1、Compared to or compared with? Always compare with never compare to! Wrong = Compared to the control Right = Compared with the controlAnd / or In a list of treatments, use or rather than and Wrong = After incubation over night, cells were treated with 0, 2.5, 5. 7.5 and 10 uM of DN6-3 for 12 h. Right
2、 = After incubation overnight, cells were treated with 0, 2.5, 5. 7.5 or 10 uM of DN6-3 for 12 h.Sentence Fragments Make sure that each word group that you have punctuated as a sentence contains a grammatically complete and independent thought that will stand alone as a sentence. Wrong = Scientists
3、report no human deaths due to excessive caffeine consumption. Although caffeine does cause convulsions and death in certain animals. Right = Scientists report no human deaths due to excessive caffeine consumption, although caffeine does cause convulsions and death in certain animals. Misplaced and D
4、angling Modifiers Place modifiers near the words they describe and be sure the modified words actually appear in the sentence Wrong = Many tourists visit Arlington Cementary, where military personnel are buried every day from 9:00 am until 5:00 pm. Right = Every day from 9:00 am until 5:00 pm, many
5、tourists visit Arlington Cementary, where military personnel are buried.Faulty Parallelism Be sure to use grammatically equal sentence elements to express thoughts or when matching ideas or items in a series Wrong = The candidates goals include winning the election, a national health program and the
6、 educational system Right = The candidates goals include winning the election, enacting a national health program and improving the educational systemUnclear Pronoun Reference All pronouns must refer clearly to definite nouns. Be careful with It, They, That, These, Those and Which Wrong = Because To
7、m is less interested in the environment than in economic development, he sometimes neglects it. Right = Because of his interest in economic development, Tom sometimes neglects the environment,Accept or Except ? Accept means to receive. Except is usually a preposition meaning but or leaving out. Exce
8、pt can also be a verb meaning to leave out. As verbs, accept and except are nearly antonyms, so the difference is important! Examples: He accepted the gift. (He received it.) He excepted the twins. (He did not include them.) Everyone except Bill. (All but Bill.) i.e. vs e.g. i.e. is a way of saying
9、in other words e.g. is a way of saying for exampleThere, Their and There There = a position. There it is. Can also be a pronoun = There is a likelihood of success. Their = belonging to. Their hands are cold There = They are. There over here.Dangling Participle Occurs when a phrase is not intended to
10、 modify what follows next in the sentence Wrong = After rotting in the cellar for weeks, my brother broght up some oranges Right = My brother broght up some oranges which had been rotting in the cellar for weeks,Its or Its? Its is the possessive pronoun; it modifies a noun. Its is a contraction of i
11、t is or it has. Incorrect: The mother cat carried its kitten in its mouth. (Possessive pronoun, no apostrophe) Correct: The mother cat carried its kitten in its mouth. Correct: I think its going to rain today. (Contraction of it is) To test which to use, say the sentence with the words it is in it.
12、If that sounds strange, then its is likely the better choiceMisconnecting verb s Wrong = We should try and change the law Right = We should try to change the lawA or An ? The article a is used before consonant sounds; an is used before vowel sounds. Words beginning with h, o and u sometimes begin wi
13、th a vowel sound, sometimes a consonant sound. Consonant Sound: a heroic couplet (h sound) a once-happy lover (w sound) a universal problem (y sound) Vowel Sound: an honest man (no h sound) an only child (o sound) an unusual insect (u sound) Between or Among Between is with two people or things. Amo
14、ng is used when discussing three or more people or things. Examples: She had to choose between licorice and cherry. She had to choose among licorice, cherry, and lime. Between is used with and and From is used with to. Never use to with between. Incorrect: We shuttled between New York to Chicago. Co
15、rrect: We shuttled between New York and Chicago. Correct: We shuttled from New York to Chicago. Number or Amount? Use the word amount with quantities that cannot be counted Use the word number with quantities that could be counted one-by-one. Examples: He had a small amount of solution left. He had
16、a small number of tubes left. Use of because after the reason Do not use because after the words the reason. Use the reason plus that, or else rewrite the sentence. The word because starts adverb clauses, but the noun reason needs an adjective modifier. The word that introduces adjective clauses whi
17、ch modify nouns. Incorrect: The reason he left is because he was frustrated. Correct. The reason he left is that he was frustrated Can or May? Can as an auxiliary verb means to be able to. May as an auxiliary verb means to be permitted to. Incorrect: Can we talk? (Well, if you can say it, you are ab
