extra hints

abstract-cz.tex

@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@
 \usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}
 \usepackage[T1]{fontenc}
 
+\usepackage{lmodern}
+
 \input{metadata}
 \input{todos}
 

abstract-en.tex

@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@
 \usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}
 \usepackage[T1]{fontenc}
 
+\usepackage{lmodern}
+
 \input{metadata}
 \input{todos}
 

ch1.tex

@@ -31,3 +31,22 @@ There are several main commands for inserting citations, used as follows:
 \item The TeX was actually expanded to LaTeX by \citet{lamport1994latex}.
 \item Revered are the authors of these systems!~\cite{knuth1979tex,lamport1994latex}
 \end{itemize}
+
+\section{Some extra assorted hints before you start writing English}
+
+Strictly adhere to the English word order rules. The sentences follow a fixed structure with subject followed by a verb and an object (in this order). Exceptions to this rule must be handled specially, and usually separated by commas.
+
+Mind the rules for placing commas:
+\begin{itemize}
+\item Use the \emph{Oxford comma} before `and' and `or' at the end of a longer, comma-separated list of items. Certainly use it to disambiguate any possible mixtures of conjunctions: \textit{`The car is available in red, red and green, and green versions.'}
+\item Do not use the comma before subordinate clauses that begin with `that' (like this one). English does not use subordinate clauses as often as Slavic languages because the lack of a suitable word inflection method makes them hard to understand. In scientific English, try to avoid them as much as possible. Ask doubtfully whether each `which' and `when' is necessary --- most of these helper conjunctions can be removed by converting the clause to non-subordinate.
+
+As an usual example, \xxx{\textit{`The sentence, which I wrote, seemed ugly.'}} is perfectly bad; slightly improved by \xxx{\textit{`The sentence that I wrote seemed ugly.'}}, which can be easily reduced to \textit{`The sentence I wrote seemed ugly.'}. A final version with added storytelling value could say \textit{`I wrote a sentence but it seemed ugly.'}
+\item Consider placing extra commas around any parts of the sentence that break the usual word order, especially if they are longer than a single word.
+\end{itemize}
+
+Do not write long sentences. One sentence should contain exactly one fact. Multiple facts should be grouped in a paragraph to communicate one coherent idea. Paragraphs are grouped in labeled sections for a sole purpose of making the navigation in the thesis easier. Do not use the headings as `names for paragraphs' --- the text should make perfect sense even without all headings removed. If a section of your text contains one paragraph per heading, you might have wanted to write an explicit list instead.
+
+Every noun needs a determiner (`a', `the', `my', `some', \dots); the exceptions to this rule, such as non-adjectivized names and indeterminate plural, are relatively scarce. Without a determiner, a noun can be easily mistaken for something completely different, such as an adjective or a verb.
+
+Consult the books by \citet{glasman2010science} and \citet{sparling1989english} for more useful details.

ch2.tex

@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
 \chapter{More complicated chapter}
 \label{chap:math}
 
-After the reader gained sufficient knowledge in \cref{chap:refs}, you can jump to your own material and conclusions.
+After the has reader gained sufficient knowledge to understand your problem in \cref{chap:refs}, you can jump to your own advanced material and conclusions.
 
-You will need definitions (see \cref{defn:x} below in \cref{sec:demo}), theorems (\cref{thm:y}), general mathematics, algorithms (\cref{alg:w}), and tables (\cref{tab:z})\todo{See documentation of package \texttt{booktabs} for hints on typesetting tables. As a main rule, \emph{never} draw a vertical line.}. \Cref{fig:f,fig:g} show how to make a nice figure. See \cref{fig:schema} for an example of TikZ-based diagram.
+You will need definitions (see \cref{defn:x} below in \cref{sec:demo}), theorems (\cref{thm:y}), general mathematics, algorithms (\cref{alg:w}), and tables (\cref{tab:z})\todo{See documentation of package \texttt{booktabs} for hints on typesetting tables. As a main rule, \emph{never} draw a vertical line.}. \Cref{fig:f,fig:g} show how to make a nice figure. See \cref{fig:schema} for an example of TikZ-based diagram. Cross-referencing helps a lot to keep the necessary parts of the narrative close --- use references to the previous chapter with theory wherever it seems that the reader could have forgotten the required context.
 
