Writing Style and Standards Use Clarity, Conciseness, & Coherence in: Paragraph Construction Sentence Construction Word Choice
Jan 06, 2016
Writing Style and Standards
Use Clarity, Conciseness, & Coherence in: Paragraph Construction Sentence Construction Word Choice
Write Paragraphs That Are:
Clear – easy to follow, easy to understand; use transitions
Concise – avoid inessential information Coherent – begin with a main idea
supported, explained, and developed by the rest of the paragraph
Write Sentences That Are:
Clear – easy to follow, easy to understand; use subject/verb/predicate order
Concise – avoid inessential information, subordinate clauses, or complex construction
Coherent – state the main idea first, use one idea at a time
Use Words That Are:
Clear – precise, specific, concrete, accurate Concise – avoid wordiness or terms
unfamiliar to your audience Coherent – state definitions for terms early
and stay consistent
Common Mistakes
Comma SplicesTwo sentences joined with commas instead of
conjunctionsincorrect –
The circuit operates at dc, Ohm’s law applies.correct –
The circuit operates at dc; Ohm’s law applies.or –
The circuit operates at dc, and Ohm’s law applies.
Common Mistakes Cont
Fused SentencesTwo sentences joined without punctuation
incorrect –
The workstation was not designed ergonomically it leaves much to be desired.
correct –
The workstation was not designed ergonomically. It leaves much to be desired.
Common Mistakes Cont
Misplaced ModifiersKeep modifiers close to words they modify
incorrect –Ignorance of science is a phenomenon in society
that must be destroyed.correct –
Ignorance of science is a phenomenon that must be destroyed in society.
Common Mistakes Cont
Misplaced ModifiersAnother example
incorrect –
The devices consists of a screw that is inside a barrel that is driven by an electric motor drive.
correct –
The devices consists of a barrel with a screw inside it that is driven by an electric motor drive.
Common Mistakes Cont
Parallel StructureUse similar terms for similar ideas
Incorrect –
Microscopic mechanical systems (MEMS) can respond to a variety of inputs, including light, heat, and vibrating objects that cause stimulations.
Correct –
Microscopic mechanical systems (MEMS) can respond to a variety of inputs, including light, heat, vibrations.
Common Mistakes Cont
Parallel StructureAnother exampleIncorrect –The extruder is controlled by an Opto 22 control system,
which controls temperature in the three heat zones, the die, and motor speed.
Correct –The extruder is controlled by an Opto 22 control system,
which controls the temperature of the three heat zones, the temperature of the die, and speed of the motor.
Common Mistakes Cont
Verb AgreementVerbs must agree with their subjects
incorrect –
The implant, along with its associated circuits, were inserted in to the patient’s chest cavity.
correct –
The implant, along with its associated circuits, was inserted in to the patient’s chest cavity.
Common Mistakes Cont
Pronoun AgreementPronouns must agree with their antecedents
incorrect –
Everyone in the lab must replace their radiation badges.
correct –
singular: Everyone in the lab must replace his or her radiation badges.
plural: All people in the lab must replace their radiation badges.
Common Mistakes Cont
Active and Passive Voiceactive –
The study revealed that three underground storage tanks had leaked unleaded gasoline into the soil.
passive –
The fact that three underground storage tanks had been leaking unleaded gasoline into the soil was revealed in the study.
Common Mistakes Cont
Tense– Use Present Tense for Theory and Known Facts– Use Past Tense for Describing Procedures
Mixed Tenses– Never Use Both Tenses in the Same Sentence
Common Mistakes Cont
Wordiness– Be Brief and Concise
Wordy Concise
owing to the fact that
on the order of
at the present time
a very limited number of
because (since)
about
now
few
Commonly Misused Words
Affect, verb, to influenceHeat affects the surface.
Effect, verb, to bring aboutA radical change was effected.
Effect, nounThe Coriolis effect will be studied.
Comprise, verb, contains or includesThe text comprises all three modes of transfer.
Compose, verb, made up of, constituted ofThe mixture is composed of sand and gravel.
Hyphenation
When two or more words modify another word, and the words work as a unit, the hyphen must be used.
Acetic-acid water systembubble-cap trayliquid-gas interfacea 20-percent increasea two- or three-year study
But do not hyphenate most prefixes added to common nouns.
precooled not pre-coolednonpolar not non-polarExceptions: co-worker not coworker
co-ion not coion
Units of Measure
• Spell out the unit of measure when no quantity is givenseveral milligrams not: several mg
• Do not use plurals for abbreviated units of measure50 mg not: 50 mgs
• In ranges and series, retain only the first unit of measure10-12 mg, between 25 and 50 ml
• When a sentence starts with a specific quantity, spell it out as well as the unit of measure
Twenty-five milliliters of acetone was added.
• Use the percent symbol with a number, without a space25% 45-50%
Capitalization
• Numbered items should be capitalized when referred toin the text of the report. Write the numbers as figures.
…as shown in Figure 1.See Table 2… as given in Equation (3).
• But for non-numbered items, do not capitalize…as shown in the figures.
• Capitalize only the name of the eponym but not the nounAvogadro’s numberLewis acidNon-Newtonian liquid
Placement and Punctuation
Man without woman is nothing.
Placement and Punctuation Cont
Man without woman is nothing.
Woman without man is nothing.
Placement and Punctuation Cont
Man without woman is nothing.
Woman without man is nothing.
Woman, without her man, is nothing.
Placement and Punctuation Cont
Man without woman is nothing.
Woman without man is nothing.
Woman, without her man, is nothing.
Woman; without her, man is nothing.
Placement and Punctuation Cont
Man without woman is nothing.
Woman without man is nothing.
Woman, without her man, is nothing.
Woman; without her, man is nothing.
Nothing is, without man and woman.
Tools/ References
Laboratory Writing Manual by W. M. Learned Writing for Technicians by Marva T. Barnett The Elements of Style by William Strunk and
E. B. White The ACS (American Chemical Society) Style Guide
by Janet S. Dodd, Editor Writing Style and Standards in Undergraduate
Reports by Sheldon Jeter and Jeffrey Donnell A Short Guide to Technical Writing on class website A dictionary, word processor with grammar check Proofread your report; Read it out loud and have
someone else read it
Use References
Avoid Common Mistakes Keep Sentences and Paragraphs Simple Choose Your Words Carefully Keep Your Grammar and Style
– Clear– Concise– Coherent