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title="Dismiss find">✘</a></nav><nav id="jr-fip-info-p"><a id="jr-fip-prev" class="wsprkl btn" title="Jump to previuos match">◀</a><button id="jr-fip-matches">no matches yet</button><a id="jr-fip-next" class="wsprkl btn" title="Jump to next match">▶</a></nav></nav></div><div id="jr-epub-interstitial" class="hidden"></div><div id="jr-content"><article data-type="main"><div class="main-content lit-style" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/CreativeWork"><div class="meta-content fm-sec"><div class="fm-sec"><h1 id="_NBK993_"><span class="label">Chapter 3</span><span class="title" itemprop="name">Grammar Reminders and a Little Technical Writing</span></h1><p class="fm-aai"><a href="#_NBK993_pubdet_">Publication Details</a></p><p><em>Estimated reading time: 13 minutes</em></p></div></div><div class="jig-ncbiinpagenav body-content whole_rhythm" data-jigconfig="allHeadingLevels: ['h2'],smoothScroll: false" itemprop="text"><p>This chapter contains basic information, such as “Subject-Verb Agreement”, as well as more unusual aspects of writing, such as “Anthropomorphism”.</p><div id="A207"><h2 id="_A207_">Anthropomorphism</h2><p>
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<b>Anthropomorphism</b> is “an interpretation of what is not human or personal in terms of human or personal characteristics” (Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. Tenth Edition. Springfield (MA): Merriam-Webster, Inc.; 2002). You can read more about it in the <a href="http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=anthropomorphism" ref="pagearea=body&targetsite=external&targetcat=link&targettype=uri">Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary</a>.</p><p>Anthropomorphism seems to occur more frequently in texts about software.</p><p>
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</p><p>A function to determine all features in a particular region of a Bioseq <b>need not care</b> what types of features <b>they</b> are.</p><p><b>Rewrite as:</b></p><p>A function to determine all features in a particular region of a Bioseq <b>is not affected by</b> what types of features <b>there</b> are.</p><p>Although text that has been anthropomorphosized may be entertaining, an international audience is better served by presenting text in a straightforward manner.</p></div><div id="A209"><h2 id="_A209_">Common Errors</h2><p>Here are the top seven errors, with specific examples of correct usage underlined.</p><ol><li id="A210" class="half_rhythm"><div class="half_rhythm">
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<b>“as/because”</b>
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</div><div class="half_rhythm">Do not use “as” when “because” is meant.</div><ol class="lower-alpha"><li id="A421" class="half_rhythm"><div>Supplied as: The polyA tail of an mRNA (cDNA) sequence should never be trimmed <u>as</u> it provides a useful landmark.</div></li><li id="A211" class="half_rhythm"><div>Should be: The polyA tail of an mRNA (cDNA) sequence should never be trimmed <u>because</u> it provides a useful landmark.</div></li></ol></li><li id="A212" class="half_rhythm"><div class="half_rhythm">
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<b>“comprise” and “compose”</b>
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</div><div class="half_rhythm">Remember that “the whole comprises the parts”. The following examples use the words correctly.</div><ol class="lower-alpha"><li id="A213" class="half_rhythm"><div class="half_rhythm">The <i>FMR1</i> gene <u>comprises</u> 18 exons interspersed over ~40,000 base pairs of sequence.</div></li><li id="A214" class="half_rhythm"><div class="half_rhythm">The Alu repeat family <u>comprises</u> short, interspersed elements present in multiple copies in the genomes of humans and other primates.</div></li><li id="A215" class="half_rhythm"><div class="half_rhythm">The second model <u>comprises</u> three closely spaced exons.</div></li><li id="A216" class="half_rhythm"><div class="half_rhythm">OMIM <u>comprises</u> descriptive, full-text MIM entries, a tabular synopsis of the Human Gene Map, clinical synopses, and mini-MIMs.</div></li><li id="A217" class="half_rhythm"><div class="half_rhythm">Segmented Bioseqs are <i>composed of</i> pointers to other raw sequences in GenBank.</div><div class="half_rhythm">Never use “comprised of”. Use “composed of” instead.</div></li></ol></li><li id="A218" class="half_rhythm"><div class="half_rhythm">
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<b>“due to”</b>
