Many English-second language authors find it quite difficult to write concisely, because they cannot find appropriate words to substitute long phrases. In fact, conforming to a given word count limit is difficult for native English speakers as well because they usually have so much to say and have to remember to keep it short.
It’s best to keep the journal requirements in mind and try to write concisely when you are drafting your manuscript itself. After you’ve written your first draft, you can look through your manuscript critically to identify text that can be made more concise and sentences that can be shortened.
Here are 10 tips to keep your manuscript concise:
1. Look out for sentences beginning with “there is a previous study on,” “it has been reported that,” or similar phrases. Such sentences should be accompanied by reference citations, which make the above phrases redundant. These phrases can be deleted, leaving only the citation.
Example
Original: It has been reported that the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease increases with age (Rogue et al., 2004). (17 words)
Revised: It has been reported that tThe incidence of Alzheimer’s disease increases with age (Rogue et al., 2004). (12 words)
2. Sentences carrying product names can be shortened by shifting the product name within parentheses.
Example
Original: The samples were analyzed on the ABC spectrophotometer (Zhejiang Scientific, Zhejiang, China) to determine the xyz values. (17 words)
Revised: The samples were analyzed on the ABC spectrophotometer to determine the xyz values (ABC spectrometer; Zhejiang Scientific, Zhejiang, China). (15 words)
3. Nominalizations, that is, the use of noun forms instead of verb forms, are a big contributor to wordiness, so look out for these. In the example below, using “diagnosed” instead of “diagnosis” makes the sentence shorter.
Example
Original: A diagnosis of cancer was made on the basis of the findings. (12 words)
Revised: A diagnosis of cCancer was diagnosedmade on the basis of the findings. (9 words)
4. In the results section, avoid stating individual values for groups, followed by the values for statistical significance. Instead, place the values within parentheses.
Example
Original: The protein level was 5 mg in Group A, while it was 3 mg in Group B, the difference being statistically significant (p < 0.05). (25 words)
Revised: The difference in the protein level was 5 mg in between Ggroups A and B, while it was 3 mg in Group b, the difference being statistically was significant (5 mg vs. 3 mg, p < 0.05). (21 words)
