A concise but comprehensive review of necessary points in writing a research article.

1. of 831Slide
| 1

2. Academic writing
Part 2
By:
M. H. Farjoo M.D, Ph.D, Statistics Lecturer, Bioanimator
Pharmacology Dep., Faculty of Medicine, SBMU

3. Academic writing (Part 2)
 Things to Avoid
 Space
 A or An?
 The
 Comma
 And
 Connectors
 Apostrophe
 Semicolon
 Colon
 Hyphen
 Full stop
 Where, In which
 Introduce Examples
 Problems and Solutions
 Comparison
 Cause and Effect
 Passive Form
 Singular or Plural?
 Verbs of Reference
 Numbers
 Time Frames
 Adverbs
 Last tips!

4. Avoid Adjectives to Describe Your Work
 Don’t use adjectives to describe your work: striking
results, very significant coefficients.
 If the work merits adjectives, the world will give
them to you.
 Do not use double adjectives. Results are certainly
not “very novel”.
 Do not contract verb forms: don’t, or can’t, use the
full form: do not, cannot.

5. Avoid Negatives
 Avoid negatives (Negatives can be used for particular
emphasis, and for correcting misconceptions).
 Avoid abbreviations.
 Avoid overloading the text with references, it is better
to cite only the more recent papers.
 Place sequences in order similarly, it is best to describe
procedures in the order that they take place.

6. Avoid Long Sentences and Paragraphs
 Sentences should vary in lengths.
 As a rule of thumb:
 Sentences less than 20 words long are probably
fine.
 Sentences 20 to 30 words long are probably
satisfactory.
 Sentences 30 to 40 words long are suspect.
 Sentences with over 40 words may need re-
writing.

7. Avoid Long Sentences and Paragraphs
 Use short paragraphs.
 Print out and revise/edit draft copies.
 Think about global revisions; re-sequencing major
portions, and local revisions.
 If it is difficult to explain something, try saying it and
write this down.

8. Avoid Clusters of Nouns
 Do not use clusters of nouns and avoid
expressions like: “chemical healing suppression”
 Say instead:
 “Suppression of healing by chemicals”, or
 “Suppression of chemical healing”.
 Use prepositions to make your meaning clear.

9. Avoid Adjectival Clauses
 Do not use Adjectival clauses:
 Instead of writing: “an innovation based return on
investment culture”,
 Say: “a culture of innovation based on return-on-
investment”.
 Again, use prepositions to make your meaning
clear, even if this construction is longer.

10. Avoid Filler Verbs
 Do not use filler verbs.
 Do not write: “We conducted a study of group
compounds”
 Say: “We studied group compounds”.
 Examples of dummy-verbs to be avoided are “to
be present”, “to occur”, “to perform”, “to obtain”.

11. Avoid Imprecise Words
 Do not use imprecise words like “quite”, “some”,
“considerable”, “a great deal”, .
 Be as precise as possible when dealing with facts or
figures.
 Avoid phrases such as: about a hundred years ago.
 If estimation is necessary, use approximately rather
than about.

12. Avoid Nouns Instead of the Verbs
 Do use nouns instead of the verbs from which
they are derived.
 Avoid writing: “Recording of pulse rates was
made”;
 Instead write: “Pulse rates were recorded”. Do use
nouns instead of the verbs

13. Avoid “That”!
 Most good writers say that everything before the
“that” may be deleted!
 “It should be noted that” is particularly obnoxious.
 Just say what you want to say!
 Search for “that” in the document to get rid of them.

14. Avoid “That”!
 Do not begin sentences with constructions like
“Despite the fact that …”, “Notwithstanding the fact
that …”.
 Compare these two versions:
 Thus, although there were too few plots to show all
of the interactions which we sought, under the
conditions of the experiment, copper and zinc
acted additively.
 Thus, copper and zinc acted additively under the
conditions of our experiment.

