AUTHOR'S ENGLISH WRTING GUIDE

Five Ways to Make Your Science Writing More Concise

Conciseness, which is related to conservative word choice, is important to effective writing. A helpful way of thinking about conciseness is that it is generally better to use fewer words. Conciseness keeps your writing understandable and focused. It avoids clutter, which can be confusing even to native speakers, and emphasizes the key aspects of your research. Writing concisely is particularly important when developing abstracts and summaries or submitting to journals with strict word count limits. While it is often necessary when conveying complex ideas, including a lot of information in one sentence can cause confusion. If you find a particularly long sentence in your paper, consider splitting this sentence into two or more smaller sentences so you do not overwhelm your readers.

Below we include five strategies for making your writing more concise.

 

1) Eliminate unnecessary words and phrases
When you review your writing, identify words and phrases that are not essential to what you are trying to communicate. These are terms that can easily be removed without rewriting or restructuring the sentence.

		Basically, our results demonstrated good agreement with the findings of Smith et al. (2013).
Because “basically” does not add meaning to the sentence, it can be deleted:
		Our results demonstrated good agreement with the findings of Smith et al. (2013)

		Due to recent studies, these methods have become the gold standard for determining body condition.
		These methods have become the gold standard for determining body condition.

 

2) Remove repetitive words:
Repetitive words and phrases add clutter to your sentences, making your writing more challenging to read and understand. Be sure to identify and eliminate phrases and terms that mean the same thing.

		These findings could indicate a potential relationship between x and y.
Because “could” and “potential” are both used to suggest a possibility, they are repetitive. Thus, the sentence can be written more concisely as:
		These findings indicate a potential relationship between x and y.
or
		These findings could indicate a relationship between x and y.

		It would be unlikely for this condition to recur in the future.
could be shortened to:
		This condition is unlikely to recur.
or
		Recurrence is unlikely.

		In contrast to prior research, our treatment group had a higher survival rate than reported in previous studies.
can be rewritten as:
		Our treatment group had a higher survival rate than reported in previous studies.

 

3) Shorten long phrases:
In science and technical writing, the shortest possible sentence that conveys the same meaning is typically the best option. There are many words or phrases in English that mean the same thing, and shorter terms can often be substituted for longer phrases to make your writing more concise.

		Specimens had deteriorated in such a manner that observations were unreliable.
can be shortened to:
		Specimens had deteriorated such that observations were unreliable.

		The experiment was conducted in this manner for the reason that blood counts could be evaluated.
could be rewritten as:
		The experiment was conducted so that blood counts could be evaluated.
or shortened even further to:
		These experimental methods enabled blood count evaluation.

 

4) Do not let your verbs become nouns (nominalization)
Presenting terms as a noun instead of a verb is a common mistake when trying to sound more formal; instead, it makes sentences awkward and less concise.

		We performed detailed analysis of pathology specimens to determine…
should be revised to:
		We analyzed pathology specimens to determine…

		This study involved the utilization of three tools to increase patient awareness of health risks.
is more concise when written as:
		This study utilized three tools to increase patient awareness of health risks.

5) Keep your verbs and subjects close together
To reduce confusion and improve clarity, long sentences should be rephrased so that verbs and their subjects remain connected.

		In developing nations, water pollution from sources such as agricultural run-off and manufacturing processes, among others, in both urban and rural areas, is increasing.
is easier to understand when written as:
		In developing nations, water pollution is increasing in both urban and rural areas from sources such as agricultural run-off and manufacturing processes.

		Irrigation for agricultural production, which can address world food security threats such as population growth and climate change, is a valuable tool.
can be revised to:
		Irrigation is a valuable tool in agricultural production that can address world food security threats such as population growth and climate change.
Following these five simple guidelines will improve the clarity and conciseness of your writing and will help you meet strict journal word counts, both of which are important steps toward publication in high-impact journals.