(An essay -How to write an academic paper (part2: Correct Order

Today, one of the most difficult challenges for student is writing an academic paper. While knowledge and oratory are what students need more in the professional world, writing a research paper demands more than these two skills.

there are significant differences between the ways that researchers from different disciplines (for example medical, mathematical and sociological) write and construct their articles. However, whatever field you are in, the rules of well-structured paper in English are the same: clarity, logic, conciseness (no redundancy), no ambiguity, and the highest level of readability possible. 

 This essay is aimed at students or researchers in any field of study who wish to write a research paper in English. This article is useful for both inexperienced and experienced authors (also authors whose first language are English or not). It helps You to increase your chances of acceptance of your manuscript.

  The essay is divided into several parts and each part will be published every Tuesday through this weblog. 

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Part 2:

Word Order

Just a few badly constructed or ambiguous sentences may be enough for referees to initially recommend rejecting a paper and suggest having the English revised. This section provides some guides on How to build correctly ordered sentences in English.

Typical complaints of Referees

There were several sentences that I was simply unable to parse. I failed to work out what the subject was and what verb related to it, nor could I identify what adjective or what adverb modified what noun or verb. At times it was like trying to decipher a doctor’s handwriting. I am of the opinion that one should be able at least to identify the various components of a sentence and how they relate to each other, even if one does not understand the precise meaning of each component.

Although it is well-structured, it is extremely difficult to read because of the somewhat labored English.

I was often only able to understand the logic of the sentence when I read the last word. The authors need to rearrange the components of their sentence so that the reader immediately understands the buildup of the logic.

2.1 Basic word order in English

English has a strict order in which words can appear in a sentence. S1 shows an example of this order.

S1. The researchers sent their manuscript to the journal.

This order is rarely altered. It is:

1. subject (the researchers)

2. verb (sent)

3. direct object (their manuscript)

4. indirect object (the journal)

2.2 Compare word order in your language with word order in English

Native English-speaking readers are accustomed to finding the various parts of speech (noun, verb, adjective etc.) in the order given in Sect. 2.1. If these parts come in a different order, this requires more effort by the native reader to understand the whole meaning.

You can improve the order in which you put words and information in an English sentence if you analyze how you do it in your own language and then analyze the differences with English.

2.3 Choose the most relevant subject and put it at the beginning of the sentence

Clear English requires that you put the subject at the beginning of the sentence, however you may have a choice of possible subjects.

• X was elicited by Y.
• Y elicited X.

In the simple example above, your choice will depend on whether you want to emphasize X or Y. The one you want to emphasize should be put as the subject.

As readers, we tend to focus on the areas of a sentence that come immediately before and after a full stop. This is because there is extra white space between one sentence and another, which acts as a restful pause for the eye. Our eyes are also drawn to the capital letter that begins each sentence.

The sentences below (S1–S4) come from a paper written by a physicist in a physics journal. They all contain exactly the same information. However, there are four possible subjects:

S1. Particularly interesting for researchers in physics is the new feature, named X, for calculating velocity.

S2. Physics now has a new feature, named X, for calculating velocity.

S3. Velocity can now be calculated with a new feature, named X, which is particularly interesting for physicists.

S4. X is a new feature for calculating velocity. It is particularly interesting for physicists.

When deciding what the subject is for your sentence, it is generally best to choose the most recent or newest information. S1 and S2 refer to known situations - physics, and physicists - they do not give any new information, so they are not well constructed sentences.

S3 also begins with a known, in this case velocity. This is fine if velocity is the main focus. However, given that velocity is a common factor for physicists, then S4 may be the best solution as it begins with completely new information. The choice between S3 and S4 will depend on where the author wants to put the focus.

2.4 Choose the subject that leads to the most concise sentence

If your sentence is short and you have two possible subjects, which you could indifferently put at the beginning of the sentence, then choose the subject that will give the shortest sentence (S2 rather than S1).

S1. The most significant values are highlighted in Table 1.

S2. Table 1 highlights the most significant values.

Shorter sentences are often obtained by using active (S2) rather than passive (S1) verbs.

2.5 Don’t make the impersonal it the subject of the sentence

Putting it first often delays the subject. Use modal verbs (might, need, should etc.) where possible.

·         original version

It is probable that this is due to poor performance.

·         revised version

This may / might / could be due to poor performance.

2.6 Don’t use a pronoun (it, they) before you introduce the noun (i.e. the subject of the sentence) that the pronoun refers to

It is OK to use a pronoun at the beginning of the sentence, provided that this pronoun refers back to a noun in a previous sentence (i.e. a backward reference). For example:

S1. Beeswax is a very important substance because ... In fact, it is ...

2.7 Put the subject before the verb

The subject in English must come before their verb. Here are some examples of simple mistakes and their corrected versions. The subjects are highlighted in italics.

·         original version

In the survey participated 350 subjects.

·         revised version

Three hundred and fifty subjects participated in the survey.

2.8 Keep the subject and verb as close as possible to each other

Word order in written English tends to reflect the way English is spoken. When native speakers talk they usually keep the subject and verb as close as possible. This is because the verb contains important information.

2.9 Avoid inserting parenthetical information between the subject and the verb

If you insert more than a couple of words between the subject and the verb this will interrupt the reader’s train of thought. In any case readers will consider this parenthetical information to be of less importance.

 Sentences are much easier to read if they flow logically from step to step, without any deviations.

·         original version

The result, after the calculation has been made, can be used to determine Y.

·         revised version

After the calculation has been made, the result can be used to determine Y.

2.10 Don’t separate the verb from its direct object

When a verb is followed by two possible objects, place the direct object (i.e. the thing given or received) before the indirect object (the thing it is given to or received by). This kind of construction is often found with verbs followed by ‘to’ and ‘with’: associate X with Y, apply X to Y, attribute X to Y, consign X to Y, give X to Y (or give Y X), introduce X to Y, send X to Y (or send Y X).

·         original version

We can separate, with this tool, P and Q.

·         revised version

We can separate P and Q with this tool.

2.11 Put the direct object before the indirect object

In the OVs below, the indirect object (in italics) has been placed at the beginning of the sentence or main clause. This is not the usual word order in English.

·         original version

This occurs when in the original network there is a dependent voltage.

·         revised version

This occurs when there is a dependent voltage in the original network.

Jokar, A.

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