Scientific Writing

Aim of workshop

This workshop aims to provide Basic knowledge about the scientific writing process.

Objectives

Day 1-

Introduction

The writing processes

Importance of scientific writing

The four main types of academic writing; descriptive, analytical, persuasive and critical.

Characteristics of academic writing

Top 20 errors in scientific writing

Can artificial intelligence help for scientific writing?

Day 2-

Criteria of good writing, (what makes a good writing)

How to become a good writer

Key principles of effective writing; cut the clutter – writing in active voice – short sentences - Parallel
structures - Grammar skills

Features of Good Scientific Writing; CLARITY, COHESION, and CONCISENESS.

Understand your audience (and write to them)

Evaluating Quality of Writing

Day 3-

The stages, and standard format of scientific writing

The typical structure of a scientific paper and its most common sections.

The models that have been used to study and analyze the scientific writing style.

Identifying the components of each section;

Language patterns that serve best for each section component.

summarized the prevailing models that have been used to establish this analysis and characterization.

Problems with Opaque Writing

Introduction

Precise and engaging writing is one of the secrets to success in any career, including the sciences. This is
true in academia, industry, government, self-employment, or non-profit work. Written content that is
compelling and clear will also help you at all stages of your career.

Scientific writing is a critical tool for careers in all the areas of science. Graduate students and
researchers must write to communicate their findings and to develop their profiles as renowned
scientists. Science is highly competitive filed, and success in science is often measured by the number of
publications and citations. Researchers and students who are able to communicate well are not only
successful in gaining recognition for themselves but also for their institutes and universities. On the long
run, publications pave the path to job positions, collaborations, and better funding. Thus, it is crucial for
students and researchers to achieve proficiency in scientific writing.

(Harris, n.d.)Science writing is any written or scripted work that communicates scientific concepts.
“Science” is defined as broadly as possible – anything from Astronomy to Zoology!

Every scientist is a writer and the science writing is at the heart of the scientific process. The difference
between curious tinkering and real science is sharing your results.

Despite this, scientists are terrible at teaching writing! They seem to think that just because someone
can read, they will know how to write. By that logic, people who know how to eat must know how to
cook.

Luckily, since most scientists don’t know how to write, it is an opportunity to get ahead. Writing is a skill
– learn the basics, practice regularly, and you will be way ahead of the competition.

What is the difference between science writing and scientific writing? While the terms are similar, some
people use the terms differently.

Scientific writing means writing done by research scientists published in academic journals.

Science writing means science-related content intended for the masses.

As the terms are too easily confused, it is clearer using the terms “academic science writing” and
“general public science writing,”. “Science writing” refers to all both types.

Science writing, or general public science writing isn’t only for scientists! When answering “what is
science writing?” I said it covers any writing that describes a scientific concept. This means content
aimed at the general public also counts.

General public science writing is part of science communication. Science communication is the effort to
share science to non-scientists. This allows scientific research to get outside of academia and impact
society. Here are some examples of topics covered by scientific communication:

• Causes of climate change

• Ways to reduce COVID risk

• Nutrition and diet advice

• How products like cleaners, batteries, or adhesives work

• Exploring the origins of the world and the universe

Writing about science for the public offers much more freedom than academic writing. Do you want a
formal or informal tone? Do you want to stick to the science or mix in some history or opinion? Short-
form or long-form? It depends on the purpose, audience, and you!

Scientific academic writing is not just writing about science; it is the technical writing that scientists do to
communicate their research to others. Scientific writing is predicated on the rigors of scientific inquiry, so
it must reflect the same precision as that demanded in the research process.

Here are some examples of topics covered by scientific writing;

Education: teaching scientific concepts. Information: help people stay updated. Persuasion: convince
people to change the way they think or behave writing supports the construction of new scientific
understanding because it gives students the opportunity to articulate their thinking as they engage in the
science practices during an investigation

(Zinsser, 2001)Imagine science writing as an upside-down pyramid. Start at the bottom with the one fact
a reader must know before he can learn any more. The second sentence broadens what was stated first,
making the pyramid wider, and the third sentence broadens the second, so that you can gradually move
beyond fact into significance and speculation—how a new discovery alters what was known, what new
avenues of research it might open, where the research might be applied. There's no limit to how wide
the pyramid can become, but your readers will understand the broad implications only if they start with
one narrow fact.

Examples of scientific academic writing

Research results are presented through scientific writing, which is highly technical and objective.
Examples include primary research articles, Review articles, grants, literature reviews, abstracts,
presentations, posters, letters, thesis or dissertation.

Characteristics of academic writing

These are the few characteristics that can help you distinguish academic writing from conventional
writing. This writing is strictly used for official and academic works and not for personal or informal
content.

• Formal tone

• Unbiased in nature

• Precise, straightforward, and clear

• Well-structured and constructed

• Factual, evidenced, with properly cited sources.

The four main types of academic writing are descriptive, analytical, persuasive and critical.
1. Descriptive writing

Descriptive writing is one of the simplest and most used academic writing types. The main purpose of
descriptive writing is to state facts and inform the audience. So, when you hear these terms in any
academic piece — report, summarize, identify, record, define — know that it is descriptive academic
writing, which is mostly used for school-level writing and completely theory-based projects.

2. Analytical writing

(How to Write an Effective Introduction for Academic Essays, 2021)Analytical writing is the next type of
academic writing commonly used in the academic field. When you are working on an academic study,
you usually do not only use descriptive writing. You must mix and match different types of writing to
convey your message to your target group. Therefore, aside from simply informing, you need to also
organize your information in a way that allows your readers to understand the content better. Instead of
simply stating your facts and data, you also explain what they are and how they are related to each
other. Phrases such as ‘’examine,’’ ‘’compare,’’ ‘’relate,’’ ‘’contrast,’’ and ‘’analyze’’ are the most common
words used in analytical writing.

How to get better at analytical writing:

• Plan out your data and information before writing.

• Try understanding the relationship between your factors before grouping them.

• Dedicate one paragraph or section to one analytical category.

• Always use a crisp and clear introduction.

3. Persuasive writing

In simple words, persuasive writing involves all the things that an analytical type of writing consists of,
with the addition of your opinion — hence, persuasive. Here, along with all facts and information, you
derive your opinion out of them. It may be as an interpretation, argument, recommendation, or
evaluation of the facts. Whichever it may be, make sure to support your arguments with evidence.
Words such as ‘’evaluate,’’ ‘’argue,’’ and ‘’discuss,’’ signify a persuasive form of academic writing.

