Book about technical and academic writing I'm in the process of writing my Master's Thesis on automata theory. The writing must be in English which isn't my mother tongue. So the question is, given that this is my first time long (hundred pages) writing and since English is a second language for me, what is the book you recommend for academic writing style? Ideally the book: * must address things like how to structure the writing and/or align it with the research * address the technical nature of the writing * recommend general styling and language rules * and as a plus, some hints to those of us for whom English is a second language Best regards.

Nicholas Higham's book _Handbook of writing for the mathematical sciences_ is detailed, clear, and overall very useful. He covers all the four bullet points that you have raised. Moreover, he gives an annotated reference to useful style guides, technical writing guides, dictionaries, and so on. I am sure you won't be disappointed!

**Edit:** I guess you might already be familiar with the classic: _The Elements of Style_ by Strunk & White --- this book is a gem on writing, and is worth reading again and again every few months.

Finally, here is a paper with very practical advice. This paper really underscores the importance of structure, and offers concrete advice on how to attain good structure: _The Science of Scientific Writing_ , by G. D. Gopen and J. A. Swan. The fundamental thesis of the paper is: Writing to meet the reader’s expectation.