Grammar Points on Bio-medical Writing - Dr. Steve Wallace

Grammar Points for
Medical Writing
Dr. Steve Wallace

Introduction
 Teach at CUHK, NTU, NCU, NTHU and ITRI
technical writing teacher and editor
 Spoken at over 70 universities in Taiwan
 Written 13 textbooks used in 28 universities,
including:
 “How to write and submit your paper in 18 weeks:
a textbook for Taiwanese academic writers”
 華樂絲學術英文編修

Introduction and outline of speech
 - Active and passive voice in medical writing
 - “Hedging” in medical writing
 - The ambiguous antecedent
 - The missing antecedent
 - The vague antecedent
 - Dangling modifiers
 - Misplaced modifiers
 - Latin and Greek plurals
 - Using numbers and 16 other Grammar points

What Is Active Voice?
The active voice emphasizes the
performer of the action:
 Wind disperses plant seeds.
 Smith et al. investigated the
relationship.
 We have analyzed the results.
The active voice is direct (performer–
verb–receiver), clear, and concise.

What Is Passive Voice?
The passive voice, emphasizes the
receiver of the action:
 Plant seeds are dispersed [by wind].
 The relationship was investigated [by
Smith et al].
 The results have been analyzed [by
us].
 The passive voice is indirect and
can be weak, awkward, and wordy.

Tradition and the Passive Voice
More than a century ago, scientists
wrote in the first-person pronouns
I and we.
Example: Charles Darwin
“I have called this principle by the
term of Natural Selection, in order to
mark its relation to man's power of
selection.”

Beginning in the 1920s scientists
adopted a passive writing style.
The passive voice was thought to be
objective, impersonal, and well
suited to science writing.

Exception
 “We wish to suggest a structure for
the salt of deoxyribose nucleic acid
(D.N.A.).”
Watson and Crick's classic article is simple, direct,
and clear.
 “In this paper, a structure is
suggested for the salt of deoxyribose
nucleic acid (D.N.A.).”

Emphasize the Active Voice
Currently, most medical and scientific
style manuals prefer active voice
 Some journals ask authors to limit
first-person pronouns or restrict
them to certain sections.
 Other journals prefer authors to use
first-person pronouns over passive
voice.

AMA Manual of Style
recommends that:
 “In general, authors should use the
active voice, except in instances in
which the author is unknown or the
interest focuses on what is acted
upon.“
AMA Manual of Style: A Guide for Authors and Editors. 10th ed. New York, NY: Oxford
University Press; 2007.

The Journal of Trauma and
Dissociation:
"Use the active voice whenever
possible: We will ask authors
that rely heavily on use of the
passive voice to re-write
manuscripts in the active voice.“
Guidelines for authors. International Society for the Study of Trauma Web site: The
Journal of Trauma & Dissociation. http://www.isst-d.org/jtd/journal-trauma-
dissociation-info-for-authors.htm. Accessed March 5, 2009.

Ophthalmology
 "Active voice is much preferred to passive
voice, which should be used
sparingly....Passive voice...does not
relieve the author of direct responsibility
for observations, opinions, or conclusions
(e.g., 'The problem of blood flow was
investigated...' vs. 'We investigated the
problem of blood flow...').“
 Guide for authors. Elsevier Web site: Ophthalmology: Journal of the American Academy of
Ophthalmology.
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/620418/authorinstructions.
Accessed March 5, 2009.

The Journal of Neuroscience
 "Overuse of the passive voice is a
common problem in writing. Although the
passive has its place—for example, in the
Methods section—in many instances it
makes the manuscript dull by failing to
identify the author's role in the
research....Use direct, active-voice
sentences.“
 Westbrook G, Cooper L. Writing tips: Techniques for clear scientific writing and editing. The Society
for Neuroscience Web site:The Journal of Neuroscience. http://www.jneurosci.org. Accessed March
5, 2009.

British Medical Journal
 "Please write in a clear, direct, and
active style....Write in the active
[voice] and use the first person
where necessary.“
 The essentials of BMJ style. BMJ Publishing Group Web site: British Medical Journal.
http://resources.bmj.com/bmj/authors/bmj-house-style. Accessed March 5, 2009.

The Publication Manual of the American Psychological
Association (APA) has similar advice:
 "Prefer the active voice....The
passive voice is acceptable in
expository writing and when you
want to focus on the object or
recipient of the action rather than on
the actor.“
 American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication Manual of the
American Psychological Association (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

Behavioral Ecology
 “Active voice is preferable to
the impersonal passive
voice.“
Instructions to authors. Oxford Journals Web site: Behavioral Ecology.
http://www.oxfordjournals.org/our_journals/beheco/for_authors/general.html. Accessed March
5, 2009.

