1. Writing in Graduate School
Dr. Desiderio Kovar, MS&E Graduate Adviser

2. Use Available Resources
Sanger Learning Center
Offers the only all-inclusive graduate writing assistance available on campus
Student can bring any form of writing – paper, thesis, dissertation, etc.
All students get three free tutoring sessions each semester
Program for Excellence in Engineering Communicationhttp://
Communication workshops for all engineering graduate students – check the web site for dates
Oral Communication and Writing Courses specifically for international students – highly recommended by students who have taken the course in the past

3. Organizing a Paper Introduction Experimental Procedures Results
Discussion
Conclusion
Acknowledgements
Citations

4. Introduction What is it? What does it include?
An introduction to the topic
Why this research is relevant to the field
Context of existing literature
Make it clear where the contribution is.

5. Experimental Procedures/Results
Someone should be able to reproduce your experimental procedures exactly.
Include details like elemental purity
Results:
Can people compare their results to yours?
Include supplemental info. or an appendix if necessary.

6. Discussion/Conclusion
Discussion = Analysis
What did you learn from the results?
What do the results tell you about your material?
Conclusion

7. Acknowledgments/Authors
Who gets included in acknowledgements (as opposed to being listed as an author)?
Anyone who did not make a significant intellectual contribution to the work (e.g. lab technician)
What is the recommended author order?
1st Author – Who did the most lab work?
Last Author – Principle Investigator
Everyone in between – in decreasing order of work contribution

8. Candidacy Abstract Candidacy Abstract
A statement explaining why this problem is worth studying from an academic perspective (note that this is not the same thing as the commercial relevance)
An explanation of the methods and techniques you intend to use to study/address the proposed question(s)

9. Writing Tips Use common sense
Reasonable font choice/size
1-inch margins
Spelling/grammar check
Check the standard on using active/passive voice
Use consistent verb tenses throughout writing
Cite sources correctly