Mistakes in English Writing1

1 The Most Common Habits from more than 200 English Papers written by Graduate Chinese Engineering Students By Felicia Brittman This paper presents some of the most common Chinese-English habits observed from over two hundred English technical papers by Chinese writers. The habits are explained and in most cases, example text from an actual paper is given along with preferred text. An attempt is made to explain how to correct and prevent such mistakes. In some cases a possible explanation of why the habit occurs is also given. This paper can serve as an individual guide to editing technical papers especially when a native English-speaking editor is unavailable. Introduction Most Chinese universities require their doctoral and master candidates in technical and scientific fields to publish at least one English paper in an international journal as a degree requirement. However, many factors make this task difficult to accomplish. First, previous English studies may not have focused enough on writing, let alone technical writing. Current studies may not include English, causing the writers English fluency level to decline. Second, most writers have never lived in an English- speaking country. Third, due to the special aspects of technical writing, even native English-speaking engineering students have a technical writing course as part of their study. Too often, students’ papers are returned unaccepted because of poor English. If available, students may have their papers edited by a native English speaker. However, this can get expensive for a department that has many students with each paper typically needing to be edited twice. Hiring someone to edit papers is difficult, costly and only puts a patch over the problem. A native English speaker can do a good job at getting rid of most of the grammatical mistakes. However, if this person does not have a technical background, particularly in the area of the papers he is editing, he is unable to get rid of all of the mistakes and make sure that the meaning is clear. He cannot recognize the incorrect translation of technical terms for which there is a standard word. Such mistakes will not be picked up by the processor’s spelling and grammar checker. In addition, if they are not familiar with the topic or field, they may not grasp the meaning of the entire article and fail to make critical edits. Hiring a person with a technical background similar to that of the papers being edited is a better option. Nevertheless, while a person with a technical background may be able to edit the paper sufficiently, he may not be able to explain to the writer how to prevent such mistakes in the future. Besides, it is difficult for most Chinese universities to hire such staff simply for editing. Universities may consider inviting a visiting scholar who will edit papers in addition to doing research or teaching as part of an exchange. Although editing may be the fastest way to publish papers, it does little in the way of teaching the writers how to prevent common mistakes and colloquial habits that prevent a clear understanding of the writer’s ideas. Writers who have already obtained an 2 impressing command of the English language can only truly benefit if they are made aware of their common mistakes and colloquial habits and how to prevent them. Purpose The purpose of this report is to introduce the most common habits in Chinese- English writing as noted from the over two hundred papers I have edited. The habits include grammar mistakes, colloquialisms, and formatting problems and in most cases prevent a clear understanding of the writer’s ideas. A few of the habits, such as writing extremely long sentences, can be corrected with careful use of the MS Word® grammar and style checker. However, most habits, such as missing articles, go unnoticed by automatic grammar checking devices. Still, Chinese-English colloquial habits are not recognized by such software tools. Structure The common habits are presented in two sections. The first section lists the habits that, in my opinion, need the most attention. These habits interrupt the flow of the paper making it difficult to understand and occur most frequently. In this section, the habits are explained, example sentences from actual papers are given to show the habits, and the sentences are rewritten to show the correct way to write them. In the case of missing articles, a flow chart is also given to aid in choosing the correct articles. In the second section, an additional list of habits is given. In some cases, example sentences are given. In other cases, advice is given. The second section is very useful in becoming familiar with small nuances. Not all of the common habits I observed are presented mainly because they can only be dealt with on an individual basis. For example, writers had difficulty titling their papers and naming new technical ideas to express their contents and functions concisely. This problem frequently occurred but it can only be addressed individually. Once writers are aware of their habits, they would be able to write better technical English articles. Section 1 “a, an, the” The single most common habit is the omission of articles a, an, and the. This occurs because Mandarin has no direct equivalent of articles and the rules for using them are somewhat complicated for a non-native speakers. Articles signal that a noun will follow and that any modifiers between the article and the noun refer to that noun (a big blue bicycle / the first award). A and an are indefinite articles; the is a definite article. Every time a singular noncount noun, a common noun that names one countable item, is used the noun requires some kind of determiner. 