Science
 "Use active voice when suitable,
particularly when necessary for
correct syntax (e.g., 'To address this
possibility, we constructed a lZap
library ...,' not 'To address this
possibility, a lZap library was
constructed...').“
 http://www.sciencemag.org/about/authors/prep/res/style.dtl. Accessed March 4, 2009.

Nature
 "Nature journals like authors to
write in the active voice as
experience has shown that readers
find concepts and results to be
conveyed more clearly if written
directly.“
How to write a paper: writing for a Nature journal. Nature Publishing Group Web site:
Nature. http://www.nature.com/authors/author_services/how_write.html.
Accessed March 4, 2009.

 When should an author choose
the passive voice?

1. If the performer is unknown,
irrelevant, or obvious
“Up to 90% of the energy in light
bulbs is wasted in the form of heat.”
“The first edition of Freud's earliest
writings on dreams was published in
1899.”
“Drosophila melanogaster has been
one of the most extensively studied
species in genetics research.”

2. If the performer is less
important than the action
“The honey bees were kept in a humidified
chamber at room temperature overnight.”
 “The solution was heated to 90°C for
approximately 30 minutes and then allowed to
cool.”

If active:
 “We kept the honey bees in a humidified chamber
at room temperature overnight.”
 “We heated the solution to 90°C for
approximately 30 minutes and then allowed it to
cool.”

Passive Voice in the Methods
Section
 In the methods section the active voice
changes the focus from the research to
the researchers, an emphasis the author
may not want in the Methods section,
where the general topic is the research
materials and procedures.
 Most sentences will begin with we, which
is distracting.
 The passive voice redirects attention
to the action (or the recipient).

3. If the recipient is the main
topic
Put important information at the beginning of a sentence.
 The following active-voice sentence begins a new section in
which the topic is "green plants" (the performer):
 Green plants produce carbohydrates
in the presence of light and
chlorophyll.
 If, "carbohydrates" (the receiver of the action) is the
opening topic, passive is better:
 Carbohydrates are produced by
green plants in the presence of light
and chlorophyll.

Watson and Crick (1953)
 The topic must identify the subject and prepare the reader
for upcoming material by connecting it to the previous
discussion.
“We wish to suggest a structure for the
salt of deoxyribose nucleic acid (D.N.A.).
This structure has novel features which
are of considerable biological interest. A
structure for nucleic acid has already been
proposed by Pauling and Corey.”
 The authors used the active voice in the first and second
sentences, but the passive in the third. If the third sentence
is changed to active voice, it becomes:
 Pauling and Corey have already proposed

Summary on Passive Voice
 Choose the active voice whenever
possible.
 Choose the passive voice when:
 1) The performer is unknown, irrelevant,
or obvious.
 2) The performer is less important than
the action.
 3) The recipient is the main topic.
 You can also use the passive voice to
hedge (i.e., to be noncommittal).
 Not recommended

"Hedging" in Scientific Writing
Hedging is using cautious language to make
noncommittal or vague statements to:
 Report the limits of their findings
 Protect themselves from the risk of error
 Show humility
 Cautious language is important in scientific
writing, but authors should not use it too much.
 3 hedging techniques:
 Qualifiers (modifiers)
 Passive voice
 Apologetic quotation marks

1. Word choice: Unnecessary
qualifiers
 Qualifiers modify or limit the meaning of other
words.
 Qualifiers are added to scientific writing to
express:
 approximation
 probability
 doubt
 limit the scope of a statement

Examples of qualifiers
 Adjectives: apparent, certain, consistent with,
few, many, most, possible, presumed, probable,
putative, several, some, supposed
 Adverbs: about, apparently, arguably, fairly, in
general, largely, likely, more or less, mostly,
often, perhaps, possibly, presumably, probably,
quite, rather, somewhat, unlikely, usually
 Nouns: appearance, indication, inference,
likelihood, possibility, probability, suggestion,
tendency, to my knowledge
 Verbs: aim, appear, assume, can, could,
estimate, indicate, infer, intend, may, might,
presume, propose, seem, seen as, should,
speculate, suggest, suppose, tend

Unnecessary qualifiers (continued)
 In moderation, qualifiers reduce a researcher's
certainty about a method or observation.
 However, double, triple, and quadruple synonyms
are unnecessary
 Example:
 may be possible
 seems to suggest
 rather likely to indicate
 may be seen as rather likely
 To strengthen your argument and increase clarity,
limit the number of qualifiers in each sentence.

How would you modify
this sentence?
 “A possible cause is likely the
apparent tendency of a certain
number of patients with diabetes to
develop indications of retinopathy.”
 “A possible cause is the tendency of
patients with diabetes to develop
retinopathy.”

