ABSTRACT
Th e fi rst duties of a scientifi c writer are to write clearly, concisely and accurately. You are not necessarily expected to be an expert on English, especially if it is not your fi rst language. If you are submitting your work to a journal or book publisher, it will usually be checked carefully by a sub-editor to make sure that there are no mistakes of English grammar, idiom or spelling. Th e important thing is to make sure your meaning is clear, so that the sub-editor does not inadvertently misrepresent what you have to say. Note, however, that theses, conference abstracts, study reports and many other types of document are not sub-edited, so there will be no second chance to correct your mistakes before your work reaches the wider scientifi c community.
