How to Write Acknowledgements

wikihow.com/Write-Acknowledgements

Any time you publish work or are recognized publicly, it's good form to thank the people
who've helped you along the way with an acknowledgment. It can be a tricky piece of
writing, though. What tone to use? How formal should your thanks be? Who should you
thank? Whether it be academic acknowledgments, public thanks, or other reasons for
thanking people, wikiHow can help you offer your gratitude in style. See Step 1 for more
information.

1
Writing Academic Acknowledgements

1. 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 and brief, but also specific to the people who
helped you along the way.[1]
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
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 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.

2. 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."

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3. 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.

4. 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
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 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."

5. 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."

2
Writing a Thank-You Speech

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1. 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.

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2. 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.

3. 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.

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 4. 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.

3
Writing Other Acknowledgements

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1. 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.

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2. 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

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3. 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.[2]
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.

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 4. Always double-check your list, proof-read, 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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Community Q&A
How do I write acknowledgements for a project?
wikiHow Contributor
If you have written work accompanying it, you can use the final page to include
acknowledgements. If you have to give an oral presentation, then either very briefly
at the start or end will do fine.
Not Helpful 6 Helpful 19
How do I end the acknowledgements?
wikiHow Contributor
You don't have to write anything in particular at the end of the acknowledgements,
but if you'd like you could thank God, or you could say something like, "Thanks also
to anyone I've forgotten who was instrumental in this project."
Not Helpful 0 Helpful 4
What do acknowledgements look like at the end of a movie?
wikiHow Contributor
The [producers/director/crew] would like to also thank: Fred Joe Amy Mile Brian
Sanders
Not Helpful 4 Helpful 10
What is the approximate average length of acknowledgments?
Jean Sordes
If you have to give a spoken version, 100 (less than a minute) to maximum 300 words
(2 minutes) will do. For a book/other written version, there is no maximum limit, and
for the minimum limit, you can simply say "Thanks to all the people that helped me in
this project."
Not Helpful 4 Helpful 9
Can you provide a sample of an acknowledgement?
wikiHow Contributor
"Thank you to Emily, Carmen, Oscar and Lottie for helping me achieve my dreams."
Not Helpful 13 Helpful 8
Can I give a sign at the end of my acknowledgement?
wikiHow Contributor
Yes, you may if you wish.
Not Helpful 1 Helpful 1
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Tips
Look at samples. Evaluating someone else's existing acknowledgements can help,
especially if you are writing a specific kind of acknowledgement such as a thesis
acknowledgement or other academic item.

Sources and Citations

1. ↑ http://elc.polyu.edu.hk/FYP/html/ack.htm
2. ↑ http://www.katemessner.com/think-before-you-thank-writers-acknowledgments/

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