Writing a Scientific Paper

This essay is not a complete text on ´How to write ...´. Nor is it designed - to replace existing works on literary style or the editorial directives issued by journals. Rather it is intended to help research students and scientists to avoid faults; in particular, faults I have encountered in scientific papers. Most of the notions are not new but seem to need repeating; some may be novel. I am grateful to a dozen colleagues for their comments and suggestions.