Dissertation survival guide

Make sure you pick a thesis based on a topic that you enjoy. I know plenty of people that chose their theses on what they thought their tutors would want to read or what might generate the highest grades. What usually happens is a few thousand words of incomprehensible, pretentious drivel followed by a mini break down. Now obviously dissertations are your chance to be creative, to think outside the box and to showcase your intelligence. It is wise, however, to enjoy the topic you are exploring. Not only will this make the process a whole lot more enjoyable for you but it will make you engage with your essay and put your own unique stamp on it.



Leave plenty of time. You know those people you happen to see in the library casually sobbing their hearts out, their hair in disarray, eyes bloodshot with absolutely no bearing of time or surroundings? They are what you want to avoid becoming at all costs. This is simply avoided by managing your time effectively. Once your thesis has been decided on create a makeshift calendar on word or some tech-y app you may know of and divide up your planning and writing time. Set yourself realistic goals - obviously you aren't going to be in the library for 15 hours straight every day researching Old English verbal variations in the very first week. Aim for 9-5 working hours, or the nocturnal equivalent if you're into that, and then make sure you reward yourself afterwards. Have a long break, a proper meal and some social interaction - deny yourself this in the first week and you are in for a rough ride.

Remember to use your tutor. You have been assigned one for a reason, because the University, contrary to what you might think when you are necking coffee in the library at 4am, does not hate you, and recognises that the task of dissertation compilation can be a lonely old place. So use all your available resources, making sure you have drafts to show to your tutor early on. Feedback is vital and it can be the difference between a 2.1 and a 1st.

Use Scholarly! So by this point you have had your parents, friends, friends of parents, parents of friends read over your dissertation. You are suffering enough. Don't torture yourself further by scrutinising your syntax and spelling, instead use scholarly to help you with these menial tasks! Also, as I am well aware, referencing is the source of all academic evil, often taking longer to source, format and prioritise than the actual act of structuring and writing your dissertation. The software we have developed at Scholarly not only formats your references to the appropriate guide for you, but also suggests references as you write. This means that when  you forget to note down your referencing source (and let's face it we have all done this) there is no more trawling through the web frantically trying to relocate it as Scholarly can source it for you in seconds!

 Finally, maintain a positive mental attitude. You can do it. If needs be, say this to yourself at least  once a day. You have been granted a place at your university for a reason. You are a strong independent scholar and you can and will write a fabulous dissertation!

Tattoo disasters

I've never really been a fan of tattoos, but I can certainly understand the appeal.  We have all heard people say that once they have one tattoo, they are already planning their next one.

I guess I have never really been a fan because I'm kind of jealous.  I know that I would look ridiculous with a tattoo, just like I would in a leather or denim jacket.  They are something that I would simply not be able to pull off.  As a result, I've tried to tell myself that tattoos are unappealing; in order to deter myself from getting one some day and looking silly.

However, if I ever decide to stop the worrying and just get a tattoo, especially ones including writing, I will be sure to make sure that the words and grammar are at least spelled correctly!

Below are just a few images of hilariously constructed tattoos, a gentle reminder to anyone who is going to stain their skin - make sure the words are spelled correctly! 

If you ever find yourself procrastinating (which will probably be quite a lot) and find yourself stuck for cures of boredom, give 'tattoo errors' or something similar a quick Google search and laugh at other people's stupidity.

Except this tattoo.

I wish I was this 'awsome'.

We should change the tattoo laws - you can have a tattoo when you are old enough to spell your own age.

Have you stumbled across some funny tattoo mistakes?  Leave a comment below!  

Facebook Fails and Twitter Troubles - why you should always check your spelling!

Good spelling and grammar are a staple requirement of any formal piece of work, be it academic or for your professional life; you might even have specialist software like Scholarly to help you get it right. But when you get home after a long day and log in to Facebook or Twitter, people tend to be a lot less careful about the accuracy of what they post.

I’m sure most of us at some point have spelled something wrong while hastily updating the world on such gripping life events such as what delicious dish you’re eating for dinner. A lot of the time it’s an honest typo and no-one really notices that there’s anything wrong, but sometimes errors can be fatal – completely changing the context or meaning of your post. Here are a few of our personal favourites which made it into the Scholarly hall of fame...

But leopards are so cuddly (and also hungry and fierce, but mainly cuddly)! Perhaps this person would feel more comfortable if they moved into a leopard colony.

Perhaps a trip to Nandos for lunch will raise the spirits of this unfortunate poster...