-\section{Some mathematics}
+\section{Example with some mathematics}
 \label{sec:demo}
 
 \begin{defn}[Triplet]\label{defn:x}
@@ -74,14 +74,26 @@ Asd qsd 1sd & DIFFERENT & 234234234 & (no data) \\
 \begin{algorithmic}
 \Function{ExecuteWithHighProbability}{$A$}
 	\State $r \gets$ a random number between $0$ and $1$
-	\State $\epsilon \gets 0.00000000001$
-	\If{$r\geq\epsilon$}
+	\State $\varepsilon \gets 0.0000000000000000000000000000000000000042$
+	\If{$r\geq\varepsilon$}
 		\State execute $A$ \Comment{We discard the return value}
 	\Else
 		\State print: \texttt{Not today, sorry.}
 	\EndIf
 \EndFunction
 \end{algorithmic}
-\caption{Algorithm that executes an action with high probability.}
+\caption{Algorithm that executes an action with high probability. Do not care about formal semantics in the pseudocode --- semicolons, types, correct function call parameters and similar nonsense from `realistic' languages can be safely omitted. Instead make sure that the intuition behind (and perhaps some hints about its correctness or various corner cases) can be seen as easily as possible.}
 \label{alg:w}
 \end{algorithm}
+
+\section{Extra typesetting hints}
+
+Do not overuse text formatting for highlighting various more or less parts of your sentences; if an idea cannot be communicated without formatting, the sentence probably needs rewriting anyway.
+
+Most importantly, do \underline{not} overuse bold text, which is designed to literally \textbf{shine from the page} to be the first thing that catches the eye of the reader. More precisely, use bold text only for `navigation' elements that need to be seen first, such as headings, list item names, and figure numbers.
+
+Use underline only in dire necessity, such as in the previous paragraph where it was inevitable to ensure that the reader remembers to never typeset boldface text manually again.
+
+Use \emph{emphasis} to highlight the first occurrences of important terms that the reader should notice. The feeling the emphasis produces is, roughly, ``Oh my --- what a nicely slanted word! Surely I expect it be important for the rest of the thesis!''
+
+Finally, never draw a vertical line (e.g., in a table or around figures), ever. Vertical lines outside of the figures are ugly.

conclusion.tex

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 You should summarize what was achieved by the thesis. In a few paragraphs, try to answer the following:
 \begin{itemize}
 \item Was the problem stated in the introduction solved? (Ideally include a list of successfully achieved goals.)
-\item What is the quality of the result? Is the problem solved for good and the mankind does not need to ever think about it again, or just partially improved upon? (Is the incompleteness caused by overwhelming problem complexity that would be out of thesis scope\todo{That is quite common.}, or any theoretical reasons, such as computational hardness?)
+\item What is the quality of the result? Is the problem solved for good and the mankind does not need to ever think about it again, or just partially improved upon? (Is the incompleteness caused by overwhelming problem complexity that would be out of thesis scope\todo{This is quite common.}, or any theoretical reasons, such as computational hardness?)
 \item Does the result have any practical applications that improve upon something realistic?
 \item Is there any good future development or research direction that could further improve the results of this thesis? (This is often summarized in a separate subsection called `Future work'.)
 \end{itemize}

metadata.tex

@@ -46,18 +46,18 @@ Dedication. \xxx{It is nice to say thanks to supervisors, friends, family, book
 }
 
 \def\Abstract{%
-\xxx{Abstract.}
-% recommended length around 120 words.
-% THIS IS NOT A COPY OF YOUR THESIS ASSIGNMENT!
+\xxx{Abstracts are an abstract form of art. Use the most precise, shortest sentences that state what problem the thesis addresses, how it is approached, pinpoint the exact result achieved, and describe the applications and significance of the results. Highlight anything novel that was discovered or improved by the thesis. Maximum length is 200 words, but try to fit into 120. Abstracts are often used for deciding if a reviewer will be suitable for the thesis; a well-written abstract thus increases the probability of getting a reviewer who will like the thesis.}
+% ABSTRACT IS NOT A COPY OF YOUR THESIS ASSIGNMENT!
 }
 
-% 3 to 5 keywords (recommended), each enclosed in curly braces
+% 3 to 5 keywords (recommended), each enclosed in curly braces.
+% Keywords are useful for indexing and searching for the theses by topic.
 \def\Keywords{%
 \xxx{{key} {words}}
 }
 
-% If your abstracts are long and do not fit in the infopage (in before the
-% Contents listing), you can make the fonts a bit smaller right here.
+% If your abstracts are long and do not fit in the infopage, you can make the
+% fonts a bit smaller by this setting. (Also, you should try to compress your abstract more.)
 % Alternatively, consider increasing the size of the page by uncommenting the
 % geometry modification in thesis.tex.
 \def\InfoPageFont{}

refs.bib

@@ -18,3 +18,10 @@
   year={2010},
   publisher={World Scientific}
 }
+
+@book{sparling1989english,
+  title={English or Czenglish? Jak se vyhnout čechismům v angličtině},
+  author={Sparling, Don},
+  year={1989},
+  publisher={Státní pedagogické nakladatelství}
+}

thesis.tex

@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@
 % modifying the size of printable area. LaTeX defaults are great.
 % If you feel it would help anything, you can enlarge the printable area a bit:
 %\usepackage[textwidth=390pt,textheight=630pt]{geometry}
-% Also, this is the official recommendation (a bit harsh though):
+% The official recommendation expands the area quite a bit (looks pretty harsh):
 %\usepackage[textwidth=145mm,textheight=247mm]{geometry}
 
 %%% FONTS %%%