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The OV is extremely confusing, even though the use of the English language is
perfect.

(1) were made indicates that this is Wordsworth’s work, but when the reader
reaches the end of the sentence he/she sees a reference to another paper. Does
this reference just refer to the second part of the sentence (beginning because
politicians ) or does it refer to the measurements , or both? The reader cannot
be sure. Moreover, authors who quote from their own previous work, as
Wordsworth does here, should alert the reader that it is their work and not
someone else’s. The problem is that readers may not remember the name of
the author of the paper they are reading, so even if they see Wordsworth in the
reference they may not realize that he is the author of the current paper.
(2) similar tests by who? (Wordsworth or someone else?) and when? (in
Wordsworth’s 2008 paper or his current paper?)
(3–5) Again, the reader has no idea who conducted the tests and when, or whether
they refer to the current research or Wordsworth’s previous research.

(6) Who is making this conclusion? Is it Wordsworth based on his research in

this paper? Or is it a general conclusion made by other authors and already
reported in the literature?
As usual, the problem is due to the fact that Wordsworth knows who did what, and
he assumes that the reader also knows this vital information.

The RV clarifi es who did what and when . It also divides the OV into two paragraphs:
one describing previous work, and the other describing the current work. The reader
is carefully guided through various studies before reaching Wordsworth’s conclu-
sions for his present paper.

This results in an increase in the number of words you will need to use – but clarity
is more important than conciseness.

I cannot overstress how important it is for you to make such differentiations between
your work and that of others. Lack of such a differentiation is one of the most com-
mon and serious mistakes made in research papers. It is imperative that you check

through every sentence in which you report a finding, and make it 100% clear to the
reader who is responsible for the fi nding.