Online Writing Lab

Avoiding Gender Bias in Your Writing

Neutral wording One way to use gender-inclusive language is to express yourself in a neutral way. Here are some examples: Police officers / firefighters … (instead of: policemen / firemen) Chairperson / chair … (instead of: chairman) Humankind / humanity … (instead of: mankind) + Always neutral – In some cases, it may appear artificial …

How to Integrate Research Positions Into Your Text

Common expressions in academic texts There are many ways to present a position neutrally, using your own words. Here are some examples: According to/in the view of X/…, X states … X explains/writes about the topic … X analyzes/examines/evaluates/divides Y into different groups/classes/types … X assumes/accepts/interprets/reads Y as … X compares/makes a comparison/distinguishes between Y …

Language and style in engineering sciences

In order for the readers to understand your engineering text as intended, it should have the following characteristics: Impersonal writing style Objective formulations Evidence-based content Neutral language Precise and clear Concise and to the point Formal writing style This is easier said than done, but: writing is a craft, and it can be learned with …

Using AI as a Writing Buddy

What can a digital writing buddy do? When writing, we collect ideas, develop them further, put them into a good order, and discard them again. We write, rewrite, write anew. That is normal, because: writing is a thinking process. By formulating ideas so that another person understands them, the thought develops further. As long as …

Avoiding Plagiarism When Using AI Writing Tools

What is plagiarism? Plagiarism means the adoption of texts, ideas or research results without proper citation. Whether intentional or unintentional: in academia, plagiarism contradicts the principles of scholarly work. Consequences include failed exams, in severe cases even expulsion and failed careers in science and politics.   The most common forms of plagiarism are: 1. Direct …

AI Tools for Academic Writing

Using AI tools AI tools can be meaningfully used at various points in the academic writing process: for example to support … the formulation of the research question and narrowing of the topic the literature search summarizing and understanding academic literature structuring content generating text content-related and linguistic revision proofreading AI tools will not take …

Revising Your Engineering Text

Revise texts systematically The Bietschhorn Model: Ask yourself the following questions for each point, and revise your text accordingly. 1. Content Are content, topic, and research question relevant and aligned? Is the content factually and technically correct, and supported by literature or your own research? 2. Thematic development Is the thematic focus clear and consistent? …

Formulating and Revising Your Draft Text

When writing scientific papers, the first step is often the hardest. Rather than waiting for everything to be perfect, you should view writing as an open process. Just start with what you already know, whether it’s a rough outline, fragments of thoughts, or individual sentences – just get something down on paper. Consider writing as …

Language in Social Science Texts

What makes language scientific? There isn’t the one correct scientific language, but rather a dynamic range of possibilities within a field. However, the language in scientific texts is generally: objective proven neutral precise and unambiguous short and concise formal Write objectively Write about content that is relevant to your research question at that point. Example …

When May I Write “I”?

Writing in the first person Some Social Sciences researchers use the first-person singular, the “I”, as a matter of course. Others tend to prefer impersonal sentence constructions, such as e.g.: “This paper examines the question of whether …”. Some refer to themselves in the third person as “the author” or “the writer.” What counts as …

Can I Write My Own Opinion?

Your actual independent contribution What must necessarily be included in an academic paper are your well-founded, logically comprehensible conclusions based on what you have worked out, read, researched, investigated, thought about, and presented in the paper. This creates something new even in a student paper – something that makes it worth reading. You ask questions, …