- Don't use adverbs. Quantify!
- Refer to a figure or table before discussing it -- not after.
- The first sentence of a paragraph should summarize the whole paragraph.
- Know the difference between "that" and "which".
- Be careful. Are you using "I", "we", or no identifier? Be consistent. Is it personal or objective?
- Be careful with past and present tense. Be consistent!
- Avoid extreme words such as optimal, best, always, never, perfect. A sentence containing such an extreme word is almost "always" inaccurate, and only invites the reader to argue with exceptions.
- Brevity. If you can say the same thing with fewer words, do it. It will be more powerful.
- Don't forget acknowlegements! Funding agencies, or sources of funding, people who provided valuable advice.
- Learn when to use hyphens
- Define an acronym the very first time you use it (in the main text, not in the abstract), and then only use the acronym from then on.
- Use Fig., Tab. and Eq. with the same abbreviation and capitalization consistently throughout.
- Every paragraph should have more than one sentence, and see #3.
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