2. Point of view: Unnecessary
passive voice
 A noncommittal form of the passive voice occurs
when authors fail to name themselves (with the
personal pronouns I, we) or other researchers as
the performers.
 This type of passive often begins with the word It
 Example:
 It was apparent...
 It has been noted...
 It was decided...
 It is known to be...
 Who reported the results? To whom was it
apparent?
 The reader is forced to guess who holds the view.

Passive in the Methods Section
 “It was concluded that sleep deprivation
has three effects on cognitive
performance.”
 The passive voice protects the authors from the
risk of uncertainty. However, who concluded?.
 The reader may find it difficult to determine who
did the action when authors use the passive voice
to describe their own work other researcher’s
work.
 Unless you have good reason to write in the
passive voice, use the active voice to identify the
performer (e.g., We concluded that...).

3. Punctuation: Unnecessary
quotation marks
 Some authors add quotation marks
to emphasize expressions that are
being used for irony or in a
nonstandard sense:
 “Many patent "medicines" in the
1800s contained little more than
alcohol and water.”
 Apologetic quotation marks tell
the reader that an expression is not
being used in the usual way.

Summary on Hedging
 Devices for hedging include qualifiers,
passive voice, and quotation marks.
 These devices are useful when used
carefully. However, to reduce ambiguity
and improve readability:
 1) Eliminate unnecessary qualifiers
 2) Use the active voice when
necessary
 3) Seldom apply apologetic quotation
marks

The Ambiguous Antecedent
A pronoun (e.g., you, ours, she, this,
whom, which, himself) takes the place of
a noun.
The noun, pronoun, or clause that a
pronoun refers to, called an antecedent,
usually appears earlier in the sentence.
 A pronoun should refer to one specific
antecedent.
 An ambiguous pronoun antecedent occurs
when a pronoun has two or more
possible antecedents.

Example: Does the pronoun it refer to the first
study or to the second study?
 “The second study was designed to enroll 2000
more participants than the first study. It tested
three dose levels of the study drug.”
 Correction 1
The second study, which tested three dose levels
of the study drug, was designed to enroll 2000
more participants than the first study.
 Correction 2
The second study, designed to enroll 2000 more
participants than the first study, tested three
dose levels of the study drug.

Example of an unclear
antecedent
 Smith et al. compared their study results
with those of previous researchers and
presented them at the conference.
 At the conference, Smith et al. presented
their study results, which they had
compared with those of previous
researchers.

Quick Tips: The Ambiguous
Antecedent
 Make sure that each pronoun refers
to only one antecedent.
 To correct:
 remove the pronoun,
 shorten the sentence, or
rearrange sentence elements.
 You may need to do all three.

The Missing Antecedent
 A missing pronoun antecedent is
when the author implies an
antecedent but does not include it
in the sentence.
 The true antecedent, or reference, is
missing.

How can we modify this
sentence?
After reading the nursing professor's recent
publication on patient care, the students
contacted her to obtain more information.
 Correction 1 After reading the recent publication
on patient care by their nursing professor, the
students contacted her to obtain more
information.
 Correction 2
After reading the recent publication on patient
care by Johnson, the students contacted her to
obtain more information.
 Correction 3
The students contacted the nursing professor to
obtain more information after reading her recent
publication on patient care.

Quick Tips: The Missing
Antecedent
Look for missing antecedents when
the implied antecedent of a pronoun
is in possessive case (and thus an
adjective).
 To correct a missing antecedent
 1) Replace antecedent adjectives
with nouns or noun phrases; or
 2) Replace pronouns with nouns or
noun phrases.

The Vague Antecedent
Sometimes authors use the pronouns this,
that, it, or which to refer to a noun or
clause (called an antecedent) in the
previous sentence.
 If the reference is not obvious readers
may not review the previous sentence to
understand what the author is saying.
 A vague pronoun antecedent occurs when
a pronoun refers to one or more groups
of words and the reference is not clear.

Example 1
Patients with a latent infection may need
to be monitored for several months
because they are at risk of developing the
active form of the disease. This diminishes
over time.
or
Example 2
 Patients with a latent infection may need
to be monitored for several months
because they are at risk of developing the
active form of the disease, which
diminishes over time.

 Correction 1
Patients with a latent infection may need to be
monitored for several months because they are
at risk of developing the active form of the
disease. This risk diminishes over time.
 Correction 1
disease. The need to monitor these patients
diminishes over time.
 Correction 1
disease. As the risk diminishes over time, so too
does the need to monitor these patients.

Quick Tips: The Vague
Antecedent
Be careful with the pronouns this,
that, it, and which.
 Correct vague pronoun antecedents
by:
 changing the pronoun into an
adjective,
 replacing the pronoun with a noun
or noun phrase, or
 revising the sentence more
extensively.

