英文校正.net

1) Introduction

This is a guide to writing better medical and scientific research papers and reports. It is based on over 20 years of experience editing papers written by Japanese medical and scientific researchers at my company Eibunkousei.net.

The formats and style I recommend here are the generally accepted and most widely used in the international scientific and medical community. However, it is essential that you first check the requirements of the journal to which you will submit your paper.

2) Basic principles

These are the most important things to consider when writing a paper:

• A paper should be clean, clear, and visually appealing. See the Format section for details.
• A paper should use the most widely accepted style for punctuation, spacing, abbreviations, units etc. See the Style section for details.
• A paper should be written using the appropriate spelling. For English-language papers, the most common spellings are American, followed by British. See the Spelling section for details.
• A paper should be internally consistent. Use the same style, spelling and format throughout your paper.

For all other details, see the Contents, Other Issues, Common Mistakes and Resources sections.

↑ top

3) Format

3a) Headings and heading weights

The proper use of headings makes a paper much easier to read and understand. Use a consistent style throughout the paper and make sure that subsections take a lower “heading weight” than main sections do.

There are two ways to create a logical heading hierarchy:

Style 1: Different font sizes

The simplest way to create a logical heading hierarchy is to use a larger font for headings and a smaller font for subheadings.

Here is an example of a heading hierarchy that uses different font sizes:

Style 2: Different font styles

Another way to create a logical heading hierarchy is to use different font styles (bold, bold italic and so on).

The standard way to do this is to use these styles:

Here is an example of a heading hierarchy that uses different font styles:

Avoid plain text headings (i.e., neither bold nor italic) because it can be hard to distinguish the heading from the text that follows. Also, avoid outline format (i.e., numbered or lettered headings) unless there is a clear need to do so.

Usually, just two heading weights are enough for most papers. Use bold for main sections (such as Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, and Discussion). Use bold italics for subheadings under the main sections (for example, Statistical Analysis under the Materials and Methods heading). If you need a lower subheading, use plain italic font.

↑ top

3b) Paragraph Style

There are only two paragraph styles that should be used in a scientific paper:

1. No indents and a full line skipped between paragraphs
2. No indent for first paragraph and a five-space indent at the start of each succeeding paragraph (with no line skipped between paragraphs).

For examples of good and bad paragraph formats, go to the Paragraph Format Examples section at the very end of this page.

↑ top

3c) Font

Use an acceptable font for your paper. We recommend one of these fonts:

• Times New Roman
• Cambria

Do not use fonts generated by Japanese word processing programs such as MS Mincho. The major problem with such fonts is that they do not render English punctuation marks properly.

↑ top

4) Style

4a) Spacing after periods

There should be only one space after a period. Do not use double spaces after periods.

For rules regarding spacing around other punctuation marks, see the following Punctuation section.

4b) Punctuation

Note that the following rules apply to the main text. Rules regarding spacing around punctuation marks differ in the References section. See the References section for details.

4b.1) Spacing around common punctuation marks

For most punctuation marks, there is no space before the mark and one space after. For example:

Exceptions to this rule include slashes, hyphens/dashes, parentheses marks, and brackets.

↑ top

4b.2) Spacing around slashes

There is no space on either side of a forward or backward slash.

4b.3) Spacing around hyphens/dashes

In general, there is no space on either side of a hyphen:

In general, there is no space before or after a dash (en or em dash):

For information on the different ways that hyphens and dashes are used, see the Duke Scientific Writing website hyphen and dashes page.

4b.4) Spacing around parentheses and brackets

There is one space outside parentheses and no space inside.

There is one space outside brackets and no space inside.

