It’s difficult to find a book on scientific writing that doesn’t inveigh against weak verbs and nominalizations, and in previous posts, I’ve suggested ways to find them in your papers and eliminate them (here, here, and here). In this post, I want to point out another one: “served as,” as in Metallic nickel served as [...]
Compound adjectives constructed from a noun plus the past participle of a verb are used frequently in English. Consider, for example, the sentence The skiers raced down the snow-covered slopes. Here, “snow-covered” is a compound adjective constructed from the noun “snow” and the past participle of the verb “to cover.” The compound describes the slopes; [...]
The placement of adverbs—which modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs—can substantially change the meaning of a sentence. You’ve probably run across example sentences illustrating the importance of correctly placing the adverb “only”: Only I drive red cars; no one else drives them. I only drive red cars; I do not park them. I drive only [...]
In science writing—as opposed to, say, literary criticism or cultural studies—a premium is placed on precise, clear language. Unambiguous communication of information is in fact the fundamental goal of science writing. One way to achieve this goal is to consistently use the most precise language possible: choose a precise word or phrase and use it [...]
In addition to being an editor, I’m also a knitter, and I occasionally teach knitting and write knitting patterns. When I first started writing patterns, I was surprised by the ways that my students could misinterpret instructions that seemed perfectly clear to me, and I quickly learned to word my instructions as clearly and precisely [...]
Part of my job as an ESL editor is to help authors choose the best word to precisely convey his or her intended meaning—le mot juste. For example, the results of an experiment can indicate, suggest, imply, or mean something. A laboratory scientist can employ a technique, method, procedure, or system. Which word conveys exactly [...]
Grammar Handbooks Alexander, L. G. Longman English Grammar. London: Longman, 1988. Crews, Frederick. The Random House Handbook. 4th ed. New York: Random House, 1984. Fernald, James G. English Grammar Simplified. New York: HarperPerennial, 1968. Fowler, H. Ramsey. The Little, Brown Handbook. 3rd ed. Boston: Little, Brown, 1986. Hodges, John C., and Mary E. Whitten. Harbrace [...]