4. Critical writing

Critical writing is used for advanced pieces and works. This type of critical writing is considered another
level in persuasive writing, apart from your opinion, you need to state another viewpoint. Usually used
for research, dissertations, reviews, and critical analysis, here you need to talk of your opinion while
discussing another viewpoint. For example, for research works, researchers usually discuss existing
researchers’ opinions before emphasizing their opinions. Here, phrases such as ‘’evaluate,’’ ‘’debate,’’
‘’critique,’’ and ‘’disagree’’ denote critical writing.

(what makes a good writing)

Good writing communicates an idea clearly and effectively, having something to say and clear thinking.
Logical thinking is very important to get your argues across a clear logical way.
Good writing is elegant and beautiful

TALENT ARTISTIC NATURE YEARS OF ENGLISH LEARNING CLASSES ?

Good writing could be learned:

1-Having something to say.

2-Logical thinking.

3-A few simple learning rules of style; that you will learn.

4-Reading, and paying attention to professional writing.

5-Write in a journal to practice the techniques.

6-Take about the research before trying to write about.

7-Write to engage your readers not to bore them.

8-Stop writing for inspiration.

9-Accept that is writing is hard for everyone.

10-Revise your work.

11-Never get attached to your words.

12-Find a good editor.

13-Take the risk in writing.

14-Get into the habit of writing several drafts of any report or essay.

15-Write simply, succinctly, and without grammatical errors.

16-Correct spelling is also a great help!

17- The only way to learn to write is to force yourself to produce a certain number of words on a regular
basis.

How to become a good writer?

In addition to taking this class, other things you can do to become a good writer:

Writing Skills

Researchers should accept that writing is an essential part of their work, and they are expected to write
various kinds of scientific reports. Assignments, project reports, project proposals, theses, abstracts,
research reports, research papers, and reviews, all come under the purview of ‘scientific writing’ or
‘technical writing’.
In all forms of scientific writing, the clarity and accuracy of the language, the words used in it, and the
form of sentences are essential factors in achieving the goals of researchers.

Use Plain English

Scientific writing demands a simple and straightforward style of writing.

Unlike everyday writing, in scientific writing, you should follow some additional rules and conventions
with respect to words, numbers, units, abbreviations, and grammar. Make sure that there is no
ambiguity in meaning due to improper use of words. use short words instead of long words and short
phrases instead of long phrases. avoid grammatical and stylistic mistakes.

Simplify your word choice when possible

If you have the choice between technical, complicated wording and a more common phrase, always
simplify. As long as your language stays accurate, a short and direct phrase can increase the accessibility
of your document. If you need to use technical terminology, define it early in the document so readers
can understand later uses with clarity.

Word Choice

Verbs are important for science, and a lot of professionals often mix them up. For example, what is the
difference between “examine” and “analyze”? In the first, the author is describing an activity to gain
knowledge, in the second, the author is describing the analysis of that knowledge. One examines a scene
to find facts – then analyzes those facts to draw conclusions. This is particularly important when stating
the thesis or hypothesis of a paper. Is the purpose of the paper to “examine” the relationship between
two variables or to “analyze” it? Those are two fundamentally different activities. Word choice is not the
difference between an acceptable and an unacceptable paper – but it can be the difference between a
good and a great paper. Below, we outline something known as the Bloom’s Taxonomy, which categorizes
actions and abstractions particularly relevant to discussing science.

Bloom’s Taxonomy has several levels: Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, and
Evaluation.

Knowledge: This is pure recitation of fact. Words that indicate knowledge include: define, describe,
identify, know, label, list, match, outline, recall, recognize, state, tell, locate, find. In a scientific
manuscript, these words might be used appropriately in the following ways: This study found that
strawberries are red. Researchers have identified green strawberries in Portugal. Smith et al. (1999)
labeled these strawberries G-Berries. These are usually inappropriate words to use when analyzing
anything. For example, an author should not write: “The purpose of this experiment is to look at these
green strawberries.” That’s 4th-grade book-report material. The purpose of a scientific experiment must
be to analyze, draw conclusions, or evaluate. These words should be used most often in the Methods &
Materials section and Results section.

Comprehension: These are words to describe meaning, interpolation, or state a problem. For example:
Comprehend, explain, interpret, outline, discuss, distinguish, predict, restate, translate, compare,
describe. These words are used to interpret facts, infer causes, and give examples. They should be used
in the Introduction and Discussion sections, but probably not in the Methods & Materials and Results
sections.
 Application: These are used to apply concepts to other situations or ideas. For example: solve, show,
use, illustrate, construct, examine, classify. These words should be used when applying old information
to solve new problems. They should be used in the Introduction and Discussion sections. They should
not be used in the Methods & Materials section or the Results section.

Analysis: The separation of material into components so the material’s organization can be understood.
For example: analyze, distinguish, examine, compare, contrast, investigate, categorize, identify, explain,
separate. These words should be used when explaining patterns and meaning. They should be used in
the Discussion section.

Synthesis: The building of a structure or pattern from different parts. For example: create, invent,
compose, predict, plan, construct, design, propose, devise, formulate. These words should be used when
discussing possibilities, making predictions, and drawing conclusions. In research articles, they should
show up in the Introduction and Discussion sections. In literature reviews, they should show up any time
the author begins to argue a point or apply his/her thesis to evidence.

Evaluation: Make judgments about the value of ideas or material. For example: evaluate, judge, select,
decide, justify, debate, verify, argue, recommend, assess, rate, determine. These words should be used
when making recommendations, drawing conclusions, assessing values, or critiquing ideas. In research
articles, they should show up in the Introduction and Discussion sections. In literature reviews, they
should show up any time the author begins to argue a point or apply his/her thesis to evidence.

Increase the precision of your wording

Using accurate words and phrases can help you avoid ambiguous and imprecise writing. When
comparing two studies, for example, instead of stating that the new results are just like the results in the
past study, you could state that the new results are consistent with previously reported results.
Remember your audience when you write your documents and focus on how to provide the most
accurate explanation. Even if you must be repetitive in your word choice, it's best to avoid ambiguity.
Occasionally, the repetition can even be beneficial by emphasizing key concepts.

Emphasis must be placed on the clear delivery of the message from each part of the scientific writing,
and ensuring that distraction is avoided that may result from the use of highly complex or vague terms.

(Swan, 1990)Information is interpreted more easily and more uniformly if it is placed where most
readers expect to find it. These needs and expectations of readers affect the interpretation not only of
the tables and illustrations but also of prose itself. Readers have relatively fixed expectations about
where in the structure of the prose they will encounter particular items of its substance. If writers can
become consciously aware of these locations, they can better control the degrees of recognition and
emphasis a reader will give to the various pieces of information being presented. Good writers are
intuitively aware of these expectations; that is why their prose has what we call “shape.”

Provide logical conclusions

All research is subject to a limited data set, and no one expects or wants unsupported conclusions that
rest on assumptions. Make sure that you directly support all conclusions you introduce with the data you
present and discuss. As most documents are subject to peer review, make sure it’s clear how your data
led to your conclusions.