↑ top

4b.5) Brackets within parentheses

Sometimes, it is necessary to add a parenthetical within a parenthetical. Do not use parentheses within parentheses because this makes it impossible to see where the parenthetical starts and ends. Rather, use brackets within parentheses. For example:

  This is correct, with brackets inside parentheses:

  This is wrong, with parentheses inside parentheses:

↑ top

4b.6) Other punctuation marks inside quotation marks

Other punctuation marks go inside a close quotation mark. For example:

4b.7) Periods after full sentences only

A full sentence must end with a period, question mark or exclamation point. Normally, a full sentence is a sentence that contains a verb. But, no period is necessary after a phrase, title or heading that does not contain a verb (i.e., not a full sentence). For example:

Key Points:

• Full sentences must end with a period, question mark or exclamation point.
• Do not put a period after a phrase, title, heading/subheading that lacks a verb.
• Do not put a period at the end of an address.

↑ top

4c) Numbers

The basic rule for writing numbers is this:

• Use letters to write numbers lower than 10 (two, three, nine etc.).
• Use numerals for numbers higher than or equal to 10 (10, 41, 75 etc.).

Note, however, that there are many exceptions to the above rule. For numbers representing things like data, times, dates and patient numbers, it is usually better to write numbers below 10 using numerals. This is particularly true in the Results section of a paper.

Finally, it is best not to start a sentence with numerals. (Write numbers at the start of a sentence in letters, or reword the sentence so that the number does not come first.)

Key Points:

• In most cases, write numbers below 10 with letters.
• But use numerals for data, measurements, patient numbers etc.
• Write all numbers above or equal to 10 with numerals.
• Do not start a sentence with numerals (write the number with letters).

↑ top

4d) Units

4d.1) Punctuation of units

Put one space between a number and the unit of measure. This rule is the same for units written in full and abbreviations of units.

• 240 μm
• 7 h
• 10 minutes
• 5 cm
• 3 meters

But, note that there is NO space between a number and the percentage sign:

4d.2) Abbreviation of units

Common scientific units can be written as abbreviations throughout the paper (i.e., you do not need to introduce the full term on first mention).

↑ top

4e) Abbreviations

4e.1) Abbreviations in the abstract

• Except for units of measure (cm, h and μm etc.), do not use abbreviations in the abstract unless truly necessary (i.e., in cases where it saves you from writing a long term several times).
• Except for units of measurement, the first time an abbreviation is used in the abstract, it should be preceded by the words for which it stands (i.e., defined on first mention).

↑ top

4e.2) Abbreviations in the main text

• The first time an abbreviation is used, it must be preceded by the words for which it stands (defined on first mention), even if it has already appeared and been defined in the abstract.
• Use abbreviations sparingly and be sure to use commonly accepted abbreviations.
• If you create your own abbreviations, try to make them intuitive. For example, to abbreviate a term like “diffuse occipital hypometabolism” use an abbreviation like DOH instead of DoM.

Key Points:

• Define all abbreviations on first mention (in abstract AND main text).
• Choose intuitive abbreviations.
• Do not use puzzling or unclear abbreviations.
• Do not overuse abbreviations.

↑ top

5) Spelling

Check which kind of English is used by the journal to which you will submit your paper. American journals use American English. British journals use British English. Canadian, Australian and New Zealand journals use their own forms of English, but it is very close to British English (i.e., you can probably use British English for journals from these countries). International journals usually use American English.

The easiest way to be sure that you are using the correct form of English is to write your documents using Microsoft Word. Under the Tools menu, choose Language and select the appropriate language.

↑ top

6) Contents

6a) Suppliers and manufacturers

6a.1) First mention of manufacturers

The first time you mention a piece of equipment or material (usually in the Materials and Methods section), give the manufacturer and the location of the manufacturer in parentheses. Do not write terms like “Co.”, “Ltd.”, or “™” etc. The usual formats are:

American Manufacturers

• material (Manufacturer, City, State, United States)

For example:

Note that some journals do not require that you write “United States” for American manufacturers (but require that you include the country for non-American manufacturers). Recently, however, the trend is to include “United States” for American manufacturers as well in order to be consistent. We recommend this style.

