Writing Style

Writing Style

Specific guidelines

Outline Titles and

headings Direct statements Emphasis Sexist language abbreviation

Sentence structure Repetition and

parallelism Ambiguity Qualifiers Misused words Redundancy and

wordiness

Titles and headings (I) Rule 1: be concise yet informative

X An investigation of the Effectiveness of Extensions to Standard Ranking Techniques for Larger Text Collection.

Extensions to Standard Ranking Techniques for Larger Text Collection.

Rule 2: be specificX Huffman Coding for Databases.

far too general.X Limited-Memory Huffman Coding for Databases of Textual

and Numeric Data. Specific, superior to the previous one, but awkward.

Limited-Memory Huffman Coding for Databases.

Titles and headings (II) Rule 3: not necessarily to be complete sentence

X Duplication of Data Leads to Reduction in Network Traffic. Duplicating Data to Reduce Network Traffic.

Rule 4: it is not usual to put a stop at the end of a heading

X Neutral Nets for Image Classification. Neutral Nets for Image Classification

Rule 5: section headings should reflect the logical structure

E.g., 3. Lists and Trees and 3.1. Lists 3.2 Trees.

Direct statements (I) Avoid excessive use of indirect statement (also

known as passive voice). The direct style (or active voice) is often easier to read.

X The following theorem can now be proved. We can now prove the following theorem.

Comment: If passive voice is necessary, use it. Use of “we” is valuable.

Consider “we show…” versus “in this paper it is shown…” “this paper shows…” and “this section argues…” are

often used by our Chinese people. Strictly, they are not a very good phrases, better be replaced with “in this paper we show…” and “we argue in this section…”, respectively.

Direct statements (II) Even in the paper of only one author, the use of

“we” is acceptable.

In some case the use of “we” is wrong.X When we conducted the experiment it showed that our

conjecture was correct. The experiment showed that our conjecture was

correct.

Emphasis (I) Emphasis (or stress) on some words can be

implicit or explicit. Implicit emphasis is implied by the structure of

the sentence Compare “it is not a good idea” with “it is certainly not

a good idea”. Reorganizing a sentence can change the

emphasis The algorithm is appropriate because each item is

written once and read often. The algorithm is appropriate, because each item is only

written once but is read often.

Emphasis (II) Inappropriate stress can lead to ambiguity

X Additional memory can lead to faster response, but user surveys have indicated that it is not required.

The stress on ``additional memory’’, incorrectly implies that users has commented on memory rather that response. Since the sentence is about ``response’’, that is where the stress should be:

Faster response is possible with additional memory, but user surveys have indicated that it is not required..

Explicit emphasis is provided with italics, CAPITALS. DON’T use capitals for emphasis. Use italics only to stress a word or a phrase. The first time a key word is used, consider placing

it in italics.

Sexist language Some readers find use of “he” or “his” for generic case offensive.

X A user may be disconnected when he makes a mistake. Sexist usage is easy to avoid.

A user may be disconnected when they make a mistake. Such use of “they” as a singular pronoun is acceptable but jarring ( 不和谐 ).

A user who makes a mistake may be disconnected. Note: don’t use constructs such as “he or she” or “s/he”.

Abbreviations (I) Some common abbreviations in science writing:

no.=number i.e.=that is e.g.=for example c.f.=compare with (perhaps more accurately “in contrast to”) w.r.t.=with respect to W.L.O.G=without loss of generality iff=if and only if etc.=and so on Fig.=Figure Alg.=algorithm

These save a little space, but slow readers down. “don’t”, “isn’t”, ect. are not suitable for science writing.

Abbreviations (II) A slash (/ also known as a virgule or solidus) is often used for abbreviation, as in

Save time and/or space Used for list/tree processing

confusion: /=either but not both? (in the usual English sense?) /=either or both? (in the usual computing sense?) /=and? /=also?

If you want to be clear, don’t use slashes.

Abbreviations (III) Abbreviation by acronym ( 取首字母缩写 )

CPU for “central processing unit” OS for “operating system” DBA for “data base administrator” …

Abbreviations are usually terminated by a stop, but it is unusual to put stops in acronyms Thus “CPU” is correct, “C.P.U.” is acceptable but pedantic （学究） , and “CPU.” is incorrect.

Plurals of acronym: just append an s Write CPUs rather than CPU’s, OSs rather than OSes

X When the kernel process takes over, that is, when in the default state, the time that is required for the kernel to deliver a message from a sending application process to another application process and to recompute the importance levels of these two application processes to determine which one has the higher priority is assumed to be randomly distributed .

X When the kernel process takes over, that is, when in the default state, the time that is required for the kernel to deliver a message from a sending application process to another application process and to recompute the importance levels of these two application processes to determine which one has the higher priority is assumed to be randomly distributed .

Sentence structure (I)

Sentence should have simple structure, usually no more than a line or two. Don’t say too much all at once.

When the kernel process takes over, one of its activities is to deliver a message from a sending application process to another application process, and to then recompute the importance levels of these two application processes to determine which has the higher priority. The time required for this activity is assumed to be randomly distributed .

should be explained elsewhereToo long (34 words).

