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Writing Style
Specific guidelines
Outline
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Titles and headings
Direct statements
Emphasis
Sexist language
abbreviation
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Sentence structure
Repetition and
parallelism
Ambiguity
Qualifiers
Misused words
Redundancy and
wordiness
Titles and headings (I)
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Rule 1: be concise yet informative
X
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An investigation of the Effectiveness of Extensions to Standard
Ranking Techniques for Larger Text Collection.
Extensions to Standard Ranking Techniques for Larger Text
Collection.
Rule 2: be specific
X
Huffman Coding for Databases.
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X
Limited-Memory Huffman Coding for Databases of Textual and
Numeric Data.
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far too general.
Specific, superior to the previous one, but awkward.
Limited-Memory Huffman Coding for Databases.
Titles and headings (II)
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Rule 3: not necessarily to be complete sentence
X
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Rule 4: it is not usual to put a stop at the end of a
heading
X
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Duplication of Data Leads to Reduction in Network Traffic.
Duplicating Data to Reduce Network Traffic.
Neutral Nets for Image Classification.
Neutral Nets for Image Classification
Rule 5: section headings should reflect the logical
structure
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E.g., 3. Lists and Trees and 3.1. Lists  3.2 Trees.
Direct statements (I)
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Avoid excessive use of indirect statement (also known
as passive voice). The direct style (or active voice) is
often easier to read.
X
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The following theorem can now be proved.
We can now prove the following theorem.
Comment:
 If passive voice is necessary, use it.
 Use of “we” is valuable.
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Consider “we show…” versus “in this paper it is shown…”
“this paper shows…” and “this section argues…” are often
used by our Chinese people. Strictly, they are not a very good
phrases, better be replaced with “in this paper we show…” and
“we argue in this section…”, respectively.
Direct statements (II)
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Even in the paper of only one author, the use of “we”
is acceptable.
In some case the use of “we” is wrong.
X
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When we conducted the experiment it showed that our
conjecture was correct.
The experiment showed that our conjecture was correct.
Emphasis (I)
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Emphasis (or stress) on some words can be implicit or
explicit.
Implicit emphasis is implied by the structure of the
sentence
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Compare “it is not a good idea” with “it is certainly not a good
idea”.
Reorganizing a sentence can change the emphasis
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The algorithm is appropriate because each item is written once
and read often.
The algorithm is appropriate, because each item is only
written once but is read often.
Emphasis (II)
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Inappropriate stress can lead to ambiguity
X
Additional memory can lead to faster response, but user
surveys have indicated that it is not required.
The stress on ``additional memory’’, incorrectly implies that users has
commented on memory rather that response.
Since the sentence is about ``response’’, that is where the stress should be:
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Faster response is possible with additional memory, but user
surveys have indicated that it is not required..
Explicit emphasis is provided with italics, CAPITALS.
DON’T use capitals for emphasis.
Use italics only to stress a word or a phrase.
The first time a key word is used, consider placing it in
italics.
Sexist language
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Some readers find use of “he” or “his” for generic
case offensive.
X
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A user may be disconnected when he makes a mistake.
Sexist usage is easy to avoid.
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A user may be disconnected when they make a mistake.
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Such use of “they” as a singular pronoun is acceptable but
jarring (不和谐).
A user who makes a mistake may be disconnected.
Note: don’t use constructs such as “he or she” or
“s/he”.
Abbreviations (I)
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Some common abbreviations in science writing:
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no.=number
i.e.=that is
e.g.=for example
c.f.=compare with (perhaps more accurately “in contrast to”)
w.r.t.=with respect to
W.L.O.G=without loss of generality
iff=if and only if
etc.=and so on
Fig.=Figure
Alg.=algorithm
These save a little space, but slow readers down.
“don’t”, “isn’t”, ect. are not suitable for science writing.
Abbreviations (II)
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A slash (/ also known as a virgule or solidus)
is often used for abbreviation, as in
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confusion:
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Save time and/or space
Used for list/tree processing
/=either but not both? (in the usual English sense?)
/=either or both? (in the usual computing sense?)
/=and?
/=also?
If you want to be clear, don’t use slashes.
Abbreviations (III)
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Abbreviation by acronym (取首字母缩写)
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Abbreviations are usually terminated by a stop, but it
is unusual to put stops in acronyms
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CPU for “central processing unit”
OS for “operating system”
DBA for “data base administrator”
…
Thus “CPU” is correct, “C.P.U.” is acceptable but pedantic（学
究）, and “CPU.” is incorrect.
Plurals of acronym: just append an s
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Write CPUs rather than CPU’s, OSs rather than OSes
Sentence
structure (I)
X
Sentence should have simple
structure, usually no more than
a line or two.
Don’t say too much all at once.
When the kernel process takes over, that is, when in the default state, the
time that is required for the kernel to deliver a message from a sending
application process to another application process and to recompute the
importance levels of these two application processes to determine which
one has the higher priority is assumed to be randomly distributed .
Too long (34 words).
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should be
explained
elsewhere
When the kernel process takes over, one of its activities is to deliver a
message from a sending application process to another application
process, and to then recompute the importance levels of these two
application processes to determine which has the higher priority. The time
required for this activity is assumed to be randomly distributed .
Only two words
Sentence
structure (II)
X
If the machine is highly loaded then speed is acceptable whenever
the data is on local disks.