Non-American Manufacturers

The format is the same as for American manufacturers, but does not include a state. Thus, the format is:

• material (Manufacturer, City, Country)

For example:

In some cases, the name of the material appears inside the parentheses. In this case, use a semi-colon between the name of the equipment and the manufacturer’s details (a comma is also acceptable). The formats are:

American Manufacturer:

• material (Model Name; Manufacturer, City, State, United States)

For example:

Non-American Manufacturer:

• material (Model Name; Manufacturer, City, Country)

For example:

↑ top

6a.2) Following mention of manufacturers

The first time you mention a manufacturer, you must list the location of that manufacturer. For following mentions, you only have to list the name of the manufacturer (even if you are talking about another material or equipment). Simply list the name of the manufacturer in parentheses. For example:

Key Points:

• List manufacturer’s details on first mention.
• On following mentions, list only the manufacturer’s name.
• Do not use terms like “Co.”, “Ltd.”, or “™” etc.

↑ top

6b) Verb Tenses

6b.1) General introduction to verb tenses and their uses

It is essential to use the correct verb tenses when writing a scientific paper. The correct verb tenses make a paper much clearer, while incorrect verb tenses can make a paper unclear and cause serious misunderstandings.

The best way to choose the correct verb tense is to understand how verb tenses are used in English. It is pretty simple once you grasp the basic pattern. Fortunately, you probably only need to use three or four basic verb tenses in a scientific paper. Here they are:

Simple present tense: Used to describe usual conditions, attributes or regular actions.

• Plants produce oxygen.
• The lungs are located in the chest.
• Mitral valve prolapse is usually asymptomatic.

Simple past tense: Used to report an event or condition that occurred during a finished time period (usually with a stated time or time period).

• The patient underwent surgery in 1996.
• In 2004, Nakamura et al. published a paper on mitral valve repair.
• After the surgery, the patient developed kidney failure.

Present perfect tense: Used to report a condition, action or event that occurred during an unstated time in the past (an unfinished period until the time of writing).

• It has been reported that mitral valve repair yields excellent results.
• There have been several studies on the long-term results of mitral valve repair.
• The patient has been seizure free for over 10 years.

Past perfect tense: Used to report or condition, action or event that occurs some time before a stated time or event/action in the past.

• The patient had been taking warfarin before the surgery.
• The patient had been examined at another clinic before presenting at our hospital.

Thus, when writing a paper, you should ask yourself the following questions:

1. Am I writing about a normal condition, state or action? If so, use present tense.
2. Am I writing about something that happened at a defined time in the past? If so, use simple past.
3. Am I writing about something that occurred in the past, but I do not identify when? If so, use present perfect.

If you think carefully about when each tense is used, you will naturally see that each section of a paper normally takes a certain verb tense as follows:

• Introduction: present tense (general conditions), past tense or present perfect tense (previous reports)
• Materials and Methods: past tense
• Results: past tense
• Discussion: past tense (discussing results), past tense or present perfect tense (discussing other reports), present tense (discussing conclusions and need for further study etc.).

The abstract, which is a summary of all of these sections, naturally takes a mixture of tenses:

• Abstract: present tense (background), past tense (materials and methods), past tense (results), present tense (conclusions)

↑ top

6b.2) Verb tenses for figures and tables mentioned in the text

When you mention a figure or a table, use present tense. This is because the figure is always visible in the paper (i.e., you are talking about a normal condition). For example:

6b.3) Verb tenses for findings versus general conditions

It is sometimes difficult to decide which verb tense to use when discussing findings and general conditions. Here is the rule:

• Use past tense for the results of your study.
• Use present tense for general conditions or knowledge.

For example, if you studied the beta-blocker atenolol in your study, you might write:

But, when discussing beta-blockers in general, you might write:

↑ top

7) Other Issues

7a) Fig. 1 vs. Figure 1

When mentioning specific figures in regular text, write the word “Figure” in full. In parentheses, it is acceptable to write “Fig.” or “Figure.” In all cases, use an uppercase “F” for “Figure” or “Fig.” The key point is to be consistent (i.e., do not mix styles in the paper). And, if you mention two figures, be sure to use the correct plural form.

