Check the following:

•  Quotes and citations (see Citation)

•  Spelling and grammar (have someone proofread your work)


Things to bear in mind when writing an academic text:

Make sure your sentences are easy to understand:

  • Keep main clauses and subordinate clauses together
  • Break up long sentences into shorter ones or use punctuation such as colons and semicolons
  • Active, not passive
  • Make sure the subject and verb agree

Avoid filler words and unnecessary phrases:

Examples of unnecessary words:

  • Past experience
  • The reasons noted
  • The results achieved
  • The disruptions that occurred
  • Common filler words include: purely, mostly, but, well, exactly, namely, also, definitely, so to speak, simply, to this end, ultimately


Last but not least:

Formal criteria:

Pay attention to your instructor’s specifications here. There are a number of criteria that often apply:

  • Scope: printing on one side of the page, page numbering (not including title page), number of pages or characters specified by instructor (in case of doubt, it is a good idea to consult the study and examination regulations for your discipline)
  • Body text: paragraph justification and hyphenation at the end of the line, headings aligned left, line spacing: 1.5 lines, leave sufficient margins for corrections (3 cm)
  • Fonts: Times New Roman or Arial, 12 pt


The formal structure of your paper:

  • Title page
  • Table of contents
  • List of abbreviations, if applicable
  • List of illustrations, if applicable
  • Introduction
  • Main or central body text
  • Summary/conclusion/outlook
  • Appendix, if applicable
  • Bibliography
  • Affidavit (you can generally get the template for this from the examinations office responsible for your discipline or from your institute’s website)
  • Keine Stichwörter