Only two words

X If the machine is highly loaded then speed is acceptable whenever the data is on local disks.

X If the machine is highly loaded then speed is acceptable whenever the data is on local disks.

Sentence structure (II) Watch out

“if” expression

If the machine is highly loaded and data is on local disks then speed is acceptable.

The consequen

tThe two conditions are separated by the

consequent.

Speed is acceptable when the machine is highly loaded and data is on local disks.

If data is on local disks then speed is acceptable, even if the machine is highly loaded.

X We collated the responses from the user, which were usually short, into the following table.

Sentence structure (III)

Beware of misplaced modifiers

The user’s responses, most of which were short, were collated into the following table.

Which=the user,

response, or the collation?

X There do not seem to be any reasons not to adopt the new approach.

Sentence structure (IV)

Double negatives are difficult to parse and are often ambiguous

The new approach is at least as good as the old and should be adopted.

The impression here is of condemnation—we don’t like the new approach but we’re not sure why.

X In SIMD, the same instructions are applied simultaneously to multiple data sets, whereas in MIMD different data sets are processed with different instructions.

Repetition & parallelism (I)

Complementary concepts should be explained as parallels, or the reader will have difficulty seeing how the concepts relate

In SIMD, multiple data sets are processed simultaneously by the same instructions, whereas in MIMD different data sets are processed with different instructions.

SIMD and MIMD are complementary concepts.

X Access is fast, but at the expense of slow update.

Repetition & parallelism (II) Parallel can be

based on antonyms

Access is fast but update is slow.

Lack of parallel structure can result in ambiguityX The performance gains are the result of tuning the low-level code used for data access and improved interface design. The performance gains are the result of tuning the low-level code used for data access and of improved interface design.It is kinder to the reader to move the longer clauses to

the end The performance gains are the result of improved

interface design and of tuning the low-level code used for data access.

X There is a new version of the operating system, so when using the “fetch” utility, the error messages can be ignored.

Ambiguity (I) Check carefully

for ambiguity.

There is a new version of the operating system, so the “fetch” utility’s error message can be ignored.

X In addition to lists we have also tried trees, they are superior because they are slow in some circumstances but have lower cost.

In addition to lists we have also tried trees. Lists are superior because, although slow in some circumstances, they have lower cost.

X Packets that contain an error are automatically corrected

Ambiguity (II) Plurals may

cause ambiguity.

A packet that contains an error is automatically corrected.

The first version implies that packets with a particular error are corrected, the second implies that packets with multiple error are corrected. Both of these interpretations are wrong.

X Packets that contain errors are automatically corrected

X It is perhaps possible that the algorithm might fail on unusual input.

Qualifiers (I)Qualifiers should not be piled on top of each other.

The algorithm might fail on unusual input.

Words such “might”, “may”, “perhaps”, “possibly”, “likely”, “likelihood”, and “could” can be used once in a sentence, but not more.

X We are planning to consider possible options for extending our results.

We are considering how to extend our results.X Merten’s algorithm is not dissimilar to ours.

Such sentence tells the reader little. Double negatives are a form of qualifier commonly used to express uncertainty.

X There is very little advantage to ….

Qualifiers (II)

Qualifiers should not be piled on top of each other.

There is little advantage to ….

X The standard method is simply too slow. The standard method is too slow.

X There is one method which is acceptable.

Misused words (I) Which &

that

There is one method that is acceptable. There are three options, of which only one is tractable.

X It is true the result is hard to generalize.

It is true that the result is hard to generalize.

Misused words (II)

May & can:

Users can access this facility, but may not wish to do so.

Use “may” to indicate choice, and “can” to indicate capability.

Less & fewer:

It used less space.

Use “less” for continuous quantities, and fewer for discrete quantities.

There were fewer errors.

Alternate & alternative:

The word “alternate” means other or switch between, whereas an “alternative” is something that can be chosen. If there is but one alternative, there is no choice. “alternative” and “choice” are not synonyms.

Misused words (III)

Misspelt words and misused wordsMis-spelt wordsRight Wrongadaptation adaptionapparent apparantargument arguementgrammar grammerconsistent consistantgrammar grammercomparison comparasion

Misused wordsensure insurediscrete discreetsolvable solublepartly partiallyprinciple principal

Redundancy and wordiness (III)

The table lists common redundant or wordy expressions and possible substittutes for them

Bad GoodAdding together addingafter the end of afterdivided up dividegive a description of

describe

merged together merged

such as …etc. such as

first of all firstduring the course of

during

whether or not whether

X The system of rational numbers is incomplete. This was discovered 2000 years ago bty the Greeeks. The problem arises with squares whose sides are of unit length. The length of the diagonals of these squares is irrational. This discovery was a serious blow to the Greek mathematicians.

VariationDiversity—in organization, structure, length of sentences and paragraphs, and choice of words—is a useful device for keeping the reader’s attention.

The Greeks discovered 2000 years ago that the system of rational numbers is in complete. The problem is that some quantities, such as the length of the diagonal of a square with unit sides, are irrational. This discovery was a serious blow to the Greek mathematicians.In the second version, the final statement is more effective although is hasn’t changed.