Questions tagged [academic-writing]
The academic-writing tag has no usage guidance.
62
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Meaning of 'block' in "We attempted to block for local spatial variation..."
I am trying to translate a book from English and am confused about the meaning of the word "block" as it is used in this context.
We attempted to block for local spatial variation in the ...
0
votes
2
answers
55
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Can I use thereof to refer to a single subject? If not - what would be an alternative?
Is usage of "thereof" in a title:
Confirming feasibility of attack and investigating improvements to range and reliability thereof
correct?
My intuition says it is not, but it would be a ...
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6
votes
3
answers
499
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Difference in logical inevitability between therefore/thus/hence
I am trying to figure out the difference in the degrees of logical inevitability that the words therefore, thus, and hence express, when used in academic scientific writing.
Glenn Paquette explains in ...
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27
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Capitalization. How do "-based" suffix behave when used on titles? [duplicate]
I'm writing an academic article title, and, for matter of capitalizations, I would like to know:
if "-based" is appended to a word, is "-based" treated as another word and should ...
8
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8
answers
3k
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Usage of "you" in scientific papers
According to numerous questions (e.g Is it recommended to use "we" in research papers?), one should use "we" instead of "I" while writing a scientific paper.
However, it'...
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7
answers
2k
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A different way of saying "rest of"
I am writing a research paper where I want to say
The rest of the paper is organized as follows.
in the introduction of the paper. However, the word "rest" doesn't sound good as it is ...
- 161
0
votes
1
answer
57
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much less + (verb)ing (gerund) agreement/concord
Do I need to make sure the gerunds match in the following sentence:
There is not much attention paid to really examining what constitutes this notion, much less scrutinizing the received criteria for ...
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2
votes
1
answer
50
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Singular and Plurals in Academic Research
In academic/scientific research, should I use the names of fruits in the singular or plural? For example:
There was a significant increase in the frequency of sweet potato consumption (+18.8%), eggs (...
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2
answers
68
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Term for creating Terminology
I’ve been struggling to remember a word for “creating discrete terminology.”
It feels like an academic word used in linguistics in the vein of “semiotics,” (but not dealing with signs, dealing with ...
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0
votes
2
answers
86
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Possessive Contraction over Equations and Mathematical/Physics Laws
In my mother language, Spanish, when we refer to a famous equation, say those for electromagnetism, we say "Ecuaciones de Maxwell". This translates, literally, as "Equations of Maxwell&...
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2
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57
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Use of adjective "slack" in academic writing
(Note. I deleted the previous question as the discussion was focusing too much on the math.)
I am writing a research paper in mathematical analysis and I have a situation in which I want to give a ...
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0
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54
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Scare quotes, regular quote and italics. Style guide advice
I understand that there is no universal rule regarding the use of single or double quotation marks or use of italics, however I wasn't sure whether scare quotes need to follow same format one has ...
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2
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2
answers
62
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Where do I put the name of a noun, before or after? [closed]
Which one is better:
When function read returns an error, the program crashes.
When read function returns an error, the program crashes.
When read-function returns an error, the program crashes.
I'm ...
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0
answers
20
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Usage of hypens when using two compund nouns [duplicate]
I was wondering about the correct usage of the hyphen in cases of the form:
In the short- and long-run.
As opposed to:
In the short and long-run.
Is the first case accepted?
0
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2
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3k
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What is the best way to describe a event which was well organized so much that there was no tension while event was going on?
I am looking for the right words to describe an event which was meticulously planned and executed. I want to stress on the fact that the managers / professors overlooking the event were relaxed as ...
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2
votes
1
answer
591
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dramatically increased vs increased dramatically
In a very formal writing such as IELTS writing task 1, can I use both of these?
>dramatically increased
>increased dramatically
Example:
Product prices have increased dramatically in the last ...
