Masumeh Anvari Laleh Islamic Azad University South branch

Chapter 3 writing clearly And concisely

 Words are a lens to focus one’s mind. - Ayn Rand

In this chapter we are going to consider: 1.Organization 2.Writing style 3.Reducing bias in language

 Try to summaries as much as you can. Shorten the paper by stating the points clearly and directly. Eliminate repetition. Write in active voice. Length

 Headings help the readers to anticipate key points. All topics of equal importance have the same level of headings. Avoid having only one subsection. Organizing a manuscript with headings:

Levels of heading

Method Samples and participant selection Assessment and measures Q_sort measures of inhibition. Life hostory calendar.

 Do not label headings with numbers of letters(the headings in this book are numbered to permit indexing and cross referencing)  The number of levels of heading needed for your article will depend on its length and complexity.

 It helps the reader to understand the order of key points in sections,paragraphs,and sentences.  Separate paragraphs in a series, such as steps in a procedure, are identified by Arabic numeral followed by a period.  1.Individuals who….[paragraph continues]  2.Nondepressed persons exposed to…..[paragraph continues] seriation

If you use numbers it might connote unwanted ordinal position such as importance or priority. If you want to eliminate such implication, items should be identified by bullets such as square,circles. Within a paragraph or sentence, identify elements by lower case letters in parentheses The participant’s three choices were(a)working with another participant(b)working with a team, and(c) working alone.

 Within a sentence use  Commas :to separate items that do not have internal commas.  Semicolons: to separate items that have internal commas we tested three groups:(a)low scores, who scored fewer than 20 points;(b)moderate scores, who scored between 20 and 50;and(c)high scores, who scored more than 50

Continuity in presentation of ideas Readers better understand your ideas if you have continuity in words, concepts from the opening statement to the conclusion. You can achieve it in two ways: 1.Punctuation 2.Transitional words Transitions help to maintain the flow of thoughts especially when the text is complex. transitions avoid repetition Writing style

Then, next,after, while, sinceTime links Therefore, consequently, as a resultCause effect links In addition,moreover, furthermoreAdditional links But,conversely, nevertheless, howeverContrast links

when writing a scientific prose, avoid ambiguity ; inserted the unexpected ;omitting the expected ; and suddenly shifting the topic, sense, or person. Because you have been very close to your paper, you may not see certain problems so it is better to:  Ask a colleague to read it  Put it aside and read it later  Read the paper aloud Smoothness of expression

If you see your writing is abrupt introducing more transitions can be helpful. You can have smooth expression by using verb tenses consistently. Stay with the chosen tense. Review of literatureUse past tense or Present perfect The results e.g. anxiety decreased significantly. Past tense Conclusion or implication of results e.g. the results of experiment indicate. Present tense

Putting several nouns together to modify the final noun can be confusing. *hyphenation can clarify the relationships between words for example: Don’t say: commonly used investigative expanded issue control question technique. Say: a control-question technique that is commonly used to expand issues in investigation. Noun strings

 Move the last word to the beginning and fill in with verbs and prepositions don’t say : early childhood thought disorder misdiagnosis. Say :misdiagnosis of thoughts disorders in early childhood.  To achieve smoothness use synonyms but be careful (subtle differences)  Use pronouns to avoid monotonous repetitions of terms. One way to untangle noun strings

Scientific writing differs from literary writing but it must not be dull use interesting style and tone that shows your involvement with the problem. Say: Richards and Rogers did not address….. Don’t say: Richards and Rogers completely overlooked….. One way to achieve the right tone is to imagine the specific reader whom you want to educate. Tone

Try to be frugal with words so the chance of publication will increase. You can tighten long papers by : eliminating redundancy, wordiness, jargon, overuse of the passive voice, circumlocution. Short sentences are easy to comprehend. Economy of expression

wordiness say Don’t say becauseBased on the fact that nowAt the present time forFor the purpose of This studyThe present study

Don’t use more words than are necessary to convey your meaning. Redundancy Four different group sawThey were both alike In close participantsA total of 68 participants Small in sizeCompletely unanimous The reason is becauseJust exactly

 varied sentence length helps readers maintain interest  Don’t use too simple or too long sentences.  Paragraphs that are too long lose the reader’s attention Unit length

