Some Tips For Effective Writing

Based on: The Elements of Style by W. Strunk and E.B. White

Elementary Rules of Usage

1. Form the possessive singular of nouns by using s.

Examples The friend of Charles The poems of Burns The leg of the table The legs of the tables It is better to say: Charless friend Burnss poems The tables leg The tables legs

2. In a series of three or more terms with a single conjunction, use a comma after each term except the last.
Incorrect: Gold, silver and copper Correct: Gold, silver, and copper

3. Enclose parenthetic expressions between commas

Marjories husband, Colonel Nelson paid us a visit yesterday. The best way to see a country, unless you are pressed for time is to travel on foot Marjories husband, Colonel Nelson, paid us a visit yesterday. The best way to see a country, unless you are pressed for time, is to travel on foot

4. Place a comma before a conjunction introducing and independent clause.

The early records of the city have disappeared, and the story of its first years can no longer be reconstructed.

However, if the connective is and, the comma should be omitted if the relation between the two statements is close or immediate
He has had several years experience and is thoroughly competent.

5. Do not join independent clauses with a comma.

Incorrect: It is nearly half past five, we cannot reach town before dark. The proper punctuation here is a semicolon. Correct: It is nearly half past five; we cannot reach town before dark.

6. Do not break sentences in two.

In other words, do not use periods for commas. Incorrect: He was an interesting talker. A man who had traveled all over the world and lived in a half dozen countries. Correct: He was an interesting talker, a man who had traveled all over the world and lived in a half dozen countries.

7. The number of the subject determines the number of the verb.

Incorrect: One of the results are inaccurate. Correct: One of the results is inaccurate.

1. Getting started PRINCIPLES OF COMPOSITION.

Make an outline in the form of headings to organize your ideas.

2. Know your reader.

Always write with your reader in mind. Who is your reader? What does your reader need to know? You must provide this information in logical order. Knowing your audience helps you to decide what information to include.

3. Paragraphs
The first sentence of a paragraph usually sets the topic for that paragraph. Dont have any unlinked ideas (non-sequiturs) in the same paragraph. A paragraph typically consists of more than one sentence. If you cannot think of more than one sentence for your paragraph, perhaps it should be joined with another. Try to make the ideas within each section flow together.

4. Get to the point

Start with your exciting results, and fill in the details later. Part of your challenge is keeping the reader interested.

5. Use the active voice.

ACTIVE: "the mouse consumed oxygen at a higher rate... PASSIVE: "oxygen was consumed by the mouse at a higher rate.."

6. Put statements in positive form.

Make definite assertions. Avoid tame, colorless, hesitating, non commital language. Replace He was not often on time. He did not think that studying Latin was a sensible way to use ones time. with He usually came late. He thought the study of Latin a waste of time.

Put statements in positive form.

Replace not honest not important did not remember did not pay attention to did not have much confidence in with dishonest trifling forgot ignored

distrusted

Placing negative and positive in opposition makes for a stronger structure.

Not charity, but simple justice. Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.

7. Use definite, specific, concrete language.

Prefer the specific to the general, the definite to the vague, the concrete to the abstract. Replace A period of unfavorable weather set in. with.. It rained every day for a week.

Be precise
Say patient or zebrafish instead of subject concentration or frequency instead of level

8. Express co-ordinate ideas in similar form.

Expressions similar in content and function should be outwardly similar. The likeness of form underscores the likeness of content. Replace Formerly, science was taught by the textbook method, while now the laboratory method is employed. with Formerly, science was taught by the textbook method; now it is taught by the laboratory method.

9. Keep related words together

The position of words in a sentence is the principal means of showing their relationship. Replace He noticed a large stain in the rug that was right in the center. with He noticed a large stain right in the center of the rug.

Keep related words together.

New Yorks first commercial sperm bank opened Friday with semen samples from 18 men frozen in a stainless steel tank. New Yorks first commercial human sperm bank opened Friday, when semen samples were taken from 18 men. The samples were then frozen and stored in a stainless steel tank.

This sounds like the men were frozen in a tank!

To show what happens when strong writing is deprived of its vigor, George Orwell paraphrased a passage from the bible.
Objective consideration of contemporary phenomena compels the conclusion that success or failure in competitive activities exhibits no tendency to be commensurate with innate capacity, but that a considerable element of the unpredictable must be taken into account (Orwell). I returned, and saw that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all (Book of Ecclesiastes).

Why is this passage so vivid?