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</div><div class="half_rhythm">Do not use “due to” as a substitute for “because of” or “attributable to”. These sentences are correct.</div><ol class="lower-alpha"><li id="A219" class="half_rhythm"><div>…or whether the similarity observed is <u>attributable to</u> chance alone.</div></li><li id="A220" class="half_rhythm"><div>Much of the success of the project is <u>attributable to</u> the flood of new molecular data.</div></li><li id="A221" class="half_rhythm"><div>The term refers to similarity <u>attributable to</u> descent from a common ancestor.</div></li><li id="A222" class="half_rhythm"><div>Many of them exist in the coding region of a gene, but the precise location cannot be resolved <u>because of</u> an error in the alignment of the exon.</div></li><li id="A223" class="half_rhythm"><div>If a gene has multiple transcripts because of alternative splicing, then a variation can have several different functional relationships to the gene.</div></li><li id="A224" class="half_rhythm"><div>GenBank annotation staff would respond to a request for a list of Accession numbers that are <u>due to</u> appear in upcoming issues of a publisher’s journal(s).</div></li></ol></li><li id="A225" class="half_rhythm"><div class="half_rhythm">
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<b>“from… to …” and “between… and …”</b>
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</div><div class="half_rhythm">The “<u>from</u>… <u>to</u> …” construction <b>contains</b> the end points, but the “<u>between</u>… <u>and</u> …” construction <b>excludes</b> the end points.</div><ol class="lower-alpha"><li id="A226" class="half_rhythm"><div>No space is allowed <u>between</u> the value <u>and</u> the field name.</div></li><li id="A227" class="half_rhythm"><div>FMR1 resides somewhere <u>between</u> markers DXS532 <u>and</u> DXS7389.</div></li><li id="A228" class="half_rhythm"><div>The bars represent matches <u>from</u> residues 3 <u>to</u> 60.</div></li></ol></li><li id="A229" class="half_rhythm"><div class="half_rhythm">
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<b>“it's”<i>versus</i>“its”</b>
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</div><div class="half_rhythm">“It's” is a contraction of “it is”. If you are having trouble using “it's”, just substitute “it is” in your sentence and see if it makes sense. If so, then you are using “it's” correctly. “Its”, on the other hand, shows possession or refers to itself. Most errors occur because of the incorrect use of the contraction—“it's”. The confusion probably arises from the way in which possessives are formed in English, for example, Belinda's cat, Jeff's boat, but <u>its</u> mechanism, etc.</div><ol class="lower-alpha"><li id="A230" class="half_rhythm"><div>The sequence of each exon is an individual raw Bioseq in <u>its</u> own right.</div></li><li id="A231" class="half_rhythm"><div>
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<u>It's</u> the lock that is lost, not <u>its</u> combination.</div></li></ol></li><li id="A232" class="half_rhythm"><div class="half_rhythm">
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<b>“since/because”</b>
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</div><div class="half_rhythm">Use “since” when referring to time.</div><ol class="lower-alpha"><li id="A233" class="half_rhythm"><div>During each build, we cluster the data submitted <u>since</u> the last build into the existing refSNPs and form new refSNPs when necessary.</div></li><li id="A234" class="half_rhythm"><div>The set of new data entering each build typically includes all submissions received <u>since</u> the close of data in the previous build.</div></li><li id="A235" class="half_rhythm"><div>Data are presented by quarter <u>since</u> operations began on July 25, 2000.</div></li><li id="A236" class="half_rhythm"><div>
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<u>Because</u> the execution of the search algorithm is decoupled from the formatting, the results can be delivered in a variety of formats without rerunning the search.</div></li><li id="A237" class="half_rhythm"><div>XML is also structured output but can be produced from ASN.1 <u>because</u> it has equivalent information.</div></li></ol></li><li id="A238" class="half_rhythm"><div class="half_rhythm">
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<b>“which/that”</b>
