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1.2.2.6Quotation marks
Quotation marks are used in scientific English to indicate that you have taken a phrase or sentence from a piece of work and have used it directly without any modification. Direct quotes from written work by another author should always contain a reference to that work. There is no law which says how many or how long direct quotes should be. If you have read some scientific manuscripts, you will have noticed that direct quotes are rare. Scientists prefer to describe the work of others in their own words and give a reference to the original paper. Such sentences take the form of “Smith and Jones (Smith and Jones, 20xx) reported that A is converted into B” or “Li and Yu provided evidence that X can be generated from Y (Li and Yu, 19xx).” It is a sign of scientific maturity when you can express the work of others in your own words.
1.2.2.7Brackets
Brackets are the best way of marking text that is not essential to understand the meaning of a sentence. Do not use a dash (—) or a hyphen (-) for this purpose. Brackets are preferable because they are directional and thus inform the reader where to look for the start and end of the inessential text.
A very useful application of brackets is to contain lists of examples preceded by “e. g.” (exempli gratia or example given) or explanations preceded by “i. e.” (id est or that is). This strategy avoids using the abbreviations as part of a sentence. Look at the following sentence.
“Anti-viral agents are available to combat several viruses e. g. HIV, influenza virus and herpes virus.”
The presence of “e. g.” as part of the sentence is considered poor style. The style can be rapidly improved by inserting the list between a pair of brackets.
“Anti-viral agents are available to combat several viruses (e. g. HIV, influenza virus and herpes virus).”
1.2.3Write out all verb forms
There are no shortened forms of verbs (e. g. “it's”, “isn't”, “can't”, “don't”) in formal English. Remember that “it's” is short for “it is” and has nothing to do with a possessive form of “it”. The following three sentences illustrate the difference.
“The powder is red. It's a red powder. Its colour is red.”
If you always write out the forms of verbs, this problem will disappear.
1.2.4Avoid starting sentences with “and”, “but”, “because” or “so”
Starting sentences with these words is considered to be poor style and not formal English. Words that you can use in their place are listed in box 1.4. These words are, together with the other words in this box, not just useful as sentence starters. They also serve to link sentences together and are thus a vital part of scientific writing. To support you in using these linking words, up to five illustrative examples of their use in this book are marked in italics. section 8.1 gives the pages on which these words are marked. In addition, the exercises in chapters 3 and 5 give plenty of opportunities to practise their use.
Box 1.4Words for linking sentences in scientific writing
Do you want to add further information to that contained in the previous sentence? Use words such as: “in addition”, “additionally”, “further”, “furthermore”, “indeed” or “moreover”. These words will enable you to avoid starting sentences with “and”.
Do you want to introduce contrasting or contradictory information to that contained in the previous sentence? Use words such as “however”, “in contrast”, “instead”, “nevertheless”, “occasionally”, “of course”, “on the contrary”, “conversely” or “otherwise”. These words will enable you to avoid starting sentences with “but”.
Do you want to start a sentence with “because”? Do not do so. Instead, combine this sentence with the previous one so that the word “because” leads into the second half of the sentence.
Do you want to introduce information that follows from the previous sentence? Then use words such as: “accordingly“, “as a result“, “consequently”, “hence”, “in short”, “subsequently“, “therefore”, “thus” or “to this end“. These words enable you to avoid starting sentences with “so”.
Other important linking words:
Giving examples: “for example“, “for instance“
Finishing up: “in summary“, “in short”, “in conclusion”, “taken together”
1.2.5Avoid ending sentences with “too”, “also”, “though” or “yet”
Using such words at the end of sentences is again considered to be poor style and not formal English.
1.2.6Avoid “get”
Formal English does not contain the word “get”. There are two reasons. First, “get” is considered poor style in a scientific manuscript. Second, the clarity of a sentence will always be improved by omitting “get” or by replacing it with more suitable words such as “have”, “receive”, “obtain”, “possess” or “become”. Similarly, phrases containing “get” can usually be replaced by a single word that more exactly expresses the idea. For example, there are several alternatives to “get rid of” (delete, eliminate, omit, remove) and to “get better” (ameliorate, improve, recover).
Here are two sentences that illustrate the problem.
“My supervisor got excited when I got some results using samples I got from Africa. However, she got angry when she got to know that I had got hold of them illegally.”
The improved text appears much more formal when “got” is omitted (after “samples”) or replaced.
“My supervisor became excited when I obtained some results using samples from Africa. However, she grew angry when she found out that I had acquired them illegally.”
1.2.7Avoid vagueness, sensationalism and exaggeration
Scientific writing should be accurate, appropriate and measured. To achieve greater accuracy, eliminate words such as “a lot”, “a bit” and “a little” in scientific writing. They have no value. Alternatives for “a lot” include: “several”, “many”, “certain”, “numerous”, “considerable”, “a plethora”, “a panoply”. Find your own alternatives for “a bit” and “a little” using the resources given in section 7.1.
Make your scientific writing appropriate by avoiding adjectives such as “amazing”, “incredible”, “unbelievable”, “stunning” or “spectacular”. In addition, do not end sentences with exclamation marks.
