Writing Clearly in English Ian F. C. Smith

Disclaimer This is mostly opinion. Suggestions are incomplete. There are other strategies and many more tips.

Why clear English? With a good ability to write clearly in English, you will be able to write papers and complete your thesis document easily. This is now … later there are many more reasons. For example, writing clear English leads to … Having global activities – more interesting jobs Saving time through avoiding excessive corrections Avoiding “glass ceilings” Less misunderstandings Reviewing papers and being accepted on review boards Helping younger people improve their English

Starting conditions Improving English first requires accepting that the following is true: Perfect is impossible Grammar and spelling are not enough Ambiguity is the enemy Goals of writing do not include changing English usage Clear does not mean stupid October 8, 2019

Who is your reader? Keep in mind who will be reading what you write. The following is a list of people who work in different contexts with varying vocabularies, education backgrounds and goals: Domain experts Practitioners Students Politicians General public Journalists Funding bodies University administrations (for example, for equipment grants) Each group understands information in different ways. October 8, 2019

What do you want to say ? Defining the intent of your document involves Deciding what you can conclude Making sure all co-authors agree Checking to see that results really do support conclusions Keeping it short. Too many words means you are not sure.

Pictures are good! Illustrations … Are most useful when they directly support conclusions Should make the paper understandable by experts *just* by looking at the illustrations (and tables) Text supporting illustrations should aim at the novice In the text, introduce, describe, observe/compare, conclude Need to be readable Should make sense in black and white unless it is sure that the document will never be photocopied Test: Ask a friend what they understand from the figure (you will be surprised!)

Example illustration What is wrong with this figure ?

Writing – getting started Often it is hard to get going. A few tips for getting the ball rolling are Decompose the work into parts Start with the ends (conclusions, introduction) Draft a table of contents Write around the figures Do a first draft of the abstract Do not worry if all data is not yet available Get regular feedback from co-authors

Iterations Mozart is an outlier. Few write perfect prose from scratch. Iterations are essential. Some hints are … Do as many iterations with co-authors as you think necessary Start early – last minute efforts are rarely good … and you will annoy your coauthors with short deadlines for replies Obtain other opinions from experts, non-experts, even from friends – especially if the document is for a general audience Reserve last checks for data correctness; references (two ways); section, figure and table numbers

Improving yourself Every writing exercise is an opportunity to learn. Everyone has a unique set of strengths and weaknesses. Some hints to reduce the effects of your weaknesses are Recognize that in all languages, all spoken words and styles are not always all good writing words and styles Make a list of typical errors you make then check this list when you have new text Make a list of words to avoid in some situations (but, as, or, …) If you do not understand a correction, make the change if the meaning does not change for you and then ask about it Know that there is always room to improve

Ethics Trend is to be more and more strict. As a researcher, you must not … Copy text written by someone else unless it is enclosed in quotes and cited. No exception is tolerated. Reuse data that was generated by others unless it is referenced in the figure, in the figure caption and in the text (all three!) Attempt double publication of a paper. Journal papers made from conference papers need to be significantly expanded. Reuse text written by yourself and others and present it as only yours. Even citations to original work are not enough (according to lawyers). There is a current contradiction concerning doctoral theses and policies of some universities.

Ethics (continued) As a researcher, you must not … Forget to acknowledge funding source(s) and all people who helped you with the science, with case studies and with research directions. Here, it costs nothing to err on the generous side! Also mention previous publication of parts that are reused (conference papers that are expanded). Forget that there are two rights: copyright and author’s rights. Both need to be satisfied. Copyright details are outlined in transfer agreements. Author’s rights are important when reusing material. Finally, remember that all authors are responsible for the quality of the results.

Typical errors-1 Common errors have been observed … all text below each type is wrong No verb in a sentence Showing the trends. Being very large values, parameters important. Singular/plural confusion Many research works … Informations from many sources … Bridges sensors data … Abstracts deadline Definite article (the) unnecessary In tables the vertical lines are not needed. The important information comes from practice.

Typical errors-2 EuroEnglish (ex. enable, permit, allow) require simple objects This methodology enables to do comparisons. This data permits to analyse … Experimental studies require to work hard. Unwarranted use of adverbs (logical - good, subjective - bad) Highly useful information … Significantly important insights … Extremely accurate experiments … Sentence too long (few at 3 lines, the rest less than 2) Paragraphs too long (few at 5-6 sentences, most at 3-4)

Typical errors-3 Repeating verbs, adjectives, adverbs (it is good to repeat nouns!) Key data obtained from obtaining references … Personal verbs used for things This figure stresses the need for robustness. This paper studies a tensegrity footbridge. Subject / verb / object mismatch Results generated proposals for more work. Punctuation borrowed from another language Researchers found that, non-linearities are possible. Do you know that there is no space before the “?”?

Conclusions Much improvement is possible with little effort. Of all the things you do in the next few years, this may be one of the most important over your life. It is often easy to underestimate impact of bad English since most of us work with non-native English speakers who are tolerant of errors. Take the opportunity now to make the extra effort!