Understand your audience

An important factor to consider while writing scientific documents is the audience who reads them.
Often, your peers review the document, but it's important to think about where the document goes
from there. You might send it to educators, government officials or other secondary audiences for review
and consideration. The main audience for scientific papers is extremely specialized. Your audience and
writing purpose will determine your writing style. A scientific document is almost always for a specific
audience. Good scientific writing includes information that applies to the audience and is easy to
understand. For example, if a pharmaceutical scientist is creating a scientific document for a drug in the
approval stage, the primary audience is the drug evaluation board. However, colleagues may also read
the document for peer review and consumers may view it for personal interest. This requires a good
balance of scientific terms and common language to ensure readability. Remember who your audience is
while writing your documents to ensure readability.

The purpose of science writing is not explaining what you did or what you learned, but rather what you
want your audience to understand. Start by asking: Who is my audience? What are their goals in reading
my writing? What message do I want them to take away from my writing?

Formal language

Keeping language formal in scientific writing helps maintain professionalism on behalf of the writer.
Using common language can help appeal to a larger audience, but be mindful of the words and phrases
you use in your writing. You can use synonyms for simple words and avoid things such as slang or idioms.
Formal language also includes proper punctuation and grammar, so check your work before you submit
it.

Formal style should have a specific set of vocabulary. For example, instead of ‘think about’, write
‘consider. ’Here is a list of some vocabulary for scientific writing.

Informal Formal Informal Formal

Look into Investigate Lack Deficiency

But However, Put in Insert

Whole Complete Chance Opportunity

Anyway Nevertheless Use Utilize

I think In my opinion Say no Reject

Hurt Damage Show Demonstrate

See Observe Seem Determine

Need Require Throw away Discard

Bad Negative Luck Fortunate

Review your work

A thorough review of your own work is a great way to find mistakes and strengths in your writing. You
might be good at explaining the results of a complex experiment but need practice in spelling and
grammar. It's important to reflect on your own work to ensure the highest quality and a commitment to
continued learning. Determine if your work is ready for submission to a professional, educated audience.

Examples of what not to do

We give an example with a complicated structured sentence; we can ask ourselves; Is the sentence easy
to read and easy to be understood?

Is the sentence enjoyable and interesting for the reader?

Example of script with complicated scientific language

Example of script with good and easy script.

Is the sentence readable? Is it written in easy language?

Don’t turn verbs into nouns.

Getting rid of all extra words and nouns from the script, without affecting the meaning, make it clearer
and more attractive to the reader. (Recycling).

My professor friend told me that, in his Academic world, publish or perish is really true. He doesn’t care
if nobody reads it or understands it as long as it is published!

THERE IS A HINT OF TRUTH HERE

Using nouns slowing the reader.

Using vague words mislead readers.

Using jargons and acronyms (terms abbreviations) not familiar- stander, save readers time and avoid
using acronyms.

The passive voice inverts the everyday language of communications as it goes object, verb, and subject
thus it is very awkward way.

Keep the subject and verb close together; very long sentences, distance between the subject and the
main verb cause confusion to the reader.
What does it mean to write clearly and precisely?

First, writers should focus on the words they use and their punctuation. Subtle differences in word
choice or punctuation can have significantly different meanings. Here are a few examples:

• In some fields, “de-stabilized” does not mean “not stable”; it means less stable than before.

• The sentence “Isotopes, which were discovered in 1853, are radioactive,” reads as if all isotopes
were discovered in 1853. What the writer intended to say, however, is that “The isotopes that were
discovered in 1853 are radioactive.”

• Instead of writing, “Our models worked well when compared with the calculated values, which is
evidenced by the percent errors,” write, “As the percent errors indicate, our models worked well when
compared with the calculated values.” In the revised version of this sentence, the meaning suddenly
emerges.

Also, the organization of your writing is critical. The organization of a paper is logical, with rules for what
goes into each section. Read papers from your particular discipline to understand the relevant rules.
Briefly, your order of presentation should make the most sense to your reader. This is what is commonly
referred to as “readability.” If your reader has to work too hard to understand your meaning or your
organization, you have a problem in your writing. In a Methods section, the description should be
complete enough to enable someone else to repeat your work. Also, explain why each procedure was
done, i.e., what variable were you measuring and why?

Remember, you’re not writing to impress. You’re writing to communicate.

GC: What strategies can you use to write clearly and concisely?

This is the point where scientific writing most noticeably resembles other types of writing. Logic and
organization isn’t automatic. It doesn’t come naturally from your head to the paper. You need to step
back and impose logic on your writing; you then need to crystallize it by always asking yourself this
question: “Will this make sense to the reader?” It doesn’t matter if it makes sense to you. It must make
sense to the reader. When you explain something to someone face-to-face, you have instant feedback;
you can quickly tell if the person you’re talking to understands what it is you’re saying––they provide
verbal or non-verbal feedback. You don’t have that luxury with writing. You have one chance.

And, of course, the first step in being logical is in the creation of an outline before you begin writing.
Keep in mind, it’s easy to create an outline; the difficult part is stepping back from it to make certain it’s
in a naturally logical order, with coordinate and subordinate ideas. This is the step that takes the greatest
investment of time. And, if you don’t know this already, you should remember it: Every paragraph should
have one topic sentence, not two or three. All sentences in a paragraph should support or elaborate
upon what your topic sentence says you plan to discuss. You should be able to provide a rationale for
why each sentence is placed where it is in each paragraph. All of your paragraphs should be logically
organized around your section headings or sub-headings. You should have a rationale for where each
paragraph is placed. You must maintain a natural logic that is accessible to the reader.

In general, good writers:

• Use effective transitions between sections, paragraphs, sentences, and within sentences.

• Use strong verbs and concrete nouns. Don’t start sentences with weak phrases like, “There are . .
. “or “In order to determine,” instead of “To determine.”

• Always strive to make the implicit explicit. Just because you know what you meant to say does
not mean your audience does.

One other suggestion: After you’ve written a section, step away from it for a day and return with a fresh
eye. This will help you view your writing from the reader’s perspective.

GC: Why is it important to write well?

If you can’t clearly, concisely, and logically communicate how you collected and analyzed your data, it
doesn’t matter how groundbreaking your research is. Readers won’t understand it and will justifiably
question your results. However, if you can clearly explain your work, it will be understood by more
people.

GC: What resources are available to help with graduate students' writing?

There are many great books on writing for academics. One book I like to recommend is Academic Writing
for Graduate Students.

Another great resource is the university’s Writing Center. They are available to work with all students at
the university, including graduate students, so don’t hesitate to seek them out if you would like help with
your writing.