Here are examples. These are all correct and acceptable:

Key Points:

• In plain text, write “Figure.”
• In parentheses, write “Figure” or “Fig.”
• Use an uppercase “F” for “Figure” or “Fig.”
• Write “Figures” or “Figs.” for more than one figure (i.e., plural).
• Use the same style for all parenthetical mentions of figures (i.e., all “Figure” or all “Fig.”)
• Do not write “figure” or “fig.” (Lowercase “f” is not acceptable.)
• Do not mix “Figure” and “Fig.” in parentheticals (i.e., use a consistent style).

↑ top

7b) Articles

Articles are the most difficult aspect of English for non-native speakers, particularly for those whose native language (e.g., Japanese) does not contain articles. The topic of articles is much too broad to cover here in any detail. However, there are two main rules that are essential to know:

7b1) Definite vs. indefinite articles

In most cases, once a noun has been introduced, the article before it changes from indefinite (a/an) to definite (the). For example:

Why? Because the reader now knows what instrument is being discussed. Thus, the noun switches from being “one of many” to a particular one (i.e., it switches in the readers mind from indefinite to definite).

↑ top

7b2) Organs usually take definite articles

In most cases, organs of the human body take a definite article, except when it is clear that there is more than one of the organ in question. Thus:

• the descending aorta
• the spine
• the right pectoralis major
• the heart

But:

• a rib
• a finger

7c) Latin words

Several Latin words are commonly used in research papers. There are various styles in use for writing these, so be sure to check the requirements of the journal in question. The main point is this: Choose the right style for the journal in question and apply it consistently throughout the paper.

↑ top

7c1) et al.

Confusingly, three different styles exist for writing this in text:

• et al. (italics with a period)
• et al. (plain text with a period)
• et al (plain text, no period)

We prefer the last style: et al (plain text, no period). But be sure to check with the journal in question.

Finally, do not use “and associates” instead of “et al.”

7c2) Other Latin words

Confusingly, different styles also exist for other common Latin expressions: some style guides and journals stipulate writing these in italics, while others allow plain text. We prefer writing these in italics as follows:

• in vivo
• in vitro
• ad libitum

Key Points:

• Use a consistent style for Latin words.
• Check the requirements of the journal in question.
• Use italics for in vivo, in vitro and ad libitum.
• Do not use “~ and associates” (use “et al”).

↑ top

7d) Hyphenation

Failure to use hyphens is probably the most common error we find in scientific writing. Fortunately, it is very easy to use hyphens correctly. There are three main uses for hyphens that we will cover here: 1) compound words, 2) adverbial constructions, and 3) number/noun constructions.

7d.1) Hyphens in compound words

Adjectival constructions:

When two or more words come before a noun that they modify, they are usually hyphenated (unless one of those words is an adverb ending in ~ly):

• an American-made device
• a high-fidelity processor
• a first-class ticket

The reason to use hyphens here is to avoid confusion. For example, if you write “first class ticket,” the reader might think that you are talking about a first ticket to a class. By linking “first” and “class,” these two words act as a single adjective modifying the noun “ticket,” and the meaning is clear.

Key Point:

• Use hyphens to link two words that modify one noun, unless one of those words is an adverb ending in ~ly.

↑ top

7d.2) Hyphens in adverbial constructions:

The issue becomes more complicated when adverbs modify a noun. However, the most commonly accepted style is the following:

Do not hyphenate adverbs ending in ~ly when they modify a noun. For example:

Hyphenate constructions containing the adverb “well.” For example:

Key Points:

• Hyphenate “well” + participle constructions before nouns (“well-written paper”).
• Do not hyphenate “~ly” adverbial constructions before nouns (“largely irrelevant argument”).

