (“double spacing “) so that insertions can be made. Most serious writing goes through three or four drafts before it is “polished”
5) STYLE
It is possible for written work to be grammatically sound and yet to fall short of acceptable “style”. There is an element of “taste” or “value judgement” involved here :
i) The most frequent departures from acceptable style in scientific writing consist of inappropriate tenses or use of the first and second person:
It seemed clear that the method fails to give accurate results
You would not expect. …..
I could only obtain brand X. ….
ii) Abbreviations also cause trouble. The awful “etc.” is usually a way to say “I don’t know the rest or if I do I’m too idle to write it down for you ”
As a general rule, only use abbreviations after you have used the full form once with the abbreviation in parenthesis. I know and you know that an S.E.M is a scanning electron microscope, but it is considerate to define the abbreviation in case someone else does not.
5) PARAGRAPHS
Large expanses of solid text are tedious. As you will see in this document, it is not difficult to aid the reader by dividing your work into paragraphs. Distinct subjects may be picked out by the use of sub-headings. One major advantage of a decent word-processing software package or a separate “outline” programme on a personal computer is that you can plan the organisation of your subheadings and paragraphs before you “fill in” the detailed content. This avoids the built-in tendency to start at the beginning and “ramble on” to no particular end. Often M.Sc students get carried away with these novelties and use them too much. You should not begin a new paragraph just because you feel that the one you are writing is too long. Paragraph breaks must arise logically from the sense of the text. A new topic or area of discussion warrants a new paragraph, but it is disorienting in the extreme to find that a new paragraph simply continues the message of the old one. The following example is from an actual report:
The material consists of two pastes which are mixed together to initiate the setting reaction. The white paste is the base and contains a mercaptan rubber. The other paste is brown.
The active ingredient of the brown paste is lead peroxide. ……
When writing a review of the literature, it is particularly important that you do not get too far into new paragraphs without making it clear what reference(s) you are discussing. The reader will assume that a new paragraph indicates a change of topic and may not associate what you write with a reference cited some time earlier. In the last few years carelessness in the Literature Review has provoked much criticism at project vivas. Be warned that citing references properly is a “must” and check:
• That all of your writing is connected to a “source”.
• Papers referred to in the text are in the Bibliography
• That any papers taken out of the text, due to editing, are removed from the Bibliography
• Abbreviations used are the approved ones
A review of the literature must not contain too many excerpts or quotations from the sources. If you quote sources which are obtained from a review article and you do not have the original paper you
must refer to it as “cited in “ and give the reference for the review.
7) FINAL COMMENT
Parents generally cannot comprehend why other people may find their beloved offspring revolting. So it is with written work. If someone else edits your efforts and passes comments LISTEN TO THEM. There is probably something wrong even if you are too close to the problem to see it. It takes a long time to read a draft and make corrections and it should be regarded as a compliment that someone takes your work seriously enough to do so. Nothing is more galling than to see a second draft come back with the same errors as the first. Unless you are sure that you are right, accept advice!
Since this document was first written, standards of literacy have declined to the point where two mistakes are of epidemic proportions:
The apostrophe
Usually this means that letters have been omitted or denotes a possessive relationship (or both). It is NOT necessary for simple plurals as commonly seen on market stalls nowadays:
Banana’s 65 pence Orange’s 35 pence
“Derrick’s handout” is correct and obvious. If there were two Derricks then it might become “ the two Derricks’ handout “ What is often confused is “it’s” – a contraction of “ it is “ and “its” which is the possessive of “it” AND DOES NOT HAVE AN APOSTROPHE:
“It’s nice to be on a programme at the Eastman”
“I put the articulator back in its case “ Both are correct.
Misuse of personal pronouns
“Derrick is a person that says rude things about my crown preparations” is incorrect. Since Derrick is arguably a human, we have “who” for the job. ( But “Derrick says rude things about my crown preparations” is more concise )
There is confusion about “who” and “whom” that may be to blame. Whom is appropriate to the object, who to the subject. The question “Whom did you telephone ?” is correct but “Who did you telephone?” is more likely to be heard ! Oh dear ……..
Many thanks
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