Chapter 3

Chapter 3
WRITING SCIENTIFIC TEXT

 Paper writing is an effective way to do the
intellectual part of your research. As you
write, you will organize your data, you will
formulate explanations, and you will
uncover connections between your results
and the results of other scientists.
 Writing is a way to build the logical
structure of the scientific context for
your experiments.
1. BEGIN TO WRITE WHILE YOUR

EXPERIMENT
When you begin writing, you will not have a
clear vision of your paper, but this
should not scare you. Without knowing the
final shape of the text, you can dive
fearlessly into the writing, because, by
using a global-to-local strategy, the
logical structure of your paper will emerge
on its own.
START BROADLY, WORK ON THE

DETAILS LATER
 Use the Skeletal Outlines
 Pile in Ideas
 Collect Information from Outside Resources
 Form Rough Sentences
 Arrange the Sentences into Themes
 Make Your Themed Lists into Rough Paragraphs
 Take a Break and Clear Your Mind
 Put Together One Paragraph for Each Topic
 Shape a Working Draft
 Smooth Transitions
 Polishing
 When to Stop Writing
A MAGNIFIED VIEW OF THE

WRITING PROCESS
 Begin writing your paper one section at a time.
 Each section of a scientific paper has a
stereotyped internal structure, a skeletal outline.
 The skeleton of the Introduction section of a

scientific paper is:
 A. Background
 1. Currently Accepted General Statements
 2. Available Supporting Data
 B. Gap
 C. Your Plan
Use the Skeletal Outlines

 Now, take your outline and fill the empty
spaces under each heading. List all
 the related ideas that come to mind.
Don’t worry about completeness or logic,
and don’t bother to write sentences.
 Write all the ideas and facts that
come into your mind, and don’t stop
until each heading is followed by at least
three words or phrases.
Pile in Ideas
 Next, go to your references—your books,
articles, and notes.
Collect Information from Outside

Resources
 Now complete the ideas. Take the
words or phrases in your lists and replace
them with full sentences, adding any
information that is necessary to make a
precise and informative statement.
Form Rough Sentences

 You now have a list of complete
statements. Your next task is to organize
the statements into paragraphs.
 In your finished paper, each paragraph
will make a single point. The first step
toward building focused paragraphs is to
collect statements that concern a common
subject or theme.
Arrange the Sentences into

Themes
 Now, take each themed group, and turn it
into a rough paragraph. The typical
scientific paragraph starts with a
summary sentence, and the succeeding
sentences expand the summary, step-by-
step, so begin building paragraphs by
writing the summary sentences.
Make Your Themed Lists into

Rough Paragraphs
 It is time to take a break from writing.
Take a Break and Clear Your Mind

 After a rest, pick up your draft again.
Put Together One Paragraph for

Each Topic
 List Simple Sentences
 Remove Nonessentials
 Arrange Your Ideas in a Natural
Sequence
 Reassemble Paragraphs
Shape a Working Draft

 make the draft clean, readable, and
logically consistent.
 Smooth the transitions between
sentences, fill in missing links between
ideas, and remove repetitive words and
phrases.
Smooth Transitions
 For each paragraph, ask:
 • Does it describe a single idea?
 • Is it self-contained?
 • Does it start with a summary
statement?
 • Do the following sentences explain,
expand, and develop the initial summary
 statement?
 • Are there extraneous comments?
Polishing
 Cut, Trim, and Simplify
 Add Active Verbs
 Use Precise Adjectives
 After a while, your text will become
harder and harder to polish, and,
eventually, you will hit the end of your
ability to recognize more problems. It is
time to stop and to let your text graduate.
When to Stop Writing

 To make the final draft clearer, try to follow these
suggestions when first writing your manuscript in
your native language.
 1. Words
 • Use simple verbs: write ‘use’ not ‘employ.’
 • Turn adjectives into numbers: write ‘2’ not ‘several.’
 2. Phrases
 Don’t use similes or metaphors, because they do not
always translate properly.
 For example, write, “the mixture could not be poured”
or “beads of the mixture stuck to the sides of the
tube” not “the mixture was as thick as glue.”
ADVICE TO SPEAKERS OF OTHER

LANGUAGES
 3. Sentences
 Make each sentence short.
 Put only one idea into each sentence.
 Ignore the sound and the rhythm of the sentence in your
native language, and don’t try for smooth, flowing speech.
Simple writing is easier to translate accurately than writing
that sounds good to your ear.
 4. Paragraphs
 Make paragraphs short.
 In each paragraph, arrange the sentences in direct logical
order.
 5. An English-Speaking Editor
 After your paper has been translated, it is important to
have it edited by a scientist who speaks English
comfortably.

Chapter 3

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Chapter 3

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Chapter 3

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Chapter 3

WRITING SCIENTIFIC TEXT

1. BEGIN TO WRITE WHILE YOUR

START BROADLY, WORK ON THE

A MAGNIFIED VIEW OF THE

 The skeleton of the Introduction section of a

Use the Skeletal Outlines

Collect Information from Outside

Form Rough Sentences

Arrange the Sentences into

Make Your Themed Lists into

Take a Break and Clear Your Mind

Put Together One Paragraph for

Shape a Working Draft

When to Stop Writing

ADVICE TO SPEAKERS OF OTHER

You might also like