Negative example: “After I had completed the calculation, I had to present it to my team members to ensure that I had considered everything.”

The pronoun “I” should be avoided in engineering texts. Often, passive formulations are more suitable:

“After the calculation was completed, it was discussed within the team to ensure that all essential aspects were taken into account.”

Negative example: “However, the damping term is probably smaller than the frictional forces and can therefore be neglected in the model.”

Provide proof instead of assuming:

“According to [XY], the damping term is smaller than the frictional forces and can therefore be neglected in the model.”

Negative example: “A second reasonable approach is to assume a line contact between the guide pin and the contour.”

The adjective “reasonable” is vague and judgmental. Overall, the sentence is unnecessarily long and complicated. Convey the important information in the main clause:

“A second approach assumes a line contact between the guide pin and the contour.”

Negative example: “In our last measurement, a disturbance occurred that distorted the signal so strongly that we could no longer evaluate it.”

‘Distort’ or ‘disturb’ are vague expressions. Specify the actual cause:

“During the last measurement, aliasing occurred due to a sampling frequency that was too low.”

Negative example: “The distances calculated from the transit times of the ultrasound recordings in A-mode match the measured distances quite closely; however, there are still deviations, but these are in the micrometer range.”

The phrase ‘quite closely’ is imprecise and unscientific. Quantitative statements are often preferable to qualitative ones. The second clause about deviations in the micrometer range is trivial for scientific writing and unnecessary here. A better version would be:

“The distances calculated from the transit times of the ultrasound recordings in A-mode deviate by no more than 4 % from those measured with the caliper.”

Negative example: “To determine whether a system of equations A·x = b
(where A is an (nxn) matrix) has exactly one solution x for each b, one must determine the determinant. If this is not equal to zero, then there is exactly one x for each b such that A·x = b holds.”

In mathematical or physical contexts, formulas are often more precise than full sentences:

“The (nxn) system of equations A·x = b is uniquely solvable if and only if det(A) ≠ 0.”

Negative example: “The number of required state variables results from the number of degrees of freedom and possibly other quantities which cannot be directly calculated for each computation step. In the subsequent, the individual components are analyzed with regard to their degrees of freedom, where a degree of freedom is generally defined as an independent generalized coordinate.”

The definition belongs at the beginning. Delete filler words such as “required”, “possibly other”, “directly”, or “generally”. Use simpler expressions like “that” instead of “which” and “In the following” instead of “In the subsequent”. Write short sentences instead of attaching the important definition in a subordinate clause. Better like this:

“A degree of freedom is an independent generalized coordinate. The number of degrees of freedom determines the number of state variables. In addition, there are quantities that cannot be calculated for each computation step. In the following, the degrees of freedom of the individual components are analyzed.”

Negative example: “The components are connected to the semiconductor relays and the Arduino board via wiring connections.”

This sentence is redundant. It is obvious that the components are connected by “wiring connections”, that is, by cables.

Negative example: “The study was partly conducted using the PTS Visum: ‘The PTS Visum is the world’s leading software for traffic analysis, traffic forecasts, and GIS-based data management. It consistently represents all traffic participants and their interactions and is considered the standard for any traffic planning issue. Sales engineers use PTS Visum for modeling traffic networks and demand, as well as for analyzing expected traffic flows, for public transport planning, and for developing sophisticated traffic strategies and solutions.’”

Summarize the essentials in your own objective words instead of reproducing long (direct or indirect) quotes from the manufacturer’s promotional text:

“The study was partly conducted using PTS Visum. PTS Visum is standard software for traffic analysis, traffic forecasts, and GIS-based data management. It represents traffic participants and interactions and can therefore be used, among other things, for modeling traffic networks.”

Negative example: “A high energy concentration exists in the focal spot.”

Use the correct technical terminology:

“There is a high radiation intensity in the focal spot.”

Negative example: “The methods of material analysis included providing proof of compliance with the requirements for the new developments.”

Formal does not mean unnecessarily complicated. Do not use nominalizations more than necessary – they often make the text harder to understand: e.g. ‘had to be proven’ instead of ‘included providing proof of compliance’:

“With the methods of material analysis, it had to be proven that the new developments met the requirements.”