Good Practice in Academic Writing

There used to be a firm conviction that there was both a shared implicit understanding of what constitutes “good academic practice” in writing doctoral and other theses, and a wide-spread belief that doctoral candidates and other degree candidates would adhere to these principles. These assumptions have turned out to be too optimistic. Realisation of this fact has led a number of high ranking academic organizations in Germany jointly to formulate their views on what they consider essentials of good academic practice in the context of theses that are submitted for a degree in Germany. In this article, the discourse participants and their motivation are introduced whereupon generic principles of good academic practice are formulated in eleven basic rules.