#036 Writing in the Sciences - Verbs

Use the active voices

“Subject-Verb-Object.”

• Passive voice: Object-Verb-Subject or Object-Verb
• Passive verb = a form of the verb “to be” + the past participle of the main verb (the main verb must be a transitive verb)

transfert passive to active.

Is it really OK to use “We” and “I”?

totally ok.

When is it OK to use the passive voice?

• The methods section:
  • What was done is more important than who did it!
  • Readers tend to skim the methods section for key words rather than reading it as prose.
  • May be more effort than it’s worth to avoid using “we” and “I” in every sentence.

Write with verbs

Use strong verbs

1. Verbs make sentences go!

   “Loud music came from speakers embedded in the walls, and the entire arena moved as the hungry corwd got to its feet.”

   “Loud music exploded from speakers embedded in the walls, and the entire arena shook as the hungry crowd leaped to its feet.”

2. Pick the right verb!

   The WHO reports that approximately two-thirds of the world’s diabetics are found in developing countries, and estimates that the number of diabetics in these countries will double in the next 25 years.

   The WHO estimates that approximately two-thirds of the world’s diabetics are found in developing countries, and projects that the number of diabetics in these countries will double in the next 25 years.

3. Use “to be” verbs purposefully and sparingly.
   • is are was were be been am…

Don’t turn verbs into nouns

1. Don’t kill verbs by turning them into nouns.

Don’t bury the main verb

1. Keep the subject and main verb (predicate) close together at the start of the sentence…
2. Readers are waiting for the verb!

A few grammer tips

1. “Data are” not “Data is”…
2. Affect vs. effect
   • Affect is the verb “to influence”
   • Effect is the noun form of this influence
3. Compared to vs. compared with
   • Compare to = to point out similarities between different things
   • Compare with (used more often in science) = to point out differences between similar things
4. That vs. which
   • “That” is the restrictive (defining) pronoun
   • “Which” is the nonrestrictive (non-defining) pronoun
   • That: the essential clause cannot be eliminated without changing the meaning of the sentence.
   • Which: the non-essential clause can be eliminated without altering the basic meaning of the sentence (and must be set off by commas).

     The bike that is broken is in the garage. (Identifies which bike of many).

     The bike, which is broken, is in the garage. (Adds a fact about the only bike in question).

5. Singular antecedents
   • Do not use “they” or “their” when the subject is singular.