Scientific study, research, and writing increase the depth of knowledge in the subject.
It sharpens clinical skills and enables students and postgraduates to learn effectively. Scientific writing is an intellectually challenging process that is well worth the time and effort. It is also essential to be a better scientific writer in academia.
The author acquires expertise and eventually becomes regarded by academic peers in the same field of endeavor as an authority through scientific writing and publication.
Following the rules in this blog post will improve your scientific writing skills and help you become a better scientific writer.
You gain credibility by using specific numbers and explaining things in specific terms.
There’s a clear distinction between “writing” and “scientific writing” to the point where they are almost two different linguistic structures even if you use the same language.
The primary goal of scientific writing is to transfer knowledge as it is and not to improvise. The quality of your paper depends on how much your results align with your hypotheses and nothing else.
Being transparent is one of the essential components of a better academic paper.
It might not be the shrewdest idea to dramatize your results in any way than it actually is.
First, such an action will lead to dangerous circumstances because a scientific article is a novel piece of knowledge you have introduced to the world.
Second, these texts will probably be read by academics and experts in their respective fields, and sooner or later, people will realize that the information you provided is misleading.
Be specific and always back your claims with numbers.
Engage your readers with storytelling in your writing. A good storyteller is almost always a better scientific writer.
Storytelling is the most engaging form of communication. Storytellers use a variety of techniques to maintain a compelling pace, connect with their readers, and help readers visualize their ideas.
Becoming a storyteller is one of the most important and effective ways of becoming a better scientific writer.
All types of writing can benefit from these techniques. You can make your writing more interesting, compelling, and readable when you use them.
Humanize your writing
Almost all stories center around human concerns in some way. Therefore, include them in your writing to make your readers aware of the human issues in your research paper.
Use the first person (I/we)
First-person perspectives enhance clarity and provide a human connection. They make the reader aware of the actions of others.
As an example:
We now turn to the most commonly encountered case of a single thin-film composition of a three-phase system, for example, air− film−substrate in external reflection or substrate−film− aqueous in internal reflection.
Probing Either Side of Thin Films Using Vibrational Sum Frequency Spectroscopy in Multiple Beam Polarizations
Academic writing should not contain contractions.
Contractions are a way to mash together two words to keep them shorter. They often make your writing seem more conversational.
But, In scientific writing, it makes you sound informal and takes away the professionalism required in an academic paper.
Contractions lessen the impact of your words in any professional writing that is intended for a peer audience, and they may lead to your ideas/research not being taken seriously.
If you’re writing an essay or a research paper, keep in mind that writing in a casual tone might not be the best idea. As an example, instead of writing “we’re”, write “we are”
- I’m = I am
- They’re = They are
- I’d = I had
- She’s = She is
- How’s = How is
For example,
We’ve seen that children who eat breakfast perform better” is fine for your blog, but in a formal paper, you’d write, “We have seen that children….
Complicatedness is a crutch. Keep it simple. Write with precision, not arrogance.
The use of complicated words does not make your text more sophisticated, especially in academic writing.
Considering that the primary purpose of a scientific text is to convey “facts” as coherently as possible, the vocabulary should be kept as simple as possible.
However, is it really worth caring about something so trivial?
The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter – it’s the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.
Mark Twain
Occam’s razor principle always works in academic writing where the simplest solution is the most suitable.
Furthermore, it undermines the purpose of doing research since the purpose of doing research and publishing your work is to “teach” someone something. You are teaching nothing more than linguistic terms if you use a complex language.
Think from the reader’s perspective. Ask the question,
Is the words and the language structure I chose simple and coherent enough to transfer the knowledge I gained doing research?
Keep writing even if no one reads it. You will be able to edit it much easier before the deadline by pushing content forward.
It is easier to get started if we focus on small steps. Small steps aren’t as intimidating.
As soon as we start moving, inertia takes control, making it easier to continue.
Success breeds success. Small steps accumulate into impressive gains, just like compound interest.
Writing each day, every day is one of the most important steps of becoming a better scientific writer.
Leonard A. Schlesinger, the author of Just Start, recommends taking these small steps to minimize risk (while increasing your chances of success).
The less we resist the destructive habit of multi-tasking, the more success we’ll have with each small step.
Make an effort to write every day. It makes no difference how much you write. Many factors will influence how much you write in a day, and it may be OK to write less on one day than another. The most important thing is to maintain a level of consistency.
The secret of getting ahead is getting started.
Mark Twain
It is imperative to start a paper with a compelling first sentence. You need a hook, an opener, and a theme to make your work stand out.
Any paper’s introductory paragraph, whether lengthy or short, should begin with a sentence that piques your readers’ curiosity.
That initial line in a well-constructed opening paragraph leads into three or four sentences that provide details about the subject you address in the body of your essay. The first sentence is referred to as the topic sentence.
The entire paper is centered on one sentence, usually the last sentence of your introduction paragraph, and should be revised throughout the research and drafting phases.
These sentences should also set the stage for your paper.
Therefore, it is crucial to devote some effort to crafting these essential sentences that reflect the theme of your research.
When editing, read your work out loud. It will make you catch incoherent phrases and parts twice as fast.
We need the order of ideas in a paper to make sense as listeners.
We can’t go from page to page trying to figure out what’s going on or find the information we need. When you hear your paper read aloud, you might notice that you need to reorganize the information or that there are gaps in your explanation.
When you listen to your paper, you may notice places where you jumped from one topic to another too quickly.
You may also notice mistakes in your sentences. Sometimes we leave out a word, make a typo while copying and pasting text, or make a grammatical error. These errors may be difficult to spot on the page, but sentences containing them are almost certain to sound incorrect.
Reading aloud is one of the most powerful proofreading techniques for native speakers of English (and some non-native speakers, too).
Images courtesy: Student vector created by upklyak – www.freepik.com , Memories vector created by storyset – www.freepik.com , Photo by Avel Chuklanov on Unsplash
