{"id":446,"date":"2025-06-20T13:08:25","date_gmt":"2025-06-20T13:08:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/postgradproofreader.co.uk\/blog\/?p=446"},"modified":"2025-06-20T13:08:25","modified_gmt":"2025-06-20T13:08:25","slug":"five-more-common-problems-for-postgrad-students-and-how-pgpr-can-help","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/postgradproofreader.co.uk\/blog\/2025\/06\/20\/five-more-common-problems-for-postgrad-students-and-how-pgpr-can-help\/","title":{"rendered":"Five more common problems for postgrad students and how PGPR can help"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a previous post, we covered some of the common problems<\/a> we support postgrad qualitative students with, to help you to tighten up your writing. In this post, we\u2019re covering a few more.<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Overuse of conjunctive adverbs<\/h2>\n

Conjunctive adverbs are words or short phrases used to transition from one clause to another. You\u2019ve used them all your life, and you might not have known they had a term \u2013 words like \u201chowever\u201d, \u201cmoreover\u201d, \u201cin conclusion\u201d and \u201cadditionally\u201d are all conjunctive adverbs, and can be useful for creating narrative direction or emphasis. However, over-use can make your writing clunky, cluttered and overly formal. Moreover, starting every<\/strong> sentence with a conjunctive adverb can be a jarring reading experience, detracting from the content of your writing.<\/p>\n

Take those two previous sentences as an example; arguably (there\u2019s another one), the \u201chowever\u201d is a useful signifier of a change in direction (from the \u201cusefulness of conjunctive adverbs\u201d to \u201cwriter beware\u201d). The following sentence didn\u2019t need to start with \u201cmoreover\u201d \u2013 it stands up fine on its own. I could have started the sentence before this one with another conjunctive adverb, such as \u201cArguably, the following sentence\u2026\u201d, but did it need it? Arguably, it didn\u2019t. Next time you review your writing, try highlighting every time you use a conjunctive adverb \u2013 can some of them bear pruning?<\/p>\n

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Conjucntive adverbs can be useful linking devices but use them sparingly!<\/em><\/p>\n

Photo by Zulmaury Saavedra<\/a> on <\/em>Unsplash<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Badly positioned ordinal and sequencing adverbs<\/h2>\n

In academic writing, we often use ordinal or sequencing adverbs to structure points in our argument \u2013 firstly, secondly, lastly, finally. They can help your reader to identify discrete points within a broader claim, or guide them through the order of your ideas. But use them wisely!<\/p>\n