Sir

Antonio J. Herrera complains about referees' criticisms of the English of papers by non-anglophones (Nature 397, 467; 1999). Scientists of any nationality can produce verbose and dull writing in their mother tongue, although it is naturally harder to write in a foreign language.

But manuscripts with outstanding scientific content are never rejected because of the prose. If you think that the English in your paper has been overcriticized, or that rejection is based on judgements of style, you should inform the editor.

Rather than dreaming up an Institute for Correct English Style, I believe all scientists should be taught to write while at university. Students should learn the attributes of good writing, grammar and composition, and the logical development of scientific argument. Once these skills have been ingrained in one's native language, faults in English will be perceived and corrected.