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Introduction

This is resource of style advice and common mistakes made when writing academic papers for the lab.

General advice

  • use the Oxford comma
  • avoid abbreviations
    • e.g., vs. for versus
  • understand semicolon (;) versus colon (:)
    • semicolons connect independent clauses
    • semicolons separate lists (when list items already contain commas)
    • colons introduce a list or an explanation (dependent clause)
  • avoid superlatives
    • it is usually subjective and someone, somewhere will object
  • avoid parenthetical asides (whether using parentheses or commas)
    • unless clarifying a term definition
    • parenthesis interrupt flow; split into clauses or sentences
  • vary your transitions and word choice
    • do not repeat same word too often or in close proximity to other uses

Capitalization

  • western vs. Western
    • western refers to the direction; Western refers to culture, countries, and politics

Punctuation

  • i.e. (id est, "that is")
    • clarifies a point and is not followed by a comma
  • e.g., (exempli gratia, "for example")
    • is a list and is followed by a comma
  • et al. (et alia, "and others")
    • requires the period after al.

Hyphenization

  • large-scale vs large scale
    • large-scale is an adjective
    • large scale is noun with adjective modifying it

Verbs

  • use action verbs
  • avoid weak/simple verbs
    • e.g., show, feel, do, go, use
    • limit use of to be and to have
  • avoid passive voice

Words and Phrases to Avoid

  • do not use contractions in formal writing
  • do not use due to
    • save that weather forecasting
  • limit use of where
    • and only when referring to a location
    • you probably mean preposition + which, e.g., in which, from which, etc.
    • note: where is used often and incorrectly in convesational speech
  • avoid cliches
    • e.g., in a nutshell, throughout history, going forward, it is well-known, on the other hand
  • avoid casual words
    • e.g., really, okay, maybe
  • avoid informal words
    • e.g., a bit, a lot, til, sort of
  • use significant correctly
    • do not use unless you have a statistical p-value of a t-test to report

Citations

  • limit direct reference to authors
    • unless the authors or the work is particularly well-known
  • organization citations when citing multiple papers at once
    • place in order by year: oldest to newest
    • when the same year, alphabetize

Figures

  • Axes of subfigure should be on the same scale
    • unless there is compelling reason otherwise (e.g., different metrics)
    • it is misleading to present graphs on different scales (for the same metric)

Proof-reading Advice

  • print out your paper to edit
    • you will find errors and problems you did not see on the screen
  • proof-read in a different location
    • step away from your normal writing location and proof-read in a new or different place
  • read your paper aloud
    • listen to the rhythm of your sentences and adjust to improve
    • if your paper sounds good aloud, it will read well too