You can also form a writing group with other graduate students. Having someone else read and respond
to your writing will help you catch places where the meaning is unclear. Also, revising and reviewing
other people’s work can sometimes make you even better at identifying mistakes in your own work.

Top 20 Errors in scientific Writing

(Lunsford, 2008) Readers judge your writing by your control of certain conventions, which may change
depending on your audience, purpose, and writing situation. For example, your instructor may or may
not mark errors in your paper if he’s more concerned with its argument or structure than he is with
sentence-level correctness; he could also decide an error is not serious. Some instructors may even see
the errors listed below as stylistic options.

THE TOP TWENTY

1. Wrong Word

Wrong word errors take a number of forms. They may convey a slightly different meaning than you
intend (compose instead of comprise) or a completely wrong meaning (prevaricate instead of
procrastinate). They may also be as simple as a wrong preposition or other type of wrong word in an
idiom.
Use your thesaurus and spell checker with care. If you select a word from a thesaurus without knowing
its precise meaning or allow a spell checker to correct spelling automatically, you may make wrong-word
errors. If prepositions and idioms are tricky for you, look up the standard usage.

Here are a couple of wrong word examples:

Did you catch my illusion to the Bible?

Illusion means “an erroneous perception of reality.” In the context of this sentence, allusion was needed
because it means "reference.”

Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queene is a magnificent sixteenth-century allergy.

A spell checker replaced allegory with allergy.

2. Missing Comma after an Introductory Element

Use a comma after every introductory element—whether word, phrase or clause—to clarify where it
ends and the rest of the sentence begins. When the introductory element is very short, you can skip the
comma, but including it is never wrong.

Without a comma after the introductory element, it’s hard to see the location of the subject (“they”) in
this sentence:

Determined to make their flight on time they rose at dawn.

3. Incomplete or Missing Documentation

Documentation practices vary from discipline to discipline. But in academic and research writing, it’s a
good idea to always cite your sources: omitting documentation can result in charges of plagiarism.

The examples below follow MLA style. In this example, the page number of the print source for this
quotation must be included.

The Social Media Bible defines social media as the “activities, practices, and behaviors among
communities of people who gather online to share information, knowledge, and opinions using
conversational media.”

And here, the source mentioned should be identified because it makes a specific, arguable claim:

According to one source, it costs almost twice an employee’s salary to recruit and train a replacement.

Cite each source you refer to in the text, following the guidelines of the documentation style you are
using.

4. Vague Pronoun Reference

A pronoun (e.g., he, this, it) should refer clearly to the noun it replaces (called the antecedent). If more
than one word could be the antecedent, or if no specific antecedent is present, edit to make the
meaning clear.

In this sentence, it possibly refers to more than one word:

If you put this handout in your binder, it may remind you of important tutoring strategies.

In some pronoun usage, the reference is implied but not stated. Here, for example, you might wonder
what which refers to:

The authoritarian school changed its cell phone policy, which many students resisted.

To improve this sentence, the writer needs to make explicit what students resisted.

5. Spelling

Even though technology now reviews much of our spelling for us, one of the top 20 most common errors
is a spelling error. That’s because spell checkers cannot identify many misspellings, and are most likely to
miss homonyms (e.g., presence/presents), compound words incorrectly spelled as separate words, and
proper nouns, particularly names. After you run the spell checker, proofread carefully for errors such as
these:

Vladmir Putin is the controversial leader of Russia.

Every where she walked, she was reminded of him.

6. Mechanical Error with a Quotation

When we quote other writers, we bring their voices into our arguments. Quotation marks crucially show
where their words end and our own begin.

Quotation marks come in pairs; don’t forget to open and close your quotations. In most documentation
styles (e.g., MLA Style), block quotations do not need quotations marks. Consult your professor’s
preferred style manual to learn how to present block quotations.

Follow conventions when using quotation marks with other punctuation. Here, the comma should be
placed inside the quotation marks:

"A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction", Virginia Woolf argues.

7. Unnecessary Comma

We often have a choice about whether or not to use a comma. But if we add them to our sentences
when and where they are not needed, then we may obscure rather than clarify our meaning.

Do not use commas to set off restrictive elements that are necessary to the meaning of the words they
modify. Here, for example, no comma is needed to set off the restrictive phrase of working parents,
which is necessary to indicate which parents the sentence is talking about.

Many children, of working parents, walk home from school by themselves.

Do not use a comma before a coordinating conjunction (and, but, for, nor, or, so, yet) when the
conjunction does not join parts of a compound sentence. In this example, no comma is needed before
the word and because it joins two phrases that modify the same verb, applies.

This social scourge can be seen in urban centers, and in rural outposts.

Do not use a comma before the first or after the last item in a series.
The students asked their TAs to review, the assignment rubric, a sample paper and their comments,
before the end of the quarter.

Do not use a comma between a subject and verb.

Happily, the waiters, sat down during a break.

Do not use a comma between a verb and its object or complement.

On her way home from work, she bought, a book at the bookstore.

Do not use a comma between a preposition and its object.

On her way home from work, she bought a book at, the bookstore.

8. Unnecessary or Missing Capitalization

Capitalize proper nouns and proper adjectives, the first words of sentences, and important words in
titles, along with certain words indicating directions and family relationships. Do not capitalize most
other words. When in doubt, check a dictionary.

Financial Aid is a pressing concern for many University Students.

9. Missing Word

If you read your work out loud before submitting it, you are more likely to notice omitted words. Be
particularly careful not to omit words from quotations.

Soccer fans the globe rejoiced when the striker scored the second goal.

10. Faulty Sentence Structure

If a sentence starts out with one kind of structure and then changes to another kind, it will confuse
readers.

The information that families have access to is what financial aid is available and thinking about the
classes available, and how to register.

Maintain the grammatical pattern within a sentence. Each sentence must have a subject and a verb, and
the subjects and predicates must make sense together. In the example above, thinking about the classes
available does not help the reader understand the information families have access to. Parallel
structures can help your reader see the relationships among your ideas. Here’s the sentence revised:

Families have access to information about financial aid, class availability, and registration.

11. Missing Comma with a Nonrestrictive Element

A nonrestrictive phrase or clause provides additional information that is not essential to the basic
meaning of the sentence. Use commas to set off a nonrestrictive element.

David who loved to read history was the first to head to the British Library.

The clause who loved to read historydoes not affect the basic meaning of the sentence. The clause could
be taken out and the reader would still understand that David was the first to head to the British Library.
12. Unnecessary Shift in Verb Tense

Verbs that shift from one tense to another with no clear reason can confuse readers.

Martin searched for a great horned owl. He takes photographs of all the birds he sights.

13. Missing Comma in a Compound Sentence

A compound sentence consists of two or more independent clauses. When the clauses are joined by a
coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so), use a comma before the conjunction to indicate
a pause between the two thoughts.

