投稿时，您会希望编辑和审稿人把注意力，放在文章的内容，而不是写作的文笔上。所以，遣词用字上既要能传递文章的论点，但又不会把读者的注意力分散到表达能力上。无庸置疑，语法、标点符号、拼写的正确无误是关键。此外，您的文句还得要读起来像英语母语人士所写的那般自然。要做到这一点，应尽量避免在遣词用字上出错。
我自己在ESL编辑上常遇到的一个用法错误，是把concerning 当成形容词来用。
原句一：
There was a concerning trend toward long-term late deterioration in the laminectomy-alone group.
尽管一些字典确有concerning的形容词用法，意思是“令人忧心的”（Merriam Webster’s Unabridged 则特别注明这是古式用法）。实际上，在英语国家，concerning很少做形容词用，即便这个单词跟alarming、disturbing很像。
若用某搜索引擎作搜寻，“a concerning trend”的搜寻结果只有大概500则左右，而“an alarming trend”超过3500则，“a disturbing trend”则超过7000则。有鉴于此，对上面的例句作修改如下：
修改后：
There was a disturbing trend toward long-term late deterioration in the laminectomy-alone group.
In the laminectomy-alone group, there was a trend toward long-term late deterioration, which is a cause for concern.
更多例句如下，均摘自已发表的文献。
原句二：
We observed a concerning trend toward a higher incidence of postoperative bleeding in patients who received clopidogrel within 5 days of undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting.
修改后：
We observed a worrisome trend toward a higher incidence of postoperative bleeding in patients who received clopidogrel within 5 days of undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting.
原句三：
Although we have not yet seen this phenomenon with ZD1839, this is still a concerning result that will require additional study.
修改后：
Although we have not yet seen this phenomenon with ZD1839, this alarming result will require additional study.
原句四：
This concerning state of affairs led to a surge in research activities to discover and develop new antibiotics to combat the increasing threat of bacterial resistance.
修改后：
Concern about this state of affairs led to a surge in research activities to discover and develop new antibiotics to combat the increasing threat of bacterial resistance.
自然的英语写作、对用词细节的把握，是将读者的注意力聚焦于文章内容的关键。所以，建议只把concerning作介词用就好，即concerning等同于in reference to或about的用法，例如：
Controversy concerning the mechanism of cell-penetrating peptides has recently arisen.