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</div><div class="half_rhythm">The word “which” usually introduces information that is “extra” (or interesting but not the point being made at the time), meaning that the sentence is complete and imparts what is necessary without the information that is introduced by “which”. The word “that”, on the other hand, introduces information that is necessary to understanding the meaning/intent of the sentence.</div><ol class="lower-alpha"><li id="A239" class="half_rhythm"><div>The resulting file, <u>which</u> PHRAP outputs in “.ace” format, consists of the sequence itself plus the associated quality scores.</div></li><li id="A240" class="half_rhythm"><div>The alignment information is extracted into a Seq-align, <u>which</u> is packaged as annotation (Seq-annot) associated with the BioSeqSet.</div></li><li id="A241" class="half_rhythm"><div>An Entrez “node” is a collection of data <u>that</u> is grouped together and indexed together.</div></li><li id="A242" class="half_rhythm"><div>Entrez is designed to infer relationships between different data <u>that</u> may suggest future experiments or assist in interpretation of the available information.</div></li></ol></li></ol></div><div id="A243"><h2 id="_A243_">Gender Neutral</h2><p>Use gender-neutral language.</p><p>For example, change:</p><p>mankind → humanity</p><p>best man for the job → best person for the job</p><p>the common man → average person, ordinary people</p><p>mailman → mail carrier</p><p>congressman → congressional representative</p><p>policeman → police officer</p><p>Other ways to handle this problem are to recast a sentence in the plural, reword to eliminate gender problems, or replace the masculine pronoun with “one” or “you”.</p></div><div id="A399"><h2 id="_A399_">Hedging</h2><p>Hedging takes place when an author wants to “evade the risk of commitment especially by leaving open a way of retreat” (Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. Tenth Edition. Springfield (MA): Merriam-Webster, Inc. 2002). Usually, the sentence will read something like, “This assay may provide a better way of identifying mutant genes”. It is reasonable to temper one's confidence about a new method.</p><p>Sometimes authors do not realize they are using a kind of hedging when they unintentionally express a lack of confidence by using certain phrases, such as “intends to”, “aims to”, and “has the goal of”.</p><p>Examine this sentence: “GenBank aims to provide a searchable database of sequences.”</p><p>Contrast that sentence with this one: “GenBank is a searchable sequence database”.</p><p>This is a more confident statement, and the reader is not distracted from the main thought.</p></div><div id="A244"><h2 id="_A244_">Point of View: First Person, Second Person, Third Person</h2><p>The point of view describes whether a person is:</p>
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<ul><li id="A245" class="half_rhythm"><div>
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<b>describing events as a participant</b>, such as “I raced to catch the train before it could enter the tunnel” (told in the first person because it uses “I”)</div></li><li id="A246" class="half_rhythm"><div>
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<b>giving instructions to someone directly</b>, such as “You must catch the train before it reaches the tunnel” (“you” is used for second person)</div></li><li id="A247" class="half_rhythm"><div>
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<b>relating events about others</b>, such as “He failed to catch the train before it reached the tunnel” (third person because of “he”)</div></li></ul>
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<p>The most common error occurs when different points of view are mixed; usually, the second-person “you” is mixed with a third person point of view:</p><p>
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<b>Example:</b>
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</p><p>“The data are entered as field names. One must be careful to end each field name with a delimiter code. You don't have to worry about whether the delimiter code is in uppercase or lowercase. One must then exit this subroutine to run the next portion of the program.”</p><p>In the example above, the second-person “you” has been used in a paragraph of third-person sentences. To keep the same point of view, one could have said, “One does not have to worry about whether the delimiter code is in uppercase or lowercase.”</p><p>Sometimes "one" is considered a little formal. If a formal approach is not needed, consider this approach, which uses an implied "you":</p><p>“Enter the data as field names, being careful to end each field name with a delimiter code. Either uppercase or lowercase may be used in delimiter codes because they are case insensitive. After entering all of the data, exit the subroutine and continue with the next programmed task.”</p><p>First person uses: <b>I, we</b>
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</p><p>Second person uses: <b>you</b>
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</p><p>Third person uses: <b>he, she, it, one, they</b>
