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15.2 put information in chronological order, particularly in the methods section Your document should be like a map showing the reader the direction to follow. Try to write in a step-by-step way, with each step logically following the previous one. This generally entails putting information in chronological order. In the second part of a sentence prefer
then +
simple past, rather than
after + past perfect.
2. Use
fi rst(ly), second(ly) etc. to show the stages of a procedure.
YES NO 1 The vegetables were
cooked in the oven and then served with the main course. The vegetables were
served with the main course
after they had been cooked in the oven.
2 When defusing a bomb,
fi rst disrupt the circuit.
Secondly , cut the green wire. When defusing a bomb,
cut the green wire after first having disrupted the circuit.
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15.3 avoid parenthetical phrases Subjects often get separated from their verbs by parenthetical information contained between two commas or in brackets.
In such cases, the use of commas and brackets breaks the flow of the sentence and makes it harder to understand immediately
. 1. Rearrange the sentence so that the subject and verb are next to each other. The order you use will depend on the emphasis you want to give.
2. When the parenthetical information is rather long, split the sentence up.
YES AVOID 1
This feature will only be of limited use, owing to its high cost.
This feature , owing to its high cost,
will only be of limited use.
Owing to its high cost,
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