
Unit 11: Writing skills - Top tips on gammar
Here are some tips from lecturers in the School of Health and Life Sciences. The EBE Learning Development Centre web pages give more detailed explanations. The University of Hull have some excellent detailed guides to punctuation and grammar.
Apostrophes Do not use an apostrophe to denote ownership except after noun or name. Use in ‘it’s’ only when the meaning is ‘it is’.
Right |
Wrong |
---|---|
I like Emma’s hat | I like Emmas hat |
Hers is the hat I like | Her’s is the hat I like |
I like its colour | I like it’s colour |
It’s the colour I like | Its the colour I like |
Commas As a general rule, a single sentence that needs more than two commas is too long. Use two shorter sentences instead. Do not use a comma before the word and or the word but. If a sentence seems to need a comma before either of these words, it is too long. When giving a list of items in a sentence, use and instead of a comma before the last item.
Hyphens and Obliques Never use obliques (/) in text. Do not use hyphens unconventionally.
Right | Wrong |
---|---|
Take his or her father-in-law | Take his/her father-in-law |
I value the interactive and perceptual functions of Experiential groups | I value the interactive/perceptual functions of experiential groups |
I do not see them any more but am ever ready to do so | I do not see them any-more but Am ever-ready to do so |
Capital Letters For proper names (people and places) only. They are best avoided for categories, procedures and professions. For drugs – capitals are necessary only for Trade names.
Bad | Better |
---|---|
We know that Physiotherapists treat Cerebral Palsy Patients and like to Videotape them. | We know that Physiotherapists treat patients with Cerebral Palsy and like to videotape them. |
Quotation marks or inverted commas If quoting direct spoken speech use double ones, if quoting the written word use single ones. For example
- “Buzz off!” he said.
- The phrase ‘buzz off’ in the rehabilitation unit’s grammar guidelines is offensive.
Starting a Sentence Do not start a sentence with ‘And’ or ‘But’ and if at all possible avoid starting with ‘Thus’, ‘Therefore’, or ‘However’.
Tenses Keep to the same tense – do not hop about between past and present. Always use the past tense to describe observations and methods.
Avoid Split Infinitives
Right | Wrong |
---|---|
Bravely to go (or, to go bravely) where none has been before. | To bravely go where none has been before. |
Singles and Plurals Remember that a singular noun uses a singular verb. ‘None’, ‘Team’, ‘Group’, ‘Committee’ and so on are singular nouns. ‘Data’, ‘Children’ and so on are plural nouns.
Right | Wrong |
---|---|
None of the onions is mouldy | None of the onions are mouldy |
The data suggest that onions keep well | The data suggests that onions keep well. |
The team of therapists was late. | The team of therapist were late |
Numbers Numbers from zero to ten in the text should always be spelled out. Numbers above ten can be written as numerals. For example 85 except when they start a sentence, when they must be spelled out.
Right | Wrong |
---|---|
Thirty-five per cent were pink and one was mushroom-coloured but had 15 mauve speckles. | 35% were pink and 1 was mushroom-coloured but had fifteen mauve speckles. |
Sentences Every sentence must have at least one verb in it.
‘The results of all these observations in Fig 1.’ Is a phrase.
‘The results of all these observations are shown in Fig 1.’ Is a sentence.
Paragraphs Use separate paragraphs for different topics or for defined steps in a description or argument. Direct (quoted) speech always has to start a new paragraph but indirect speech (in single quotes) does not.
Avoid the Passive Case
Clumsy | Better |
---|---|
The subjects were woken by a noise emitted by the clock. | The clock emitted a noise that woke the subject. |
Despite what has just been said, the passive case is conventionally used to describe a sequence of procedures performed by the author.
Wrong | Right |
---|---|
I have put the results in figure two | The results are shown in figure two |
I manipulated the subject’s foot | The subject’s foot was manipulated by the observer. |
Only Only is a tricky word. Always think about it. Look at these sentences:
Only doctors firmly talk to patients.
Doctors only firmly talk to patients.
Doctors firmly only talk to patients.
Doctors firmly talk only to patients.
They all mean different things!
Tables and Graphs Tables must have a title printed either immediately above or immediately below them in the text. Diagrams, pictures, graphs, and charts are all referred to as Figures and need a title and a legend which must describe the substance of the figure. Axes on graphs must always be labeled and units given.
If you are: Presenting Results When presenting results, it is not enough to say ‘Table 1 shows the results’ and leave the reader to sort them out for himself or herself. The principal results must be written out again in the text. The purpose of tables is to provide a summary of all the results for reference purposes. Assume the reader is reasonably intelligent but has no knowledge of your subject.
And finally…
Remember that language is a very precise tool. For example, Unique means – it is the only one, so things cannot be very unique or rather unique but they can be almost unique. Significant has a least two meanings in scientific work – one is a statistical meaning (in which case the probability taken as significant must be specified) while the other simply means important, or having a definite effect. Beware of claiming that a treatment has had a significant effect despite the fact that the evidence has not achieved statistical significance.
Get someone else to read your draft for ambiguities. Lastly, if it is still confusing, try finding an electronic site with information about grammar, preferably a British site as American sites will have different grammatical and spelling conventions.