15. of 8315Slide
A number of, Diverse Several
A small number of A few
Are in agreement Agree
Are found to be Are
At the present time Now
Based on the fact that Because
Despite the fact that Although
Due to the fact that Because
Go on (2 word verb) Continue
Bring up (2 word verb) Raise
Avoid Redundancy

16. of 8316Slide
Fewer in number Fewer
For the reason that Because
If it is assumed that If
In spite of the fact that Although
In the near future Soon
In view of the fact that Because
It is clear that Clearly
Of great importance Important
Utilize Use
Avoid Redundancy

17. Avoid “Naked This”!
 Clothe the naked “this”:
“This shows that markets really are irrational”
 This what? What shows the markets are
irrational?
 “This” should always have something following
it: “This regression shows that....” is fine.
 Often there are three or more things in recent
memory of readers that “this” could point to.

18. Avoid Colloquial Vocabulary
 Do not use colloquial vocabulary: kids, boss.
Instead use: children, manager.
 Avoid these:
 like for introducing examples;
use: such as or for instance.
 Thing, nothing or something;
use: factor, issue or topic.
 lots of;
use: a significant/considerable number.

19. Avoid Colloquial Vocabulary
 Avoid the following:
 little/big;
use: small/large.
 ‘get’ phrases such as: get better/worse;
Use improve and deteriorate.
 good/bad are simplistic;
use: positive/negative (e.g. the changes had several
positive aspects).

20. Avoid Question Forms
 Do not use question forms such as: Why did war
break out in 1914?
 Instead, use: There were three reasons for the
outbreak of war.
 Avoid numbering sections of your text, except in
reports and long essays.
 Use conjunctions and signposting expressions to
introduce new sections (Turning to the question of
detecting cancer . . .).

21. Space
 Use a space before and after numbers, and symbols
related to numbers:
 a 6 h experiment.
 a 37 ⁰C water (NOT “37⁰ C” , the angles are
exceptions, and “a 60⁰ angle” is correct).
 a 6.2 mm pipe.
 3 > 1 (not: 3>1)
 4 < 6 (not: 4<6)
 5 ± 8 (not: 5±8)
 x = 3 (not: x=3)
 Percent sign (%) is an exception: 25% (not: 25 %)

22. A or AN?
 Pay attention to the “sound” not to dictation”
 An hour (not: a hour)
 An umbrella
 A university
 An MP3 player (NOT: a MP3 player)
 An FDA approved drug (NOT: a FDA approved
drug)

23. The
 In general, the is used with:
 Superlatives (the fastest)
 Time periods (the eighteenth century, the 1970s)
 Unique things (the government, the world)
 Specified things (the French Revolution)
 Regular publications (the New Scientist)
 Regions, rivers, seas, oceans, deserts (the south, the River Seine)
 Very well-known people and things (the Spanish artist)
 Institutions and bodies (the United Nations)
 Bridges, highways, buildings, museums, galleries
 Currencies (the euro), Positions (the middle)

24. The
 “The” is NOT used with:
 Things in general (bad results)
 Names of countries (except for the UK, the USA and
a few others)
 places named after people (Heathrow Airport)
 Streets, weekdays, month names, mountains, parks,
lakes

25. The
 “The” is NOT used with:
 Abstract (uncountable) nouns eg:
 Pollution is a problem. OK, general fact.
 The pollution in my town is a problem. OK,
specific location
 There is a pollution in my town. NOT OK,
uncountable noun.
 Note the alternate forms:
 Australia’s deserts are expanding.
 The deserts of Australia are expanding.

26. of 8326Slide
Comma (,)

27. Comma (,)
 Comma use is partly a matter of individual style.
 It is useful to think of commas as providing a brief
pause for readers.
 A pair of commas may delimit the beginning and end
of a phrase.
 Overuse can slow down the reader, but equally a lack
of commas can be confusing.

28. Comma (,)
 Comma is used:
 After introductory words:
However, more cases should be considered before
reaching a conclusion.
 Around examples or comments:
Certain crops, for instance wheat, are susceptible
to diseases.
Nationalism, it is widely recognized, has a positive
and negative side.

29. Comma (,)
 Comma is used:
 In lists:
Tomatoes, beans, cabbages, and potatoes were all
genetically modified in turn.
 Before conjunctions (and, but, for, or, nor, so,
yet):
Three hundred people were interviewed, but only
half the responses could be used.