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1
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46
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Does it feel odd for native speakers to use too many introductory phrases in academic writing? [closed]
Recently I observed that there are too many introductory phrases in papers writen by non-native spearkers. Here are some examples:
Typically, it is xxxx
Particularly, it is xxxx
In this paper, we ...
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1
answer
51
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How to say "the health of a system" in a shorter way?
Compound words keep troubling me... I am writing an academic article about detecting the health of a system or a piece of equipment. For example, if a coffee machine works correctly, it means it has a ...
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votes
3
answers
69
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"close resemblance in/on ..." OR "closely resembling ..." [closed]
I have two quite similar fracture populations and I try to emphasize this in the following sentence. But which of the prepositions/solutions is correct in British English?
The baseline ...
- 47
0
votes
1
answer
86
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Em dash to introduce a quote
Is it fine to introduce a direct quote with an em dash? I want to briefly summarise a quote, while still giving it in full. Something like:
However, Smith (2021) argued that foo can in fact improve ...
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1
answer
97
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Correct writing of "clinical- and policy-relevant evidence"
I'm struggling with concise writing of the following. None of the sentences "sound" nice. Could you give some guidance?
A) There is a need for both clinically and policy-relevant evidence?
...
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1
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1
answer
2k
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Why is the A in "Article" capitalized in legal articles when referring to itself? [closed]
I looked at ten different law articles; when refering to itself, the letter A in Article is capitalized. For example, in the abstract it would say something like:
This Article proposes modifying the ...
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votes
1
answer
86
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Comma needed before "as does"? [closed]
Should I write this without a comma:
The evidence from this study suggests that stroke may impose a comparable risk on the survival of older patients as do heart attack due to the close resemblance ...
- 47
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0
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168
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Proper Grammar of Degree Abbreviations
I have seen plenty of abbreviation options to write Postgraduate Diploma.
Just to mention the easiest finding on the web: "A postgraduate diploma (PgD, PgDip, PGDip, PG Dip., PGD, Dipl. PG, PDE) ...
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0
answers
30
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an atom vs the atom [duplicate]
In Britannica's Atom term, some general sentences about an atom use "an atom", and others "the atom", why?
Sentences with "an atom":
The behaviour of an atom is strongly ...
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vote
0
answers
116
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manifests or manifests itself
The sentence (from University Physics book, the image of full text is attached):
The work done by nonconservative forces manifests itself as changes in the
internal energy of objects.
Can we delete ...
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1
answer
62
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Let us suppose vs Suppose [closed]
When should we use "Let us suppose", and when "Suppose" in science academic articles?
Example 1:
Suppose the electric field lines in a region of space are straight lines.
or
...
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1
answer
28
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Which one is more correct for academic writing? List of X users vs X-user list [closed]
I am writing an academic paper and having hard time with language.
So which one of the following is most appropriate?
List of WhatsApp users
WhatsApp-users list
WhatsApp user list
WhatsApp users' ...
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1
vote
1
answer
63
views
Mentioning a physical unit after a series of values
I have problem deciding which one of the following sentences is correct considering the usage of second(s):
Computation times of the proposed algorithms are in the orders of 10^-3 and 10^-4 seconds, ...
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2
answers
205
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Comma after "perhaps" at the end of the sentence
Which one is correct?
I. "This is the worst day in this month, perhaps the worst in my life."
II. "This is the worst day in this month. Perhaps the worst in my life."
Should we ...
user51854
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votes
1
answer
75
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Is speed a variable? [closed]
This is a legal sentence:
London traffic moves at a speed of 11 mph.
Why can't we remove "a" and "of"?
London traffic moves at speed 11 mph.
We may say that "speed" ...
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1
vote
1
answer
130
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Is it common to use 'terminus a quo' in academic writing?
I'm writing an academic paper and I want to replace the word 'starting point' with 'terminus a quo'. I'm not sure if this Latin word is commonly used. I'm trying to make my language more interesting ...
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2
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50
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A first or the first after mentioning general categories
In the following passage:
Recent works have tackled the explainability shortcomings with
different approaches. A first approach investigates to which extent an
input feature is responsible for a ...