↑ top

7d.3) Hyphens in number-noun constructions

When numbers are used adjectively to modify nouns that they precede, they are hyphenated as follows:

• 10-year-old girl
• five-year-old boy
• 30-gram weight

(Please note that “10-year-old” rather than “10-years-old” should be used in cases such as these.)

The reason to use hyphens here is to avoid confusion. For example, if you write “30 gram weight” the reader might think you are talking about 30 weights each weighing one gram. By linking “30” and “gram” with a hyphen, it becomes clear that the weight is 30 grams.

Note that in cases where the number is used with a unit (years, grams etc.) but does not come before the noun it modifies, you should not use a hyphen. For example:

• The girl is 10 years old.
• He is five years of age.
• The weight is 30 grams.

Key Points:

• Use hyphens when numbers modify nouns adjectively (i.e., number/unit/noun constructions).
• Do not use hyphens where the number does not come before the noun it modifies (i.e., noun/number/unit constructions).

↑ top

7d.4) Hyphens in numbers

Hyphens are also used when writing certain numbers as follows. Keep in mind that in scientific papers, numbers greater than or equal to 10 are written with numerals. However, in certain cases (i.e., at the beginning of a sentence) it is necessary to write numbers with letters.

Fractions

• one-half
• three-quarters

Numbers between 21 and 99 (even when they are part of numbers higher than 100*) but not numbers higher than 100

• twenty-one
• fifty-five
• one hundred and twenty-one*
• five hundred

When writing numbers with letters, use these rules:

• Hyphenate numbers between 21 and 99
• Hyphenate all fractions
• Do not hyphenate numbers over 100

↑ top

7e) Gene and protein names: italics or plain text?

Genes are generally written in italics. Proteins are generally written in plain text. For example:

• gene: myogenic regulatory factor 5 or myf5 (italics)
• protein: myogenic regulatory factor 5 or myf5 (plain font)

Note that it is not necessary to use italics for long lists of genes in text, tables or figures, as long as it is clear that you are talking about genes.

↑ top

7f) mRNA and cDNA: italics or plain text

Similarly, messenger RNA (mRNA) is generally written in italics and its complementary DNA (cDNA) is written in plain text. For example:

• mRNA: R17 (italics)
• cDNA: R17 (plain font)

Note that it is not necessary to use italics for long lists of mRNAs in text, tables or figures, as long as it is clear that you are talking about mRNAs.

↑ top

7g) Species names

Write species names in italics. On first mention in both the abstract AND the main text, write the full genus and species. The first letter of the genus should be uppercase. On following mentions, write the first letter of the genus in uppercase with a period after it, followed by the full species name. For example:

• First mention: Homo sapiens
• Following mentions: H. sapiens

↑ top

7h) References

Reference formats are perhaps the most troublesome aspect of research papers. Fortunately, in recent years, most journals are moving toward one or two commonly accepted formats: the NIH/ICMJE style and the Public Library of Science (PLOS) style.

Of course, you should check what style is used by the journal to which you will submit your paper and use that style. The easiest way is simply to look at a previous issue of the journal and see what style is used.

Here are the NIH/ICMJE and the PLOS reference styles:

↑ top

7h.1) NIH/ICMJE reference style

Standard journal reference

List the first six authors followed by et al. If a journal uses continuous pagination throughout a volume, the month and issue number may be omitted. For example:

For more details on journal reference style, see the NLM style manual online

Standard book reference with no chapter mention

Standard book reference with chapter mention

For more details on book reference style, see the NLM style manual.

For the NIH/ICMJE reference style for other media (internet articles, newspaper articles, unpublished work etc.) and other cases (no authors given, retracted articles etc.), visit the NIH uniform requirements page.

↑ top

7h.2) PLOS reference style

Standard journal reference

Standard book reference with no chapter mention

Standard book reference with chapter mention

For more details on the PLOS reference style, visit the PLOS submission guidelines page and scroll down to “References.”