It’s always awkward when you mishear a song and get the lyrics completely wrong, but it’s slightly more embarrassing when you think diabetes is in fact a rather fatal beating!

Dr Evil wasn’t too keen about this status, especially considering the cost of getting your face carved into a mountain. But at least this poster is being honest, after all, she hates liars!

This is a personal favourite of mine and probably one of the most disastrous mistakes I’ve seen! It’s a good job that British English prefers the term ‘aftershave’ to cologne or there’d be colons all over our Twitter feeds!

So, there we have it – make sure you get a spellchecker and read and re-read your Facebook and Twitter posts! If you’re not careful your Facebook fails and Twitter troubles might end up on someone’s blog someday...

Bad Essay – is ICT the root of all evil?

Writing coherently in a foreign language is always a difficult skill to master. I remember standing up in front of the class whilst studying languages at school, reading out my essays in the most horrendous broken French. Safe to say the only lasting lesson I learnt was that chocolate croissants are delicious and should be eaten at any and every opportunity.

It seems that many people also have the same problems with English as I had with French, so much so that YouTube user ‘Venus Crest’ has a whole channel just made up of her reading bad English essays aloud! Some of the English in these essays is so bad that many sentences make no sense at all, with hilarious results! Check out one of her videos below, which is reading out an essay entitled ‘Is ICT the root of all evil?’

Jokes aside, being able to write coherent essays in a foreign language, especially English, can be a major issue for non-native speakers. And although sometimes we might laugh at people’s bad English, I’m sure most British people are a little bit jealous of how well other people can speak it – I definitely can’t speak French or Spanish (the languages I studied at school) as well as most non-native English speakers speak English.

That said; it’s always good to look back on those pieces of work with ‘bad English’ to see where you went wrong so you don’t make the same mistakes in the future. But after talking to a number of international students in Sheffield, understanding what it is they’re doing wrong requires feedback, and in a world where everyone is busy and everything costs money, finding feedback is easier said than done.

Luckily, we have Scholarly to sort all that out for you! It’s not quite ready yet but we’re aiming to have a style and structure tool which will help you to structure your sentences better and to use the correct terminology which is appropriate to academic writing – a format which is almost exclusive to the English speaking world. It’ll also give you feedback on what you’ve done wrong and what mistakes are common throughout your essay. With this tool in your arsenal, hopefully you won’t agree that ‘ICT is the root of all evil’!

Follow us on Twitter @bescholarly for updates on when the software will be ready to be tested for free!

Constructing a UK CV - Dos and Don'ts

CV writing is a tricky task for all of us, but writing a CV to the structure of a foreign country is even trickier. Luckily we at Scholarly are here to help you! We’ve provided you with some general pointers to make your task generally less soul consuming.

Don'ts -

• Include a title. Firstly, when starting to write your CV do NOT, I repeat do NOT title your document 'CV'. Unfortunately Curriculum Vitae, though Latinate, still doesn't make you sound any more intelligent. The truth is the document itself is so self explanatory so refrain from the title.  
• Attach a photo to your CV.  Though it’s customary to include photos alongside CVs in countries like Germany, it is highly inadvisable to do so in the UK. Photographs put potential employers in an awkward legal position, so we advise you to steer clear entirely!

Dos-

• Include a brief personal statement. The typical CV requires more than a catalogue of your academic qualifications.  Your personal statement should comprise of a couple of sentences that correctly describe your transferable skills.  In a UK CV this statement should not be extensive and is not entirely essential if you are providing a covering letter. 
• Focus on work experience. After your profile, follows your education section which should be kept to the bare minimum. Next is your work experience information, which is arguably the most vital component of a UK CV. Employers do not want to hear your life story so list your responsibilities and skills acquired succinctly and you can explain further in your covering letter and during interview. If you do not have much work experience voluntary work is also relevant to this section so include as much as possible. My tip would be to avoid over-use of 'I', which can sound awkward and a tad self-centered.
• Show your personality. The latter section of your CV is focused on your extra curricular ventures and personal interests, which gives you the opportunity to showcase your personality. 
• Keep it brief. The typical UK CV should be confined to a maximum of 2 pages, so remember to always be concise. If you do not have room for references at the end then simply put 'available upon request'. 
• Tailor your CV. It's important to remember that not only should you tailor your CV to align with the customs of the country you are residing in, you should also adapt your CV for each specific job application. Doing this couldn’t be easier! Simply draw out the key skills the employer has specified in his/her job advertisement and show how you possess these skills. 
• Proofread, Proofread, Proofread. Make sure your spelling and grammar is spot on. Misspellings, wrongly placed punctuation and poor syntax is not going to impress employers so be obsessive in your editing.  

