Important concepts in Geologic writing

1
Important concepts in Geologic writing
2
Follow subject as soon as possible with its
verb. Fault scarps from one to ten meters high
and three to fifty meters long on the sunny and
beautiful University of California Berkeley
campus on the east side of the San Francisco Bay
in California are steps in the land surface that
mark the location of the Hayward
Fault. Eclogite, a rock formed deep in
subduction zones where one plate goes under
another and composed of garnet, omphacite, and
rutile, is prevalent in the southern Ural
Mountains. ------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------- T
he deformed graptolites proved to be magnificent
strain indicators. Regional fold belts contain
large anticlines and synclines that are sometimes
referred to as anticlinoria and synclinoria.
3
Place thing whose story a sentence is telling
at the beginning of the sentence, in the topic
position. (note the differences in these
sentences) Fault breccia is found in the Broad
Cove Fault among other places. The Broad Cove
Fault contains fault breccia. Anticlines are
expressed on maps with the oldest rocks in the
center. Map expression of anticlines shows the
oldest rocks at the center.
4
Writing Concisely (omit needless words, phrases
and sentences)
5
Passive vs. Active Voice Passive The grade of
the ore was affected by the alteration. Active
The alteration affected the grade of the
ore. If possible, use active voice The foliation
was measured We measured the foliation(ok to
use first person) The lava was extruded from the
volcano.... The volcano extruded lava during a
fiery eruption. Passive voice is OK when the
performer of the action is unknown e.g. The
rocks were metamorphosed under amphibolite-facies
conditions
For more non-Geology examples see
http//www.englishpage.com/verbpage/activepassive.
html
6
Geologic Time and Tenses Use present tense for
rocks, dikes, places etc. that still exist. Use
past tense for events in geologic or experimental
history. Use present tense for general
conclusions or principles. Use past tense for
specific conclusions. The Hawaiian hotspot
evidently stayed fixed, even though oceans are
spreading and continents are drifting. Refer to
authors in the past tense (they may have changed
their mind) Beane et al. (1995) indicated there
was no conclusive evidence for UHPM at
Maksyutov. Beane et al. (2007) concluded the
Maksyutov Complex is a UHPM terrane.
7
Figures

• Every figure included with your paper must be
  referenced in the text. Bedding in this area is
  steeply dipping (Fig. 1).
• Every figure must have a number corresponding to
  the order it appears in the text. Bedding in
  this area is steeply dipping (Fig. 1), and
  foliation cuts the bedding at a high angle (Fig.
  2).
• Every figure must have a caption that explains
  it. Figure 1. Map showing the distribution of
  faults in the Cape Elizabeth area, Maine.