# 9. Writing style: When in Rome…

The writing style you should use in your thesis depends first and foremost on the customs and traditions in your academic discipline. If your academic program provides you with a ‘How to write your thesis’ guide like this one, use the one provided by your institution. Excellent guides are Neugeboren & Jacobson (2005) for writing in economics and Eco (1977) for the humanities. Secondly, consult your supervisor to hear her personal preferences. If these academic customs and personal preferences run counter to my advice, let the powers that be prevail and ignore my blabla. In case I am your supervisor, I can advise you to follow my suggestions.

Despite the appeal of investigating a mystery, following leads and reopening cold cases (see 2.4), your research report should not read like a ‘whodunnit’ detective story. Do not let your readers engage in a hunt for clues about the identity of the murderer, the motive for the murderer, or the murder weapon. A good detective story hides crucial details about important elements of the case, only to uncover them with maximum effect on the curiosity of the reader as the investigation unfolds. In contrast, a good research report informs the reader right from the start who committed the crime. You present the evidence supporting the conviction, and systematically discuss all the suspicions that proved to be unfounded, and the reasons why. Rarely does a research report involve a plot twist.

Neither is your research report a chronological story of an adventure trip to the jungle that you talk about to people you don’t really know at your niece’s 7th birthday party. The readers of your research report are very impatient. Show your readers two pictures of your travel destination (max) and give them a map of where they can find it. Do not show a long series of pictures of every inch of the trail, accompanied by a story about how you got sidetracked on day 3 of the hike and how you ultimately discovered the signs back to civilization. You kept a log of your journey, and for those fellow travelers who also want to get to the waterfall in the middle of nowhere you have all the details ready, along with a list of equipment to pack and suggestions on how to avoid the swamp on day 3.