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[new_anth]

Good morning.

I'm turning in part of a dissertation chapter for a fellowship application (about 25 pgs) and I'm still a bit new to writing conventions for dissertations. I'm wondering how frequently people "signpost" in their writing-- what I mean by that is: break text into sections with headings; include text like "we have just discussed x and now we will move to y" throughout the body (rather than just in an introduction); etc.

I tend to do this frequently for a few reasons (It helps me organize my writing by providing structure and organization for the development of my argument. I'm afraid my reader's mind will wander and that it will return after a few paragraphs and "Wait. What is this about again?") but it might come across as juvenile (i.e., conveying a mistrust in my readers).

Thanks!

[cgfunmathguy]

There is nothing wrong with organizing your thoughts, and whatever helps you do that should be fine. If your readers (committee members) don't like it, they'll ask you to remove it.

[polly_mer]

Why wouldn't you signpost?

Done correctly, signposting isn't juvenile.  Instead it is a valuable way to help your audience understand your organization and be able to find the parts of the writing that is important to them.

A 25 page application trying to convince people to give you money should be as nicely signposted as you can make it.  That way, busy reviewers can turn precisely to the parts that are on their rubric and check off the boxes.  You will greatly improve your chances of getting the money if you signpost your application to make it easy for your reviewers to find the relevant bits because very few people will closely read your entire twenty five page application to hunt for the relevant bits.

[verysneaky]

To some extent, this varies by discipline. However, even in English (the least signpost-y field of all, I think), signposting is a good idea and a commonly accepted stylistic device.

I found that my high school teachers and undergrad profs all trained me gradually not to signpost, but then my grad profs trained me gradually to do it all over again. Now I find myself doing it more and more, especially in documents as long as the one you mention.

I would also say that signposting is extremely extremely helpful in early drafts, so I find that the most helpful thing to do is to signpost like mad and then, as you are doing final revisions, decide how much of the signposting to take out.

[promovenda]

I have gotten various feedback on this. At a recent seminar, two people said I could do more of this. However, one professor thought that adding it would make it seem like a school book rather than a dissertation. Not sure exactly what I'm going to do - insert more "signposting" or leave it out.

[cranefly]

I had to read an entire diss that was full of signposting WAY too much. Every friggen paragraph was about the last paragraph. It was very frustrating, and I felt it assumed the reader was really stupid.
Just be careful how much you do it, and do it in a clever way. Your reader doesn't need a summary at the end of each section--just link it to the next with a logical statement about where the paper is going.

[prof_smartypants]

I didn't do this enough as an undergrad and masters student. By the time I got to the diss stage, I had finally realized its usefulness. That said, I find that I use subheadings a *LOT*, but I feel that I limit the "we've just discussed x and now we'll move onto y" language in my text. I try to use less "obvious" transitions to lead the reader into the next subheading. As others mentioned, I think this is mainly a holdover to what was drilled into me as an undergrad [English major]. I simply can't make myself insert the text, even if it is warranted. As long as it's not overdone it can be very useful.