Chapter 3 STYLE

When publishing in English you need to take account of the general rules which have become accepted as the norm in academic communication. In writing technical and scientific papers in particular, you should aim to achieve objectivity, clarity and precision. In addition, there are conventions governing the use of formal patterns, though the need to establish rapport with your audience and to make your writing reader-friendly has an influence on determining your selection of formal or informal language phrases.

This implies that there still is a certain amount of creative use of language in the dissemination of research information and that scientific writing does not simply follow a set of mechanical writing procedures for reporting results. The written text also reflects, though to a very limited extent, cultural and rhetorical assumptions about what is presented and how the material is organised.

3.1 Objectivity

Objectivity is generally governed by the research topic although obviously it is individuals who actually have to select, arrange and present their findings. Thus it is your task, as the writer, to deal with your topic in a fair, objective and responsible manner, keeping your personal feelings out of your writing.

From a language point of view, objectivity and a neutral approach (impersonal style) may be achieved by using the passive voice and by avoiding ambiguous statements. Avoidance of confusing metaphoric elements, use of precise and well-established technical terms may add to effective writing and help to produce explicitness of standard academic description.

Using the passive voice in impersonal writing
Scientific writing is usually done in an impersonal style. Information and facts are more important than personal opinions or attitudes. This style is also used to put a certain distance between the writer and the arguments proposed and thus makes them more objective.

Precise references to data in tables, graphs and diagrams also lead to greater objectivity in research findings.

3.2 Clarity

Simplicity of text and of text composition are important prerequisites to readability. You should always try to write in a plain, clear and straightforward manner. Overlong sentences or lengthy chains of clauses and groups of words can easily prevent your reader from understanding what you want to say. As a rule, you should not add more than 2 to 3 clauses of any sort to form one sentence. Repeating words, signposting and using linking devices which help the reader to connect and relate information are useful ways of achieving clarity and readability.

Example paragraphs
1 The following overlong sentence is almost unintelligible:

Axis-boundary conditions for the SGS stresses in case of scale similarity and mixed-type models are specified in terms of GS velocities at the axis so as to be compatible in the statistical mean with expressions for the axis values of… following from the kinematics of homogeneous axissymmetric turbulences as well as from the statistically averaged dynamic equations for the GS velocity field taking into account statistically steady and homogeneous flow conditions.

This can be re-written, as below, in order to make the meaning clearer. The text is divided into three shorter sentences and linking words and phrases added.

Axis-boundary conditions for the SGS stresses in case of scale similarity and mixed-typemodels are specified in terms of GS velocities at the axis. This is done so that they are compatible in the statistical means…for the GS velocity field. Statistically steady and homogeneous flow conditions are also taken into account.

2 In the following paragraph, notice the use of the linking phrases, or semantic markers in italics, which have been used in order to shorten sentences and make them understood more easily, thus improving readability:

In the first of this two-paper sequence, a highly automated method for generating reduced-order dynamic macromodels for electrostatically MEMS devices was presented. The approach was to use selected linear elastic modes of the device as basic functions, and to express the kinetic and potential energy in terms of basis-function amplitudes and their time derivatives. It was demonstrated that this procedure could, indeed, be executed nearly automatically, requiring only a few inputs from the designer to select parameters for the macromodel. However, while the procedure works well for nonlinearities produced outside the electric body, such as the non-linear electrostatic force between the plates of a parallel-plate capacitor with one plate being flexible, it fails to capture the correct mechanical structural stiffness when the deflections become comparable to a typical thickness. This effect is generally referred to as…

Expressing your ideas concisely
Being concise in your writing means expressing your ideas in as few words as possible. This involves not repeating what you say, cutting out irrelevant details and avoiding redundancy, that is, the use of unnecessary words. If your sentences are too 'wordy', they are difficult for the reader to understand.

1
'wordy' sentences:
We continued our activities in the development of new protocols for group communication.
more concise sentences:
We have developed new protocols for group communications.
2
'wordy' sentences:
The different materials that contribute to an environmental impact have quantitatively different potential environmental effects.
more concise sentences:
Different materials have different environmental impacts.