Avoid common mistakes by structuring the elements of your sentences clearly, especially with regard to modifiers.

Editing Tip: Avoiding Misplaced Modifiers | AJE

One common mistake made by many writers is not structuring the elements of a sentence in the clearest manner possible, especially with respect to modifiers.

Editing Tip: Avoiding Misplaced Modifiers

How to choose the right article (a or an) with chemical elements.

Editing Tip: Indefinite Article Use with Elements | AJE

Chemical elements present some unusual exceptions to normal rules for usage of indefinite articles (a and an)

Choose the article based on the sound of the element when sounded out fully (e.g., 'silver' not 'Ag')

For isotopes, consider the sound of the element symbol first

Editing Tip: Indefinite Article Use with Elements

The term both is commonly used in technical writing to indicate similarity between samples, datasets, or values. However, the dictionary definition of 'both' — “one and the other” — does little to clarify the meaning or proper use of this word.

Editing Tip: Proper Use of the Term 'Both' | AJE

Authors often inadvertently cause confusion using the term 'both'

Both can be used as a pronoun or a conjunction

Use 'the same' only when 'both' is serving as a pronoun

Editing Tip: Proper Use of the Term 'Both'

This tip focuses on a pervasive yet unnecessary "rule" of English writing: the ban against splitting infinitives. While splitting infinitives is not often the clearest way to convey meaning, it should not really be considered "wrong" to do so.

Editing Tip: Split Infinitives | AJE

Is it really wrong to (thoughtfully) split an infinitive?

Learn how to use measurements such as time, percent, and various units in relation to verbs in a sentence.

Editing Tip: Singular and Plural Verbs with Measured Quantities | AJE

Editing Tip: Singular and Plural Verbs with Measured Quantities

Here are some guidelines for deciding whether to hyphenate a term that you are using in your writing.

Editing Tip: Hyphenation in Academic Writing | AJE

When should you hyphenate?  This tip provides guidelines.

Editing Tip: Hyphenation in Academic Writing

Eponyms in scientific writing often involve a name used in a descriptive manner (as an adjective), followed by the type of entity they described (Achilles tendon, Boltzmann constant, Van der Waals force).

Editing Tip: Eponyms | AJE

An eponym is a type of noun or phrase that is based on a person's name (e.g., einsteinium)

Editing Tip: "A Few" vs. "Few" | AJE

Although 'a few' and 'few' are nearly identical, they carry very different emphases. We explore when to use each term.

Though we often deal with the word that as a relative pronoun, we rarely talk about its other very common use as a complementizer, wherein it acts as a subordinating conjunction to introduce a clause.

Editing Tip: Using 'That' as a Complementizer | AJE

When the word 'that' is used to introduce a clause, it has a different purpose and grammatical structure from its other uses.

Editing Tip: Using 'That' as a Complementizer

Tag: Grammar

Editing Tip: Avoiding Misplaced Modifiers

Editing Tip: Indefinite Article Use with Elements

Editing Tip: Proper Use of the Term 'Both'

Editing Tip: Split Infinitives

Editing Tip: Singular and Plural Verbs with Measured Quantities

Editing Tip: Hyphenation in Academic Writing

Editing Tip: Eponyms

Editing Tip: "A Few" vs. "Few"

Editing Tip: Using 'That' as a Complementizer