The final thing about CVs is that everyone has one. Employers will receive countless CVs and you need to set yours apart. Your additional languages and multicultural knowledge will look favourable to your employers so make sure you reflect positively on your international background to set yourself apart from competitors. Be creative, innovative and inventive with your CV to grab the attention of your readers! Follow our advice and you will be on the road to success.  

Focus groups

We held some focus groups last week which were a resounding success! On Thursday 20th and Friday 21st we met with international and postgraduate students from both the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University.  We spoke with them at length, over fizzy pop and gingerbread men, about their essay writing problems and explained to them our mission here at Scholarly.

We discussed what essay problems they usually encounter, how they have previously responded to these issues and the features we are developing to assist these issues.  The features we discussed were met with an overwhelmingly positive response and will further aid the continuing development of the software.

The Scholarly team would like to take this opportunity to thank those students who came along and played a greatly active role in our discussions, offering fresh insight and advice.

All students involved told us they were looking forward to trying out the beta product.  Our beta product is going live very soon, you can sign up for free and have a play round with our features!  Sign up now at www.scholarlyessay.com.

Like and follow us!

Scholarly has ventured into the big, bad world of social media.  Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter, where we can keep you updated on the goings-on here at Scholarly HQ.

 To like us on Facebook, search Scholarly and hit that big thumbs up button.


 We can be found on Twitter @BeScholarly.

Writing a successful covering letter

Guest post by Mark Green

 A covering letter is vital to applying for work experience, paid internships, graduate vacancies and increasingly, for part time jobs. You're normally asked to provide a covering letter alongside your CV when applying for a job. The importance of a covering letter with job applications is great, it is a chance to showcase your writing style and give your application a personal feel, which is something you would stuggle to convey through a shorter, concise CV.  Before I came to university, I had never written one before.  The first time I had to properly 'sell myself' was in my personal statement. I didn't know what to include, or how formal it had to be. The tips below should give you an idea of where to start when writing one.

• Most obvious, but still necessary to mention; tailor each application to the job you are applying for.  You may have much valuable, transferable experience, but it is crucial to emphasise the specific skill-sets you have developed from your previous work experience. For example, if you are applying for a part-time job at a local supermarket, whilst still studying, it would be best to stress how you have developed your interpersonal skills in the past.
• Try to get as much background information about the position you are applying to as possible.  It may be time consuming, especially when you are applying for lots of jobs at the same time, but that little bit of extra research about the current developments of a the company, or the industry that they are in  will help you stand out compared to other candidates.   
• Avoid merely repeating what is in your CV in more long winded ways. A covering letter is an opportunity to give the employer more insight into your motivations and the extent to which you want the job. Another reason not to just repeat your CV is that the cover letter will often physically be attached to it!
• Be clear and concise. Although specifications on the length of a cover letter may vary from job to job, it is generally custom to keep a covering letter to one page. Make your points eloquently, you're essentially advertising yourself.  Employers will often have tens of applications to read and will not appreciate 2-3 pages of you waffling on. Just because you write more on a covering letter than another person does not mean you must want the job more. Quality, not quantity.
• Proofread your covering letters.  You may be applying for several jobs at once and as a result become a little lazy in your writing and editing.  But ultimately, the covering letter will hold sway as to whether or not you get an interview, so it is vital to present a professional appearance.  If only there was some sort of cost-effective software that automatically proof-read your work for you...

Hopefully these tips will give you a hand in finding that flexible part time job or that dream internship. Best of luck with the job hunt!

Have you ever committed any covering letter blunders? Leave a comment below.

Top essay writing tips

Guest post by Mark Green

 When it comes to essay writing, there are probably three groups of students. The first group, a strange bunch, enjoy the whole essay writing process. They enjoy finding and reading their references, as well as having a sense of satisfaction after ordering their piece of work and checking it over.  The second group, which is the position most students tend to occupy, are those who enjoy certain aspects of the process. For instance, they may enjoy the chance to express their opinion, but really despise the mechanical aspects to it.  The final group seem to hate essay writing altogether, to which I would probably ask why you decided to do that specific degree!

Despite these varying experiences, there are some golden tips which most of us can follow that will ease the pains of essay writing...