Word choice Make sure to use words that means exactly what you intend to mean. believe think feel Say: Articles by psychologists such as Skinner and Watson….. Don’t say: Articles by psychologists like Skinner and Watson……. Precision and clarity informal formal

Colloquial expression: Avoid colloquial expressions(e.g.) *Quantity terms such as(quite a large part, practically all, very few)are interpreted differently by readers. Jargon: Use of technical lexis Monetarily felt scarcity=poverty Jargon can grates on readers

Pronouns : they can confuse readers unless the reference is obvious.eliminate ambiguity by writing this test, that trial, these participants Comparisons: Ambiguity or illogical comparisons result from omission of key verbs or from non-parallel structure. Her salary was lower than a convenience store clerk.

a ttribution Third person anthropomorphism Editorial we

 Third person : to avoid ambiguity use a personal pronoun. don’t use third person when describing steps Correct: We reviewed the literature Incorrect: The authors reviewed the literature.

 Do not give the human characteristics to animals or objects. Correct: pairs of rats were allowed to forage together. Incorrect: rat couples were allowed to forage together. editorial we Restrict your use of we to refer only to yourself. Correct: researchers usually classify………. Incorrect: we usually classify………… Alternatives to “we "are people,researchers, humans Anthropomorphism

 Avoid heavy alliteration, rhyming,poetic expressions and clichés. don’t use metaphors.They can distract readers. e.g.(A theory representing one branch of a growing body of evidence) Linguistic devices

Strategies to improve writing style To have effective communication Write from an out -line Put aside the draft and read it later Asking a colleague to review it

 Do not evaluate the groups being studied on the bias of gender, sexual orientation, racial or ethnic group or age. Reducing bias in language

Guideline 1:describe at the appropriate level of specificity. *don’t use man to refer to all human use women and men *give specific age range (ages 65-83) instead of over 65 *don’t describe participants as Asian American or Hispanic American *describe them by their nation(e.g. Chinese, American, Mexican American) *when discussing sexual orientation, realize that some people interpret gay as referring to men and women. *gender is cultural, sex is biological General guidelines for reducing bias

 Differences should be mention only when relevant.  Marital status, sexual orientation,racial identity, or peoples disabilities should not be mentioned gratuitously. Guideline 2:call people what they prefer to be called. *Broadly categorize people such as (the gays, the elderly)or you can put the person first(people diagnosed with schizophrenia) *A label should NOT be pejorative you need to find more neutral terms(the demented is not repaired by demented group but dementia group would be acceptable.

 Don’t use one group as standard for example citizen of U.S.  BE aware that the order of presentation of social group can imply that the first mention is standard and the latter is deviant. Men and women, white Americans and racial minorities.

 When acknowledging people in your study use participants or subjects rather than children or college students  Avoid the term failed because it can imply a personal shortcoming  The passive voice suggests individuals are acted on instead of being actors (the students completed the survey ) is preferable to(the students were given the survey) Guideline 3:acknowledge participants

 Gender: sexist bias can occur when pronouns are used carelessly or when he is used to refer to both sexes(e.g. policeman instead of police officer can be ambiguous)  One solution is to use plural pronouns.(e.g. A therapist who is too much like his client)  Say (therapists who are too much like their clients)  Use he or she instead of he  Using s(he) can be distracting Reducing bias by topic

Racial and ethnic identity Don’t say say Negro Afro-American Black African American orientalAsian American Minority referring to non-white racial Racial(ethnic)minori ty

 Avoid language that objectifies a person by her or his condition(autistic, neurotic)  Avoid using pictorial metaphors(wheel-chair bound or AIDS victim)  say: people with intellectual disabilities in contrast to the retarded. Disabilities

 Provide age range  Don’t say :under 18 or over 65  Girls and boys=individuals under 12  Young man or male adolescent=people between  Man or woman=people 18 and above  The term older adult is preferred. age

 Be careful not to misrepresent ideas of the past in an effort to avoid language bias.  Change in (nouns) or pronouns may result in serious change in the author’s idea. In such writing, it is best to retain the original language and to comment on it in the discussion. Historical and interpretive inaccuracies