Page 176 - How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper, 8th Edition 8th Edition

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Thinking of libraries, I can suggest a new type of acquisition. I once edited a manuscript containing the sentence: "A
large mass of literature has accumulated on the cell walls of staphylococci." After the librarians have catalogued the
staphylococci, they will have to start on the fish, according to this sentence from a recent manuscript: "The resulting
disease has been described in detail in salmon."

A published book review contained this sentence: "This book includes discussion of shock and renal failure in
separate chapters."

The first paragraph of a news release issued by the American Lung Association said, "'Women seem to be smoking
more but breathing less,' says Colin R. Woolf, M.D., Professor, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto. He
presented evidence that women who smoke are likely to have pulmonary abnormalities and impaired lung function at
the annual meeting of the American Lung Association." Even though the ALA meeting was in the lovely city of
Montreal, I hope that women who smoke stayed home.

The Ten Commandments of Good Writing

1. Each pronoun should agree with their antecedent.

2. Just between you and I, case is important.
3. A preposition is a poor word to end a sentence with. (Incidentally, did you hear about the streetwalker who
violated a grammatical rule? She unwittingly approached a plainclothesman, and her proposition ended with a
sentence.)

4. Verbs has to agree with their subject.

5. Don't use no double negatives.

6. Remember to never split an infinitive.

7. Avoid cliches like the plague.
8. Join clauses good, like a conjunction should.

9. Do not use hyperbole; not one writer in a million can use it effectively.

10. About sentence fragments.

Actually, I have changed my mind about the use of double negatives. During the last presidential election, I visited
my old hometown, which is in the middle of a huge cornfield in northern Illinois. Arriving after a lapse of some
years, I was pleased to find that I could still understand the natives. In fact, I was a bit shocked to find that their
language was truly

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