18、le to talk!) Correct: May we talk? Could Of or Could Have? Could of does not exist. Neither do should of, will of, or would of verbs. Write could have, should have, will have, or would have. Different From or Different Than? Different from is standard English. Different than is nonstandard. Fewer or
19、 Less? Use fewer with objects that can be counted one-by-one. Use less with qualities or quantities that cannot be individually counted. Incorrect: There were less days below freezing last winter. Correct: There were fewer days below freezing last winter. (Days can be counted.) Correct: I drank less
20、 water than she did. (Water cannot be counted individually here.) When referring to time or money, less is normally used even with numbers. Specific units of time or money use fewer only in cases where individual items are referred to. Examples: I have less than an hour to do this work. I have less
21、time to do this work. I have less money than I need. I have fewer than twenty silver dollars in my collection. Gone or Went? Gone is the past participle of to go. Used as the verb of a sentence, it must always be preceded by an auxiliary verb such as has, have, had, is, am, are, was, were, be, or on
22、e of their contractions. Went is the past tense of to go. It never takes an auxiliary verb. Incorrect: They gone to the movies. (Gone needs an auxiliary verb.) Correct: They have gone to the movies. Correct: They went to the movies. Incorrect: You could have went with them. (Went takes no auxiliary
23、verb.) Regardless or Irregardless? If you think about it, the word irregardless is a double negative. It does not exist in standard English. Use regardless instead. That is what is meant. Using Just and Only When using the word just as an adverb meaning no more than, place it directly in front of th
24、e word it modifies. Similarly, place the word only directly in front of the word it modifies. Vague: Just give me three more days. Correct: Give me just three more days. Vague: I only have three dollars. Correct: I have only three dollars. Lay or Lie? Lay means to place something down. It is somethi
25、ng you do to something else. It is a transitive verb. Incorrect: Lie the book on the table. Correct: Lay the book on the table. (It is being done to something else.) Lie means to recline or be placed. It does not act on anything or anyone else. It is an intransitive verb. Incorrect: Lay down on the
26、couch. Correct: Lie down on the couch. (It is not being done to anything else.) Lie vs Lay (cont) The reason lay and lie are confusing is their past tenses. The past tense of lay is laid. The past tense of lie is lay. Incorrect: I lay it down here yesterday. Correct: I laid it down here yesterday. (
27、It is being done to something else.) Incorrect: Last night I laid awake in bed. Correct: Last night I lay awake in bed. (It is not being done to anything else.) The past participle of lie is lain. The past participle of lay is like the past tense, laid. I could have lain in bed all day. They have la
28、id an average of 500 feet of sewer line a day. Layed is a misspelling and does not exist. Use laid. Leave or Let? Leave means to allow to remain. Let simply means to allow or to permit. Incorrect: Let him alone! Correct: Leave him alone! (Allow him to remain alone.) Incorrect: Leave me do it again.
29、Correct: Let me do it again. (Allow me to do it.) Says or Said? The word says is strictly present tense. It should not be used to take the place of the word said which is past tense. Incorrect: Before that, he says to me, Keep still. (Past tense needed; use said) Correct: Before that, he said to me,
30、 Keep still. Using Seen Seen is a past participle. It must be used with an auxiliary verb such as has, have, had, am, is, are, was, were, be or their contractions. Often saw works better. No auxiliary verb is used with saw. Incorrect: We seen all three of them. Correct: We saw all three of them. Cor
31、rect: We have seen all three of them. Common Writing Mistakes Avoid run-on sentences they are hard to read. Never use no double negatives. Use the semicolon properly, always where it is appropriate; and never where it is not. Reserve the apostrophe for its proper use and omit it where it is not need
32、ed. Verbs has to agree with their subjects. Common Writing Mistakes (cont) No sentence fragments. Proofread carefully to see if you any words out. Avoid commas, that are not necessary. When you reread your work, you will find on rereading that a great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading a
33、nd editing. A writer must not shift your point of view. Do not overuse exclamation marks! (In fact, avoid them whenever possible!) Common Writing Mistakes And do not start a sentence with a conjunction. Place pronouns as closely as possible, especially in long sentences, as of ten or more words, to