Miranda drove her brother and her mother waited at home.

Without the comma, a reader may think at first that Miranda drove both her brother and her mother.

14. Unnecessary or Missing Apostrophe (including its/it's)

To make a noun possessive, add either an apostrophe and an s (Ed's phone) or an apostrophe alone (the
girls’ bathroom). Do not use an apostrophe in the possessive pronouns ours, yours, and hers. Use its to
mean belong to it; use it's only when you mean it is or it has.

Repeated viral infections compromise doctors immune systems.

The chef lifted the skillet off it’s hook. Its a fourteen-inch, copper skillet.

15. Fused (run-on) Sentence

A fused sentence (also called a run-on) joins clauses that could each stand alone as a sentence with no
punctuation or words to link them. Fused sentences must be either divided into separate sentences or
joined by adding words or punctuation.

The house was flooded with light, the moon rose above the horizon.

He wondered what the decision meant he thought about it all night.

16. Comma Splice

A comma splice occurs when only a comma separates clauses that could each stand alone as a sentence.
To correct a comma splice, you can insert a semicolon or period, connect the clauses with a word such as
and/or/because, or restructure the sentence.

The students rushed the field, they tore down the goalposts.

17. Lack of pronoun/antecedent agreement

Pronouns typically must agree with their antecedents in gender (male or female, if appropriate) and in
number (singular or plural). Many indefinite pronouns, such as everyone and each, are always singular.
However, theycan be used to agree with a singular antecedent in order to use inclusive or gender-neutral
language. When antecedents are joined by or or nor, the pronoun must agree with the closer
antecedent. A collection noun such as team can be either singular or plural, depending on whether the
members are seen as a group or individuals.
Every guest left their shoes at the door.

18. Poorly Integrated Quotation

Quotations should be logically and smoothly integrated with the writing around them, the grammar of
the quotation complementing the grammar of the neighboring prose. They usually need to be
introduced (with a signal phrase) rather than dropped abruptly into the writing.

An award-winning 2009 study of friendship "understanding social networks allows us to understand how
indeed, in the case of humans, the whole comes to be greater than the sum of its parts" (Christakis and
Fowler 26).

"Social networks are intricate things of beauty" (Christakis and Fowler xiii). Maintaining close friendships
is good for your health.

19. Missing or Unnecessary Hyphen

A compound adjective requires a hyphen when it modifies a noun that follows it.

This article describes eighteenth century theater.

A two-word verb should not be hyphenated.

The dealers want to buy-back the computers and refurbish them.

20. Sentence Fragment

A sentence fragment is part of a sentence that is presented as if it were a complete sentence. The
following illustrate the ways sentence fragments can be created:

Without a subject

The American colonists resisted British taxation. And started the American Revolution.

No complete verb

The pink geranium blooming in its pot.

Beginning with a subordinating word

We visited the park. Where we threw the Frisbee.

• These 20 most common errors can be avoided in your writing if you reserve time to proofread
your final draft before submission. Don’t use informal language, which creates a negative impression on
the audience.

• Don’t use improper font styles because it appears unpleasant for the reader to read. Keep font
size 12 and use Times New Roman style for writing.

• Try to avoid using fillers.

• Don’t switch the tense in between the writing as it breaks the flow of it.
Can artificial intelligence help for scientific writing?

(Salvagno, 2023)ChatGPT is a type of chatbot, developed by OpenAI, that uses the Generative Pre-
trained Transformer (GPT) language model to understand and respond to natural language inputs. AI
chatbot and ChatGPT in particular appear to be useful tools in scientific writing, assisting researchers and
scientists in organizing material, generating an initial draft and/or in proofreading. There is no
publication in the field of critical care medicine prepared using this approach; however, this will be a
possibility in the next future. ChatGPT work should not be used as a replacement for human judgment
and the output should always be reviewed by experts before being used in any critical decision-making
or application. Moreover, several ethical issues arise about using these tools, such as the risk of
plagiarism and inaccuracies, as well as a potential imbalance in its accessibility between high- and low-
income countries, if the software becomes paying. For this reason, a consensus on how to regulate the
use of chatbots in scientific writing will soon be required.
2

Overviewing principles of effective writing

1-Cut the clutter, cut the unnecessary words and phrases, learn to part with your words and get rid of
the clutter.

2-Use Active voice instead of passive voice as the passive voice can lead to awkward and confusing
sentence structures.

3- Parallel structures.

4-Write with verbs; use strong verbs, avoid turning verbs into nouns and don’t bury the main verb.

5- Utilize short sentences, and avoid complicated word structure.

6- Grammar skills;

7- Give the reader knowledge that he didn't have before.

Principles of effective writing

1-Cut the clutter, cut the unnecessary words and phrases, learn to part with your words and get rid of
the clutter.

The secret of effective writing is to strip every sentence to its cleanest components.

(Zinsser, 2001)Every word that serve no function, every long word that could be a short word, every
adverb that carries the same meaning that is already in the verb, and every passive construction that
leave the reader unsure of who is doing what.

Non-foggy writing means using simple sentences without jargon and with as few words, phrases, and
clauses as possible. Readers do not want to read sentences over and over again or go in search of further
information before they understand what you were trying to tell them. Few readers enjoy sifting through
poor writing, pondering over ambiguities, and vainly trying to work out what they think you thought
when you committed your words to paper. Eliminating foggy writing has many benefits. The most
fundamental benefit will be that you clarify your own thinking. At the beginning, you may think that you
know what you want to say, but writing it down clearly can be hard. However, by working through your
thoughts and by putting them in writing, you should quickly discover what you want to say and why. You
may also discover that you have some inconsistencies in thinking and some incoherent ideas. In trying to
write without fog, you will clarify your own ideas and be able to express what you mean more clearly to
others. You need to ensure that you do not confuse your reader by writing ambiguous sentences or by
writing sentences that do not reach a proper conclusion. These types of sentences leave the reader's
thoughts in mid-air. To eliminate fog, you need to remove any fuzzy writing and unnecessary jargon.

Examine every word you put on paper. You'll find a surprising number that don't serve any purpose. Take
the adjective "personal," as in "a personal friend of mine," "his personal feeling" or "her personal
physician." It’s typical of hundreds of words that can be eliminated.

The following shows some examples of taking the “clutter” out of a sentence.

1✖ Bias is likely to occur if the only subjects who are enrolled are those who are chosen specifically on
the basis of the presence or absence of disease so that potentially “false positive” or “false negative”
cases are excluded.

✓ Bias can occur if participants are chosen on the basis of the presence or absence of disease so that
potential “false positive” or “false negative” cases are excluded.

