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