writing

The Dos and Don’ts of Scientific Writing

My short list of helpful writing rules for scientific articles. Also available as PDF Version. Do write in active voice. Don’t let words be written. It was found to result in confusion about by whom actions have been caused. Do use simple and common words. Your goal is to inform, not to impress. Don’t engender flowery or compounded character constructions to disguise incertitude. Do use positive forms and opposites to avoid negative forms.