Dangling Modifiers
A dangling modifier is a word or phrase
that modifies the wrong subject in a
sentence. This occurs because the
implied subject is missing. The resulting
sentence can be unclear.
Most dangling modifiers are verbal
phrases:
Participles (verbs used as adjectives)
Gerunds (verbs used as nouns)
Infinitives (verbs used as nouns
adjectives, or adverbs)

Dangling Participles
(end in “ing” or “ed”)
 Example
Using the survey data, the effects of
education on job satisfaction were
examined.
 (Who is using the data? Implied subject =
we/researchers; grammatical subject =
the effects)
 Correction
Using the survey data, we examined the
effects of education on job satisfaction.

Dangling Participles
(end in “ing” or “ed”)
Example
Based on the results, we concluded that the
drugs are equally effective.
 (What is based on the results? Implied subject =
conclusion; grammatical subject = we)
 Correction 1
On the basis of the results, we concluded that the
 Correction 2
We concluded from the results that the drugs are
equally effective.
 Correction 3
Based on the results, our conclusion is that the

Dangling Gerunds (end
in “ing”)
 Example
After preparing the samples, our focus
was on collecting the data.
 (Who did the preparing? Implied subject =
we/ researchers; grammatical subject =
our focus)
 Correction
After preparing the samples, we focused
on collecting the data.

Dangling Infinitives
(include the word “to”)
 Example
To investigate the relationship, a series of
experiments were designed.
 (Who is going to investigate? Implied
subject = we/researchers; grammatical
subject = a series)
 Correction
We designed a series of experiments to
investigate the relationship.

Quick Tips: Dangling Modifiers
Watch for dangling modifiers at the
beginning of sentences.
 Ask who or what is doing the action
and make sure the implied subject is
doing it.
 Write in the active voice whenever
possible. The passive voice
"encourages" dangling modifiers to
appear.

Misplaced Modifiers
Misplaced modifiers are an error in
sentence structure involving the
order of words.
 A misplaced modifier has been
incorrectly placed in a sentence,
describing the wrong word or phrase.
 Adjectives and adverbs are easily
misplaced, producing unclear results.

Example: Misplaced
Modifier
 Example
The 49-year-old patient experienced
severe pain in the left heel when
walking for two months.
 Correction
For two months, the 49-year-old
patient experienced severe pain in
the left heel when walking.

The word only modifies the word that
directly follows it.
 Example
Only eradication of this disease can be achieved
through immunization. (Eradication, but no other
outcome, can be achieved.)
 Alternative 1
Eradication of only this disease can be achieved
through immunization. (Eradication of this
disease, but not of any other, can be achieved.)
 Alternative 2
Eradication of this disease can only be achieved
through immunization. (Eradication can be
achieved, but no other action can occur.)
 Alternative 3
Eradication of this disease can be achieved only
through immunization. (Eradication can be
achieved through immunization but not by any
other means.)

The word only modifies the
word that directly follows it.
 They were only asking about the
deliverable. (As if it were a minor
issue)
 They were asking only about the
deliverable. (They asked about
nothing else.)
 Only they were asking about the
deliverable. (No one else asked.)

Quick Tips: Misplaced Modifiers
Place words and groups of words as
close as possible to the words that
they are describing.
 Place words such as only, almost,
and even just before the word that
you want them to describe.

Latin and Greek Plurals
Common in scientific and medical writing.
 The preferred plural form of many of
these words is the same as in the original
language. But for other plurals, the usual
English rules of adding "s" or "es" now
apply.
 The acceptability of an English plural form
may differ by journal
 Caution: Read the dictionary entry
carefully. Sometimes the English plural is
used for only a narrow definition of the
term.

Common traditional endings for Latin or
Greek singular nouns and their
corresponding plural endings
 Singular ending Plural ending
 -a → -ae
 -en→ -ina
 -ex→ -ices
 -is → -es
 -itis→ -itides
 -ix → -ices
 -on→ -a
 -um→ -a
 -us→ -i

Singular and Plural Nouns Derived From
Latin and Greek
Singular form Plural form
 alga algae or algas
 analysis analyses
 bacterium bacteria
 basis bases
 criterion criteria or criterions
 datum data
 focus foci or focuses
 foramen foramina or foramens
 formula formulae or formulas
 fungus fungi or funguses
 genus genera
 hypothesis hypotheses
 index indices (math) or indexes

Singular and Plural Nouns Derived From
Latin and Greek (continued)
Singular form Plural form
 larva larvae or larvas
 matrix matrices or matrixes
 medium media
 nephritis nephritides
 nucleus nuclei or nucleuses
 parenthesis parentheses
 phenomenon phenomena
 radius radii or radiuses
 stimulus stimuli
 stratum strata
 synthesis syntheses
 vertebra vertebrae or vertebrasa

Do not insert a comma before but also in a
sentence with not only...but also
Correlative conjunctions are pairs
(not only...but also, either...or,
neither...nor, and both...and).
These conjunctive pairs are used when
there is a continuous flow of ideas.
A comma signifies a pause in the line
of thinking so no comma should be
used to separate the elements joined
by correlative conjunctions.
 Do not insert a comma before but
also.