Absolute statements (e. g. “This hypothesis will never be falsified.”) and exaggerated accuracy (e. g. “Our results provide 100% proof of our theory.”) have no place in measured scientific writing.
1.2.8Using “the” and “a”
Emails and text messages are slowly leading the way to the elimination of “a” and “the” from the English language. Until they disappear completely, it is important to use them correctly in scientific English. In addition, their use often presents a special problem for those whose first language lacks such words. This includes speakers of Chinese, Japanese, the Slav languages and most African languages.
Box 1.5 presents some guidelines for their use. The three sentences below illustrate the use of the guidelines.
“During his voyages, Darwin noticed variation in animals. He became interested in a variation in the beaks of finches. Only a scientist with Darwin's background could have noticed the variation in these birds.”
The word “variation” appears once in each sentence. In its first appearance, it is not preceded by “a” or “the” because it is a universal concept (guideline 3). In the second sentence, “variation” is preceded by “a” because the variation in the beaks is just one of many that Darwin observed (guideline 1). In the third sentence, “variation” is preceded by “the” because the variation is the specific one referred to in the second sentence (guideline 2).
Box 1.6 provides a further opportunity to practise using the guidelines for “the” and “a”.
Box 1.5Guidelines for using “the” and “a”
1. If you use a word to refer to something that is common (to be strictly accurate, something that occurs more than once in the universe), you will need to put “a” in front of that word. If the word begins with a vowel, you will need “an”. “A” and “an” are never used before words in the plural. Examine the use of “a” and “an” in the sentences below.
“There is a big mess on my desk.”
“We did an experiment to verify this.”
There are many messes on many desks in the universe. Many experiments are done every day.
2. You always need “the” if the thing you are referring to is specific, even though there are many of them. The following sentences follow on from those above.
“The big mess on my desk is growing.”
“The experiment verified our hypothesis.”
The mess and the experiment were specified in the sentences above. This excludes all other messes and experiments, wherever they are and whenever they occurred.
3. You do not need “a” or “the” at all if the word you are using covers a universal concept or has a general meaning.
“Messes are often interesting.”
“Experiments form the basis of science.”
4. Some words that are universal concepts can also be used specifically and therefore require “the” The word “hygiene” is a good example.
“Hygiene is important in hospitals.”
“The hygiene in the old hospital is poor.”
5. You do not need “a” or “the” if a word indicating possession (e. g. “my, its, their”) precedes the thing you are describing.
Box 1.6Practising the use of the articles “the” and “a” in English
The text below is based on an abstract written by a student whose first language does not use this type of article. The original has been modified to make it more accessible, whilst keeping the errors in the use of “the” and “a.” The idea of “patient-specific design of medicines” is fictitious but it fits well with the original text. Read the text, concentrating on the position and presence or absence of the articles “the” and “a”. Some are used correctly, some used incorrectly. Occasionally, an article is missing completely. Each sentence needs at least one correction. Use the guidelines to decide how to improve the text. My suggestions are to be found in section 1.6.2.
Patient-specific design of medicines (PSDM) is novel method which was first described by Smith and Jones. PSDM method is based on the conventional designs modified by using alternative gene-based protocol. Main feature of the PSDM approach is its high specificity of treatment. The principle of the PSDM approach is depicted in the Figure 1.
Using PSDM method, we observe the shift in the specificity of the treatment. During the normal design of medicines, specificity is obtained from experience of the scientists. In the PSDM method, the specificity is obtained from the genes of the patient. Specificity of the PSDM method can be augmented by adding information from the family members. The PSDM method is estimated to increase specificity by factor of five.
1.3Words for writing scientific English
Words don't come easy.
F.R. DAVID
The English language has, as mentioned in section 1.1, a rich vocabulary. Nevertheless, box 1.7 presents a suggestion for a basic scientific lexicon that contains only about 200 of the thousands of words available. Learn the meaning of these words and use them actively in your writing. If you can exploit the words from this lexicon, your scientific writing will rapidly become stronger and more mature.
The majority of the words from the basic scientific lexicon were used in writing this book. Up to five illustrative examples of their use in this book are marked in italics. section 8.2 provides the pages on which the marked words can be found. If the use of a word in this book does not make its meaning clear, refer to a dictionary or a thesaurus.
An alternative approach to finding the meaning of a word from box 1.7 is to look for words in scientific databases. Examples of these databases include PubMed (www.pubmed.gov) or Google Scholar (scholar.google. com); others are listed in section 7.1. Searching these databases for an unknown word will provide you with many articles that have your word of interest in the title or in the abstract. From these, you should be able to obtain hints on the meaning of the word and see how it is used in scientific writing. As an exercise, try to determine the meaning of the important scientific words “purport”, “pinpoint”, “feasible”, “plausible” and “flaw” by typing them into PubMed. Actively investigating the meaning of words in this way will help you to use them more regularly in your own writing.