3 Mistake: The, a, and an are 1) omitted where they are required, 2) used where they are not needed or contribute to wordiness 3) used wrongly in place of the correct article. Examples of incorrect usages: Incorrect Figure 2 shows the distribution of relative velocity on surface of main and splitter blades.15 Correct Figure 2 shows the distribution of relative velocity on the surface of the main and splitter blades.15 Incorrect The software PowerSHAPE is chosen to be a 3D modeling tool; it is good at dealing with free surfaces and curves.4 Correct The software PowerSHAPE is chosen to be the 3D modeling tool; it is good at dealing with free surfaces and curves.4 There was only one 3D modeling tool used in this study, therefore ‘3D modeling tool’ is specific and requires the article the. Incorrect A theoretical method for calculating the inner flow-field in centrifugal impeller with splitter blades and investigation of the interactions between main and splitter blades is presented in this paper. The vortices are distributed on the main and splitter blades to simulate the effects of flows. Systematical study of number and distribution of vortices is conducted.15 Correct A theoretical method for calculating the inner flow-field in a centrifugal impeller with splitter blades and an investigation of the interactions between main and splitter blades is presented in this paper. The vortices are distributed on the main and splitter blades to simulate the effects of flows. A systematical study of the number and distribution of vortices is conducted.15 Incorrect Theoretically, remanufacturing could fully take advantage of resources contained in EOF product thereby minimizing impact on environment to the greatest extent compared to landfill or recycling of materials; consequently it contributes greatly to resource conservation.16 Correct Theoretically, remanufacturing could fully take advantage of resources contained in an EOF product thereby minimizing the impact on the environment to the greatest extent compared to landfill or recycling of materials; consequently it contributes greatly to resource conservation.16 Definitions: Articles Also called determiners or noun markers, articles are the words a, an, and the. A and an are indefinite articles, and the is a definite article. Articles signal that a 4 noun will follow and that any modifiers between the article and the noun refer to that noun. ( a cold , metal chair/ the lightning-fast computer). Determiners A word or word group, traditionally identified as an adjective, that limits a noun by telling how much or how many about it. (expression of quantity, limiting adjective, marker) They tell whether a noun is general (a tree) or specific (the tree). The is a definite article. Before a noun, the conveys that the known refers to a specific item (the plan). A and an are indefinite articles. They convey that a noun refers to an item in a nonspecific or general way (a plan). Common nouns A noun that names a general group, place, person, or thing: dog, house. Count noun A noun that names an item or items that can be counted: radio, streets, idea, fingernails. Noncount nouns A noun that names a thing that cannot be counted: water, time. Specific noun A noun understood to be exactly and specifically referred to; uses the definite article the. Nonspecific noun A noun that refers to any of a number of identical items; it takes the indefinite articles a , an. Very long sentences Very long sentences are especially common in Chinese-English writing because the writers often translate directly from Chinese to English. Although, in Chinese writing it is acceptable to put several supporting ideas in on sentence to show their relationship, in English, the main idea and each supporting idea is typically written in separate sentences. One can usually recognize a very long sentence by its length – sixty words or more. However, sentences of smaller lengths can also be too long if they contain multiple statements that confuse the main idea. Long sentences can be avoided by limiting each sentence to one or two topics. Semicolons should be used where the writer really wants to emphasize the relationship between ideas. Too long According to the characteristic of fan-coil air-conditioning systems, this paper derives the cooling formula of fan-coil units based on the heat transfer theories and puts forward a new method to gauge cooling named Cooling Metering on the Air- side, which can monitor the individual air-conditioning cooling consumption during a period of time by detecting the parameters of inlet air condition – temperature and humidity – of the fan-coil air-conditioning system as well as the parameters of inlet cooling water provided by the chiller. 5 Correct This paper derives the cooling formula of fan-coil units based on the characteristics of fan-coil air-conditioning systems and heat transfer theories, and puts forward a new method to gauge cooling called Cooling Metering on the Air-side. The new method can monitor individual air-conditioning cooling consumption during a period of time by detecting the condition of inlet air – temperature and humidity – of the fan-coil air-conditioning system as well as the parameters of the inlet cooling water provided by the chiller. Too long The gear transmission is grade seven, the gear gap is 0.00012 radians, the gear gap has different output values corresponding to any given input value, non- linearity of the gear gap model can be described by using the phase function method, the existing backlash block in the non-linear library of the Matlab/zdimulink toolbox can be used, the initial value of gear gap in the backlash block is set to zero.9 Correct The gear transmission is grade seven. The gear gap, which is 0.00012 radians, has different output values corresponding to any given input value. The non- linearity of the gear gap model can be described by using the phase function method. The existing backlash block in the non-linear library of the Matlab/zdimulink toolbox can be used; the initial value of gear gap in the backlash block is set to zero. Another type of super-long sentence that frequently occurs in technical papers is that of a list. The writer wants to give a large amount of data, usually parameter values, and puts this information into one long, paragraph-sized sentence. However, the best way to give such type and quantity of information is to tabulate it (put it in a bulleted list). Too long …where m is the mass of the heavy disk mounted at the mid-span of a massless elastic shaft, e is the eccentricity of the mass center from the geometric center of the disk, φ is the angle between the orientation of the eccentricity and the ξ axis, ξk and ηk are the stiffness coefficients in two principal directions of shaft respectively, c is the viscous damping coefficient of the shaft and the disk, ic is the inner damping coefficient of shaft, ω is the rotating speed, sξ and sη are the components of initial bend in directions of ξ ,η axes respectively: θξ cosbs r= , θη sinbs r= .1 