Among commonly used wordy phrases, Strunk took particular exception to “the fact that,” which, he asserted should be “revised out of every sentence in which it occurs.”

For example, “owing to the fact that” can be replaced by “because,” “in spite of the fact that” by “though” or “although.”

Other widely used phrases that can be replaced by a single word include “prior to,” which can be replaced by “before” and “in order to,” which can be replaced by “to.”

Abuse of use

In the description of methods, actions are often described by the verb “to use” in conjunction with an infinitive. This is an inelegant and wordy contruction that can usually, if not invariably, be avoided.

For example, “We used a pole to measure the height of the tree,” can be replaced by “We measured the height of the tree with a pole,” which is slightly shorter and more direct. Even more briefly, one might say “Tree height was measured with a pole.”

Refrain from anthropocentrism

The statement “The application of manure benefited crop yield” embodies a value judgment. Such anthropocentrism should be avoided. Confine comment to matters of fact; in this case, that “The application of manure increased crop yield,” and leave it to the reader to decide what benefit there may be to humanity in the observed effect.

Eschew teleology

To say that, “A camel has multiple stomachs in order to digest thorny food” (Aristotle, ca. 350 BCE) implies adaptation through design, an assumption inconsistent with most present-day scientific thinking. A plain statement of fact, such as “A camel has multiple stomachs, with which it digests thorny food,” avoids contention by leaving open the thorny question of how the camel’s stomach came to be the way it is.

Allow the reader to judge

Do not preface a statement with terms such as “interestingly,” “importantly” or “indeed.” Allow readers to decide what is interesting, important or undeniable.

Put statements in a positive form

Avoid negative constructions. For example, The statement that “The treatment did not cause any change in …” can be replaced with “The treatment caused no change in …,” which is both shorter and clearer. In particular, avoid double negatives, for example, “not unexpected” or “not insignificant.”

Be explicit

Take care when using “this” and other pronouns that what you are referring to is readily apparent. If there is room for doubt, spell out exactly what it is that you are referring to.

Express the relationships between your ideas unambiguously. For example, the phrase “with respect to” frequently gives rise to uncertainty and can always be replaced by a more explicit term such as “in” or “about.” For example, “the cultures differed with respect to cell multiplication rate” can be replaced by “the cultures differed in cell multiplication rate.”

Redundant adverbs

Word expressing degree, such as “quite,” “somewhat,” “relatively” and “very” are used relatively often in scientific writing, but quite rarely to very great effect. Wherever you use such a term, delete it and see whether it alters either the meaning or the effectiveness of your sentence.

Only in the right place

If a sentence contains the word “only,” be sure that it is in the right place. For example, in the sentence “The tree was watered daily,” “only” can be placed at the start of the sentence, at the end of the sentence, or at any point within the sentence, but the meaning will differ according to the position.

Adverbial duplication

Avoid the redundant use of “also” with “in addition to,” “as well as,” “together with” or “too,” as for example, in a sentence of the form: “In addition to this, we also did that.”

Under no circumstances

Under no circumstances use the expression “and/or,” which has been variously described as a “slipshod construction” (R.A. Day in How to write and publish a scientific paper) and a “visual and mental monstrosity” (T.M. Berstein, The Careful Writer, cited by R.A. Day). Where a construction of this general form is required, the alternatives should be spelled out. Thus, for example, “we predicted that the treatment would result in either this or that or in both this and that.”

Definition of terms

“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean -- neither more nor less.”

Avoid redefining words that have a commonly accepted meaning. The dictionary should normally be considered the ruling authority, although accepted usage in the scientific literature may take precedence. Only in the absence of a term either defined by the dictionary or with a meaning well established in the literature, should a new term be adopted, or a new meaning assigned to an existing term.

Inessential neologisms that have yet to be included in Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate dictionary, for example, “germinant,” meaning a newly germinated seedling, or “fertigate,” meaning to irrigate with nutrient solution, should not be used.

Terminology

Concentration versus content

Note the distinction between “concentration,” e.g., g g^–1 (mass based), g m^–2 (area based) or % (basis to be defined), and “content” (e.g., g per whole leaf, stem or plant).

Mass

Mass is a measure of the quantity of stuff, and, in that sense, the term “mass” should be used in preference to “weight” which is a function of mass and the gravitational force acting on it.

Leaf mass per area

Refer to the “reciprocal of specific leaf area” (SLA) as “leaf mass per area” (LMA) not specific leaf mass. Specific leaf mass is always equal to 1, as “specific” describes a value per unit mass. See Edwards et al. 1997. Tree Physiol. 17:65–67.

Concerning time and space

Terms such as “while” and “since” imply intervals of time. If time is not a factor, terms such as “whereas” or “because” are preferred.

As a noun, the primary meaning of “level” is relative position, as in “water level,” or rank, as in “canopy level or “leaf level.” In addition, the term is often used in the scientific literature to signify amount, as in “light level” or “leaf nitrogen level.” Such uses, however, are vague and sometimes ambiguous (e.g., does “leaf nitrogen level” refer to leaf nitrogen concentration or the nitrogen content of the whole leaf?). Instead, state explicity what you are referring to, e.g., “solar irradiance,” “leaf nitrogen concentration” or “whole leaf nitrogen content,” the units for which can be unambiguously stated.

Averages

An average is a single value, such as a mean, median or mode, that summarizes or represents the general significance of a set of values (Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary). The term “mean,” “median” or “mode” should, therefore, be used in preference to “average.” However, “average” may be used as a verb to denote the determination of a mean, as there is no convenient alternative.

Chose precision over elision

Interpreted literally, expressions such as “elevated carbon dioxide world,” “carbon dioxide enrichment treatment” or “charcoal filtered greenhouses,” are either meaningless or absurd. What cannot be expressed clearly in one or two words, should be stated precisely with a greater number of words, e.g., “ a world in which carbon dioxide concentration is elevated,” “exposed to a carbon dioxide enriched atmosphere” and “greenhouses ventilated with charcoal-filtered air." If an unwieldy term must be used repeatedly, an abbreviation should be defined and used in its place.

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