30. of 8330Slide
Comma (,)

31. of 8331Slide
Comma (,)

32. of 8332Slide
Comma (,)

33. of 8333Slide
Comma (,)

34. of 8334Slide
Comma (,)

35. of 8335Slide
Comma (,)

36. And
 Insert and before the last item in lists:
The main side effects were fever, anemia, and
seizure.
 In compound sentences, “and” acts as equal
sign in mathematics (=), so the 2 sides should
be the same:
He drives fast and careless (wrong sentence!)

37. Connectors
 The usual form of writing is:
 First clause; connector, second clause (when
the connector is at the middle of the sentence)
 . Connector, first clause (when the
connector is at the beginning of the sentence)

38. Connectors
 Addition (function = and):
 Furthermore
 Moreover
 Besides
 In addition (but not “in addition to”)

39. Connectors
 Sequencing:
 Firstly
 Next
 Afterwards
 Subsequently (but not consequently)
 Then
 Finally
 Eventually

40. Connectors
 Contrast (function = but):
 However
 Nevertheless
 Nonetheless
 On the other hand
 In contrast
 Condition:
 Otherwise
 Or

41. Connectors
 Result (function = so):
 Therefore
 Thus
 Hence
 Consequently
 As a consequent
 As a result

42. Connectors
 Emotion (do not use in academic writing)
 Fortunately/ Unfortunately
 Interestingly
 Justifiably
 Surprisingly

43. Apostrophe (’)
 Apostrophe shows contractions (not common in
academic English)
 It is used with possessives:
 The professor’s secretary (singular)
 Students’ marks (plural words ending in ‘s’)
 Women’s rights (for irregular plurals)

44. Semicolon (;)
 Semicolons are used when a comma would be too
weak and a full stop too strong:
 20 people were interviewed for the first study; 33
for the second.
 Nobody questioned the results; they were quite
conclusive.
 The semi-colon separates segments of a sentence that
are “further apart” in position, or meaning, but are
related.

45. Semicolon (;)
 If the ideas were “closer together”, a comma is used.
 Semicolons separate two clauses that may stand on
their own, but are too closely related for a colon or
full stop.
 Semicolons are also used to divide up items in a list
when they have a complex structure, as in a multiple
citation:
 (Maitland, 2006; Rosenor, 1997; New Scientist,
2006b; University of Michigan, 2000).

46. Colon (:)
 To introduce explanations: The meeting was
postponed: the Dean was ill.
 To start a list: Three aspects were identified:
financial, social and ethical.
 To introduce a quotation: As he said: ‘You can
never be too rich or too thin.’

47. of 8347Slide
Hyphen (-)

48. Hyphen (-)
 Hyphens are used with compound nouns, and certain
structures:
A well-researched, thought-provoking book.
Her three-year-old daughter is learning to read.
 Hyphens are used for compound modifiers before the
noun:
After-tax income
Risk-free rate
Two-day return
Three-digit code
Value-weighted index

49. Hyphen (-)
 Hyphen is not used when part of the compound
modifier is an adverb ending in ‘ly’:
Previously acquired subsidiary
Equally weighted index
Publicly traded stock
 Consider the difference:
 Diameter of the dish is 35 mm. (“35 mm” is a noun)
 Cells were grown in 35-mm dishes. (“35-mm” is an
adjective)
 For concentrations hyphen is NOT used; eg: a 50 mg
(NOT: 50mg) buffer.

50. Hyphen (-)
 Hyphenate two consecutive modifiers:
 The Ca2+- and phospholipid-dependent enzyme PKC…
 The epinephrine- and isoproterenol-induced responses
were…
 The drug-sensitive and -insensitive cells were compared
for…
 The suspended compound
 first- and second-class fares
 high- and low-pressure turbine
 interest- or revenue-producing schemes
 short- and long-term plans
 two-, four- and six-meter widths

51. Full stop (.)
 They are used with certain abbreviations, when they
are the first part of a word: govt./Jan./p. 397
 But do not use full stops with acronyms such as:
BBC/UN/VIP
 If the sentence is in question or exclamation form,
then it ends with a question mark or exclamation
mark.
 The full stop is also used to terminate abbreviations
like etc., e.g., et al., but not with abbreviations for SI
units.