Correct Where m is the mass of the heavy disk mounted at the mid-span of a massless elasticshaft, e is the eccentricity of the mass center from the geometric center of the disk, φ is the angle between the orientation of the eccentricity and the ξ axis, ξk and ηk are the stiffness coefficients in the two principal directions of the shaft, 6 c is the viscous damping coefficient of the shaft and the disk, ic is the inner damping coefficient of the shaft, ω is the rotating speed, sξ and sη are the components of initial bend in directions of ξ ,η axes, respectively: θξ cosbs r= , θη sinbs r= . Too long The clear height of the case is 6.15 meters; the thickness of the roof is 0.85 meters; the thickness of the bottom is 0.90 meters, the overall width is 26.6 meters, the overall length of the axial cord is 304.5 meters, the length of the jacking section is about 148.8 meters; the weight of the case is about 24127 tons.3 Clear • Case clearance height 6.15 meters • Roof thickness 0.85 meters • Bottom thickness 0.90 meters • Overall width 26.6 meters • Overall length of the axial cord 304.5 meters • Length of the jacking section 148.8 meters (approx.) • Weight of the case 24127 tons (approx.) Prefacing the main idea of a sentence by stating the purpose, location or reason first Chinese writers often preface the main topic of a sentence by first stating the purpose, location, reason, examples and conditions as introductory elements. However, this has the effect of demoting the importance of the main idea and making the reader think the author is indirect. Bring the main idea to the beginning of the sentence stating any locations, reasons, etc., afterwards. Incorrect For the application in automobile interiors, this paper studies the nesting optimization problem in leather manufacturing. 5 Correct This paper studies the nesting optimization problem in leather manufacturing for application in automobile interiors. Incorrect Especially when numerical control (NC) techniques[4] are widely used in industry and rapid prototype methods[5][6] bring a huge economical benefits, the advantage of constructing 3D model[7][8][9] becomes extremely obvious.2 Correct The advantage of constructing a 3D model[7][8][9] becomes extremely obvious especially when numerical control (NC) techniques[4] are widely used in industry and rapid prototype methods[5][6] bring a huge economical benefits. Incorrect Inside the test box, the space was filled with asbestos.15 Correct The space inside the test box was filled with asbestos. 7 Incorrect In practice, we employed this approach to dispose of a wheelhouse subassembly of one kind of auto-body, and the results show that this method is feasible.16 Correct We employed this approach to dispose of a wheelhouse subassembly of one kind of auto-body, and the results show that this method is feasible. Incorrect To ensure sheet metal quality as well as assembly quality, CMMs are widely used in automotive industry production.16 Correct CMMs are widely used in automotive industry production to ensure sheet metal quality as well as assembly quality. Tendency of placing phrases which indicate time at the beginning of a sentence Incorrect When U is taken as the control parameter, the BDs for ∆=0.0, 0.001, 0.005 are shown in Fig. 8. Correct Figure 8 shows the BDs for ∆=0.0, 0.001, and 0.005 when U is taken as the control parameter. Place the most important subject at the beginning of the sentence for emphasis Incorrect Based on the triangulation structure built from unorganized points or a CAD model, the extended STL format is described in this section.4 Correct The extended STL format is described in this section based on the triangulation structure built from unorganized points or a CAD model. Incorrect The 3D dentition defect and restoration element models are designed precisely with complicated surfaces.4 Correct The 3D dentition defect and restoration element models with complicated surfaces are designed precisely. “which/ that” The antecedent (noun or pronoun) to which which refers is not specific, causing confusion. Antecedent The noun or pronoun to which a pronoun refers. ‘The Shijiazhuang south road underground bridge possesses the largest jacking force, which is built at 1978(10680t).’ [‘Shijiazhuang south road underground bridge possesses the largest jacking force which is built at 1978(10680t).’ Absolute truths in paleontology are often elusive, and even the filmmakers were surprised at the fierce arguments that split the scientists when an initial brainstorming session was else. 8 ‘Respectively’ and ‘respective’ Respectively refers back to two or more persons or things only in the order they were previously designated or mentioned. If two lists are given, respectively pairs the list entries according to the order in which they are given. In this case the use of respectively is to allow the writer to give a lot of information without confusing the reader or writing several short sentences. Respectively is usually at the end of the sentence. In both cases, mentioning the order must be important to the meaning of the sentence otherwise it is not used. For example: Bobby, Nicole and Daren wore red, green and blue coats, respectively. List 1 List 2 Bobby wore a red coat. Nicole wore a green coat. Daren wore a blue coat. Respective to two or more persons or things only in the order they were previously designated or mentioned. The uses of these two words are usually incorrect or confusing as in the following examples. 1. Respectively is misplaced in the sentence; it is put before the nouns to which it refers. Incorrect Equations 2～6 can be respectively linearized as:……(equations given)…13 Correct Equations 2～6 can be linearized as:……(equations given)…, respectively. Incorrect The weights of the two experts are respectively 0.600 and 0.400.19 Correct The weights of the two experts are 0.600 and 0.400, respectively. 2. Respectively is inserted to express that there is a certain order in which something was done. However, the order is already implied elsewhere in the sentence or does not need to be expressed because it does not add value to meaning of the sentence. Incorrect If both the core technology score and core quality score of a bottleneck process are, respectively, below certain scores, then we refer to strategy 1, otherwise, if either is, respectively, above a certain score, then we refer to strategy 2