- 115
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1
answer
65
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breakage vs breaking in "X denotes the spontaneous breakage/breaking of rotational symmetry"
In the sentence " X denotes the spontaneous breakage/breaking of rotational symmetry.", which is the best word to use in its context?
1
vote
1
answer
36
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Preposition needed: did not survive a certain timepoint [closed]
I have a sentence as follows. This should say that the patients who died during the observation period were excluded from analyses. Should I use a preposition after "survive"? I did a ...
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1
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42
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Is it correct to use a comma before naming a list of items in a sentence? [closed]
The question is about the first comma use in the sentences below. I have not seen such comma-punctuation in a sentence that continues with naming several listed items. Is the first comma in these ...
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0
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17
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Single word request: of/at that phase/time/period/care/management [duplicate]
I am writing a study aim and needs to be really concise. For background, "post-acute care" is the next/second step care in these patients' management. In other words, their care/management ...
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0
votes
1
answer
48
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Dissertation: correct writing of a numbered list [closed]
Are there any grammatical rules for numbered lists (my university does not have a guideline for this)?
Which format would be correct for the given example of numbered objectives? Two things that I ...
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votes
1
answer
51
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Compact writing of "1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 24 and 36-month survival was analysed"
I have an academic paper abstract to write and it has very limited word count (150 words). I have to say that we analysed 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 24 and 36-month survival of the included patients in this ...
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0
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25
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Should we not use abbreviations at all in academic writing? [duplicate]
I submitted a paper to a computer science conference, and the reviewer mentioned that I should correct grammar/writing issues throughout the paper.
Some of the things he/she mentioned:
don't -> do ...
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2
answers
137
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More formal way of saying "taking almost all"
I am trying to revise the following statement:
A takes almost all the rewards which are usually given to clients contributing important attributes.
The takes almost all seems not very formal and ...
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1
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43
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How to say these words in academic writing? [closed]
grab attention
the talk of the town
fly in the ointment
How to transfer these words in an academic way?
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1
vote
1
answer
99
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Should I say "a LSM-tree" or "an LSM-tree"? [duplicate]
The "LSM-tree" is an acronym term for "Log-Structured Merge Tree".
I wrote "a LSM-tree", but Grammarly keeps reminding me it should be "an LSM-tree".
What is ...
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1
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34
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Single word request: something does not disconfirm the superiority of the most widely used practice [duplicate]
I analysed different nonoperative management practices and all of them showed worse outcomes than surgery.
The sentence I am writing:
None of the nonoperative management practices disconfirms the ...
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1
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33
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Single word request: practice based on non-strict criteria
Context:
Clinical decision making is highly varying, as there are no strict criteria between operative and nonoperative management.
How to say this with one academically suitable word?
Clinical ...
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2
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40
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Missing data: not registered vs not available
I have a scientific paper table that has a few missing values. Values are missing as they were not recorded (written by a doctor) on patients' medical records. Should I address these values as "...
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6
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1k
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Tentativeness vs Hedging
I am currently studying for an exam about academic writing and I have some issues grasping the difference between hedging and tentativeness.
I know for a fact that there must be a difference because ...
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0
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28
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Is "disputable exceptions" apt in this sentence?
With some disputable exceptions, he did not understand that ....
Could I use "disputable exceptions" in this context? This extract is from an academic text I am editing. The phrase feels ...
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0
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Saying a period of time of -ties (ex: the 80s to 90s) for a research paper correctly
I'm trying to write a sentence that mentions a specific period of time, though I'm not sure if I wrote it correctly or not. Here's what I have.
We have succeeded in the era of the 1960s to 1980s
...
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1
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116
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To assume an event that never happened did happen
While writing a paper on 20th century international relations & the Second World War, I was faced with a situation where I had to 'suppose' Hitler never came to power in Germany, and the Weimar ...
