The University of
Oklahoma

Scientific and Technical Writing and Research
GEOL 6970


Online Course

Unit 3:  Grammar and Style Review and Revisions


Due Date:  April 15, 2003
Procedure:  mail to instructor
beyondutopia@lycos.com 

Scientific and Technical Writing and Research Menu

Home Page
Unit 1:  Your Research Proposal -- initial writing and research
Unit 2:  Your dissertation or thesis:  Outline, section drafts, understanding abstracts
Unit 3:  Grammar and Style Review // Revisions
Unit 4:  Final Report

Other Resources


American Geological Institute
Geological Society of America
American Association of Petroleum Geologists
Society of Exploration Geophysicists


Turabian Style Guide
Author Information:  GSA



Structure of Tasks:
 
You will be required to review the most common grammatical and stylistic problems found in thesis and dissertation writing.  You will complete online reviews.  Then, you will be asked to review your own drafts and to make revisions.

Specific topics:
    Comma splices
    Fused sentences
    Sentence Fragments
    Capitalization and abbreviation consistency
    Citation style for earth sciences (Geological Society of America or AAPG can be used as a guide)
    Active voice (avoiding passive voice)

Required Work: 
  *  Go to Grammar Bytes and review the contents
     *  Complete Exercises 1--5 which deal with comma splices and fused sentences.  Please review the rules.
     *   Complete the Sentence Fragment exercise linked here.
     *    Review your drafts and revise them so that they are in active voice as much as possible:  Please refer to Section 2.2 in NASA's Earth Observatory Style Guide
     *  Carefully review and revise your drafts to identify and correct comma splices, fused sentences, or sentence fragments.  Please feel free to collaborate with classmates and form review groups by emailing each other your work.

Useful Links:
 
Purchase Geowriting, 5th edition (published by the American Geological Institute)
   Sentence Fragment Review and Drills
   Purdue Writing Lab Sentence Fragment Review
   Writing Survival Guide
    Apostrophe Review  (Skillswise)
    Getting the Tense Right (Skillswise)
    Personal Pronouns (Skillswise)