Academic Writing in English

Southhill

Carolyn Brimley Norris, Ph.D.
Language Services
University of Helsinki
2012
Academic Writing in English
http://www.helsinki.fi/kksc/language.services/AcadWrit.pdf

1
This book began to emerge in 1985, based on the wisdom of my original guru in Finland,
Jean Margaret Perttunen (1916—). Peggy’s book, The Words Between, during decades in which
she offered me specific advice, taught me about Finnish scientists’ problems in writing in English.
A more recent guru is Björn Gustavii, MD, PhD, of Lund, Sweden. His first book, How to Write
and Illustrate a Scientific Paper, plus our frequent emails and his manuscripts for a forthcoming
guide to compilation theses have been so valuable that I cite him here very often.
My colleague Stephen Stalter keeps a sharp eye on my course books and understands my
cranky computer. Mari Storpellinen aided me with index-building and visuals. I welcome all
suggestions from University Language Services teachers and author-editors and from
my students and clients.
The European Association of Science Editors (EASE) since 1997 has let me sit at the feet of
major international journal editors in order to import their advice to Finland. EASE publishes in
European Science Editing short pieces based on our classroom “action research.” Course
participants in the University of Helsinki medical faculty thus benefit from EASE and repay with
their views and innovations.
To all, I offer many years’ worth of gratitude.
Carol Norris, 2012
2
Table of Contents
Advice for modern academic writing ..............................................................................................3
General advice for non-native writers……………………………………………………. 3
Basic Methodology I: Process writing ............................................................................................4
Basic Methodology II: Passive vs. active voice ............................................................................10
Basic Methodology III: The end-focus technique ...........................................................................12
Article sections: overview, content, order of creation .....................................................................16
The article abstract ...........................................................................................................................18
Titles & authors ...............................................................................................................................21
Tables and figures and their titles & legends ..................................................................................23
Recipe for an introduction ...............................................................................................................26
Methods .........................................................................................................................................27
Results.............................................................................................................................................29
Recipe for a discussion ....................................................................................................................30
Reference list ..................................................................................................................................31
PhD thesis/dissertations ...................................................................................................................32
Acknowledgements .........................................................................................................................35
Case reports ....................................................................................................................................39
Tense-choice ..................................................................................................................................40
Citations and layout .........................................................................................................................41
Verbs for academic scientific writing ..............................................................................................43
Formality levels ...............................................................................................................................45
Words confused and misused ..........................................................................................................46
A sample of preposition problems ...................................................................................................49
Participle problems ..........................................................................................................................50
A sample of article-use guidelines...................................................................................................51
Chief uses of the comma .................................................................................................................52
Punctuation terms ............................................................................................................................53
Exercise in punctuation ...................................................................................................................54
Punctuation: the only logical system in English ..............................................................................55
Handling numerals, numbers, and other small items ......................................................................59
Take-home messages .......................................................................................................................63
Sample professional cover letter......................................................................................................64
Second-submission cover letter .......................................................................................................66
Layout and lines for formal letters...................................................................................................66
Email suggestions ............................................................................................................................68
Handling reviewers/referees and editors .........................................................................................69
