Improving Your Writing
1. Texas Tech Dissertation and Thesis Requirements
and Aid
2. Helpful Online Grammar Resources and Practice
3. Common Errors and Weaknesses of ESL Graduate
Students
Online Resources
Texas Tech Thesis and Dissertations section on
the Graduate School Website
– Texas Tech deadlines and requirements
– Style Guides (Format your Document)
– Thesis on Demand
– News about Dissertation Boot Camps, ThesisDissertation Formatting Workshops (Format your
Document)
Online Resources Continued
• www.grammarbook.com
–
Grammar Tests
• www.grammarly.com
– Insert text into Grammar checker
– Abuse 7 day free trial?
• www.dianahacker.co/rules
• www.owl.english.purdue.edu
– Grammar examples
– Techniques for revising, analyzing tone
Common Grammar Errors
• Tense Consistency
– Scientists have predicted the moon will explode in the near
future. (Incorrect)
– Scientists predict that the moon will explode in the near
future. (Correct)
• Comma Use
• Article Use
• Singular Plural Agreement
– Neither the researcher from Texas Tech nor the researcher
from Idaho State address the issue.
– Neither the researcher form Texas Tech nor the researcher
from Idaho State addresses the issue.
Common Weaknesses
• Redundancy
– The temporal lobe (that exists) (in the brain)
– We see that oxygen is a (basic) essential for all life
forms.
– Africa is rich (and wealthy) in natural resources.
• Over-organizing
• Connotative Implications
– Dr. Z is quite relentless in critiquing my dissertation
proposal. (Dr. Z is mean.)