7h.3) Other reference styles

You can find a full list of other reference styles, with examples, on the following pages:

• APA 6th – American Psychological Association, 6th Edition
• APA 5th– American Psychological Association, 5th Edition
• APA 6th – Annotated with Abstracts – American Psychological Association, 6th Edition
• APA 5th – Annotated with Abstracts – American Psychological Association, 5th Edition
• AMA – American Medical Association, 10th Edition
• ASA – American Sociological Association, 3rd Edition
• Associação Brasileira de Normas Técnicas
• BibTeX
• Chicago 15th Edition (Author-Date System)
• Chicago 15th Edition (Notes & Bibliography)
• Council of Biology Editors – CBE 6th, Citation-Sequence
• Council of Biology Editors – CBE 6th, Name-Year Sequence
• Council of Science Editors – CSE 7th, Citation-Sequence
• Council of Science Editors – CSE 7th, Name-Year Sequence
• Harvard
• Harvard – British Standard
• ISO 690:2010(E) (First Element-Date)
• ISO 690:2010(E) (Numeric Method)
• MLA 7th Edition
• MLA 6th Edition
• MLA 6th Edition, Annotated with Abstracts
• Turabian 7th Edition (Notes)
• Turabian 7th Edition (Reference List)
• Uniform – Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals
• Vancouver

7i) Journal name abbreviations

The best source for journal name abbreviations to use in your reference section is the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) NLM Catalogue site

↑ top

8) Common Problems

This section contains examples of common problems that we find in papers written by Japanese authors. Note that you will occasionally find examples of incorrect or unnatural usage in papers written even by native English speakers. However, we strongly recommend against using any of these usages.

8a) Unclear antecedents

Pronouns are very useful for reducing the length of a paper. However, when you use a pronoun, be sure that the reader can clearly identify which noun the pronoun is replacing. The noun that is replaced by a pronoun is called the “antecedent.” When you use a pronoun, be sure that the antecedent is very clear.

Here is an example of an unclear antecedent:

In the sentence above, it is impossible to tell what the antecedent to “this” is; it could be either the experimental group’s score on the learned task or the experimental group’s score on the random task.

The easiest way to deal with unclear antecedents is to replace the pronoun with the full noun. For example:

Key Points:

• Do not use unclear antecedents.
• Make sure a pronoun’s antecedent is clear.
• Replace unclear antecedents will full nouns.

↑ top

8b) Run-on sentences

Strictly speaking, run-on sentences are sentences in which two or more independent clauses are joined without a conjunction or correct punctuation. However, at Eibunkousei.net, we also call any sentence that contains an excessive number of phrases and/or clauses a run-on sentence. Run-on sentences tax a reader’s patience and concentration and make your paper hard to understand.

The easiest way to deal with run-on sentences is simply to break the sentence into two or more shorter sentences.

Here is an example of a run-on sentence:

The above sentence is too long. More importantly, it distracts the reader by discussing details of the present study, rather than focusing on its conclusions and findings. It is easy to solve this problem by removing the extraneous detail and putting it into the following sentence, as follows:

Key Points:

• Do not include too many phrases or clauses in one sentence.
• Split excessively long sentences into two or more shorter sentences.

↑ top

8c) Long or unclear group names

Try to use clear and brief group names. Consider creating an abbreviation for long group names, but make sure you use an intuitive and clear abbreviation. For example:

If you have excessively long group names like these:

Introduce intuitive and clear abbreviations like these:

In all future mentions you can just use the abbreviations.

Key Points:

• Do not use excessively long group names.
• Replace excessively long group names with intuitive, clear abbreviations.

↑ top

8d) Overuse of “we”

In Japanese, it is quite common to use 私たち or我々 to mean “anyone.” However, in English, “we” generally means just the speaker and those to whom he is speaking (his group). Native English speakers often use “you” to mean “anyone.” This is called the “impersonal you” (i.e., it does not just mean the person to whom one is speaking—it means anyone).

However, the “impersonal you” is usually used in spoken English. In written English, it is better to use “one” to mean anyone. Or, you can use expressions like “the physician” or “physicians” to mean “any doctor.”