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</p><p>Check your text for consistency in the use of point of view. Check the use of “you” first.</p></div><div id="A202"><h2 id="_A202_">Scientific English: Past, Present, and Simple</h2><p>One of the finer points of science writing in English is the expression of the degree of acceptance of information by the use of present tense and past tense. Established knowledge (statements of fact, natural laws, universal (established) truths, or a widely held tenet of science) is given in the <b>simple present tense</b>, and the new results and findings of an author's own research are given in the <b>simple past tense</b>. Once an author's findings are published <b>and</b> become an established truth (generally accepted by experts in the field), they are referred to in the present tense.</p><p>These ideas are complex but are illustrated below:</p><ol><li id="A203" class="half_rhythm"><div class="half_rhythm">Simple present tense:</div><div class="half_rhythm">--PubMed Central <b>is</b> the National Library of Medicine’s digital archive of full-text journal literature.</div><div class="half_rhythm">--Entrez <b>is</b> the text-based search and retrieval system used at NCBI for all of the major databases.</div></li><li id="A204" class="half_rhythm"><div class="half_rhythm">Simple past tense (isolates the event in the past):</div><div class="half_rhythm">--The cells <b>were</b> produced by continuous proliferation of the hybridoma cell line.</div><div class="half_rhythm">--The lytic ability of the T8 cell subset <b>was</b> examined.</div></li></ol><p>Some authors, especially those whose native language is not English, are not as aware that the use of past and present tenses signals the status of the presented information. Because the use of the simple present tense signals that something is a general truth, the reader is given some feeling of certainty about the information. A misinterpretation of the significance of the findings could occur if the wrong tense is used. The use of the simple present tense when first presenting <b>one’s own findings</b> could be perceived as arrogant as well.</p><p>Even the demonstration of significant results in one's own study is <b>not a reason</b> for using the present tense in the Discussion section of the paper first reporting those results. However, explanations of graphical presentations of data, such as tables and figures, should use the present tense. For example, when referring to Table 3, it is fine to say: “Table 3 <b>shows</b> that the mean yield is lower than expected.”.</p><p>
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<b>Note to Authors:</b> To avoid misunderstanding, report <b>your findings</b> in the past tense.</p><p>A fascinating, detailed account of this convention is provided in:</p>
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<ul><li id="A205" class="half_rhythm"><div>Burrough-Boenisch J. Examining present tense conventions in scientific writing in the light of reader reactions to three Dutch-authored discussions. English for Specific Purposes 2003;22(1):5-24.</div></li></ul>
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<p>Additional information about the use of tenses in science is provided in:</p>
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<ul><li id="A206" class="half_rhythm"><div>Matthews JR, Bowen JM, Matthews RW. Successful scientific writing: a step-by-step guide for biomedical scientists. 2nd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 2001.</div></li></ul>
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<p>
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<i>Acknowledgment:</i> My sincere thanks go to Joy Burrough-Boenisch for reviewing this section on “Scientific English: Past, Present, and Simple”. Any errors that remain are entirely my own.---Belinda Beck</p></div><div id="A249"><h2 id="_A249_">Subject–Verb Agreement</h2><p>Subject and verb agreement means that if the subject is singular, the verb must be singular. If the subject is plural, the verb must be plural. This sounds very simple, but people run into trouble because of intervening phrases (phrases that come between the subject and the verb). For example, this type of sentence gives many people trouble:</p>
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<ul><li id="A250" class="half_rhythm"><div> The number of birds was impressive.</div></li></ul>
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<p>The subject of the sentence is “number” (singular), and the verb is “was” (singular). The plural word “birds” is part of a prepositional phrase (that intervenes between the subject and the verb) and therefore is not considered when checking for subject–verb agreement.</p></div><div id="A251"><h2 id="_A251_">Voice: Active <i>versus</i> Passive</h2><p>When the subject of the sentence performs the action of the verb, the sentence has been constructed in active voice.</p>
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<ul><li id="A252" class="half_rhythm"><div>I hit the ball across the yard.</div></li></ul>
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<p>If the subject is being acted upon, then the sentence has been constructed in the passive voice.</p>