34、their antecedents. Hyphenate only between syllables and avoid un-necessary hyphens. Write all adverbial forms correct. Dont use contractions. Writing carefully, dangling participles must be avoided. Common Writing Mistakes (cont) If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is. S
35、teer clear of incorrect verb forms that have snuck into the language. Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixed metaphors Never, ever use repetitive redundancies. Everyone should be careful to use singular pronouns with singular nouns in their writing. Common Writing Mistakes (cont) Never use more w
36、ords than are necessary to get your point across: be concise. Awayz check youre spelling. (Your spellchecker would only pick up one of the two errors here.) Always be avoided by the passive voice. Every sentence a verb. Last but not least, avoid cliches like the plague: seek viable alternatives. Com
37、mon Writing Mistakes (cont) If weve told you once, weve told you a thousand times: avoid hyperbole. Always pick on the the correct idiom. Avoid overuse of quotation marks.Example 2 (Lack of Detail) Female, 8-10 weeks old, KM mice (Animal Center, Dalian Medical University) were randomly allocated int
38、o three groups with six animals in each group and housed in ventilated cages. Eighteen female, 8-10 week old, Kun Ming mice (Animal Center, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China) were randomly allocated into three groups with six mice in each group and housed in ventilated cages. Example 3 (Plura
39、ls + Abbreviations) ETEC stain K88ac, obtained from China Institute of Veterinary Drug Control, Beijing, China, was used to amplify the gene LTB and STb The enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) strain K88ac, obtained from the China Institute of Veterinary Drug Control (Beijing, China) was used to amplify
40、the genes for the heat labile enterotoxin (LTB) and the heat stabile enterotoxin (STb). Example 6 Acanthopanax senticosus (AS) is known for thousands of years as a medicinal herb. The plant has been used as a calmative, which improves anxiety. Acanthopanax senticosus has been used for thousands of y
41、ears as a medicinal herb. The plant has been widely utilized as a calmative which reduces symptoms of anxiety. Example 7 (Parallelism) Acanthopanax senticosus improves weakened physical status and strength, it can control the blood pressure, also the mental and emotional problems. Acanthopanax senti
42、cosus has been shown to improve weakened physical status and strength, control blood pressure, and mitigate mental and emotional problems.Example 9 (Details) KM mice (18-20 g, part male part female) were purchased from Experimental Animal Centre, Dalian Medicine University (Dalian, China). Thirty, 4
43、-week old Kun Ming mice, weighing between 18 and 20 g (15 males and 15 females), were purchased from the Experimental Animal Centre located at Dalian Medicine University (Dalian, China).Example 10 (extra phrases) All mice were divided into six groups: the ASE treatment group, which received ASE by m
44、outh at various doses (500, 1000 or 2000 mg/kg) at 1h before the test; the Diazepam group, which received 1 mg/kg Diazepam by mouth at 1h before the test; and the control group, which received the equal volume of saline. The mice were assigned to one of six treatments including a control group which
45、 received 200 ul of saline, three groups which received Acanthopanax senticosus extract at various doses (500, 1000 or 2000 mg/kg dissolved in 200 ul of saline) and two groups which received Diazepam (1 or 4 mg/kg dissolved in 200 ul of Tween 80). All treatments were provided orally and were adminis
46、tered 1 h before the mice were subjected to a stress test. Example 11 The mice was thrown into a cylinder, the diameter of the cylinder is 10 cm and there were water 10 cm deep with 20 constant temperature. The test last 6 min, and the immobility time of the mice in the last 4 min was recorded. The
47、mice were placed into a cylinder 10 cm in diameter with water 10 cm deep. The water was maintained at a constant 20 temperature. The test lasted 6 min, and the duration of time spent swimming and immobile during the last 4 min was recorded.Example 14 (Misplaced Phrase) Amonafide, a 5-amino substitut
48、ed naphthalimide, was the first drug that reached the clinical trial stage in this family and exhibited excellent anti-tumour activity against advanced breast cancer. Amonafide (a 5-amino substituted naphthalimide), was the first drug in this family that reached the clinical trial stage and it exhib
49、ited excellent anti-tumor activity against advanced breast cancer.Example 15 (Incorrect Introduction) In this study, we assessed the anti-tumor activity of dNIT-6, which is a novel naphthalimide compound, in MCF-7 cells by MTT assay first. The results showed that dNIT-6 was a potent growth inhibitor
50、 of MCF-7 cells. Then we further studied the anti-proliferation effects of dNIT-6 on MCF-7 cells. We found dNIT-6 can present dramatically anti-tumor effects by inducing G0/G1 phase arrest and apoptosis, and then we looked into the signaling mechanism. IIn this in vivo study, we assessed the anti-tu
