Academic Writing Style — Academic Thesis Writing Style Guide
A specialized skill that enhances the writing-coach and proofreader agents' academic writing capabilities.
Target Agents
- writing-coach — Thesis structure design, draft writing
- proofreader — Style verification, format consistency checking
Per-Chapter Thesis Structure and Writing Guide
Chapter 1: Introduction
| Component |
Purpose |
Length Guideline |
| Research background |
Engage the reader, establish context |
30-40% of chapter |
| Problem statement |
Justify the need for research, prior study limitations |
20-30% |
| Research purpose |
State specific objectives |
10% |
| Research questions/hypotheses |
Specify questions to be investigated |
10% |
| Research scope |
Temporal/spatial/subject boundaries |
10% |
| Thesis organization |
Chapter-by-chapter overview |
5% |
Introduction funnel structure:
[Broad] Macro context, societal issues
|
[Medium] Academic context, prior research trajectory
|
[Narrow] Research gap, unresolved questions
|
[Pinpoint] This study's purpose and questions
Chapter 2: Theoretical Background / Literature Review
Organizational approaches:
| Approach |
Best suited when |
| Thematic |
Addressing multiple theories/variables |
| Chronological |
Development process matters |
| Methodological |
Comparing methods is central |
| Theoretical |
Comparing competing theories |
Critical review sentence patterns:
- "While studies have found ~, they have the limitation of ~"
- "The findings of ~ and ~ are contradictory, indicating the need for further research"
- "Prior studies have overlooked ~, which means ~"
Chapter 3: Research Methods
Required components:
- Research design and rationale
- Participants (population, sample, selection criteria)
- Measurement instruments (item composition, validity, reliability)
- Data collection procedures
- Analysis methods and rationale
- Ethical considerations (IRB, etc.)
Chapter 4: Results
Writing principles:
- Report results only; interpretation goes in Chapter 5
- Follow statistical reporting format (APA: t(24) = 2.31, p = .029)
- Always reference tables/figures in the body text
- Report in the order of research questions/hypotheses
Chapter 5: Discussion
Summary of results -> Comparison with prior studies -> Theoretical implications -> Practical implications -> Limitations -> Future research suggestions
Academic Style Rules
Expressions to Use
| Situation |
Academic Expression |
Expression to Avoid |
| Hedging claims |
"may," "suggests that," "it appears that" |
Definitive statements (in survey studies) |
| Causal relationships |
"was found to be associated with" |
"is caused by" (in survey studies) |
| Generalization |
"in the context of this study" |
"in all cases" |
| Self-reference |
"this study," "the present research" |
"I think that" |
| Prior research |
"According to Kim (2023)" |
"Something I read in a paper" |
Hedging Expression Levels
| Confidence Level |
Expression |
| High |
"demonstrates," "indicates," "shows" |
| Medium |
"suggests," "implies," "appears to" |
| Low |
"may," "could," "it is possible that" |
Citation Format (APA 7th Focus)
In-Text Citations
| Type |
Format |
Example |
| 1 author |
(Author, Year) |
(Kim, 2023) |
| 2 authors |
(Author1 & Author2, Year) |
(Kim & Lee, 2023) |
| 3+ authors |
(First Author et al., Year) |
(Kim et al., 2023) |
| Direct quote |
(Author, Year, p. Page) |
(Kim, 2023, p. 45) |
| Secondary source |
(Original, Year, as cited in Citer, Year) |
Minimize usage |
Reference List Format
Journal: Author. (Year). Title. Journal Name, Volume(Issue), Pages. https://doi.org/xxx
Book: Author. (Year). Title (Edition). Publisher.
Thesis: Author. (Year). Title [Master's/Doctoral thesis, University]. Database.