How would you change
this sentence?
 We observed that poor drug
efficiency was due to not only lack
of absorption, but also increased
clearance.
 We observed that poor drug
efficiency was due to not only lack
of absorption but also increased
clearance.

this sentence?
 Radiotherapy is valuable not only in
reducing the number of courses of
chemotherapy, but also in
producing superior overall survival.
 Radiotherapy is valuable not only in
reducing the number of courses of
chemotherapy but also in producing
superior overall survival.

Avoid double negatives
 Double negatives are used in English
to make a very positive statement,
but this is not appropriate for a
scientific paper.
 In Chinese a double negative can
actually strengthen the negativeness
of a statement, which does not
translate into English.

this sentence?
 "No background staining was not
seen..."
 "No background staining was
seen..."

Hyphens
 Hyphenation joins ordinarily separate
words into compound words
 Incorrect use of compound adjectives
can lead to confusion
 “twenty-four hour reactions”
has a different meaning from
 “twenty four-hour reactions”

Do not use a hyphen in a compound adjective
when the first word is an adverb ending in ly
 No hyphen is required to make a
compound adjective when the first
word is an adverb ending in “ly”
 “intensely colored crystals” =
“intense-colored crystals”
 Not “intensely-colored crystals”

this sentence?
 We developed a fully-automated
method that estimates the position
of the diaphragm.
 We developed a fully automated
method that estimates the position
of the diaphragm.

this sentence?
 The surgically-removed tissue
specimen was then subjected to
histopathological examination.
 The surgically removed tissue
specimen was then subjected to
histopathological examination.

Do not use the same or similar
word/phrase in quick succession in two
consecutive sentences
 The baseline characteristics are shown in
Table 1. Table 2 shows the body
temperature of all female subjects.
 The baseline characteristics are shown in
Table 1, and the body temperature of all
female subjects are shown in Table 2.
 Table 1 and Table 2 show the baseline
characteristics and body temperature of
all female subjects, respectively.

these sentences?
 Percutaneous RF ablation of the lung
tumors was approved by our
institutional review board. The
institutional review board also
approved tumor biopsy and specimen
analysis with the novel approach.
 Our institutional review board
approved percutaneous RF ablation of
the lung tumors as well as tumor biopsy
and specimen analysis with the novel
approach.

Numbers
 The numbers one to nine should be
written in full in text except when used
with units of measurement or in a range
including a number greater than nine
 “The control group (three males and two
females)…”
 “Patients were administered 3 mg/kg
TNF…”
 “There were 5–10 patients in each group”

Numbers
 Numbers at the beginning of a sentence
should be spelled out or the sentence
should be restructured
 Spelled out numbers require spelled out
units
 “Thirty-three sections were cut from each
block using a cryostat”
 “Ten microliters of drug was administered
to each patient”
 “Drug (10 μl) was administered to each
patient”

Numbers
Always use a space between numbers and
units
(this includes % if the journal follows SI guidelines,
exceptions are plane angular degrees, minutes and seconds.
The Chicago manual asks for no space between the % sign
and the number)
 20 mg, 40 mL, 25 °C, 2°3’4’’
Use “of” to follow amounts but not
concentrations
 5 g of NaOH was added to the solution
 5 mol/L NaOH was added to the solution

Insert a space between a numeral and its
corresponding unit of measurement and
before and after mathematical operators
 The body weight of the Beagles ranged
between 5kg and 10kg; their average
body weight was 7.5kg.
 The body weight of the Beagles ranged
between 5 kg and 10 kg; their average
body weight was 7.5 kg.

this sentence?
 Of the 91 participants (average age
60±5years), 51 and 40 were divided into
2 groups based on their response to the
drug.
 Of the 91 participants (average age 60 ±
5 years), 51 and 40 were divided into 2
groups based on their response to the
drug.

Repeat the percentage sign
(%) in a series or range of
percentages
 The range of annual incidence rates
of URTI was 0.4-1.9 %.
 The range of annual incidence rates
of URTI was 0.4 %-1.9 %.

this title?
 Approximately 60.0, 14.3, and
16.7% patients in Groups A, B, and
C, respectively, showed significant
improvement.
 Approximately 60.0 %, 14.3 %,
and 16.7 % patients in Groups A, B,
and C, respectively, showed
significant improvement.

