Writing compactly

A correspondent sends a suggested edit of a part of my writing tips for PhD students

With markup

Keep it short

Keep the paper as short as possible. Be concise. Every word must count. As you edit the paper ask yourself constantly, “can I make the same my point in less space?” and “Do Must I really have to say this?” Final papers should be no more than  under 40 pages, drafts should beshorter. (Do as I say, not as I do!) Shorter is better.

 

Clean: 

Keep it short

Be concise. Every word must count. As you edit, ask yourself, “can I make my point in less space?” and “must say this?” Final papers should be under 40 pages, drafts shorter.  Shorter is better.

Well, I did say "do as I say, don't do as I do!"