2 ✖ Although adults with severe obesity reported more symptoms of wheeze and shortness of breath,
this was not associated with an increase in the prevalence of atopy or AHR suggesting that the
prevalence of asthma is not increased in this group.

✓ Although severely obese adults experienced more wheeze and shortness of breath, this was not
associated with a higher prevalence of atopy or AHR, suggesting that this group does not have a higher
prevalence of asthma.

In the first example, the word count is reduced from 39 to 28 words and in the second example from 36
to 20 words (in both cases a 28% reduction). By eliminating the clutter, the meaning of the sentence
becomes much clearer.

3 ✖ Observer variation is due to the inability of researchers to administer tests in a standardized way.

✓ Observer variation is caused by differences in the ways in which researchers collect data.

In the third example, the two long word clusters can be written more directly.

4 ✖ In considering diseases that might be ameliorated by gene therapy, a setting in which a selective
advantage is conferred by a transgene expression in association with long-lived transduced cells such as
T-lymphocytes may prove critical.

✓ The selective advantage conferred by transgene expression and long-lived transduced cells may be
critical to the success of gene therapy.

In the fourth example, 16 words (46% of the original sentence) are removed to achieve a short, clear
sentence.
5 ✖ The results of this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial demonstrated that this drug is
effective for the treatment of seizures in children and adults. This is the first study to demonstrate a
statistically significant effect of this drug compared with a placebo in patients with seizures.

✓ This is the first time that this drug has been shown to be effective for the treatment of seizures.

6 ✖ Patient compliance with medication regimens is an area that is seen as being important because of
the relationship between health-related behaviours and the short- and long-term outcomes of disease.

✓ Compliance with medication regimens is an important research area because health behaviors are
related to short- and long-term disease outcomes.

In examples five and six, 57% and 32% of words are removed respectively. In all examples, the corrected
sentence is shorter and more direct.

Use Active voice instead of passive voice

The simplest and most easily understood sentences are constructed in a subject–verb–object format.
The subject is a noun or noun cluster that begins the sentence and the object is the noun or noun cluster
that ends the sentence. The two parts are then joined by a verb or verb cluster in the center. If we take
the sentence However, cases are difficult to ascertain through retrospective population studies, you will
see that this is made up of a conjunction (However), a subject (cases), a verb cluster (are difficult to
ascertain) and an object (through retrospective population studies) that is a noun cluster. Similarly, the
sentence Hospital statistics show that respiratory infections occur mostly in winter, has a subject
(hospital statistics), a verb (show) and an object (that respiratory infections occur mostly in winter). Both
the subject and object are noun clusters. It is important to understand this construction for analysing
sentences to make them work better and flow together nicely. Of course, adjectives, adjectival phrases,
and clauses can be thrown in, but, if you deviate too far from the subject–verb–object format, your
sentence will be weighed down by too many messages. Sentences become more complicated when they
are made up of two simple sentences strung together or when additional phrases and clauses are added
to make a compound sentence.

Using the passive voice makes sentences longer and often harder to understand. And, passive voice
phrases make it difficult to distinguish the original work by the authors from work accomplished by other
researchers. Let us compare the two. Here is a passive voice example: “Mutants were obtained and
used ...” Who obtained the mutants? Who carried out this experiment? In this case, due to the usage of
the passive voice, the subject of the sentence (the “actor”) is not identified and, thus, is distanced from
the action being carried out. On the other hand, in the active voice version — “We obtained and used
mutants...” — it is clear who carried out the work. You, the author, are expected to take responsibility for
your work by writing in the active voice throughout the paper. Note that while you will encounter many
papers that have been written in the passive voice, the tendency has been shifting, and publications
increasingly expect active-voice writing.
3- Parallel structures.

By using the same sequences of word clusters both within and between sentences, you create “parallel
sentence structures”. Parallel structures improve readability by creating a smooth, organized flow of
thought. By establishing repetitive patterns, you introduce good structure to your writing because you
present your ideas in a consistent way. Sentences that have an inconsistent, or non-parallel, structure
inhibit thought patterns. By giving too many ideas that are presented in different word orders from one
another, non-parallel sentences can become brain-teasers. Box 8.14 shows how to make sentences
parallel simply by changing the grammatical construction.

✖To study mechanisms and investigate risk factors will provide useful information.

✓ Studying mechanisms and investigating risk factors will provide useful information.

✓ To study mechanisms and to investigate risk factors will provide useful information.

In the example, different forms of the two verbs (to study and to investigate) are used. By standardizing
the verb form, the sentence becomes parallel.

Examples of non-parallel sentences with suggestions about how to amend them.

✖ One study found that only 15% of overweight men and 5% of overweight women considered their
weight to be acceptable and the other study found that 25% of men and 45% of women of acceptable
weight considered themselves to be overweight.

✓ In one study, 15% of men and 5% of women who were overweight considered their weight acceptable
whilst in another study, 25% of men and 45% of women with acceptable weight considered themselves
overweight.

The first example is difficult to understand because the two different methods of describing the data
from men and women are inconsistent. By simply making overweight the object of the sentence rather
than an adjective in the first clause and by standardizing the way in which results from the two studies
are described, the message becomes much easier to comprehend.

✖ Longitudinal studies are most useful if the cohort is selected as a random sample of the general
population, if follow up continues from childhood to adulthood, and if several follow up assessments of
the cohort are undertaken during the study and if the outcomes include objective measurements.

✓ Longitudinal studies are most useful if the cohort is selected as a random sample of the general
population, if follow up assessments continue from childhood to adulthood and are conducted at regular
intervals, and if the outcomes include objective measurements.

In the second example, there are four items in the list. The first two and the final item are each reported
in a consistent “subject–verb–object way.” However, the third item has the verb at the end in a subject
(follow up)–object (cohort)–verb (are undertaken) structure that is non-parallel to the other items. This
confuses readers who expect to be able to process the words in the same order in each clause. The
sentence becomes clearer when the third item becomes parallel by moving the verb to the center and
when two items with the same subject (follow up assessments) are merged. Finally, the phrase during
the study is redundant and can be omitted. The sentence is reduced by only four words but the
parallelism and therefore the flow and the readability are improved significantly.

✖ Disability was reported by 58% of the respondents as interfering with their professional capacity and
to be restricting leisure activities in 70% of the group.

✓ In this study, 58% of participants reported that their disability interfered with their professional
capacity and 70% reported that their disability restricted their leisure activities.

Similarly, in the third example, the sentence becomes clearer when the percentage is placed before the
verb in both clauses rather than at the beginning of one clause and end of the next.

✖ The prevalence of asthma was higher in non-indigenous children but the prevalence of infections was
higher in indigenous children.

✓ The prevalence of asthma was lower but the prevalence of infections was higher in indigenous
children.

