From Editing and Publication: A Training Manual

Greetings again. This weekend I’m busy going to the airport several times. Why? I’m picking up Mexican researchers who will take a course in research writing. Next week I hope to tell you about the course.

Now, though, I’ll say more about a book I mentioned last week: Editing and Punctuation: A Training Manual.

For researchers wanting to write about their work, probably the most helpful chapters are Chapter 2 (“Getting the most out of words”) and Chapter 4 (“Editing for the specialist”). Chapter 2 provides advice on using words effectively. Much of Chapter 4 discusses what to include in each part of a scientific paper.

These chapters contain many wise and helpful statements. Here are some of my favorites:

• “A dictionary should be an editor’s constant companion.” (page 37) [I think a dictionary should also be a writer’s constant companion too.]
• “Keep related words together . . . in a sentence. If two words or phrases are close together, the reader can tell easily that they are related to each other. If they are separated by other words, the reader may be confused.” (page 46)
• “Follow a general rule of ‘Only one thought per sentence.’” (page 48)
• “A research experiment is not complete until the results are published.” (page 119)
• “The text of a research report should follow the rules of all good writing. The information in itself may be complex and technical; the language should not make communication still more difficult.” (page 129)

These chapters also include many other good observations and suggestions. I encourage you to read these chapters.

Until next week—

Barbara