Writing a Research Paper › Module 4: Clear sentences
Cutting words
Lesson 3 of 3 · 2 min
"Omit needless words," wrote Strunk and White. In research writing, extra words don't make you sound smarter; they make readers work harder to find your point.
Swap these
| Wordy | Better |
|---|---|
| in order to | to |
| due to the fact that | because |
| a large number of | many |
| at this point in time | now |
| it is important to note that | (cut it) |
| has the ability to | can |
| was found to be | was |
- in order to
- Better: to
- due to the fact that
- Better: because
- a large number of
- Better: many
- at this point in time
- Better: now
- it is important to note that
- Better: (cut it)
- has the ability to
- Better: can
- was found to be
- Better: was
Prefer verbs to nouns
"We performed an analysis of" → "We analysed". "The implementation of the method was carried out" → "We implemented the method". Nouns made from verbs (nominalisations) hide who did what.
Active voice, usually
"We removed duplicate images" is clearer than "Duplicate images were removed", because it says who did it. Passive voice is fine when the actor doesn't matter ("Samples were stored at 4 °C"), and common in methods sections.
Cut hedges that don't help
"It may possibly be suggested that" → "This suggests". Keep one honest hedge where uncertainty is real; cut stacked ones.
How to cut
Print a page, or read it aloud, and cross out every word you can remove without losing meaning. Most first drafts lose 10 to 20% this way and read better.
RememberSwap wordy phrases, use verbs instead of nouns, and cut every word that isn't doing work.