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<ul><li id="A253" class="half_rhythm"><div>The ball was hit across the yard.</div></li></ul>
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<p>The choice of active or passive sentence structure affects the emphasis in the sentence (see also “Emphasis” in the section <a href="/books/n/styleguide/A255/?report=reader">Style Points and Conventions</a>). The <b>beginning</b> of the sentence receives more emphasis in the active voice. The <b>end</b> of the sentence receives more emphasis in the passive voice. Both can be used to advantage.</p><div id="A370"><h3>Passive Voice</h3><p>
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<b>Advantages of passive voice:</b>
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</p>
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<ul><li id="A371" class="half_rhythm"><div>minimizes or leaves out the role of the person performing an action (for cases where you do not know who did it, do not want to mention who did it, or who did it is irrelevant)</div></li><li id="A372" class="half_rhythm"><div>softens the tone or makes the message less personal</div></li></ul>
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<p>
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<b>Disadvantages of passive voice:</b>
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</p>
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<ul><li id="A373" class="half_rhythm"><div>makes the sentence wordy and awkward</div></li><li id="A374" class="half_rhythm"><div>adds formality</div></li></ul>
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<p>Sentences constructed in passive voice often begin with “There is” and “There are”. Most sentences can be improved by changing to active voice:</p>
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<ul><li id="A400" class="half_rhythm"><div>
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<b>Instead of:</b> “There are dozens of research resources at NCBI.”</div></li><li id="A401" class="half_rhythm"><div>
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<b>Consider:</b> “NCBI offers dozens of research resources.”</div></li></ul>
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</div><div id="A375"><h3>Active Voice</h3><p>
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<b>Advantages of active voice:</b>
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</p>
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<ul><li id="A376" class="half_rhythm"><div>Shorter sentences are easier to read (“was” and “by” are usually eliminated).</div></li><li id="A377" class="half_rhythm"><div>Sentences are more dynamic, forceful, clearer, stronger, and concise.</div></li></ul>
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<p>
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<b>Disadvantage of active voice:</b>
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</p>
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<ul><li id="A378" class="half_rhythm"><div>Sentence overuse emphasizes the doer of the action.</div></li></ul>
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</div><div id="A379"><h3>Mixing Voices</h3><p>Do not mix active and passive constructions in the same sentence. An easy way to check for passive voice is by asking, “Who did that?” If you cannot give a definite answer, the sentence is passive.</p><p>Scientific writing most often uses passive sentence construction to give the author less importance and to focus attention on the facts at hand. But scientific writing can be made more engaging by using some sentences in active voice as well.</p><p>Strike a balance between the use of active voice and passive voice. Both have their uses. Consider the emphasis in the sentence and whether the sentence needs to be more dynamic. The use of more constructions in the active voice makes text more engaging.</p></div></div><div id="A254"><h2 id="_A254_">Wordy Constructions to Avoid, Substitutions of Common Phrases, Plainer Synonyms</h2><p>To write concisely, you must eliminate superfluous detail. Sometimes, this is just a matter of eliminating some phrases altogether. Take the phrase “is designed to”. Unless the design is the point of the sentence, drop this phrase. Type this search in Google: “is designed to” site:ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Look at the results and try mentally dropping the phrase “is designed to”. Was the sentence adversely affected or improved?</p><p>The following list contains helpful suggestions for writing more succinctly.