如何写英文科技论文 （Unit1 principals of efficient writing）

unit 1： principals of efficient writing

an example

    original:

Dysregulation of physiologic microRNA (miR) activity has been shown to play an important role in tumor initiation and progression, including gliomagenesis. Therefore, molecular species that can regulate miR activity on their target RNAs without affecting the expression of relevant mature miRs may play equally relevant roles in cancer.

    revise version:

Changes in microRNA expression play a  role in cancer, including glioma.  Therefore, events that disrupt  microRNAs from binding to their target  RNAs may also promote cancer.

    keys:

 1. cut the unnecessary words;

 2. use active voice (sub+verb+obj);

 3. use verb instead of nonus  

cut the clutter

    writing principals

The secret of good writing is to strip every sentence to its cleanest components.  Every word that serves no function, every long 

word that could be a short word, every adverb that carries the same meaning that‘s already in the verb, every passive 

construction that leaves the reader unsure of who is doing what—these are the thousand and one adulterants that weaken the strength of a sentence.  And they usually occur in proportion to the education and rank.

    roles：

    delete：

    1. Dead weight words and phrases 

„     As it is well known

„     As it has been shown

„     It can be regarded that

„     It should be emphasized that

    2. Empty words and phrases 

„     basic tenets of

„     methodologic

„     important

    3. Long words or phrases that could be short

„     muscular and cardiorespiratory performance

    4. Unnecessary jargon and acronyms

„     muscular and cardiorespiratory performance

„     Gliomagenesis

„     miR

    5. Repetitive words or phrases

„     studies/examples

„     illustrate/demonstrate

„     challenges/difficulties

„     successful solutions

    6. Adverbs 

„     very, really, quite, basically, generally, etc.

     more tricks on cut the clutter

    Eliminate negatives

    Eliminate superfluous uses of “there are/there is”

    Omit needless prepositions

   上述材料的内容主要集中在如何去除一个句子中冗余的部分，用最简单明了的语言描述核心思想。

    为了便于理解，下面给出若干例字：

    1. Anti-inflammatory drugs may be protective for the occurrence of Alzheimer’s Disease.

    to：Anti-inflammatory drugs may protect against  Alzheimer’s Disease.

    2. Clinical seizures have been estimated to occur in 0.5% to 2.3% of the neonatal population.

    to：Clinical seizures occur in 0.5% to 2.3% of newborns.

    3. Ultimately p53 guards not only against  malignant transformation but also plays a role

      in developmental processes as diverse as aging, differentiation, and fertility. 

    to：Besides preventing cancer, p53 also plays roles in aging, differentiation, and fertility.

    4. Injuries to the brain and spinal cord have long been known to be among the most 

    devastating and expensive of all injuries  to treat medically. 

    to：Injuries to the brain and spinal cord are  among the most devastating and  expensive.

    5. An IQ test measures an individual’s abilities  to perform functions that usually fall in the 

    domains of verbal communication, reasoning,  and performance on tasks that represent 

    motor and spatial capabilities.

    to：An IQ test measures an individual’s  verbal, reasoning, or motor and spatial abilities.