This is a draft cheat sheet. It is a work in progress and is not finished yet.
Introduction
Topic sentence to set the scene of your paper |
General to specific information |
Thesis statement |
The thesis statement has to actually be a statement on your topic and has to cover the entire scope of the paper
Body: between-paragraphs
Logical order between paragraphs (cf. organisational patterns) |
Clear and natural flow |
Use conjunctions and linking words |
Balance the size of the paragraphs (9-12 lines on average) |
Body: in-paragraphs
Topic sentence |
Body (cf. organisational patterns) |
Climax sentence |
By only reading topic and climax sentences, you should be able to deduce a logical and coherent outline. Bad TS/CS = bad structure
Conclusion
Topic sentence to conclude your writing |
Summarise and rephrase thesis statement and arguments |
Recommendations or implications for future research |
Climax sentence to conclude everything |
Do not add new information but instead, try to sum up everything you have said in a clear and convincing way. Make sure the conclusion mirrors the introduction.
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Writing: general
Avoid informal words (big, huge, totally, ...) |
Check spelling & grammar |
Look up academic synonyms (but do not overuse them) |
Formal
Verdana 10, spacing 1.5 |
Alignment justified |
Paragraphs are coherent blocks which are separated from each other by a blank line |
Paragraphs start at the left hand side of the paper (no indents) |
Page numbers bottom right, not on first page |
No headings or subheadings |
No images in-text (optional: in appendix) |
Some of these formalities will be different in other cases, but for your management report, these are used to assure equality and comparability for all reports.
List of references
Style |
Harvard Reference Style |
Order |
Alphabetical |
Purpose |
Other people need to be able to find the sources you have used |
Try to find good and credible sources. Do not just list an entire bibliography: only the ones you actually use!
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In-text referencing
Style |
Harvard Reference Style |
Quotation |
Smith (2008: 15) states that "now, most cars are red." |
Adjust words in quotation |
Smith (2008: 15) states that "[in the year 2008], most cars are red." |
Leave out text in quotation |
Smith (2015: 8) discusses that "this happens because of three reasons: (...) and finally it is because of globalisation." |
Paraphrase |
Smith (2008: 15) argues that most cars can be considered red. |
Summary |
In general, most cars can be considered to be red (Smith 2008: 15). |
Several sources |
In Smith (2008: 15) & Williams (2017: 193) it is clear (...) |
More than three authors |
Smith et al. (2015: 37) observe (...) |
Same author repeated without a different author in between |
Smith (2008: 15) states that "most cars are red" (...) Cars can also be blue (ibid.: 19). Attention! Adjust year or page number when necessary. Only use (ibid.) when on the same page. New page = start over |
Footnotes
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Never! Instead insert end notes at the end of a chapter |
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