1) Don't leave it 'til the last minute - This may seem to be a pretty straightforward one, but it is ridiculous how many students keep putting off an essay just because the deadline seems so far away.  You ease the guilt of a deadline that is four weeks away by thinking to yourself, 'oh well, I did attend the lecture and seminar this week, I've worked really hard recently...'  Keeping on top of your reading and doing a little of the essay each day/week can easily put a stop to the all-nighters in the library.  A nervous breakdown in one of your university libraries at 4am, surrounded by soul-destroying energy drinks like 'Red Trojan' and 'Blue Electric' is hardly ideal.

2) Set yourself realistic targets - Try and break down your essay into reasonable chunks.  Trying to dedicate a block of five hours to write solidly isn't realistic.  Cut it down into more bearable and probably more enjoyable chunks.

3) Active note taking - Depending on the required word count and the style of the question, you may be faced with a great deal of reading to do.  You'll find yourself taking notes from books, journal articles, blogs, maybe even videos.  It is extremely important not to copy everything you read word for word, as you may be susceptible to losing marks for lack of originality.  Read an argument; put it in your own words.  You will understand it more for yourself, which is even more important if the essay is a topic you could revise for a later exam. 

4) Answer the question - It may seem a bit patronising, but it is true.  Many students will see an essay question, and then write everything they know about it in order to fill up the word count, without answering the actual specifics of the question to achieve your desired mark.  On a related note, don't be afraid to challenge the question.  If you don't agree with the statement in the question, why not?  Define it in your own terms and justify why you are doing it.

5) Use Scholarly to help you!  Need a programme to quickly and accurately proofread your work for you?  We can do it.  Are you stuck for ideas of what to read next?  Not a problem.  Have you got a 5,000 word limit but you still find yourself 2,000 over the limit with a day to go?  Give it to us; we'll assist you, no issue there.  We are here to give you a hand and leave you to the debating.

Leave a comment below with your top essay tips!

The evolution of writing

 

Academic writing is painful. I discovered this the first time I had to face writing an essay as a 4^th year undergrad on exchange in London. Outside of the English speaking world, the academic essay is mostly an esoteric art form that is the domain of researchers and academic hipsters. I had never seen anything like it.

There was all this hassle of keeping your paragraphs as tight conceptual units within the greater scope of your argument, with their own internal structure, then having to back up anything you said with what other people had said before and this absolute obsession with not using someone else’s words without attribution. Pile up on top of this dealing with the formatting, keeping to the strict word length, and writing in “the language of science” and you can see it was not an easy year. But I learned the system, and became a better writer and a better communicator because of it. [...]

Read more...
(Guest post on The Literary Platform)

We met this chap the other day

 

Nick Clegg visited the Electric Works last week to see for himself what the dotforge programme has to offer (photos just in).

We had a nice chat about how Scholarly is going to take writing to the next level and empower everyone to write better, faster. Ok, essentially we pitched to the Deputy Prime Minister. Claim to fame!

Coding hard

After three very intense weeks of workshops and customer development, we have finally reached the development stage.

Given the limited time at our disposal, we are working towards the Scholarly product vision incrementally by taking on one feature at at time.

We are already working hard on rolling out our first feature: Reference Discovery. This should be most helpful for students writing their dissertations or researchers. The functionality is straightforward: upload your draft / paper, click a button and you will be presented with relevant references to the subject area, your specific topic and related papers to those already cited.

Our beta sign-up is live, if you would like to help beta test Scholarly, don't hesitate head over to the form!

dotforge

Scholarly is moving to Sheffield!

Scholary has been accepted as part of the summer cohort of the dotforge accelerator.

For the next 13 weeks we are going to give everything to make Scholarly happen.

Scholarly is born!

Our mission is to give everyone the power to write better, faster. We doing this by developing software for computer-assisted authoring of documents, bringing Natural Language Technology to market to provide automated proofreading and assistance much beyond grammar and spelling. 

In our collective history, we have gone from hammer and chisel to papyrus, from printing press to typewriter and from there to computers, which now automatically check your spelling, punctuation, grammar, and to a certain degree, style. Why don’t they also check your structure? Why don’t they tell you “it’s a very clever thing you’re saying there, but somebody said something similar before, look, here’s a reference”, or “that paragraph has five different ideas in it, you might want to split it up, like this”? How about, “you need to get rid of 2000 words, so I suggest you cut this, this and this”?

The technology to deliver this is mostly available and ready for prime time. 

Writing is an act of communication, and communication is perhaps the most human of traits. We aim to use the technological know-how and wealth of knowledge resources of an increasingly interconnected world to augment the human capacity for written communication. We want to help everyone write better, faster.

Join us in our mission at www.scholarlyessay.com