Word Usage in Scientific Writing

 Word Usage in Scientific Writing

A sentence should contain no unnecessary words.  In scientific manuscripts precise writing is especially important because of the emphasis on conveying quantitative information efficiently.  In reporting and recording research, try to be as accurate and precise in describing as in conducting the research.

 Following is a list of words and expressions that are useless or incorrect in scientific writing, with suggested alternatives.  This is not a complete list but contains some of the most troublesome words most frequently found in scientific manuscripts.

Don't use	Better
based on the fact that	because
for the purpose of	for / to
fact	evidence
prove	support
plays an important role	is important because
decreased number of	fewer
time period	time
longer time period	longer
brown in color	brown
round in shape	round
a number of	some
has been shown to be	is
by means of	by
it is possible that	may
in order to	to
during the course of	during
a majority of	most
a great number of times	often
in other words	thus / hence / therefore
despite the fact that	although
first of all	first
it is interesting to note that	eliminate
it may be reasonable to suppose that	eliminate

To ensure accuracy and preciseness in your writing:

 • Use an English spelling checker

 • Make sure you use words according to the precise meaning understood by the average person.

• Ideally, check whether every word could be deleted or replaced by a better one.

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