ベテル　英語を書くコツ

We have corrected many scientific and medical reports written in English and have encountered the same problems.
Here is some advice that we have learned from experience. We hope it will help you improve your writing in English (and perhaps in Japanese as well).

1. Keep your writing simple

Good writing is simple, direct and clear.
Unfortunately, many people seem to believe that good writing requires complex, wordy sentence structures. They include as much information as possible, repeat the same point in as many different ways as possible and use 'sophisticated' language.
The result places a heavy burden on the reader.

a. Avoid difficult vocabulary

The use of 'sophisticated' vocabulary is often confusing and almost always boring to read. The opposite, plain language, is much easier to understand. Also, when necessary, we can change simple vocabulary to more appropriate and precise vocabulary.　So when you are not sure how to use certain words then try using simple words or suggest to us, in brackets, the words you think would be good to use.

b. Avoid Long sentences
Short sentences are easier to write, easier to understand and easier for us to transform into more stylish sentences.
As with plain vocabulary, short sentences are clearer and their logic can be quickly understood.
The most difficult writing for us to correct contains numerous long sentences.
It is best to put one idea into one sentence. Both the meaning of each sentence and the logic of the argument will then become clearer.
If you provide us with short sentences in this way, we can join them to create longer and more stylish sentences.

2. Incorrect use of articles (a, an, the)

One of the most common mistakes we see is the incorrect use of articles (a, an, the), and it is an ever-lasting problem for Japanese writers due to the nature of the Japanese language.
It is difficult to give advice on article use. In general, as long as you keep your writing simple you can leave the rest for us to deal with.

3. That and which (relative pronouns)

Generally speaking, it is better to use “that” than “which.”

4. Subject / Verb agreement

This is a common source of mistakes. Always keep in mind whether the subject of your sentence is singular or plural.

5. Two points concerning style

1. Avoid opening sentences with "it is" or "there are." These expressions rarely add anything to the meaning of the sentence.

2. Colloquial expressions are not acceptable.
Examples:

Not acceptable:
“method A beats method B”
Acceptable:
“method A is more effective than method B”
“method A is superior to method B”
Not acceptable:
“It is cutting-edge technology.”
Acceptable:
“It is advanced technology.”
“It is the most advanced technology.”

6. Logic

First, the introduction makes a clear and reasonable claim. Then each section and sentence follows logically from the one before, leading finally to the writer's conclusion.

7. Structure

A paper should be divided into sections and paragraphs in a sensible way. Specifically:
The abstract and the introduction should be used in an appropriate way.
Writers often repeat exactly the same sentences in the abstract and introduction. An abstract should tell the reader in a few lines what the paper is about.
The introduction should introduce the reader to the subject of the paper.
The “conclusions” section should only contain conclusions regarding the material presented in the text. It should not introduce any new material.