If you are comparing two groups, always make one group the comparison group as shown in the fourth
example. In the corrected sentence, indigenous children are the group of interest, and non-indigenous
children, in the context of the study, are the control group. This avoids confusion in trying to understand
which illnesses were more or less prevalent in which group. Parallelism can also be achieved between
sentences by making them match one another in construction. If you are comparing data from two
groups, then always cite the groups in the same order. For example, if you are comparing the prevalence
of a disease in children and adults then always cite the data for children before the data for adults
throughout your paper.

It is preferable to avoid using abbreviations in the text except for units of measure.

Grammar skills: The rules of grammar provide guidelines for language usage. Good grammar skills can
provide you with more effective communication.

The present tense is a fundamental constituent of scientific writing. Even your methodology and results,
may use the present tense in their thesis, even though you are mentioning the previous research. Take a
look at some examples here.

The use of present tense

Tushar et al., suggest the implications of other genes, besides BRCA1 and BRCA2 in breast cancers.

Hereditary breast cancer is caused by gene mutations.

Figure 1.1 represents the prevalence of breast cancer in India.

The findings of the present research also demonstrate the importance of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes in
breast and hereditary cancer.

The past tense is often used in writing scientific literature but for some parts of the thesis. Mostly, to
show the methodology and results, the past tense is employed. Check out these examples.

DNA sequencing was employed to carry out an analysis of gene mutations at the sequence level.

Statistical analysis was performed for detecting gene and allele frequency.

After 2000, the field of DNA testing had been revolutionized.

The following shows how tenses are most often used in science writing: For known facts and hypotheses
the present tense should be used (e.g., ‘‘There average life expectancy of a honey bee is 6 weeks ...’’).
When you refer to experiments, you have conducted the past tense should be used (e.g., ‘‘All the honey
bees were maintained in an environment with a consistent temperature of 238C....’’). When you describe
the results of an experiment, the past tense should be used (e.g., ‘‘The average life span of bees in our
contained environment was 8 weeks....’’).

Five linguistic features and their frequency in each of the four sections/components of a scientific paper,
respectively.

Authors are encouraged to use American English spelling (e.g., ‘‘color’’ instead of ‘‘color,’’ ‘‘organization’’
instead of ‘‘organization’’).

Correct Punctuations

So far, we have discussed things that make our scientific writing very effective, but to make every
sentence count as a correct, logical and important one, the meaning of the sentence or writing should
remain intact. That’s achieved certainly by using correct punctuation during writing. Keep in mind,
wrong punctuation misinterprets the sentence. Here is the list of useful punctuations for scientific
writing.

Punctuation Sign Use

Comma , To separate sentences or to create a pause.

Semicolon ; To show the break between two connected sentences.

Colon : Thematically connect or join two sentences.

Full stop . Complete the sentence or show the end of the sentence.
5- Utilize short sentences, adapting Tight writing and avoid complicated word structure.

Short sentences are the essence of good scientific writing.

Sentences containing few words convey their meaning clearly with the first reading. If you tend to write
long, like a snake sentences You'll have to learn how to chop them up.

Instead of making a single point, long sentences usually try and convey too much information in one go.
Long sentences quickly exhaust thinking capacity and are difficult to read. It overloads the reader who
has to look for the main message while trying to remember and put all subtopics and side topics. If a
sentence has too many phrases and clauses, readers will not be able to maintain all the ideas until they
reach the full stop.

✖ We did not collect any precise information about infections but we found that having bronchitis
before the age of two was a strong, independent risk factor for both wheeze and diagnosed asthma in
indigenous children although it is possible that indigenous children who had bronchitis in early life were
more likely to be diagnosed with asthma than non-indigenous children who had bronchitis.

✓ We did not collect objective information about infections but we found that bronchitis before the age
of two was a strong risk factor for wheeze and diagnosed asthma in indigenous children. Although we
have no evidence, it is possible that indigenous children who have bronchitis in early life are more likely
to be diagnosed with asthma.

Tight writing is the art of achieving brevity by using short, concise sentences.

Readers love sentences and paragraphs that have a minimum number of words and that only include the
information that they really need.

Readers are busy people who want to be able to understand your paper quickly and do not want to
spend time sorting out meanings from meandering text.

Sentences can be long sometimes If needed but should be the exception rather than the rule.

You have to put your thoughts down in a sentence, then be your own best critic and determine how
many words you can leave out. Finally, when you have a series of short, concise sentences, you need to
arrange them in a logical order and join them up to create flow. In doing this, you suddenly have a neat
way to tell your story.

Example of reducing words (tight writing), to achieve brevity and clarity.

✖ Original version Development of a composite, criterion-based, observational, clinical rating system for
the quantification of back posture There are a number of existing methods for assessing back posture in
the clinical setting but all have significant limitations. Many measures have been criticized for poor
reliability, and few have been subjected to adequate validation, furthermore most extant measures are
based on quantification of a single plane or segment. While such Scientific Writing 204 measures are
widely used, they cannot describe the complexity of back function, and there is a consensus in the
literature that there is not an adequate, quantitative method for assessing back posture in routine
clinical practice. The 1997 report of the Research Council of the American Physical Therapy Society rated
development of such outcome measures as the third most important research area out of 40 separate
categories. This study represents the second of six stages in constructing such a clinically applicable tool,
the Back Posture Rating (BPR). Emphasis has been placed on clinical measures that could be conducted
easily, are time-efficient, do not require costly technology, are readily understandable to the clinician,
and yield quantitative data at a minimum of ordinal level. The combination of measures comprising the
BPR is also sensitive to posture in all of the three body planes and can provide separable information on
the high, mid, and lower segments.

✓ Revised version Clinical assessment of back posture Methods for quantifying back problems have
lacked reliability, have not been validated and, because they are based on a single plane or segment, do
not take account of the complex nature of back function. As a result, the American Physical Therapy
Society rated the development of a back-function measurement as its third most important research
goal. The aim of conducting this study was to test the reliability of a new Back Posture Rating (BPR) that
is practical to administer in a clinic setting. Because this rating measures movement in all three planes, it
is a sensitive measure of back posture and can provide separate information about the high, mid and
lower back segments.

In tight writing you only say things once. The practice of saying something twice in one sentence is
known as tautology and is described in the Oxford English Dictionary as “a fault of style”. For example,
there is no need to say that you studied the subsequent development of infection. Since development
can only be subsequent, the word subsequent is unnecessary. Also, do not describe something as being
equally as important since the word equally is redundant. Similarly, in the sentence, there is no need to
repeat the tests again, the word repeat can be replaced by conduct, or the word again can be deleted. It
is amazing how often scientists use extraneous words, and how much clearer their writing would be if
they didn't.

Examples of sentences that include unnecessary words.

