24
votes
To boil water down to the bottom of the pot
The expression is to "boil dry".
You would use it as "The pot boiled dry". Normally this is a bad thing to happen (as if the pot boils dry, any food in the pot is likely to burn)
...
- 232k
20
votes
Accepted
Articles at the beginning of sentences in scientific writing
I'm a native speaker who occasionally works professionally as a technical writer and editor, including writing scientific journal articles. In my opinion, your versions of the sentences, without the ...
- 27.7k
13
votes
Accepted
To boil water down to the bottom of the pot
To "boil something down" usually refers to making it thicker, more viscous, as with a sauce. In your case, it would be more idiomatic to say the water boiled away, not down.
I left the pot ...
- 137k
12
votes
The use of 'their' in academic writing
Your instructor probably did not give you such a general guideline. It would be foolish to do so, as your example shows. Your sentence is 100% correct in academic writing and every other kind of ...
- 6,968
12
votes
what does this phrase mean "placed on her end"?
The author is attempting to provide a sense of the Titanic's massive scale by way of comparison between the ship's length and a tall building's height.
Normally, a ship would be oriented horizontally ...
- 1,661
11
votes
Articles at the beginning of sentences in scientific writing
Sentences 1, 2, and 5 are fine either way in my opinion. I slightly prefer no article.
The third sentence should be either your way, or "An examination". I prefer your way with no article. "The ...
- 733
9
votes
When italicizing, do I have to include 'a,' 'an,' and 'the'?
In my experience, in scholarly papers, when a new concept is defined or introduced, the article is never italicized, and the rest of the noun phrase is usually italicized.
Here are several examples ...
- 6,038
8
votes
Accepted
When italicizing, do I have to include 'a,' 'an,' and 'the'?
Generally, don't use italics for emphasis! the APA guide says:
In general, avoid using italics for emphasis. Instead, rewrite your sentence to provide emphasis.
You should only use italics if there ...
- 232k
8
votes
Does using quotes around an informal word make it acceptable in academic writing?
If you need to use a word from the jargon of a particular activity which has a specific definition within that activity, by all means use it. The quotation marks show, not so much that it is 'informal'...
- 61.4k
6
votes
what does this phrase mean "placed on her end"?
When an object is rectangular, that is, longer than it is tall, to "place it on its end" means to place it so that the short end is on the ground or floor or table, and it extends upward the ...
- 68.8k
6
votes
what does this phrase mean "placed on her end"?
LIKE THIS:
Innumerable examples ... https://www.urbanthree.com/blog/some-inspired-heights-comparisons-in-downtown-asheville/
- 1,225
5
votes
Accepted
What is the word *then* doing in "The constant synthesis, **then**, of specific material from simple....",?
It is expressing that what he is saying in that sentence is the consequence of something he said previously. He could have started the sentence with then, or he could have used so:
So, the constant ...
- 43.2k
5
votes
Accepted
"A too large dataset is difficult to learn" vs "If the dataset is too large, the learning is difficult"
The grammar of "Too adjective" is a little odd.
You can use it as a predicate freely:
This dataset is too large.
Pianos are too heavy to lift.
But it is at least awkward to use it ...
- 77.1k
5
votes
Accepted
Are words marked with the "old-fashioned" tag in dictionaries suitable for academic writing?
There's no single answer for this, because there's no single definition of what "old-fashioned" means, nor does it mean that something has fallen from use or is archaic.
"Nigh on" ...
- 111k
4
votes
Accepted
Academic writing Simple Past/Simple Present in passive form
This is a matter of style guides
Journals and other publishers may have their own in-house guidelines when it comes to usage and grammar. Many follow the top style guides: APA, CMS, and MLA. Social ...
- 10.1k
4
votes
Accepted
long title without verb
No, titles (whether of books, films, articles, chapters, sections) are more often single phrases (often noun phrases, but also other types) than full sentences.
I'd have to see the context to know ...
- 77.1k
4
votes
Accepted
How to rephrase a long comprative sentence
This seems to be a question of simplification and “de-cluttering” rather than one of phrasing. You simply need to omit a great many words. My suggestion:
The Tarim Basin presents values between those ...
- 1,329
4
votes
The use of 'their' in academic writing
It is completely correct. Here are some examples of the use of the pronoun "their" to refer to "corporations" in exactly your context:
"The federal sentencing guidelines for ...
- 232k
4
votes
To boil water down to the bottom of the pot
If the content of the pot was only water, I would say that I left the pot on the stove (US) / cooker (UK) and the water completely evaporated.
- 28.9k
4
votes
Accepted
Correct english word for undoing a knot: untangle, disentangle, untie?
"Knot" is usually used for something deliberately done. In this case the knot is "tied" when it is created and "untied" when removed. "Undid" would also be ...
- 5,307
3
votes
Accepted
"no longer assumed not endotherms" = endotherms or not endotherms?
It is confusing, and unnecessarily so.
The basic structure "assumed {noun}" is somewhat odd. It is common enough to use "assumed {adjective}", but I'd interpret "dinosaurs ...
- 232k
3
votes
Is it appropriate to use another verb after the main verb (main verb + subject + verb) in a sentence? and why?
The verb "believe" has a complement, which is the clause
[that] you remembered that blue is my absolute favorite color.
(The word [that] is an optional subordinator, omitted in this ...
- 43.2k
3
votes
Accepted
definite or indefinite article for new term that described in other paper?
In the case the referent is specific. and so if an article is used it should be definite. But
The Hilbert twenty-fourth problem
is incorrect. (as FumbleFingers says in a comment, this is because a &...
- 41.4k
3
votes
Accepted
Using a comma instead of "and" in "A and B are the objects that are part of the equation."
It is understandable, but not really recommended, unless you are very short of space. It looks very "clipped". It looks like you are trying to use the very fewest number of words, and it ...
- 232k
3
votes
Accepted
"respectively"—should only be used if your sentence would be unclear without it?
(I've edited for Springer, Elsevier, and other families of journals for about 15 years.) A common, consistent, and reasonable convention in academic writing is that "respectively" is used to ...
- 1,186
3
votes
To boil water down to the bottom of the pot
Another way to say this is 'boiled off' as in "all the water boiled off". When pan-frying or browning, I will 'boil off' any excess water.
- 1,428
3
votes
Accepted
Is there a British English equivalent of a "straight-A student"?
Until a few years ago, most UK school exams were rated A, B, C etc and the term "straight A student" was common.
Although the secondary school GCSE exam has moved to a numerical grading ...
- 111k
3
votes
Does using quotes around an informal word make it acceptable in academic writing?
It's OK to use jargon or slang in academic writing, but you should define what those words mean, in context, somewhere in the document. Depending on the type and style this could be in line ...
- 9,522
2
votes
Leave application for "days in the past" and "future"
Leave of absence is an expression meaning permission to be absent.
We don't talk about a leave of absence (British English) - just leave of absence.
If you wish to be away from your place of ...
- 26k
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