1. Common English writing problems
English writing should be as concise as possible. After writing a sentence, it is recommended to try to delete one or more words. If the meaning of the sentence basically remains unchanged after deletion, it should be deleted.
1.1 Possessive
Use the possessive case to omit at least one word (of) , such as: Kang's book Thomas's coffee
In most cases, just add s directly after it. In a few cases, when the word ends with s, just add single quotes without adding s. If you are really not sure whether you can use the possessive case, just use of, for example: the book of Iris
But it should be noted that the possessive pronouns his, hers, its, theirs, yours and oneself should not be followed by single quotes.
1.2 Multiple words or phrases
When three or more words are connected in one sentence, they should all be separated by commas . The last word is usually connected with and , or it may also be connected with or, but and other conjunctions, for example:
(1) Monday, Wednesday and Friday
(2) solid, dashed, dotted or patterned line
(3) old-fashioned, stubborn but hardworking
(4) The user reads the instruction, clicks on the start button and works on the experiment
If the multi-word list is not exhausted, it is equivalent to the Chinese "wait", which can be followed by etc. (note: with a period) or and so on. The two have the same meaning. They must be preceded by a comma , but if etc. ends a statement, then only write a period after it , such as:
(1) Bauhaus instructors, Kandinsky, Klee, etc., all taught entry level art courses.
(2) Twenty universities include Harvard, Stanford, MIT, etc.
1.3 Comma-separated sentence patterns
When a sentence is separated by commas, the necessity of separation must be considered (for example, to avoid being misunderstood), and the fluency of sentence reading must not be seriously affected .
A popular curve algorithm, known as B-spline, draws a smooth curve consisting of many curve segments.
Here, you cannot write only one comma before and after known as B-spline . If both commas are deleted, the sentence is still valid and will not be misunderstood, but the newly introduced B-spline concept is not so emphasized.
But be careful not to use commas to connect two related but independent statements , such as:
Figure1 depicts a simple callgraph of a program. The call graph represents the behavioral structure during the program execution.
These two sentences are grammatically complete and can be separated by at most a semicolon , that is:
Figure1 depicts a simple callgraph of a program； The call graph represents the behavioral structure during the program execution.
Don't separate with commas. If the whole sentence is not long, when separated by commas, a conjunction should be added before the comma, such as and .
Figure1 depicts a simple callgraph of a program，and the call graph represents the behavioral structure during the program execution.
If you use which instead of and call graph here, it seems to make the whole sentence more concise, but there will be ambiguity . Does which refers to call graph or program?
Also be careful not to use periods to separate sentences that should be complete , such as:
She is an excellent speaker. A professor who has delivered keynote speeches at several top conferences.
The first period here should obviously be a comma, followed by a lowercase a .
She is an excellent speaker，a professor who has delivered keynote speeches at several top conferences.
1.4 Brackets
Many people like to write relevant, explanatory, or example meanings in parentheses. One rule to know here is that the bracketed part should not count as any component of the sentence . In other words, if the content in the parentheses is removed, the statement is still complete, but the reading is interrupted by the parentheses, similar to the comma separation mentioned above.
If parentheses surround an independent sentence or phrase, the period should precede the closing parenthesis.
1.5 Quotes
In a paper, sometimes you need to quote what others have said or statements published in publications.
When using formal documents as examples, quotations leading to such documents should end with a colon , such as:
The experiment guideline is: "Download the two image files img1.jpg and img2.jpg."
If the quotation sentence happens to be in the position of the object , you can end the introductory sentence with a comma , such as:
Sky says, "The point digs itself into the plane."
If the quoted paragraph is a paragraph, the introductory sentence ends with a colon and then breaks into a new line. The quoted paragraph does not need quotation marks , but it is best to use italics, such as:
In his book entitled "Point and Line to Plane"(1926), Kandinsky wrote:
The point digs itself into the plane.
1.6 Modifiers
When using modifiers, a common mistake is to place the modifier in the wrong position, causing misunderstanding or ambiguity, such as:
All the switches are not turned on.
Are not all switches turned on (that is, some are on and some are off), or are all switches not turned on (that is, none are on)?
If the former: Not all the switches are turned on.
If the latter: None of the switches is turned on.
Similarly,
The facility is only accessible to us this year.
Does "only" here modify "us" or "this year"?
If the former: The facility is accessible this year only to us.
If the latter: The facility is accessible to us only this year.
These two statements obviously have different meanings.
1.7 Phrasal verbs
Use phrasal verbs to avoid subject repetition. In other words, the subject of the verb phrase before a statement should be the same as the subject of the statement, but omitted, such as:
Using a visualization approach, we are able to present the concept intuitively.
The subject of both parts is we.
1.8 Finite and non-finite attributive clauses
A popular curve algorithm, known as B-spline, draws a smooth curve consisting of many curve segments.
This clause is restrictive . Qualitative means: if the clause is deleted, the entire sentence loses its meaning. In this case, there should be no commas before or after.
Non-limiting clauses should be separated by commas before and after. After deleting the clause and comma, the sentence still holds.
The B-spline alogorithm, which is popular in computer-aided design applications, draws a smooth curve consisting of many curve segments.
The participants, who came from three different schools, took the experiment seriously.
The subordinate clause here only serves to supplement the main clause, so the subordinate clause and the main clause can also be written as two independent statements:
The B-spline alogorithm is popular in computer-aided design applications. Its draws a smooth curve consisting of many curve segments.
The participants came from three different schools. They took the experiment seriously.
1.9 Affirmation and Negation
Use affirmative forms to make statements straightforward and avoid negative forms, sloppy and hesitant statements, such as:
Sofatware maintenance is not an easy and cheap task.