Plagiarism .......................................................................................................................................72
Impact factors .................................................................................................................................74
Valuable resources............................................................................................................... 75
Appendices:
I. Find 70 problems .................................................................................................76
II. Introduction exercise ..........................................................................................77
III. Editing exercise ...................................................................................................78
IV. Methods editing…………………………………………………..…….... ......79
V. Proofreading exercise ..........................................................................................80
V. Table exercise ......................................................................................................81
Index ................................................................................................................................. 82
3
Advice for Modern Academic Writing
In some fields, young scholars may imitate the often out-dated style of their professors or of journal
articles published many years ago. Nowadays, style is evolving, because of widening democracy
and internationalization, and also increased printing costs.
The KISS Rule is “Keep it Short and Simple,” and less politely: “Keep it Simple, Stupid!”
At a conference of the Association of European Science Editors (EASE), the editor of the British
Medical Journal demanded:
He also wanted articles to be as short as possible. Rather than “Count every word,” we should
“make every word count.” Remove every useless or extra word.
Teacher-editor-author Ed Hull wants “reader-friendly” scientific writing. To achieve this, he says,
authors must realize that they are no longer in school; teachers demand performances greatly
different from texts meant to inform busy readers wanting “nuggets” of precious information.
Similarly, in the EASE Bulletin European Science Editing (1998, 24, 1; 7-9), Frances Luttikhuizen
had criticized “exaggerated use of the passive voice and Latin-based words … [that] belongs to the
formal style of the 17th century. It weakens scientific writing. The active voice is much more
forceful than the passive . . . . For linguistic as well as cultural reasons, scientists who have English
as a second language . . . tend to feel more comfortable writing in a more formal style.” Her ageless
advice continues, “Readers of scientific papers do not read them to assess them, they read
them to learn from them . . . . What is needed is more simplicity, not more sophistication!”
Aim “to inform, not to impress.” (Emphasis added.)
General Advice for Non-Native Writers
Never translate. Of course you can use your own language to take notes and write outlines. But
word-for-word translation into English means that anyone’s mother tongue causes interference.
This will damage the grammar of your English and your vocabulary, punctuation, and everything
else. Some Finns can rapidly write letters and stories in correct, charming English, but when they
write a text first in Finnish and then translate it, the result will be awkward, unclear, and full of
errors.
Accept total responsibility for being clear. If an intelligent reader has to re-read any sentence to
understand it, the Anglo-American attitude is not to blame the reader, but to blame the writer. This
may contrast with the direction of blame in your own culture, but think: Who has the time to reread
sentences? Bad idea!
The worst sin is ambiguity. Being ambiguous means accidentally expressing more than one
meaning at one time, as in: “Women like chocolate more than men.” Does this mean that, given
the choice between a nice Fazer chocolate bar and a man, a woman will prefer the chocolate? Or do
you mean that “Women like chocolate more than men do”? Let’s hope, for the survival of
humanity, that it’s the latter!
clarity
readability
non-ambiguity
4
Careful editing will shorten your texts, making them more publishable. One writer wisely said,
“If I had had more time, I would have written you a shorter letter.”
Trust your ear. English grammar rules are many, with multiple exceptions. At your language
level, in this country, depend instead on what you have heard in English, idioms especially.
Your ear will tell you when an odd-looking phrase sounds right. My long experience shows that
Finns’ TV- and travel-trained ears are trustworthy. Read all your written texts aloud to yourself.
English is not logical. The most logical choice of words is often not what a native speaker
would say. (Which is logical: “hang up,” “ring off,” or “close the phone?” How about “For the
20 last years” versus “for the last 20 years”?) In English, the most nearly logical system is
punctuation, but even punctuation differs considerably from Finnish punctuation.
Finno-ugric versus Anglo-American Style
Finns, from a homogeneous, well-educated society, may tend to view their readers as informed
colleagues who will work hard to understand a text. Good Anglo-American writers may seem to
be “packaging” or even “marketing” their texts; they are actually trying to write so clearly that a
busy, tired, easily bored reader can absorb their full meaning in only one rapid reading.
The Anglo-American writer leads the reader by the hand, but the Finnish writer often expects
readers to find their own way. In Finland, be Finnish. But Finns wishing to publish in English in
journals with Anglo-American editors and reviewers must use a reader-helpful style.
For instance, make the strategy of your text clear, not implicit. Present important points first,
rather than gradually “sneaking up on them.” Let your readers know immediately what is going on.
Note: This book benefits from a collection of essays gathered by Professor George M. Hall
entitled How to Write a Paper, 2nd edition, 1998 (British Medical Journal publishing
group). Hall and his other expert contributors will be cited as appearing in “Hall 1998.”

Southhill

Basic Methodology I: Process Writing

Write the first draft