The lesson recommends expressing academic judgment without first-person phrases such as "I think." Wording such as "the balance of evidence would suggest" states a reasoned position while keeping the emphasis on the argument. Synthesis paragraphs may tie a group of works together after the individual analyses. The dissertation's word count is finite, so extra analysis in the literature study reduces the space available elsewhere. Every additional paragraph has to justify the attention it takes from another part of the project.
Notable Point · 17:10-20:21
Academic voice and the tradeoffs of a fixed word count
Critical judgment can be expressed in impersonal academic language, while every extra paragraph must justify the space it takes from another part of a dissertation’s fixed word count.