Do not begin a sentence
with a numeral
 24 patients were assigned to receive
radiotherapy and 30 to receive a
combination of radio- and chemotherapy.
 Twenty-four patients were assigned to
receive radiotherapy and 30 to receive a
combination of radio- and chemotherapy.
 A total of 24 and 30 patients were
assigned to receive radiotherapy and a
combination of radio and chemotherapy,
respectively.

Do not begin a sentence
with a numeral
 60 % of the enrolled subjects
continued their participation until the
end of the study.
 Sixty percent of the enrolled
subjects continued their participation
until the end of the study.
 Of the enrolled subjects, 60 %
continued their participation until the
end of the study.

Do not use a plural verb with a
spelled-out unit of measurement
 Use the singular form of the verb
with units of measurement
 Note: Although milligrams ends in s,
a singular verb should be used
because units of measurement are
treated as singular collective nouns.

this sentence?
 Fifty milligrams of the pulverized
crude drug were mixed with 100 mL
of the solvent.
 Fifty milligrams of the pulverized
crude drug was mixed with 100 mL
of the solvent.

this sentence?
 Twenty milliliters of blood were
drawn from the affected and
unaffected (control) individuals.
 Twenty milliliters of blood was
drawn from the affected and
unaffected (control) individuals.

Do not use nonstandard
mathematical symbols
In MS Word, these symbols can be obtained from
Insert > Symbol.
 Symbol errors:
 An apostrophe (') is incorrectly used to represent
the prime sign (’) in chemical names and gene
sequences.
 While representing standard deviation, +/-
(plus/minus) or + (an underlined plus sign) is
used instead of the symbol ±.
 >= and <= are used to represent greater than or
equal to (>-) and less than or equal to (<-) signs.
 x is used instead of the multiplication sign ( × ).

this sentence?
 The equation for estimating this
value is A = 3.56 x 10-2 γ [a + b].
 The equation for estimating this
value is A = 3.56 × 10-2 γ [a + b].
 Insert > Symbols > Multiplication
sign

Useful links on numbers
 Typefaces for symbols in
scientific manuscripts:
 physics.nist.gov/Document/typefaces
.pdf
 SI guidelines:
 physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/rules.html

Asian Fonts
 Asian fonts such as MS Mincho and
SimSum possess characters with different
widths from those of Latin fonts
 Do not use Asian fonts in your
manuscripts
 Frequently encountered problems include
those caused by Asian-font brackets, plus
and minus signs and other mathematical
symbols, and units of temperature
“temperature was increased （1 ° C/min”)

Colon and semicolon
The colon “:” is used to introduce a list or a clause
that explains what precedes it
The semicolon “;” is used to separate the elements
in a list too long for commas or where commas
could be ambiguous. Use ‘and’ before the last
item in the list.
“There are a number of journals for organic
chemistry manuscripts: Organic Electronics,
produced by Elsevier; The Journal of Polymer
Science, produced by Wiley; The Journal of…”
 Use a colon (:), not a semicolon (;) to
introduce a list

this sentence?
 The following parameters were used as
outcome measures; morning stiffness,
number of tender joints, and ESR.
 The following parameters were used as
outcome measures: morning stiffness,
number of tender joints, and ESR.

this sentence?
 The article includes the following
sections; Abstract, Introduction,
Methods, Results, and Discussion.
 The article includes the following
sections: Abstract, Introduction,
Methods, Results, and Discussion.

Use the present tense
for in-text reference to
figures and tables
 The vital signs upon presentation
were summarized in Table 1.
 The vital signs upon presentation are
summarized in Table 1.

this sentence?
 Figure 1 showed the relationship
between age and incidence of
dementia.
 Figure 1 shows the relationship
between age and incidence of
dementia.

Do not use a period at the end of
the title of a manuscript
 Title and subtitles are not full
sentences and do not need a
period at the end.
 Do not insert a period after the
title

this title?
 Prespondylosis and some Pain
Syndromes following Denervation
Supersensitivity.
 Prespondylosis and some Pain
Syndromes following Denervation
Supersensitivity

this title?
 Acupuncture and the Peripheral
Nervous System: A Radiculopathy
Model.
 Acupuncture and the Peripheral
Nervous System: A Radiculopathy
Model

Do not use a comma after a salutation in
a formal letter written in the American
style
In American English, the salutation
ends in a colon in a formal letter and
ends in a comma in an informal
letter.
In the British style of writing, a
salutation is followed by a comma in
both formal and informal letters.

this salutation?
 Dear Editor,
 Dear Editor:

this salutation?
 Dear Dr. Thomson,
 Dear Dr. Thomson:

References in the AMA style
Book, single author
 Shepard TH. Catalog of Teratogenic
Agents. 7th ed. Baltimore, MD: Johns
Hopkins Press; 1992.
Book—more than one author
(list all authors if six or less, otherwise list
first three followed by "et al.")
 Baselt RC, Cravey RH. Disposition of Toxic
Drugs and Chemicals in Man. 4th ed.
Foster City, CA: Chemical Toxicology
Institute; 1995.

