Abstracts are important. Recently my co-authors and I submitted a paper which we were all pleased with from a technical point of view. However, one of my co-authors was adamant (and rightly so) that we need to polish the abstract and introduction as much as possible. The abstract is useful in highlighting the key results and getting the reader interested in the paper. The abstract should also give a consise outline of the results of the paper. (more…)
Archive for the ‘Writing’ Category
Abstracts
Tuesday, February 24th, 2009It ain’t over till it’s over
Thursday, December 4th, 2008Yogi Berra was baseball coach who is well known for his interesting quotations. One of the most well known sayings attributed to him is ‘It ain’t over till it’s over’. Similar kinds of phrases have been used by countless other sports commentators and even Rocky Balboa and Lenny Kravitz. (more…)
PhD Proposals
Tuesday, November 18th, 2008I got an email from a student who wanted guidance about how to approach some one within a department for a Phd placement under him/her. As I had studied previously at the same university, I felt obliged to send a detailed reply. (more…)
PhD Dissertation
Thursday, October 23rd, 2008Prof. Douglas E. Comer has some excellent advice about dissertation writing. He has also precisely stated the requirements of a dissertation:
A PhD dissertation is a lengthy, formal document that argues in defense of a particular thesis…Two important adjectives used to describe a dissertation are “original” and “substantial.” The research performed to support a thesis must be both, and the dissertation must show it to be so. In particular, a dissertation highlights original contributions… The essence of a dissertation is critical thinking, not experimental data. Analysis and concepts form the heart of the work… In general, every statement in a dissertation must be supported either by a reference to published scientific literature or by original work. (more…)
Elements of Style
Tuesday, September 16th, 2008Whenever my office mates are proof-reading a paper, submitting a report or reviewing an article, we end up discussing some finer points of English grammar or style. The last time this happened, one of my office mates quoted a book called ‘The Elements of Style‘ by Strunk and White. He claimed the book is treated like a bible by his supervisor. As it turns out, this book is definitely a classic: the first edition was published in 1919. (more…)
