My suggestions: - The opening should always contextualize your work in light of the rest of the field. It also communicates your mastery of the field. - Don'

My suggestions: - The opening should always contextualize your work in light of the rest of the field. It also communicates your mastery of the field. - Don't use big words when simpler, smaller ones will do. - Don't be verbose just to fill space, and don't make your paragraphs too long (a common mistake). - Be sure the composition has a well-structured argument/flow. - Your style of exposition is important. The reader should arrive at your conclusions a moment before you do... this makes the reader feel smart, which is important if your audience is academic. - Your bibliography should be large and should communicate both breadth and depth of research.