 Monographic series
 Davidoff RA. Migraine:
Manifestations, Pathogenesis, and
Management. Philadelphia, Pa: FA
Davis; 1995. Contemporary
Neurology Series, No. 42.

Article from journal—single author
 Moldofsky H. Sleep, neuroimmune and
neuroendocrine functions in fibromyalgia and
chronic fatigue syndrome. Adv Neuroimmunol.
1995;5:(1):39-56
Article from journal--more than one author
(list all authors if six or less, otherwise list first
three followed by "et al.")
 Raux H, Coulon P, Lafay F, Flamand A.
Monoclonal antibodies which recognize the acidic
configuration of the rabies glycoprotein at the
surface of the virion can be neutralizing. Virology.
1995;210(2):400-408.

Online journals with volume and page information
 Simon JA, Hudes ES. Relationship of ascorbic acid
to blood lead levels. JAMA. 1999;281:2289-2293.
http://url. Accessed July 11, 2009.
Online journals without volume and page information
 Mast CT, DeMuro-Mercon C, Kelly CM, Floyd LE,
Ealter EB. The impact of rotavirus gastroenteritis
on the family. BMC Pediatrics. 2009;9:11.
doi:10.1186/1471-2431-9-11
(Based on AMA Manual of Style, 10th ed., 2007.)

Verb Tenses in the
Academic Paper

Tenses in the Introduction
Stage one: Current knowledge or previous
studies - Present tense or Present perfect
Stage two: Literature review - Present,
(information prominent citation) Present perfect
(weak author prominent citation) or Past (author
prominent)
• Complement verb difference: present, past or modal
Stage three: Knowledge gap - Present, (for fact)
Present perfect, (for studies)
Stage four: Problem statement - Present, (report
focused) Past, (research focused)
Stage five: Rational for study - Present tense
and modal

Stage one: Current knowledge or previous
studies - Present tense or Present perfect
 “Motor skills require action based on
rapid change in the environment.”
 “Clean water is a basic human need”
 “Previous studies have indicated the
need for further research in X.”

Stage two: Literature Review - Present,
Present perfect or Past
 Information prominent:
- “In most deserts of the world, transitions
between topographic elements are abrupt
(Kramer, 1993).”
Weak author prominent:
- “Several researchers have studied the
relationship between classroom adjustment
and mobility (Madsen, 2009).
Author prominent:
- Allington (1998) found that teachers allocated
equal time to all groups.

Complement verb difference in
Author prominent citation: present,
past or modal
 Johnson found that X affects Y
 Johnson found that X affected Y
 Johnson suggested that X may affect
Y

Stage three: Present or present
perfect
 “However, few studies have reported
on the effects of computer assisted
instruction.”
 “But there is little information
available on the air flow rates on
simple solar collectors.”

Stage four: Present or past
 “The aim of this paper is to
determine whether and automatic
measurement system can be applied
to educational settings.”
 “The purpose of this study was to
determine whether or not genetic
differences exist at low temperatures
in pepper species.”

Stage Five: Present tense and
modal
 “This research may provide an
alternative to the problem of
manually demonstrating
instrumentation principles in
classroom environments.”

Modal auxiliaries ranked by
certainly
 Will
 Would
 Should
 May
 Could
 Might

Methods
 Describing conventional material:
Present tense
 Describing modified material: Past
tense
 Describing populations: Present
tense
 Specific samples: Past tense
 Procedures: Past tense

Describing conventional material:
Present tense
 “A typical chemical reactor includes a
helical, tube-in-tube heat exchanger.”

Describing modified material: Past
tense
 “For the testing program this
collector was protected from weather
by an outer window of .10 mm
tedlar.

Describing populations: Present
tense
 “All students who apply for admission
to NCTU take the General English
Proficiency Test.”

Specific samples: Past tense
 “The subjects were 18 Chinese-
speaking students attending at
NCTU.”

Procedures: Past tense
 “Stress was applied to the rubber
segments.”

Results
 Locating figures: Present tense
 Presenting the findings: Past tense
 Comparing results with the results of
other studies: Present tense and
modals
 Commenting on results: Present
tense and/or tentative verbs:

Locating figures: Present tense
 Results of the t-tests are presented
in Table 1.

Presenting the findings: Past tense
 As a group, divorced mothers spent
over twice as much time in
employment as married mothers
(Figure 2).

