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6.21 Talking about similarities: as, like, unlike

Be careful when you are comparing your methods and results with those of another
author. In S1 below it is not 100% clear whether you are or are not in agreement
with Walker’s suggestion.

S1. We also demonstrated that x does not equal y as suggested by Walker (2016).

Does S1 mean that Walker suggested that x is equal to y and is thus in contrast to
what you are saying? If so, S1 should be written as S2 or S3.

S2. Unlike what was suggested by Walker (2016), we demonstrated that x does not equal y.
S3. Our findings do not concur with Walker (2016). In fact, we have clearly demonstrated

that x does not equal y.
Or does S1 mean that he, like you, found that x does not equal y (if so rewrite as S4).

S4. In agreement with Walker (2016), we demonstrated that x does not equal y.

Ambiguity affects readability. If you force your reader to constantly interpret what
you are writing, the reader will soon want to stop reading.

6.22 Differentiating between from and by

These two words have different meanings: from (origin) and by (agent).

S1. This paper was drafted by several different authors from three different universities.
S2. We received an email from Professor Southern written by her secretary.

In S1 and S2 if you used by instead of from, or vice versa, this would not lead to
ambiguity.
However in S3 the use of from or by helps us to understand what smartcon is. In this
case created from would mean that smartcon is a material, created by that smartcon
is the creator – these are two very different meanings.
S3. This product was created from / by smartcon.