Examples:

Key Points:

• Do not use “we” to mean “anyone” or “any doctor”.
• Use “one” or “the physician” or “physicians” etc. instead.

↑ top

8e) “By using”

The term “by using” is redundant (both words have the roughly the same meaning). Use one word or the other, not both. Note that in some cases, “with” is a better word choice than “by” or “using”.

Key Points:

• Do not write “by using.”
• Write “by” or “using.”

8f) “It is considered”

The expression “it is considered” often appears in papers written by Japanese researchers. This is not a natural English expression. Instead, use such expressions as “it is thought” or “it is widely accepted.”

Examples

Key Points:

• Do not use “it is considered.”
• Use “it is widely accepted” or “it is thought.”

8g) “On the other hand”

The expression “on the other hand” is usually used in spoken English. In written English, it is better to use “in contrast.”

Key Points:

• Do not use “on the other hand.”
• Use “in contrast.”

↑ top

9) How to edit your own work

While we recommend that all papers be given a final check by a professional medical editor who is a native speaker of English, there is a lot that you can do on your own to remove errors, inconsistency and unnatural expressions from your paper. Here are some ways to do this.

9a) Write papers with Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word is the best word processing program. Here is how you can use it to write a better paper:

• Set the language of the paper to the appropriate language for your paper.
• Use the spelling and grammar checking function. Then, pay close attention to the red and green underlining that indicate spelling mistakes and grammar mistakes, respectively. Note that some words will not be in the Microsoft Word spelling dictionary. For these, you can check the spelling using Google Scholar (see the following Google section).
• Use the Find function to check that you have used a consistent spelling and format throughout the paper. For example, if you want to check that every instance of “post-surgical” is written with a hyphen (rather than as “postsurgical”), you can do a Find function for “post” and it will show all instances of this word, whether it is written as “post-surgical” or “postsurgical.” You can also use the Find and Replace function to change incorrect spellings throughout the paper.

↑ top

9b) Use Google Scholar

Google Scholar is the most useful tool when writing a paper. Here are some ways that you can use Google Scholar to improve your paper:

• Look up the main terms of your paper to see how they are written in other scientific papers. Are they usually hyphenated? Are they capitalized? Are they written in italics? Etc. Try to find papers written by native English speakers to use as a reference.
• You can use Google Scholar as a spell checker for words that are not contained in the usual Microsoft Word dictionary. Simply copy the word into Google Scholar and do a search. If the word is misspelled, Google Scholar will usually recommend the correct spelling.
• You can use Google Scholar to find other papers on your topic, many of which can be read for free online. This will give you an idea of how the topic is handled by other researchers, many of whom will be native speakers of English.

↑ top

9c) Print the references section

Inconsistency between the references section and the main text is a common source of problems. The two most common problems are: 1) different spellings of author names in the main text and in the corresponding references and 2) numbering problems.

The easiest way to eliminate these errors is to print out the references section. Hold it in your hand as you do a final read through the paper. Each time you reach a reference in the main text: 1) check that the author’s name(s) is the same in both the main text and the reference (if the name is mentioned) and 2) check that the reference number is correct.

↑ top

10) Resources

Here are some useful online references for writing better papers:

• Public Library of Science
• Public Library of Science (PLOS) submission guidelines
• NLM/NCBI journal abbreviation search page
• NLM/NCBI “Citing Medicine” references style guide

↑ top

11) Paragraph Format Examples

Use one of the following two styles:

  Style #1: No-indent/line skipped

  Style #2: Indent style/no line skipped

Do not use the following two styles:

In the first style below, it is very difficult to see where a new paragraph starts, especially if the last line of the preceding sentence goes almost all the way to the right margin.

 : No indent/no line skipped

In the second style, it is visually unpleasing because the first sentence under any heading should be flush left.

 : Indents for all paragraphs, including first paragraph

↑ top

Copyright © 2016 Eibunkousei.net and Christian Rowthorn. All Rights Reserved.