Advice for German Writers of English Scientific Prose
As one of only two native English speakers at my workplace, I am frequently called upon to proofread and correct scientific and technical articles written by my German colleagues. Over time I have noticed that certain types of errors tend to occur particularly frequently; oftentimes these mistakes can be traced to a misapplication of German writing rules to English. I have therefore prepared this short guide to English technical and scientific writing directed specifically to German speakers. It addresses common translation problems plus some important differences between German and English punctuation and diction. I have also endeavoured to indicate some differences in usage between American and British English.
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The guide received its last major update on 2004-03-18. The latest version of the document is available from this web page in the following formats:
- Advice for German Writers of English Scientific Prose (PostScript)
- Advice for German Writers of English Scientific Prose (PDF)
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"Advice for German Writers" was written by Tristan Miller. Please feel free to contact me with any suggestions for revisions.