52. Where, In which
 “Where” refers to a place. “In which” refers to a
model.
Wrong: “models where consumers can trust to,”
Correct: “models in which consumers can trust to,”

53. Introduce Examples
 For instance, for example (with commas):
Some car manufacturers, for instance Kia, now offer
seven-year guarantees.
 Such as, e.g. :
Many successful businessmen such as Bill Gates have
no formal qualifications.
 Particularly, especially (to give a focus):
Certain Master’s courses, especially American ones,
take two years.

54. Introduce Examples
 A case in point (for single examples):
A few diseases have been successfully eradicated. A
case in point is smallpox.
 Some phrases are used when there is only one
‘example’, brackets may also be used for this
purpose.
 This group consists of: in other words, namely, that is
(to say), i.e.
The organ which does not need insulin for using
glucose, namely brain….

55. Problems and Solutions
 Three main difficulties have
arisen: a)…
 The main challenge faced by
nurses is…
 One of the concerns during
the attack is…
 The new process created two
questions: …
 The team faced six issues:
1)…
 Our principal worry/dilemma
was…
 The best remedy for this
may be…
 Two answers have been
put forward: firstly…
 Another suggestion is…
 The second proposal
was finally accepted.
 This was rectified/
solved by…

56. Comparison
 Comparisons can be modified by the use of adverbs.
 Adverbs such as: slightly, marginally, approximately,
considerably, significantly and substantially:
 Example:
substantially larger than…,
slightly smaller than…,
significantly colder than….

57. Comparison
 Similarity can be noted by the use of “as . . . as” or
“the same as”:
 The prevalence of the disease in men is
approximately the same as the prevalence in
women.
 Mortality rate in Iran, is as high as in Pakistan.
 This form can be used for quantitative comparison:
 Nucleolus is half as large as nucleus.
(also twice as large as . . ., ten times as fast as . . .)

58. Comparison
 When using superlatives, take care to define the
group (e.g. ‘the longest cell’ has no meaning):
The longest cell in the muscle tissue/in the body.
 the most/the least are followed by an adjective:
The most interesting example is. . .
 the most/the fewest are used in relation to numbers:
The fewest stem cells differentiated (i.e. the lowest
number).

59. Cause and Effect
 A writer may choose to emphasize either the
cause or the effect.
 In both cases, either a verb or a conjunction can
be used to show the link.

60. of 8360Slide
| 60

61. of 8361Slide
| 61

62. Cause and Effect
 Compare the following:
 Because children were vaccinated, diseases
declined (because + verb)
 Because of the vaccination, diseases declined
(because of + noun)
 As/since children were vaccinated, diseases
declined (conjunction + verb)
 Owing to/due to the vaccination, diseases declined
(conjunction + noun)

63. Cause and Effect
 Conjunctions are commonly used with specific
situations, while verbs tend to be used in general.
 Cases:
Printing money commonly leads to inflation (general)
Due to hot weather, demand for ice cream increased
(specific)
 Note the position of the conjunctions in the
following:
The drug was arrhythmogenic, therefore / hence / so
/ consequently the patient die.

64. Passive Form
 The passive should not be overused.
 The passive is used when the writer wants to focus on
the result, not on the cause:
 The supernatant was injected into cells.
 Dr. Moosavi injected the supernatant into cells.
 So the passive is used when the cause (a person or
thing) is less important or unknown.

65. Passive Form
 The passive is also used in written work to provide a
more impersonal style:
The findings were evaluated. (not: ‘I evaluated the
findings’)
 An adverb can be inserted in a passive form to add
information:
This process is commonly called ‘depolarization
blockade’.

66. Singular or Plural?
 Nouns should agree with verbs, and pronouns with
nouns:
Those problems are unique
 Uncountable nouns and irregular plurals usually have
no final ‘s’:
Most students receive free tuition.
The main export is tropical fruit.

67. Singular or Plural?
 General statements normally use the plural:
State hospitals have lower fees.
 Each/every are followed by singular noun and verb:
Every student gets financial support.
 Two linked nouns should agree:
Both the similarities and differences are important.