Not as good as:
Software maintenance is a challenging and costly task.
Another example:
The system is not fast enough to process a large number of images in real-time.
Not as good as:
The system is too slow to process a large number of images in real-time.
In scientific writing, especially do not use emotional negative adjectives, such as:
The system is terribly slow and cannot process a large number of images in real-time.
Terribly there shouldn't be any. But using extremely and very, although there are fewer emotional elements, they are not only inaccurate but also redundant and can be deleted. Similar words include certainly.
Sometimes negative emotions are more direct and decisive than not, such as
The program could not return correct results.
Not as good as:
The program failed to return correct results.
1.10 Active and passive voice
Active voice is usually more direct and rigorous than passive voice . Especially in scientific English. Passive voice often creates ambiguity, such as:
Our approach uses call graphs to represent program behavior.
obviously than
Call graphs are used to represent program behavior by our approach. Much stronger. Not only straightforward, but concise. If for the sake of simplicity, by our approach is removed after the passive sentence, there will be ambiguity or misunderstanding, that is, who, which method or which work uses call graph to represent program behavior?
The first person, i.e. I , should not be used as the subject in scientific papers. So in many cases, the subject is we . The problem is, in order to avoid the passive voice, we have to be used repeatedly. But too many sentences starting with we seem monotonous and boring. Sometimes we can also use our work or our approach instead . When there is no need to refer to anyone in particular, the neutral word one can be used as the subject, for example:
Comparing the two painting in Figure1，one may observe their similarity in style.
In addition, in order to reduce the use of we: Give your work (method or system) a name, and then use the name directly (of course it should be in the third person) in many situations where we need to be used.
Passive voice may sometimes be more streamlined when the context is clear, so use it sparingly. However, when Chinese students use passive voice, they often make a mistake, which is to write the entire action sentence as the subject, and the predicate verb only plays the role of completing the sentence , such as:
A survey on this direction of research was made by Smith[1] in 2010.
The made here is just to make the statement complete. Apparently it is written,
This direction of research was surveyed by Smith[1] in 2010.更精简。
But you need to avoid one passive voice affecting another passive voice, for example:
The "Finish" button is not allowed to be pressed in the middle of the experiment.
can be written as:
Pressing the "Finish" button in the middle of the experiment is prohibited.
or:
It is prohibited to press the "Finish" button in the middle of the experiment. (Not as good as the above)
In some cases, passive voice is completely unnecessary, such as:
The algorithm has been proven to be run in polynomial time
can be written as:
The algorithm has been proven to run in polynomial time.
1.11 Tense
When writing scientific papers, it is best to use the present tense . The past tense can be used only when reviewing related work , but the present tense can also be used. But no matter what tense you use, be sure to keep it consistent and don’t use different tenses within a paragraph or section .
When introducing operations, try not to use the continuous or future tense.
1.12 Singular and plural
Many people like to use they when referring to someone collectively, but the context clearly refers to the singular.
for example:
Everybody needs to provide their name.(错)
should be written as:
Everybody needs to provide his or her name.
Another example:
Each person first states which city they were born.(错)
should be written as:
Each person first states which city he or she was born.
1.13 Comparative degree
When there is no comparison, that is, when there is no need to use than, do not write more , otherwise the function and meaning of more are no different from less.
1.14 Parallel structure and parallelism
Several statements in parallel structures should be written with similar syntax, such as:
Ten years ago，Java was a favorite programming language，while now people prefer Python.(不好)
can be written as:
Ten years ago，Java was a favorite programming language; now Python is preferred.
This parallel principle is also suitable for writing multiple parallel phrases, such as:
The button，the checkbox，menu and scrollbar（错）
should be written as:
The button，checkbox，menu and scrollbar.
or:
The button, the checkbox, the menu and the scrollbar (not as concise as above).
Another example:
In Figure 1，Figure 3，and in Figure 5.(错)
should be written as:
In Figure 1, Figure 3 and Figure 5, or more concisely In Figures 1, 3 and 5.
or:
In Figure 1 , in Figure 3 and in Figure 5 (not as concise as above).
That is to say, the article or preposition is added to the first word, and none of the following words are added; or all the following words are added, some are added, and some are not added.
This principle of consistent structure also applies to phrases connected by conjunctions (such as both, and ; either, or ; not, but ; first, second, third, etc.), such as:
It is presented either as a pie chart ，or a bar chart.（错）
Should be changed to:
It is presented as either a pie chart， or a bar chart.
That is, just change the order of the words.
Another example:
It is both a clear illustration and precise.（错）
It is not in the form of a parallel sentence at all, so it should be changed to:
The illustration is both clear and precise.
If there are more than three parallel sentences or multi-word combinations, bullet points can be used; if there are many parallel phrases or items, it is recommended to list them in a table. In short, scientific papers should be clear, precise and readable.
1.15 British English and American English
There are many differences in pronunciation and spelling between British English and American English. Although Australian English is pronounced differently from both British and American English, it is written the same as British. Disregarding pronunciation differences and differences in daily language, the table lists some of the most typical vocabulary differences that may be seen in scientific and technical English (much smaller than the differences in usage in daily life) for reference.
| British English | American English |
| centre | center |
| colour | color |
| neighbour | neighbor |
| -ise (like: organize) | -ize (like: organize) |
Regardless of whether you use American English or British English, use only one in an article and don't mix them. Unification can be achieved with the help of American English and British English dictionaries in Microsoft Word or LaTex text editors.
Generally, conferences and journals in the scientific and technological field do not require the use of American English or British English.