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Being Forthright
Precise
Clear
Forthright
Familiar
Concise
Fluid
Short words are the best, and old
words, when short, are best of all.
Winston Churchill
NYP 45063
To make your language forthright, you should control tone
and use strong nouns and verbs
Control tone
tone
Use strong nouns
and strong verbs
Nouns
Verbs
Tone is the attitude that the writer
shows about the subject
arrogant
casual
forthright
obfuscated
silly
For formal situations, do not use informal language
a lot of
much; many
But...
However,...
And...
In addition,...
&
and
btw
by the way
vs.
versus
Many scientists and engineers convey
arrogance in their writing
Obviously,...
As is well known, the use of gaseous insulation is becoming
increasingly more widespread, with gases such as air and
sulfur hexafluoride featuring prominently. There has been
some discussion of using gas mixtures like nitrogen and
sulfur hexafluoride, and of course nitrogen is the major
constituent of air.
Tone often goes out of control
in correspondence
As per your request...
I beg to differ with...
Enclosed please find...
For the facilitation of this end, Division 8463 will
interface with Division 8265.
The liquid propellant fuel experienced an
unscheduled partial disassembly.
Clichés are expressions
that are too familiar
sly as a fox
busy as a bee
faster than a speeding bullet
I am in search of a meaningful growth position,
and your company is a gateway to the highest
professional levels and beyond…
When you come up to speed, I'll touch base
with you and we'll knock heads together!
To make your language forthright, you should control tone
and use strong nouns and verbs
Control tone
tone
Use strong nouns
and strong verbs
Nouns
Verbs
Relying on abstract nouns weakens the writing
Experimental design is a method of efficiently
performing a comparative analysis. Specifically,
a 23 design compares the main effects and the
interactive effects of three variables on a final
measured characteristic. The use of
experimental design results in correct problem
structuring, efficient experimentation, and data
analysis leading to correct conclusions.
Relying on abstract nouns weakens the writing
Experimental design is a method of efficiently
performing a comparative analysis. Specifically,
a 23 design compares the main effects and the
interactive effects of three variables on a final
measured characteristic. The use of
experimental design results in correct problem
structuring, efficient experimentation, and data
analysis leading to correct conclusions.
Weak verbs hide the energy of your work
A new process for eliminating nitrogen
oxides from diesel exhaust engines is
presented. Flow tube experiments to test this
process are discussed. The percentage
decrease in nitrogen oxide emissions is
revealed.
Also, the tighter the verb form,
the stronger the verb
is capable of
can
is composed of
consists of
is used to detect
detects
makes a decision
decides
makes a measurement of
measures
performs the development of
develops
Needlessly passive verbs slow your writing
Misconception: Scientific writing must be
written in the passive voice.
Needless Passive
1. Allow inanimate objects to act
2. Use the first person judiciously
Active
Problems can arise using the active
voice with inanimate objects
Safe
The oscilloscope
displayed
the voltage.
The oscilloscope
measured
the voltage.
+
V
-
Dangerous
The oscilloscope
calculated
the voltage.
V=
Using the first person is fine as long as
the emphasis remains on the work
Misconception: In scientific writing,
you cannot use the first person.
Users of the
First Person
Einstein
Darwin
Feynman
Crick
Maxwell
Faraday
Freud
Non-Users of
the First Person
It was decided that...
It was assumed that...
Curie
It was realized then that...
Avoiding the first person often
convolutes sentences
In that an effort to identify a specific
control circuit responsible for the failure
of the gear box was unsuccessful, it was
determined appropriate to resurvey the
collector field for torque tube damage.
Because we could not locate the control circuit
responsible for the gear box failure, we resurveyed
the collector field for torque tube damage.
Weak verbs hide the energy of your work
A new process for eliminating nitrogen
oxides from diesel exhaust engines is
presented. Flow tube experiments to test this process
are discussed. The percentage decrease in nitrogen
oxide emissions is revealed.
This paper presents a new process for eliminating
nitrogen oxides from the exhaust of diesel engines.
To test this process, we performed experiments in
flow tubes. These experiments revealed a 99
percent decrease in nitrogen oxide emissions.
Being Forthright
Precise
Clear
Forthright
Familiar
Concise
Fluid
Short words are the best, and old
words, when short, are best of all.
Winston Churchill
NYP 45063