Proofreading Checklist (for proofreader)
Format
Content
1---2name: academic-writing-style3description: A specialized skill that systematically guides academic thesis style, structure, and citation rules. Used by writing-coach and proofreader agents to improve academic writing quality and verify format compliance. Automatically applied in contexts such as 'academic style', 'thesis structure', 'citation format', 'APA style', 'argumentation structure', 'scholarly expression'. However, running plagiarism detection software (Turnitin) and journal submission on behalf of the user are outside the scope of this skill.4---56# Academic Writing Style — Academic Thesis Writing Style Guide78A specialized skill that enhances the writing-coach and proofreader agents' academic writing capabilities.910## Target Agents1112- **writing-coach** — Thesis structure design, draft writing13- **proofreader** — Style verification, format consistency checking1415## Per-Chapter Thesis Structure and Writing Guide1617### Chapter 1: Introduction1819| Component | Purpose | Length Guideline |20|-----------|---------|-----------------|21| Research background | Engage the reader, establish context | 30-40% of chapter |22| Problem statement | Justify the need for research, prior study limitations | 20-30% |23| Research purpose | State specific objectives | 10% |24| Research questions/hypotheses | Specify questions to be investigated | 10% |25| Research scope | Temporal/spatial/subject boundaries | 10% |26| Thesis organization | Chapter-by-chapter overview | 5% |2728**Introduction funnel structure:**29```30[Broad] Macro context, societal issues31 |32[Medium] Academic context, prior research trajectory33 |34[Narrow] Research gap, unresolved questions35 |36[Pinpoint] This study's purpose and questions37```3839### Chapter 2: Theoretical Background / Literature Review4041**Organizational approaches:**4243| Approach | Best suited when |44|----------|-----------------|45| Thematic | Addressing multiple theories/variables |46| Chronological | Development process matters |47| Methodological | Comparing methods is central |48| Theoretical | Comparing competing theories |4950**Critical review sentence patterns:**51- "While studies have found ~, they have the limitation of ~"52- "The findings of ~ and ~ are contradictory, indicating the need for further research"53- "Prior studies have overlooked ~, which means ~"5455### Chapter 3: Research Methods5657**Required components:**581. Research design and rationale592. Participants (population, sample, selection criteria)603. Measurement instruments (item composition, validity, reliability)614. Data collection procedures625. Analysis methods and rationale636. Ethical considerations (IRB, etc.)6465### Chapter 4: Results6667**Writing principles:**68- Report results only; interpretation goes in Chapter 569- Follow statistical reporting format (APA: *t*(24) = 2.31, *p* = .029)70- Always reference tables/figures in the body text71- Report in the order of research questions/hypotheses7273### Chapter 5: Discussion7475```76Summary of results -> Comparison with prior studies -> Theoretical implications -> Practical implications -> Limitations -> Future research suggestions77```7879## Academic Style Rules8081### Expressions to Use8283| Situation | Academic Expression | Expression to Avoid |84|-----------|-------------------|-------------------|85| Hedging claims | "may," "suggests that," "it appears that" | Definitive statements (in survey studies) |86| Causal relationships | "was found to be associated with" | "is caused by" (in survey studies) |87| Generalization | "in the context of this study" | "in all cases" |88| Self-reference | "this study," "the present research" | "I think that" |89| Prior research | "According to Kim (2023)" | "Something I read in a paper" |9091### Hedging Expression Levels9293| Confidence Level | Expression |94|-----------------|-----------|95| High | "demonstrates," "indicates," "shows" |96| Medium | "suggests," "implies," "appears to" |97| Low | "may," "could," "it is possible that" |9899## Citation Format (APA 7th Focus)100101### In-Text Citations102103| Type | Format | Example |104|------|--------|---------|105| 1 author | (Author, Year) | (Kim, 2023) |106| 2 authors | (Author1 & Author2, Year) | (Kim & Lee, 2023) |107| 3+ authors | (First Author et al., Year) | (Kim et al., 2023) |108| Direct quote | (Author, Year, p. Page) | (Kim, 2023, p. 45) |109| Secondary source | (Original, Year, as cited in Citer, Year) | Minimize usage |110111### Reference List Format112113```114Journal: Author. (Year). Title. Journal Name, Volume(Issue), Pages. https://doi.org/xxx115Book: Author. (Year). Title (Edition). Publisher.116Thesis: Author. (Year). Title [Master's/Doctoral thesis, University]. Database.117```118119## Proofreading Checklist (for proofreader)120121### Format122- [ ] Title page format (follows institutional template)123- [ ] Page numbers, margins, font/size comply with guidelines124- [ ] Table of contents matches body headings125- [ ] Table/figure numbers are sequential, title format is uniform126- [ ] Reference list format is consistent (APA/MLA/Chicago)127128### Content129- [ ] Are all research questions answered in the results?130- [ ] Are claims in the introduction consistently resolved in the conclusion?131- [ ] Are technical terms defined at first use?132- [ ] Are abbreviations spelled out at first use?133- [ ] Is passive/active voice usage consistent?
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