Jargon and Wordiness

Jargon is the continuous use of a technical vocabulary even in places where that vocabulary is not relevant. Jargon is also the substitution of a euphemistic phrase for a familiar term (e.g., monetarily felt scarcity for poverty), and you should scrupulously avoid using such jargon. Federal bureaucratic jargon has had the greatest publicity, but scientific jargon also grates on the reader, encumbers the communication of information, and wastes space.

Wordiness in every bit is as irritating and uneconomical as jargon and can impede the ready grasp of ideas. Change based on the fact that to because, at the present time to now, and for the purpose of to simply for or to. Use this study instead of the present study when the context is clear. Change there were several students who completed to several students completed. Reason and because often appear in the same sentence; however, they have the same meaning, and therefore they should not be used together. Unconstrained wordiness lapses into embellishment and flowery writing, which are clearly inappropriate in scientific style. Writers often become redundant in an effort to be emphatic. Use no more words than are necessary to convey your meaning. In the following examples, the italicized words are redundant and should be omitted:

Although writing only in short, simple sentences produced choppy and boring prose, writing exclusively in long, involved sentences creates difficult, sometimes incomprehensible material. Varied sentence length helps readers maintain interest and comprehension. When involved concepts require long sentences, the components should proceed logically, not randomly dodge about. Direct, declarative sentences with simple, common words are usually best.

Single-sentence paragraphs are abrupt. Paragraphs that are too long are likely to lose the reader’s attention. New paragraphs provide a pause for the reader—a chance to assimilate one step in the conceptual development before beginning another. If a paragraph runs longer than one double-spaced manuscript page, you may lose your readers in the dense forest of typeset words. Look for a logical place to break a long paragraph, or reorganize the material.

Make certain that every word means exactly what you intend it to mean. Sooner or later most authors discover a discrepancy between the meaning they attribute to a term and its dictionary definition.

Likewise, avoid colloquial expressions (e.g., write up for report), which diffuse meaning. Approximations of quantity (e.g., quite a large part, practically all or very few) are interpreted differently by different readers or in different contexts. Approximations weaken statements, especially those describing empirical observations.

Pronouns confuse readers unless the referent for each pronoun is obvious; readers should not have to search previous text to determine the meaning of the term. Simple pronouns arc the most troublesome, especially this, that, these, and those when they refer to a previous sentence. Eliminate ambiguity by writing, for example, this test, that trial these participants, and those reports.

Inappropriately or illogically attributing action in an effort to be objective can be misleading. Examples of undesirable attribution include use of the third person, anthropomorphism, and use of the editorial we.

· third person:Writing “The experimenters instructed the participants” when “the experimenters” refers to yourself is ambiguous and may give the impression that you did not take part in your own study. Instead, use a personal pronoun: “We instructed the participants.”

· anthropomorphism:In addition, do not attribute human characteristics to animals or to inanimate sources.

· editorial we:For clarity, restrict your use of we to refer only to yourself and your coauthors (use Iif you are the sole author of the paper). Broader uses of we leave your readers to determine to whom you are referring; instead, substitute an appropriate noun or clarify I your usage:

Some alternatives to we are people, humans, researchers, psychologists, cognitive psychologists, and so on.

Incorrect grammar and careless construction of sentences distract the reader, introduce ambiguity, and generally obstruct communication. For example, the sentence “We scheduled a 10-min break between each test” suggests that each test was interrupted by a break. The sentence should read, “We scheduled 10-min breaks between the tests” or “We scheduled a 10-min break after each test.” Correct grammar and thoughtful construction of sentences ease the reader's task and facilitate unambiguous communication.

Exercise 2. Change the sentences where undesirable attributions are used.

1) Ancestral horses probably traveled as wild horses to today, either in bands of bachelor males or in harems of mares headed by a single stallion.

2) The community program was persuaded to allow five of the observers to become tutors.

3) We usually classify bird song on the basis of frequency and temporal structure of the elements.

4) We are passionate about health and pleasure, yearning for a tasty fat-free chocolate cookie.

Exercise 3. Complete the sentences as they are in the text.

1) Although writing only in short simple sentences produced choppy and boring prose … .

2) Paragraphs that are too long are likely to … .

3) Unconstrained wordiness lapses into … .

4) Federal bureaucratic jargon has had the greatest publicity, but scientific jargon also … .

5) Sooner or later most authors discover a discrepancy between … .

6) Examples of undesirable attribution include use of … .

7) Pronouns confuse readers unless … .

8) Jargon is also the substitution of … .

Date: 2016-04-22; view: 792