Good writing depends on the role you expect

reader to play

Good English technical writing requires a

minimal effort by reader.

People appreciate the paper if it has reader-

centered writing.

A reader has to be guided step-by-step

towards the writer’s conclusion

Each paragraph consist:-

Own title (topic sentence)

Intermediate sentence (1-8 sentence in a logical

sequence)

Conclusion sentence (referring to the first sentence or to

the next paragraph)

Only one specific idea should be included in each

sentence, and ONE general idea in a paragraph

Do not confuse a reader by using different

words which brings the same meaning. (Eg:

author, writer, researcher)

Use link words to relate each sentences in

the paragraph.

To help readers understand is to have a

maximum of 2 ideas per sentence.

Readers may not read a paper from beginning

to end.

Start some sections with a mini summary of

the main aims of a paper.

Besides a mini summary, a brief outline

about the other sections can be provided.

For short papers, we may not need mini

summaries, instead use a direct approach.

Direct approach – telling the reader what you

have found and not what you did.

A known information is usually placed at the

beginning of a sentence.

The first word of a paragraph should be able to

alert the reader the topic of sentence.

Move from a general idea to the specific idea in a

paragraph

Readers are used to focus on the first and

last word of a sentence.

Do not put important information in a middle

of the sentence.

If there are 2 important information, put

them in a separate sentence.

Do not use this method often, as it may look

like a “list”.

Each sentence has to be linked by a logical

progression

Each sentence is linked in a chain.

A full chain makes a paragraph

A sentence has to elaborate the information given in

the previous sentence.

This method would allow the reader to sense the

logical progression.

Example:-

Definition of topic sentence

Intermediate sentence 1

Intermediate sentence 2

Intermediate sentence 3

Fact about the topic sentence

Sentences has to

be linked

Main aim of a writer is to make the readers

understand your reasoning in a step-by-step

manner.

Readers should not change their perspective

at mid-point or end-point of a sentence.

It would be good to provide signs of what can

the reader expect next.

Use numbering system to describe each

stages, and consistently use them till the

end.

Eg: (Firstly, Secondly, Thirdly, Finally)

This system makes a paragraph to be visually

clear and more readable.

Start a new paragraph when there is a need to

highlight a new point or information

Do not use “our findings highlight”, “these result

shows” in a middle of a paragraph

Long paragraphs are considered to be not

readable.

Logical sequence of the points can be clearly

identified if it’s in a separate paragraph

Shorter paragraphs will be able to express

points in the simplest way

Maximum length of a paragraph could be

about 15 lines.

A beginning of a paragraph should continue

from the end point of a previous paragraph.

With the above sequence, there is no need

for mini summaries in each paragraph

A mini summary can be used to end a

section, but avoid redundancy in the final

paragraph of the section.