How To Write A Scientific Paper Worth Reading
Posted: Wednesday, January 05, 2011
by Michael LaRocca
MichaelEdits.com
Is your eye drawn to the word "scientific?" It shouldn't be. Turn your attention to the word "write."
What is writing? I have some thoughts in my head. When you read what I've written down, you should understand those thoughts.
Yes, it is that simple.
Any textbook of English grammar will teach you the rules of writing clear correct English.
2. Prefer the simple word to the pompous one.
3. Prefer the single word to the circumlocution.
4. Prefer the short word to the long.
5. Use the active rather than the passive voice.
(Circumlocution is a great word. It means to talk around and around your meaning without ever actually arriving.)
These rules apply regardless of whether you're writing about medicine, engineering, law, education, travel, dating, or even a good old-fashioned novel. Meanwhile, you've probably read a lot of published articles, journals, and entire textbooks that manage to violate all five of those rules.
In 1953, Watson and Crick wrote a letter to Nature magazine. It described the structure of DNA. Perhaps you've heard of DNA's double helix. They won a Nobel prize for that discovery. Their letter described their discovery in under 900 words.
Clear thought can be expressed clearly. Meaning must be readily understood. Communication is the object of writing.
Remember that, and your paper will be much easier to write, and to read.
Michael LaRocca has spent the past ten years (and counting) in Asia, helping hundreds of scientific writers get published in international peer-reviewed journals. He recently published all he's learned from the experience in a free white paper, HOW TO WRITE A SCIENTIFIC PAPER WORTH READING. http://www.michaeledits.com/scientific-paper.html
This Article has been viewed 172 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
No comments yet.We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.