1. Avoid starting a sentence or phrase with "it" (unless "it" clearly refers to an antecedent noun) or "there" and avoid using phrases like "there is," "there are," "there was," "there were," "there has," "there have," "it is/was/has" (unless "it" clearly refers to an antecedent noun), "it seems/appears/. . . ," etc. While spoken and casual English use these phrases extensively, scientifically written English should be more succinct.
2. Insert a space between a numerical value and its units. Abbreviate "hour" or "hours" as "h"
3. Use past tense verbs when describing objectives, methods, observations, results, and conclusions; use present tense only when referring to something that is widely accepted or generally considered to be true. |