Cohesion and Clarity
12- 12
Correct: The sections were incubated with normal goat serum. Correct: Although this new, structure-based approach has not been tested yet, other prediction tools have already begun to prove their mettle. (From Hagmann, 2000)
Activity 1
Revise these sentences to make the verbs in bold active instead of passive:
1. Telomerase activity was induced by ectopic expression of BTAK/Aurora-A. (From Gritsko et al., 2003)
2. Further evidence that MC4R mutations are not so rare was provided by Farooqi and coworkers. (From List & Habener, 2003)
√ Avoid vague introductory phrases and vague pronouns.
Replace There are , It is, and This is with expressions that get right to the point.
Weak: It was important to identify the x….
Better: Identifying the x was important….
Weak: There is an increased risk of lung cancer associated with smoking. Better: An increased risk of lung cancer is associated with smoking.
Best: Smoking increases the risk of lung cancer.
√
Use a, an, and the appropriate ly.
For non-native speakers of English, learning when to use articles ( a, an, and the ) in English — and when not to — can be a challenge. Because these small but important words are so critical for clear, precise writing, a review of articles is included at the end of this chapter.
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