Writing Academic Acknowledgements
Use the appropriate tone and form. The acknowledgment page is a common feature at the end of a formal thesis or dissertation, and it can be difficult to know how to include a bit of personal writing at the end of a technical project. It would be strange to follow up your epoch-shattering cancer research study with "Shout out to D-Nuts for the sick waffles he brought me in the lab that one time." Make your acknowledgment page professional, brief and more informal than the rest of your text, but also specific to the people who helped you along the way. The acknowledgment page can either be a list or a more fluid paragraph. It would be fine to write, "I would like to thank Professor Henderson, Dr. Matthews, etc." until you've worked your way through the list. It would also be perfectly acceptable to address each person individually and more personally: "I would like to thank Professor Henderson for her expert advice and encouragement throughout this difficult project, as well as Dr. Matthews for his brilliance in the lab." Some people feel uncomfortable emphasizing certain people's help over other people's help, in which case the list form in alphabetical order is a perfectly acceptable method of writing an Acknowledgment.
Start with the most important teachers. In general, the most important person to thank in the acknowledgment is your thesis advisor or major professor overseeing your project, followed by any members of the thesis committee and other supervising academics directly involved with your project. In general, it's helpful to think in groups, even going to far as to format all the thank-yous of a particular group in a single sentence: "I would like to thank Dr. Stevens, Dr. Smith, and Professors Clemons for their extraordinary support in this thesis process." If you worked with a small committee, it's customary and thoughtful to thank each person for the specific things they contributed to your work.
List other helpers. This might include lab assistants, or anyone who helped you with coursework or contributed to the project itself in any way. Other classmates who you feel like contributed to the project directly would also be appropriate to thank in this category.
Address financial aid you might've received. If your project received any financial support from a foundation or research group, such as a grant, a fellowship, or a scholarship, it would be appropriate to thank the foundation or organization by name and list any personal contacts you might've had with the group. If your scholarship at the University was supported by any fellowships or scholarships, it would also be appropriate to name them in this section: "This project would have been impossible without the support of the Katherine G. Katherine Foundation, the Reese's Peanut Butter scholarship, and the Guggenheim Group."
Put more personal thank-yous and emotional supporters last. Many people like to thank their parents personally, as well as any friends, partners, or other acquaintances who contributed to your emotional well-being throughout the completion of the project at hand. It's probably not necessary to thank your grade-school basketball team, unless the experience contributed to your degree in some specific way. Remember that your friendships and romances may change over the years, so it might be best to keep particularly mushy romances and declarations of love out of your acknowledgment page, so you won't have to see it later if it doesn't work out. It's generally best to avoid overtly personal anecdotes and inside jokes in an academic acknowledgements page. If you want to reference other students' constant joking around in the lab, say, it would be better to say, "Thanks to Joe and Katherine for their friendship in the lab" than "Thanks to Joe and Katherine for dunking my slides in Jell-O when I was hungover."
Writing a Thank-You Speech
Keep it to no more than a minute or two at most. If you're up on stage because you've won some kind of award, or otherwise have the attention of a room full of people, you'll want to make sure you thank the necessary parties involved in your success. But also try to remember that you've got a rapt audience who doesn't necessarily want to hear you read an alphabetical list of names they don't recognize. Keep it brief and be humble.
Prioritize thanking people who are present. In a thank-you speech, there might be many people who played integral roles in your success who are there, and some who aren't. If you're pressed for time, make sure you thank the people who are sitting there. Thanking them will feel more significant and emotional.
Use a short anecdote to thank an important party. If you want to tell a story somehow related to the success you're being recognized for, it can be a great idea. Don't come up with a long-winded story to tell for everybody you're thanking, though. Pick one judiciously and consider telling one that involves more than one person present, so it will be a meaningful and efficient use of your stage time.
Let sincerity trump humor. It can be tempting to want to liven things up with attempts at crude humor or by poking fun at other people present. If you're a talented comedian, it might be possible, but it's a much safer bet to use your stage time to be sincere and brief. Your humble thanks will be more entertaining than ironic jokes. Michael Jordan's Hall of Fame induction speech was widely criticized for being tone deaf and spiteful, talking down to many former opponents and somewhat tarnishing his great legacy. Don't fall in the same trap.
Writing Other Acknowledgements
Get creative with a literary acknowledgment page. If you publish a book of poetry, short stories, or a novel, it's important to give any original periodicals or other publications credit for first breaking your work into the public. Typically, you'll find the book's individual pieces listed according to the individual magazines they first appeared in, in alphabetical order. More personal thanks are generally included after the formal addressing of other publications. Like an academic publication, it's also important to remember to address any financial support you received during the publication of your book. If you received any artist residencies, grants, or fellowships while working on your book, you need to list them in the acknowledgments. Use your writing skills to approach the acknowledgment creatively. Authors like Lemony Snicket, Neil Gaiman, J.D. Salinger, and others have used the form for witty and usually-self deprecating anecdotes about the friends and cohorts they choose to thank.
Shout-out your friends when your album drops. Music acknowledgment pages are some of the most fun to write, if your band is still producing physical copies of your music. The stakes are low and the tone can be irreverent. Use the page to thank: Friends and family Other bands who helped you along the way, lending gear or instruments Recording engineers and label folk Musical inspirations
Write personal notes to ask for permission about public acknowledgment. It could be an awkward situation for someone to be thanked in public for something, especially in a book or other publication, so it's a good idea to write them an individual thank-you note of a more personal nature. By doing this, you can feel free to make as long as you want, before publishing or reading the more truncated public version aloud. In the letter, explain your desire to thank them and explain the publication or event at which you'd like to thank them. Express your gratitude for their assistance and encourage them to get in touch to approve your acknowledgment. More often than not, they'll be flattered.
Always double-check your list, proofread, and check your spelling and pronunciation. It would be a weird thing to misspell the name of a supposedly integral person in your success, or mispronounce the name of the foundation that offered you assistance. This is an important piece of writing, so give it just as much time for revision and proofreading as any other piece.
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