I returned, and saw that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all (Book of Ecclesiastes).

It uses the active voice. It uses precise, specific imagery. Related words are kept together. Co-ordinate ideas are expressed in similar form. Contrast is achieved by placing negatives and positives in opposition.

10. Omit needless words:

Use words according to the precise meaning understood by the average person. Check whether every word could be deleted or replaced by a better one.

Omit needless words:

Replace the following:
based on the fact that.. for the purpose of.. there were several subjects who completed a total of n subjects .. in close proximity found previously..

with
because.. for or to several subjects completed n subjects .. in proximity found

11. Dont use ambiguous antecedents

Dont say: This showed Rather say: This test showed

Examples of ambiguous pronoun antecedents:

The flavor was evaluated by an experienced taste panel, and it was deemed obnoxious. All samples in Lot II were discarded when the authors found that they were contaminated with alcohol, rendering them unstable." [and unable to think clearly?]

Note: This problem often occurs for the antecedent this

"The guidelines were submitted to the deans, but they subsequently were ignored.

Fixing ambiguous pronoun antecedents:

The flavor was evaluated by an experienced taste panel, and it was deemed obnoxious. An experienced taste panel deemed the flavor obnoxious.

Fixing ambiguous pronoun antecedents:

All samples in Lot II were discarded when the authors found that they were contaminated with alcohol, rendering them unstable." We discarded all samples in Lot II because they were contaminated with alcohol, rendering them unstable.

Note how the problem of ambiguous pronoun antecedents can often be fixed simply by making the sentence active.

Fixing ambiguous pronoun antecedents:

"The guidelines were submitted to the deans, but they subsequently were ignored. The deans ignored the guidelines

12. Use while and since to refer to time. Do not use them when the meaning is whereas, although, or because.
Dont say the snow melted since there was a warm period.. if you mean the snow melted because there was a warm period

13. Avoid hyperbole

Words like very and extremely are often unnecessary.

14. Dont use however or its synonyms twice in one paragraph

changing the direction of an argument twice in one paragraph confuses the reader.

15. Never use colloquialisms (expressions used casually in conversation)

EXAMPLES Steer clear of colloquialisms..

16. Avoid abbreviations

If you must use abbreviations, define them at first appearance in the article and use them sparingly.

17. Don't start sentences with because, since, or as.

18. Use the past tense to report results (yours or others'). Use the present tense to discuss them.

Because there was a warm spell, the snow melted.

The snow melted because there was a warm spell.

Reporting: We found that; Smith (1989) reported a similar result. Discussing: A simple explanation of these findings is

19. Beware of misplaced or dangling modifiers

The difficulty here is that you, as the author, know exactly to which each modifier has reference even though not explicitly stated. Your reader, however, doesn't have this advantage, and the result may be confusing, misleading, or funny.

Modifier problems
"Using multiple-regression techniques, the animals in Experiment I were... [The animals did not use multiple regressions..] "Based only on this doubtful inference, we find the conclusions not supported. "The determinations were made on samples using gas chromatography. [The samples did not use gas chromatography] "In assessing the damage, the plants exhibited numerous lesions. "The spiders were inadvertently discovered while repairing a faulty growth chamber."

Put only, partly and mainly next to the word they modify
This is correct: The test consists only of new items on the list. This is incorrect: The test consists of new items on the list only.

Which or that?
Simple rule: Which always follows a comma (and a pause), but that never does. Both of these are correct: This study, which cost $10,000, was a success. The study that cost $10,000 was a success.

This is called a dangling modifier

Owing to or due to?

Simple rule: Owing to always has a comma, due to never does. The data were lost, owing to computer malfunction. The loss of data was due to computer malfunction.

20. Avoid a succession of loose sentences.

An unskilled writer will often construct paragraphs of sentences linked with connectives such as and, but, which, where, when and while.

21. Place the emphatic words of a sentence at the end.

The proper place in a sentence for the word or group of words that the writer desires to make most prominent is usually the end.

Reporting results

Reporting results
Figures and tables should have sufficient information in their captions to be selfexplanatory. They should be able to stand alone in the article. All axes in figures must have labels and units.

Dont say what a table or figure contains in the article; discuss the results and refer to tables and figures in parentheses.
Replace with

PCB concentrations in mice are plotted against time in Figure 1. PCBs increased with a doubling time of 3 days.

PCB concentrations in mice increased with a doubling time of 3 days (Figure 1).