68. of 8368Slide
Singular or Plural?
Accommodation Data Travel Information
Advice Education Knowledge Behavior
Equipment Money Commerce Furniture
News Permission Scenery Trouble
Progress Staff Weather Vocabulary
Research Traffic Work Rubbish
The following nouns are uncountable, and are NOT usually
used with numbers or the plural ‘s’.

69. Singular or Plural?
 Many of these words can be ‘counted’ by using an
extra noun:
A piece of advice
Three patterns of behavior
Two items of laboratory equipment
Six members of staff

70. Singular or Plural?
 Another group of uncountable nouns is used for
materials: wood / rubber / iron / coffee / paper / water
/ oil / stone.
Little wood is used in motor vehicles.
Huge amounts of paper are needed.
 Many of these nouns can be used as countable nouns
with a rather different meaning:
Over twenty daily papers are published in Delhi.
Most woods are home to a wide variety of birds.

71. Singular or Plural?
 The most difficult group can be used either as
countable or uncountable nouns, often with different
meanings:
She developed an interest in genetics. (countable)
The bank is paying 4% interest. (uncountable)
Most people feel that life is too short. (uncountable)
Twenty lives were lost in the accident. (countable)

72. Verbs of Reference
 Referring verbs are used to summarize another
writer’s ideas:
Smith argued that hypertension is...
Bakewell found that most managers tended…
 They may also be used to introduce a quotation:
As Scott observed, ‘Comments are free but facts are
sacred.’

73. Verbs of Reference
 The following verbs are followed by a noun clause
beginning with ‘that’, and are used for presenting a
case:
argue, claim, consider, suggest, believe, think, state,
hypothesize.
Dr. Rahimi states that MRI is obligatory in these
patients,
Smith suggested that eating raw eggs is….

74. Verbs of Reference
 The second group shows a reaction to an opinion:
accept, admit, deny, agree with, and doubt.
Dr. Tehrani doubts smith’s suggestion that eating
raw eggs is…
 Others verbs of reference include:
assume, conclude, discover, explain, imply, indicate,
maintain, presume, reveal, show.
Lee assumes that inflation will remain low.

75. Numbers
 Both fractions (1⁄2) and decimals (0.975) may be
used.
 There is no final ‘s’ on hundred / thousand / million
used with cardinal numbers:
Six million people live there.
But:
Thousands of people were killed.
 Rates are expressed as percentages (e.g. the literacy
rate rose to 75%), but may also be per thousand (e.g.
the Austrian birth rate is 8.7).

76. Numbers
 It is normal to write cardinal numbers as words
from one to ten and as digits above ten:
There were 12 metastases in the body, but only three
needed surgical removal.
 If the actual number is not important, words such
as various, dozens or scores may be used instead:
The snowstorm closed 47 schools.
The snowstorm closed dozens of schools.

77. Numbers
 Simplify as much as possible, compare the following
sentences:
The course fees rose from $1,200 to $2,500 from
2008 to 2010.
The course fees doubled in two years.
 If appropriate, roughly / approximately (but not
about) can be added:
The course fees roughly doubled in two years.

78. Numbers
 To avoid numerical precision in this sentence:
“52% of the images were classified”,
 Do not say:
“the majority of the images were classified”
 Say instead:
“Slightly over half the images were classified”.

79. of 8379Slide
| 79
Numbers

80. of 8380Slide
| 80
Numbers

81. of 8381Slide
| 81
Time Frames

82. of 8382Slide
| 82
Adverbs

83. Last tips!
 Note the difference between ‘among’ and ‘between’:
I could not find my notes among my books.
(large group)
I sat between the boss and his accountant.
(limited number)
 What is wrong in the following sentence?
I came to Modarres hospital with my car.
 What is wrong in the following sentence?
If A equals to B, and B equals to C, then A equals to C.

84. Last tips!
 The word “only”, precedes the word it modifies.
 Note the different meanings related to “only”:
I only like to be a surgeon in Modarres hospital.
(I like nothing else).
I like to be a surgeon only in Modarres hospital.
(I like nowhere else).
Only I, like to be a surgeon in Modarres hospital.
(nobody else likes!).

85. of 8385Slide

86. Thank you
Any question?