Page 107 - English for Writing Research Papers

89

5.13 Prefer verbs to nouns

English tends to use more verbs than nouns. This reduces the number of words

needed, makes sentences flow better, and provides variety. Too many nouns make a
sentence heavy to read.

original version (ov) revised version (rv)
X was used in the calculation of Y. X was used to calculate Y.
Symbols will be defined in the text at Symbols will be defi ned when they first occur

their fi rst occurrence. in the text.
Lipid identifi cation in paint samples is Lipids are generally identifi ed in paint
based on the evaluation of characteristic samples by evaluating the characteristic ratio
ratio values of fatty acid amounts and values of fatty acid amounts and comparing
comparison with reference samples. them with reference samples.

5.14 Use one verb (e.g. analyze ) instead of a verb+noun
(e.g. make an analysis )

If you use a verb + noun construction, you have to choose a ‘helper’ verb to associ-
ate with the noun. For example, should you say do or make a comparison of x and
y? If you simply say to compare x and y , you avoid choosing the wrong helper verb.

original version (ov) revised version (rv)
X showed a better performance than Y. X performed better than Y.
Heating of the probe can be obtained in two The probe can be heated in two different
different ways: ways :
The installation of the system is done The system is installed automatically.
automatically.
The evaluation of this index has been carried This index was evaluated using the
out by means of the correlation function. correlation function.
The monitoring of the kinetics was possible The kinetics were monitored by
by irradiation. irradiation.