Giving reasons in academic/scientific English

Question

Hello. I want to present an explanation using either conjunction or other device, as in the following sentence:

Manuscript language should be as clear as possible because this facilitates reading.

I have been reading manuals and books on English usage about this issue, and I am noticing that acceptable options seem to be few, indeed. 'For' is too formal; 'as' is questionable because its use may raise ambiguity; 'since', some sources say, should be used only with a time-related meaning. . . Is 'because' the only safe choice for giving reasons (I am particularly interested in academic and scientific English)?

What about the following?

a) Manuscript language should be as clear as possible, for this facilitates reading.

b) Manuscript language should be as clear as possible, since this facilitates reading.

c) Manuscript language should be as clear as possible, as this facilitates reading.

d) Because clarity facilitates reading, manuscript language should be as clear as possible.

e) Manuscript language should be as clear as possible by reason of ease of reading.

Thank you for the attention.

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

Your options ( a) through and including ( d) are fine. ( e) is odd.
What manual are you referencing? There are a lot of prescriptivist outdated texts floating around.

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you for the answer.

APA's (2009, p. 84) manual recommends using 'because' instead of 'since'.

Cook's (1985, p. 168) Line by Line says that most experts consider the usage of 'as' as 'because' ambiguous; in addition, it says that 'As a coordinating conjunction, "for" sounds rather stilted and old-fashioned these days' (p. 179). (I believe this one may be outdated . . .)

Fowler's (1965, p. 36) Modern English Usage objects to using 'as' after the independent clause, though it accepts using it before the main clause. (This is probably outdated as well . . .)

AMA's (1998, p. 246-247) Manual of Style recommends using because in place of either 'as' or 'since', wherever these words create ambiguity.

Thank you again for the feedback.

Fivejedjon · Answer

AnonymousCook's (1985, p. 168) Line by Line says that most experts consider the usage of 'as' as 'because' ambiguous;

It can be ambiguous in some sentences. It's not in yours.

Anonymousit says that 'As a coordinating conjunction, "for" sounds rather stilted and old-fashioned these days'

That is my personal opinion also.

AnonymousAMA's (1998, p. 246-247) Manual of Style recommends using because in place of either 'as' or 'since', wherever these words create ambiguity.

I agree, but the last five words are important. There would be ambiguity in:

As he's arriving tomorrow, we'll go home.

Anonymous · Answer

There would be ambiguity in:As he's arriving tomorrow, we'll go home.

Thank you for the helpful answer.

I think that this usage of 'as' is not very common in academic English. I do not have any evidence to prove this, but it seems to me that this 'as' may be found more often in speech--which would mean that 'as' is a safe choice, too.

Thank you.

AlpheccaStars · Answer

AnonymousAPA's (2009, p. 84) manual recommends using 'because' instead of 'since'.

That's good advice because many publications reference APA as their style guide. When in doubt, go with the flow.

Anonymous "for" sounds rather stilted and old-fashioned these days'

Yes, it's the conventional style of the King James Bible.

AnonymousFowler's (1965, p. 36) Modern English Usage objects to using 'as' after the independent clause, though it accepts using it before the main clause. (This is probably outdated as well . . .)

That seems like silly prescriptiveness. The purpose is clarity and avoiding ambiguity.

AnonymousAMA's (1998, p. 246-247) Manual of Style recommends using because in place of either 'as' or 'since', wherever these words create ambiguity.

See my advice on APA, above. If you write in a particular field, use the style guide of the most respected journal in your field. Here is a list: http://www.lib.vt.edu/find/citation/

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you for the guidance. I write texts in the fields of language studies and education. There is the APA's manual, which is a common reference, and there are the MLA's handbook and guide, which are used by some journals but do not provide guidance on such issues.

A British proofreader changed a 'since' into an 'as' in one sentence of one of my texts; after that I have been trying to understand better the usage of these conjunctions. I believe that 'since' is more common in American English, whereas 'as' may be prefereed in British English. . .

Thank you.

Anonymous · Answer

By the way, I was looking at Mager and Mager's (1974) Encyclopedic Dictionary of English Usage . . . They say that, on the one hand, 'because' shows a direct, immediate cause-effect relation and, on the other hand, 'since' shows a more incidental, indirect relation. Also, they say that 'as' indicates an even more casual (by chance) relation between clauses.

But I think this is very outdated, right? This nuance of meaning is probably ignored by current English native speakers--am I wrong?

Thank you.

AlpheccaStars · Answer

I don't use "as" very much to mean "because." Perhaps "as" is more British.
"Because" is probably the most direct (causal) of the three. (It comes from "by cause")
Read the "synonyms entry" here: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/because

Giving reasons in academic/scientific English

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