</p><p>a number of → few, many, several, some</p><p>a majority of → most</p><p>accordingly → therefore</p><p>accounted for the fact that → because</p><p>actually → (consider eliminating this word)</p><p>additional → more, added, other</p><p>additionally → and, also</p><p>adequate number of → enough</p><p>adjacent to → close to, near, next to</p><p>advantageous → useful, helpful</p><p>along the lines of → similar to</p><p>an innumerable number of → innumerable, countless, many</p><p>an order of magnitude → 10 times</p><p>antecedent to → before</p><p>anterior to → before</p><p>anticipate → expect</p><p>any particular type of → any</p><p>are of the same opinion → agree</p><p>as a consequence of → because of</p><p>as a means to → to</p><p>as a result of → because of, from</p><p>as far as our own observations are concerned, they show → we observed</p><p>as regards → about, concerning</p><p>as to → on, for, about, of</p><p>ascertain the location of → find</p><p>at an early date → soon</p><p>at present → now, currently</p><p>at such time as → when</p><p>at the place where → where</p><p>at the present moment → now</p><p>at the present time → now</p><p>at the time that → when</p><p>at this point in time → now</p><p>basically → (consider eliminating this word)</p><p>because of the fact that → given that</p><p>by means of → with, in, by</p><p>by reason of → because of</p><p>by virtue of → by, under, because of</p><p>caused injuries to → injured</p><p>completely filled → filled</p><p>concerning the matter of → on, for</p><p>concur → agree</p><p>connect together → by</p><p>consequence → result</p><p>consequently → therefore</p><p>consider all factors carefully → consider</p><p>consolidate → combine, join</p><p>constitute → make up</p><p>deem → consider, think, treat as</p><p>definitely → (consider eliminating this word)</p><p>definitely proved → proved</p><p>demonstrate → show, prove</p><p>designate → appoint, name, choose, set</p><p>despite the fact that → although</p><p>diminish → lessen, reduce</p><p>discontinue → stop</p><p>due to the fact that → because</p><p>during such time as → while</p><p>during the course of → during, while</p><p>during the period from → from</p><p>during the time that → while, when</p><p>elucidate → explain, clarify</p><p>enumerate → list, name</p><p>equally as → equally</p><p>equivalent → equal, the same</p><p>excessive number of → too many</p><p>fabricate → build, make</p><p>facilitate → make easier, help</p><p>fewer in number → fewer</p><p>following → after</p><p>for a period of → for</p><p>for all intents and purposes → (consider eliminating this phrase)</p><p>for the purpose of → to, for</p><p>for the purpose of examining → to examine</p><p>for the reason that → because</p><p>frequently → often</p><p>from the point of view of → from, for</p><p>furthermore it would seem → and</p><p>generally → (consider eliminating this word)</p><p>give proper consideration to → consider</p><p>give rise to → cause</p><p>goes under the name of → is called</p><p>future plans → plans</p><p>has a tendency to → tends</p><p>has the ability to → can</p><p>has the capability of → can, is able</p><p>has discretion to → may</p><p>have a negative impact → hurt, harm</p><p>hence → therefore</p><p>identical → same</p><p>if conditions are such that → if, when</p><p>illustrate → show</p><p>impact → affect, influence</p><p>implement → carry out, begin, start, create, set up</p><p>in a precise manner → precisely</p><p>in a satisfactory manner → satisfactorily</p><p>in a situation where → if, when</p><p>in addition to → besides, also</p><p>in all cases → always, invariably</p><p>in an adequate manner → adequately</p><p>in back of → behind</p><p>in case → if</p><p>in close proximity to → near</p><p>in connection with → with, about, concerning, for</p><p>in excess of → more than, over</p><p>in favor of → for</p><p>in lieu of → instead of, rather than</p><p>in order to → to, for</p><p>in proximity to → close to, near</p><p>in reference to → on, for</p><p>in regard to → on, for</p><p>in relation to → on, for</p><p>in spite of the fact that → although</p><p>in terms of → in, for, about</p><p>in the absence of → without</p><p>in the amount of → for</p><p>in the case in which → when</p><p>in the case of → in, with</p><p>in the course of → during, while</p><p>in the event that → if, when</p><p>in the nature of → like, similar to</p><p>in the near future → soon</p><p>in the neighborhood of → about, roughly</p><p>in the place in which → where</p><p>in this instance, however → but</p><p>in view of the fact that → because</p><p>in the vicinity of → close to, near</p><p>inasmuch as → given that</p><p>inception → start, beginning</p><p>indicate → show, suggest</p><p>indication → sign</p><p>individual → person</p><p>initial → first</p><p>initiate → begin, start, set up</p><p>institute → begin, start, set up</p><p>is able to → can</p><p>is authorized to → may</p><p>is capable of → can</p><p>is in a position to → can, may</p><p>is permitted to → may</p><p>it has been reported by Smith → Smith reported</p><p>it is (omit)</p><p>it