Box 1.7A basic lexicon for scientific writing
Verbs
accumulate
adapt
affect
ask
assay
attempt
cause
cite
compare
conclude
confirm
confuse
consider
correlate
decline
decrease
deduce
demonstrate
describe
destroy
detect
deteriorate
disprove
disturb
document
evidence
explain
falsify
find
follow
illustrate
increase
indicate
induce
infer
interest
invent
investigate
judge
maintain
observe
oppose
pinpoint
point to
propose
prove
purport
quantify
quote
record
remain
repeat
reproduce
require
screen
search
shed light on
show
solve
strengthen
suggest
support
survive
test
treat
try
underline
vary
verify
work
Nouns
absence
activation
analysis
answer
appearance
application
attempt
background
blank
cause
chance
change
citation
clue
component
condition
conflict
consequence
constant
control
curve
data
decrease
difference
discovery
discrepancy
distribution
dose-response
effect
enigma
equilibrium
event
evidence
exclusion
experiment
figure
flaw
function
graph
hint
hypothesis
idea
illustration
image
inclusion
increase
incubation
ingredient
input
interaction
level
mechanism
mock
model
mystery
observation
output
panel
paradox
parameter
participant
pathway
performance
period
possibility
prerequisite
presence
process
product
question
ratio
reason
relevance
report
research
result
role
signal
situation
solution
specificity
structure
synthesis
table
target
theory
variable
variation
variety
version
volunteer
work
Adjectives and adverbs
able
active
actually
affected
artificial
associated
aware
capable
certain
closely
consistent
contradictory
correct
dependent
detrimental
essential
exactly
exclusively
external
feasible
frequent
incorrect
internal
inversely
likely
limited
linear
multiple
necessary
noteworthy
particular
pertinent
plausible
poorly
previous
prior
proportional
putative
random
relevant
resistant
robust
severe
significant
similarly
simultaneous
unable
variable
1.4Take-home messages from Chapter 1
❚ Use a spellchecker
❚ Use formal English
❚ Use linking words
❚ Use words from a basic scientific lexicon
1.5References
Books
Bryson, B. (1990) Mother Tongue: The English Language.
Websites
1.6Improvements to exercices
1.6.1Solutions to box 1.2 “Fooling a spellchecker”
1. You must prove that two plus two equals four!
2. A proof that two plus two equals four is given on the first page.
3. Vaccines save lives.
4. Spellcheckers change the way we read our texts.
5. The theory of global warming remains to be proven.
6. Spellcheckers affect our ability to spell.
7. How do tortoises remain alive when hibernating?
8. Only a few scientists have received two Nobel Prizes.
9. The effect of technology on the environment is substantial.
10. We lose the loose screw.
11. We judge how we live our lives from our own perspective.
12. The ability to write concisely and accurately is not hereditary.
13. The price of the prize was a surprise.
1.6.2Improvements to box 1.6 “Practising the use of the articles “the” and “a” in English”.
The patient-specific design of medicines (PSDM) is a novel method which was first described by Smith and Jones. The PSDM method is based on conventional designs modified by using an alternative gene-based protocol. The main feature of the PSDM approach is its high specificity of treatment. The principle of the PSDM approach is depicted in Figure 1.
Using the PSDM method, we observe a shift in the specificity of the treatment. During the normal design of medicines, specificity is obtained from the experience of the scientists. In the PSDM method, specificity is obtained from the genes of the patient. The specificity of the PSDM method can be augmented by adding information from family members. The PSDM method is estimated to increase specificity by a factor of five.
Chapter 2Writing clear scientific English
Put it before them briefly so that they will read it.
Clearly so they will appreciate it.
Picturesquely so they will remember it.
And, above all, accurately so they will be guided by its light.
JOSEPH PULITZER
This chapter contains eight guidelines specifically designed to transform school or college English into scientific English. Although the guidelines were selected with non-native speakers in mind, they are also helpful to native speakers. Remember that English as a first language is not a passport to writing clear scientific English. Indeed, non-native speakers who master this chapter may be on the way to writing better scientific English than native speakers.
Any book on how to write good English is certain to contain seven of the guidelines. The one exception, the guideline “Omit needless words!”, is unique to the book “The Elements of Style” by W. Strunk, Jr. and E. B. White. This book, first published in 1918 and still in print, remains the best book available on writing good English. Its 105 pages can now be accessed for free at www.bartleby.com/141.
2.1Eight guidelines for improving your writing technique
The eight guidelines are discussed in detail in the sections 2.1.1 to 2.1.8. The accompanying exercises as well as those in chapter 3 are designed to help you gain experience in applying the guidelines. Chapter 5 provides further opportunities for practice.
2.1.1Make a plan
A plan is essential for any piece of writing. Before writing, divide the work into sections. For each section, make a list of the relevant points to be included and order them according to themes. Each of these themes can then be developed later into a paragraph. For instance, in the introduction to a scientific manuscript, the relevant points might be the overall field in which your interest lies, the specific area that you are working on and the question that you addressed. Each of these points would form the basis of one or more paragraphs in the introduction.
The plan should give an initial overview of how the work will look after writing. Naturally, the plan cannot account for all contingencies and may have to be modified to accommodate insertions and deletions as well as extensive rearrangement of the text.