The two conditions are
separated by the
consequent.
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Watch out “if”
expression
The
consequent
If the machine is highly loaded and data is on local disks then speed is
acceptable.
Speed is acceptable when the machine is highly loaded and data is on
local disks.
If data is on local disks then speed is acceptable, even if the machine is
highly loaded.
Sentence
structure (III)
X
Beware of
misplaced
modifiers
We collated the responses from the user, which were
usually short, into the following table.
Which=the user,
response, or the
collation?
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The user’s responses, most of which were short,
were collated into the following table.
Sentence
structure (IV)
X
Double negatives
are difficult to
parse and are
often ambiguous
There do not seem to be any reasons not to adopt the
new approach.
The impression here is of condemnation—
we don’t like the new approach but we’re
not sure why.
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The new approach is at least as good as the old and
should be adopted.
Repetition &
parallelism (I)
X
Complementary concepts
should be explained as
parallels, or the reader
will have difficulty seeing
how the concepts relate
In SIMD, the same instructions are applied
simultaneously to multiple data sets,
whereas in MIMD different data sets are
processed with different instructions.
SIMD and MIMD are complementary concepts.
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In SIMD, multiple data sets are processed
simultaneously by the same instructions,
whereas in MIMD different data sets are
processed with different instructions.
Repetition &
parallelism (II)
Parallel can be
based on antonyms
X
Access is fast, but at the expense of slow update.
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Access is fast but update is slow.
Lack of parallel structure can result in ambiguity
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The performance gains are the result of tuning the low-level
code used for data access and improved interface design.
The performance gains are the result of tuning the low-level
code used for data access and of improved interface design.
It is kinder to the reader to move the longer clauses to the end
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The performance gains are the result of improved interface
design and of tuning the low-level code used for data access.
Ambiguity (I)
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Check carefully for
ambiguity.
There is a new version of the operating system, so when
using the “fetch” utility, the error messages can be ignored.
There is a new version of the operating system, so the
“fetch” utility’s error message can be ignored.
In addition to lists we have also tried trees, they are superior
because they are slow in some circumstances but have lower cost.
In addition to lists we have also tried trees. Lists are superior
because, although slow in some circumstances, they have
lower cost.
Ambiguity (II)
Plurals may cause
ambiguity.
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Packets that contain an error are automatically corrected
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Packets that contain errors are automatically corrected
The first version implies that packets with a particular error are
corrected, the second implies that packets with multiple error are
corrected. Both of these interpretations are wrong.
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A packet that contains an error is automatically corrected.
Qualifiers (I)
X
Qualifiers should
not be piled on top
of each other.
It is perhaps possible that the algorithm might fail on unusual input.
Words such “might”, “may”, “perhaps”, “possibly”, “likely”, “likelihood”,
and “could” can be used once in a sentence, but not more.
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The algorithm might fail on unusual input.
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We are planning to consider possible options for extending our results.
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We are considering how to extend our results.
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Merten’s algorithm is not dissimilar to ours.
Such sentence tells the reader little. Double negatives are a
form of qualifier commonly used to express uncertainty.
Qualifiers (II)
Qualifiers should
not be piled on top
of each other.
X
There is very little advantage to ….
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There is little advantage to ….
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The standard method is simply too slow.
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The standard method is too slow.
Misused
words (I)
Which & that
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There is one method which is acceptable.
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There is one method that is acceptable.
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There are three options, of which only one is tractable.
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It is true the result is hard to generalize.
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It is true that the result is hard to generalize.
Misused words (II)
May & can: Use “may” to indicate choice, and “can” to indicate capability.
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Users can access this facility, but may not wish to do so.
Less & fewer:
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It used less space.
Use “less” for continuous quantities, and fewer
for discrete quantities.
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There were fewer errors.
Alternate & alternative:
The word “alternate” means other or switch between, whereas an
“alternative” is something that can be chosen. If there is but one
alternative, there is no choice. “alternative” and “choice” are not
synonyms.
Misused
words (III)
Misspelt words
and
misused words
Mis-spelt words
Right
Wrong
Misused words
adaptation
adaption
ensure
insure
apparent
apparant
discrete
discreet
argument
arguement
solvable
soluble
grammar
grammer
partly
partially
consistent
consistant
principle
principal
grammar
grammer
comparison
comparasion
Redundancy and
wordiness (III)
The table lists
common redundant
or wordy expressions
and possible
substittutes for them
Bad
Good
Adding together
adding
after the end of
after
divided up
divide
give a description of
describe
merged together
merged
such as …etc.
such as
first of all
first
during the course of
during
whether or not
whether
Variation
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Diversity—in organization, structure,
length of sentences and paragraphs,
and choice of words—is a useful device
for keeping the reader’s attention.
The system of rational numbers is incomplete. This was
discovered 2000 years ago bty the Greeeks. The problem
arises with squares whose sides are of unit length. The
length of the diagonals of these squares is irrational. This
discovery was a serious blow to the Greek mathematicians.
The Greeks discovered 2000 years ago that the system of
rational numbers is in complete. The problem is that some
quantities, such as the length of the diagonal of a square
with unit sides, are irrational. This discovery was a serious
blow to the Greek mathematicians.
In the second version, the final statement is more effective
although is hasn’t changed.