is believed that (omit)</p><p>it is felt that (omit)</p><p>it is important that → must, should</p><p>it is necessary that → must, should</p><p>it is often the case that → often</p><p>it is possible that the cause is → the cause may be</p><p>it is probable that → probably</p><p>it is this that → this</p><p>it is worth pointing out that → note that</p><p>it would appear that → apparently</p><p>it would thus appear that → apparently</p><p>kind of → rather (or consider eliminating this phrase)</p><p>lacked the ability to → could not</p><p>large amounts of → much</p><p>large in size → large</p><p>large numbers of → many</p><p>located in → in</p><p>located near → near</p><p>magnitude → size</p><p>manufacture → make</p><p>methodologies → methods</p><p>modification → change</p><p>modify → change</p><p>necessitate → require</p><p>necessitates the inclusion of → needs, requires</p><p>necessity → need, requirement</p><p>no later than September 30 → before October 1</p><p>notification → notice</p><p>notwithstanding → despite</p><p>notwithstanding the fact that → although</p><p>numerous → many</p><p>objective → goal, aim</p><p>on a daily basis → daily, every day</p><p>on account of → because</p><p>on behalf of → for</p><p>on or before September 30 → before October 1</p><p>on the basis of → by, from, because of</p><p>on the grounds that → because</p><p>on the part of → by</p><p>on the occasion of → on</p><p>on the part of → by</p><p>ongoing → continuing, active</p><p>opt for → choose</p><p>optimum → best</p><p>option → choice</p><p>oval in shape, oval-shaped → oval</p><p>owing to the fact that → because</p><p>parameter → limit, boundary, guideline, condition</p><p>particular → (consider eliminating this word)</p><p>past history → history</p><p>preclude → prevent</p><p>preferable → best, better, preferred</p><p>posterior to → after</p><p>previous → earlier, last, past</p><p>previous to → before</p><p>previously → before, earlier</p><p>principal → main, chief</p><p>prior → earlier</p><p>prior to → before</p><p>provided that → if, but</p><p>really → (consider eliminating this phrase)</p><p>referred to as → called</p><p>regarding → about, on, for</p><p>represents → is, makes up, stands for</p><p>responsible for → causes, has charge of</p><p>results so far achieved → results thus far, results to date</p><p>retain → keep</p><p>round in shape → round</p><p>serves the function of being → is</p><p>situated → placed, sits, lies</p><p>smaller in size → smaller</p><p>sort of → (consider eliminating this phrase)</p><p>subsequent to → later, after</p><p>subsequently → later, afterwards, then</p><p>sufficient → enough</p><p>sufficient number of → enough</p><p>take into consideration → consider</p><p>terminate → end, stop</p><p>termination → end</p><p>the organism in question → this organism</p><p>the majority of → most</p><p>the question as to whether → whether</p><p>the reason why is that → because</p><p>the tests have not as yet → the tests have not</p><p>the treatment having been performed → after treatment</p><p>there are (omit)</p><p>there can be little doubt that this is → this probably is</p><p>there is (omit)</p><p>there is a need for → must, should</p><p>this is a subject that → this subject</p><p>this is a topic that → this topic</p><p>there is no doubt but that → doubtless, no doubt</p><p>through the use of → by, with (not “via”)</p><p>throughout the entire area → throughout the area</p><p>throughout the whole experiment → throughout the experiment</p><p>transpire → happen</p><p>type of → (consider eliminating this phrase)</p><p>two equal halves → halves</p><p>under circumstances in which →</p><p>under the provisions of → under</p><p>until such time as → until</p><p>used to fulfil → needed</p><p>utilize → use</p><p>visualize → think of, imagine</p><p>warrant the use of → must or should have, require</p><p>was of the opinion that → believed</p><p>with a view to → to, for</p><p>with a view to getting → to get</p><p>with reference to → about</p><p>with regard to → about, concerning</p><p>with respect to → on, for</p><p>with the exception of → except for</p><p>with the object of → to, for</p><p>with the result that → so that</p><p>without some kind of → without</p></div><div id="bk_toc_contnr"></div></div></div><div class="fm-sec"><h2 id="_NBK993_pubdet_">Publication Details</h2><h3>Copyright</h3><div><div class="half_rhythm"><a href="/books/about/copyright/">Copyright Notice</a></div></div><h3>Publisher</h3><p><a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/" ref="pagearea=page-banner&targetsite=external&targetcat=link&targettype=publisher">National Center for Biotechnology Information (US)</a>, Bethesda (MD)</p><h3>NLM Citation</h3><p>The NCBI Style Guide [Internet]. Bethesda (MD): National Center for Biotechnology Information (US); 2004-. 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