Writing tips I've found useful

Top tips

1. Get to the point quickly. The first few sentences of a piece are often throat-clearing and useless; you probably don't even intend for them to be read. If this is the case, take them out.
2. Be concise. Never say in n sentences what you can say in one.
3. Use passive voice deliberately. For instance, it is fine to say "the milk was spilled," but be aware that writing this rather than "X spilled the milk" communicates something.
4. Use active verbs to be more convincing. Unless you are trying to convey inertness or you are trying to put your reader to sleep, it is always better to choose verbs conveying more action (e.g. "discovered" rather than "observed").
5. Do not write a sentence you would not want to read aloud. Get rid of that long and convoluted crap.

References

• Three Styles for Writing a Paper - a nice description of what to do and what not to do; cautions heavily against the "historical paper."
• Margo Seltzer's writing pet peeves
• How to write a good research paper and give a good research talk

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