Page 112 - English for Writing Research Papers

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Having said that, there is no evidence to prove that a shorter paper is likely to be
cited more than a longer paper. In fact, research on medical papers has found that
longer papers with multiple authors tend to be cited more (see References for a
link). However, to be cited your paper:

• has to have been published – excessive length is likely to be an issue for
reviewers

• has to contain useful data written in a clear, understandable way
In themselves, shortness and length are not key indicators of a paper's worth.

If a paper is long, but with no redundancy, it will certainly stand a better chance of
being published and consequently cited, than a long paper full of redundancy. So get
cutting!

5.21 Summary

You can be more concise by:
deleting any words that are not 100% necessary

finding ways of expressing the same concept with fewer words

using verbs rather than nouns

choosing the shortest words and expressions

avoiding impersonal phrases that begin it is …

A frequent result of reducing the overall number of words is that the subject of the
sentence tends to be shifted closer to the beginning of the sentence. This means that
the reader gets a much quicker picture of the topic of the sentence. Also, if you use
the minimum number of words, the importance of what you are saying will stand
out more clearly for the reader.

These rules in this chapter are designed to help you write in a more concise way.
However it is also important to vary the way you write. It is perfectly acceptable to
write a long phrase or sentence, or a complicated construction, provided that you
only do this occasionally.

Finally, note that on some occasions, conciseness can produce unintelligible phrases.

It is always better to put clarity first, even if it means having to use more words.