Published on
June 27, 2024
by
Hannah Skaggs
Revised on
January 28, 2025
IKR stands for “I know, right?” and shows strong agreement.
It is a casual initialism often used in texting and chat to show someone you agree with what they’ve said.
So why not just say “I know” (IK)? In writing, where tone can be hard to discern, “I know” can come across as if the person didn’t need to say what they said because you already know it. This might seem rude if they were venting or looking for empathy rather than just sharing information. Adding “right?” to the end is literally asking if they agree, a question that is unnecessary but shows you care about the other person’s perspective.
IKR is for casual use only, so there are no rules about using punctuation with it or capitalizing it. Although the phrase it stands for is correctly written with a question mark, it’s fine to write IKR without a question mark.
Published on
June 27, 2024
by
Hannah Skaggs
Revised on
November 15, 2024
LMK is an abbreviation for “Let me know.”
The letters in LMK may be capitalized or lowercased, but the meaning is always the same in texting and chatting. When a person says “LMK,” they’re usually asking for information that they don’t expect to get immediately but that will probably be available soon.
To understand how to use LMK, see the explanations and examples below.
Published on
June 27, 2024
by
Hannah Skaggs
Revised on
December 3, 2024
FYI is an initialism meaning “for your information.” While “for your information” is a prepositional phrase, FYI is most often used as either an interjection or a noun.
FYI in a sentence examplesFYI, the meeting starts at 3 PM.
FYI, the restaurant we were talking about is closed on Mondays.
I sent you an FYI about the new project guidelines.
Published on
June 26, 2024
by
Hannah Skaggs
Revised on
March 6, 2025
A research question is a question that establishes what you aim to learn by conducting your research. It asks for information that is missing or the solution to a problem, which many papers describe in a problem statement.
The purpose of a research question is to give your research proposal or paper a sharp focus. It helps both you and your readers stay locked onto the knowledge you’re trying to gain or the problem you’re trying to solve. In a sense, writing a research question is like setting a goal and posting it prominently on your wall.
TipGenerative AI tools can be helpful resources when brainstorming research questions. However, it’s essential to use these tools responsibly. QuillBot’s Free AI Checker helps make sure you don’t accidentally pass AI content off as your own work.
Published on
June 26, 2024
by
Hannah Skaggs
Revised on
March 21, 2025
The Oxford comma appears just before and or or in a sentence that lists three or more items.
We can buy two pies, one cake, or eight donuts.
The sentence above shows an Oxford comma example: it’s the comma after cake. This punctuation mark is also called the Harvard comma or the serial comma, which makes sense because it separates items in a series.
Published on
June 26, 2024
by
Hannah Skaggs
Revised on
March 4, 2025
A dissertation is a paper explaining the individual research that a student has conducted to earn a degree. It usually consists of several sections or chapters and follows the rules of formal academic writing. The degree candidate chooses the research topic.
In the United States, a graduate student writes a dissertation to earn a doctorate degree. For instance, they may write a PhD dissertation to earn that degree after they have already completed a bachelor’s and master’s degree. There are some exceptions, though. One is that the paper a medical student must write in the US to earn an MD degree is often called a thesis.
However, this dissertation definition doesn’t apply in many other countries. For example, European universities typically call the document a dissertation if the candidate is working toward a bachelor’s or master’s degree but call it a thesis for a doctoral degree.
In short, a thesis and a dissertation are basically the same—long papers written to earn a degree. But the two words tend to be used in certain ways depending on the country or the academic field. Read on for some answers to basic questions about dissertation meaning and parts.
TipGenerative AI tools can be helpful resources when researching and planning your dissertation. However, it’s important to use these tools responsibly. Our AI Checker Android App and AI Checker iOS App can help ensure you don’t accidentally pass AI content off as your own work.
Published on
June 26, 2024
by
Hannah Skaggs
Revised on
December 18, 2024
Self-plagiarism, or auto-plagiarism, means reusing ideas or specific wording from your own previously submitted or published work.
Yes, you can plagiarize yourself just as you can plagiarize someone else’s work. And even if you cite yourself, heavy reuse can still be plagiarism.
This form of plagiarism can overlap with othertypes of plagiarism. For instance, you might copy something you’ve written before into your work, intending to go back later, rephrase it, and add a citation and a couple of new points. But maybe you forget, making it accidental plagiarism as well as self-plagiarism.
Or you could paste in a couple of paragraphs from your previous work on the same subject, and just change some of your word choices to make it a little different. If you don’t provide a citation, this would be classified as paraphrasing plagiarism as well as self-plagiarism.
Self-plagiarism occurs when you duplicate your work. Consider a few examples:
Self-plagiarism examples
Submitting the same paper for both literature and English class
Publishing the same article in two different journals
Using the exact same content you wrote for your blog as part of a nonfiction manuscript
TipQuillBot can help you effectively take notes and keep track of your ideas to avoid accidental self-plagiarism.