Presenting different types of
results: Past Tense
 “The highest incidence of Otitis
Media was found among Australian
Indians.”
 “Prices showed a tendency to
increase over the three year period.”
 “Dry weight of top growth was not
highly related to total nitrogen.”

Commenting on results: Present
tense and/or tentative verbs:
 “Hyperactive children may be
generally responsive to
amphetamines.”
 “Hyperactive children appear to be
generally responsive to
amphetamines”

Limiting findings: Past tense or
present with modals
 “The sample was small.”
 “Other industries may produce
different results.”

Discussion
 Referring to the purpose, Referring to the
hypothesis, Restating the findings: Past
tense
 Explaining findings: Present tense with
modals or past tense
 Limiting findings: Past tense or present
with modals
 Comparing findings: Present tense
 Implications: Present tense and tentative
verb
 Recommendations and applications:
Present and modal or tentative verbs

Referring to the purpose, Referring
to the hypothesis, Restating the
findings: Past tense
 “This research attempted to assess two
theories of behavior.”
 “We originally assumed that physical
decrements would be more apparent in
speed jobs that in skill jobs.”
 “The principle of readability was not
followed in the income tax booklet on any
of the counties studied except Hsinchu.”

Explaining findings: Present tense
with past or present in the
complement
 These results indicate that microbial
activity caused some immobilization
of labial soil phosphorus.
 These results indicate that microbial
activity cause some immobilization of
labial soil phosphorus.

Comparing findings: Present tense
 “These results are in substantial
agreement with those of Bates (2).”

Implications: Present tense and
modal/tentative verb
 “Squatter housing markets appear to
behave as economically rational
entities.”

Recommendations and
applications: Present and modal or
tentative verbs
 “The approach outlined in this study
should be replicated in other
manufacturing plants.”
 “We recommend that the approach
outlined in this study be replicated in
other manufacturing plants.”

Sources
Zeiger M. Essentials of Writing Biomedical Research Papers. 2nd ed. New
York, NY: McGraw-Hill; 2000.
 Gopen GD, Swan JA. The science of scientific writing. Am Scientist.
1990;78:550-558.
 Watson JD, Crick FHC. Molecular structure of nucleic acids. Nature.
1953;171:737-738.
 Iverson C, Christiansen S, Flanagin A, et al. AMA Manual of Style: A Guide
for Authors and Editors. 10th ed. New York, NY: Oxford University Press;
2007.
 American Psychological Association. (2009). Publication Manual of the
American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
 Instructions to authors. Oxford Journals Web site: Behavioral Ecology.
http://www.oxfordjournals.org/our_journals/beheco/for_authors/general.h
tml. Accessed March 5, 2009. Accessed March 4, 2009.

Sources (continued)
 The essentials of BMJ style. BMJ Publishing Group Web site: British Medical Journal.
http://resources.bmj.com/bmj/authors/bmj-house-style. Accessed March 5, 2009.
 Westbrook G, Cooper L. Writing tips: Techniques for clear scientific writing and
editing. The Society for Neuroscience Web site:The Journal of Neuroscience.
http://www.jneurosci.org. Accessed March 5, 2009.
 Guidelines for authors. International Society for the Study of Trauma Web site: The
Journal of Trauma & Dissociation. http://www.isst-d.org/jtd/journal-trauma-
dissociation-info-for-authors.htm. Accessed March 5, 2009.
 How to write a paper: writing for a Nature journal. Nature Publishing Group Web site:
Nature. http://www.nature.com/authors/author_services/how_write.html. Accessed
March 4, 2009.
 Guide for authors. Elsevier Web site: Ophthalmology: Journal of the American
Academy of Ophthalmology.
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/620418/authorinstr
uctions. Accessed March 5, 2009.
 Some notes on Science style. American Association for the Advancement of Science
Web site: Science. http://www.sciencemag.org/about/authors/prep/res/style.dtl

Sources (continued)
 Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. 11th ed. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster,
Inc.; 2007.
 Sternberg RJ. The Psychologist's Companion: A Guide to Scientific Writing for
Students and Researchers. 4th ed. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press; 2005.
 Matthews JR, Bowen JM, Matthews RW. Successful Scientific Writing: A Step-by-Step
Guide for the Biological and Medical Sciences. 2nd ed. Cambridge, England:
Cambridge University Press; 2000.
 Iverson C, Christiansen S, Flanagin A, et al. AMA Manual of Style: A Guide for
Authors and Editors. 10th ed. New York, NY: Oxford University Press; 2007.
 American Psychological Association. Publication Manual of the American Psychological
Association. 6th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association; 2009.
 The Chicago Manual of Style. 15th ed. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press;
2003.

For More Information
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comments
 3 stage Translation process
 Specialize in domains and
Taiwanese English
 華樂絲學術英文編修 Works with
86 universities and research institutes
 Books on academic writing for
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