✖ In adults, cross-sectional studies in large random population samples have shown a higher prevalence
of asthma among obese subjects.

✓ Evidence from cross-sectional population studies suggests that the prevalence of asthma is higher in
adults who are obese.

In the first example, cross-sectional Writing style 205 studies are large random population studies by
definition, so only one of the two phrases is needed. The sentence also benefits from being rearranged
so that the descriptor obese is not separated from its noun adults.

✖ This questionnaire is likely to produce very inaccurate estimates of dietary intake.

✓ Most dietary measurements will be inaccurate if this questionnaire is used.

 In the second example, the word very is not needed because there are no degrees of inaccuracy.
Moreover, the sentence is better written with the topic, which is the measurement of diet, as the
subject.

✖ We studied our subjects over a considerable period of time.

✓ We continued to follow our participants for 12 years.

In the third example, time can only be a period so a considerable period of is redundant. It always pays
to be precise in scientific writing so the more specific phrase for 12 years is even better.

✖ When designing a study, the primary key issue is to articulate the aims.

✓ When designing a study, the key issue is to articulate the aims.

In the fourth and fifth examples, the tautologies can simply be removed.

Problems with Opaque Writing

A common criticism of scholars is that they can utilize needlessly complex syntax or overly expansive
vocabulary that is impenetrable or not well-defined. When writing, avoid problems associated with
opaque writing by keeping in mind the following:

1. Excessive use of specialized terminology. Yes, it is appropriate for you to use specialist language and a
formal style of expression in academic writing, but it does not mean using "big words" just for the sake
of doing so. Overuse of complex or obscure words or writing complicated sentence constructions gives
readers the impression that your paper is more about style than substance; it leads the reader to
question if you really know what you are talking about. Focus on creating clear, concise, and elegant
prose that minimizes reliance on specialized terminology.

2. Inappropriate use of specialized terminology. Because you are dealing with concepts, research, and
data within your discipline, you need to use the technical language appropriate to that area of study.
However, nothing will undermine the validity of your study quicker than the inappropriate application of
a term or concept. Avoid using terms whose meaning you are unsure of--do not just guess or assume!
Consult the meaning of terms in specialized, discipline-specific dictionaries by searching the USC
Libraries catalog or the Credo Reference database [see above].

________________________________________

Additional Problems to Avoid

In addition to understanding the use of specialized language, there are other aspects of academic writing
in the social sciences that you should be aware of. These problems include:

• Personal nouns. Excessive use of personal nouns [e.g., I, me, you, us] may lead the reader to
believe the study was overly subjective. These words can be interpreted as being used only to avoid
presenting empirical evidence about the research problem. Limit the use of personal nouns to
descriptions of things you actually did [e.g., "I interviewed ten teachers about classroom management
techniques..."]. Note that personal nouns are generally found in the discussion section of a paper
because this is where you as the author/researcher interpret and describe your work.

• Directives. Avoid directives that demand the reader to "do this" or "do that." Directives should
be framed as evidence-based recommendations or goals leading to specific outcomes. Note that an
exception to this can be found in various forms of action research that involve evidence-based advocacy
for social justice or transformative change. Within this area of the social sciences, authors may offer
directives for action in a declarative tone of urgency.

• Informal, conversational tone using slang and idioms. Academic writing relies on excellent
grammar and precise word structure. Your narrative should not include regional dialects or slang terms
because they can be open to interpretation. Your writing should be direct and concise using standard
English.

• Wordiness. Focus on being concise, straightforward, and developing a narrative that does not
have confusing language. By doing so, you help eliminate the possibility of the reader misinterpreting
the design and purpose of your study.

• Vague expressions (e.g., "they," "we," "people," "the company," "that area," etc.). Being concise
in your writing also includes avoiding vague references to persons, places, or things. While proofreading
your paper, be sure to look for and edit any vague or imprecise statements that lack context or
specificity.

• Numbered lists and bulleted items. The use of bulleted items or lists should be used only if the
narrative dictates a need for clarity. For example, it is fine to state, "The four main problems with hedge
funds are:" and then list them as 1, 2, 3, 4. However, in academic writing, this must then be followed by
detailed explanation and analysis of each item. Given this, the question you should ask yourself while
proofreading is: why begin with a list in the first place rather than just starting with systematic analysis of
each item arranged in separate paragraphs? Also, be careful using numbers because they can imply a
ranked order of priority or importance. If none exists, use bullets and avoid checkmarks or other
symbols.

• Descriptive writing. Describing a research problem is an important means of contextualizing a

study. In fact, some description or background information may be needed because you cannot assume
the reader knows the key aspects of the topic. However, the content of your paper should focus on
methodology, the analysis and interpretation of findings, and their implications as they apply to the
research problem rather than background information and descriptions of tangential issues.

• Personal experience. Drawing upon personal experience [e.g., traveling abroad; caring for
someone with Alzheimer's disease] can be an effective way of introducing the research problem or
engaging your readers in understanding its significance. Use personal experience only as an example,
though, because academic writing relies on evidence-based research. To do otherwise is simply story-
telling.

Features of Good Scientific Writing; CLARITY, COHESION, Organization and CONCISENESS.

Clarity
Writing is clear when it is devoid of ambiguity, is simple, and is logical. As the DOE SULI Guidelines point
out, “nearly every person who has read scholarly scientific reports emphasize that clear, uncomplicated
exposition of the research and its findings is the single most important factor which separates good
reports from bad” (pg. 5).

Bad Example:

“If possible, it is suggested to plant buffers using a three-zone approach.”

Problem: The sentence is awkward and ambiguous because the reader does not know to whom “it” is
referring.

Good Example:

“If possible, a three-zone approach should be used to plant buffers (Correll, 2005).” OR “Correll (2005)
recommends using a three-zone approach to plant buffers, if possible.”

Why these work: The last two examples finally tell us who the “it” is, making the sentence more clear.
When making claims in scientific writing that do not constitute general knowledge, always cite sources
for the purpose of accuracy and clarity.

Cohesion

Writing is cohesive when ideas presented are connected to one another and appear in an orderly
pattern. Cohesion is reinforced in writing through structure. When different ideas are separated by
proper punctuation, spacing, and headings, their meanings are more accessible to readers. Cohesion is
also reinforced through the use of transitional phrases like “then,” “after,” “however,” and “thus,” which
illustrate a pattern of relation between two or more ideas.

Bad Example:

“International policies like the Kyoto Protocol have emphasized the need to increase efforts to reduce
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and increase carbon storage in non-atmospheric pools. Harvested
wood products (HWPs) include all wood materials that leave a forest after a harvest. Not only are they
important for certain sectors of the economy, such as shipping and manufacturing, but they also serve as
a terrestrial carbon stock.”

Problem: This paragraph is not cohesive because the subject of the paragraph switches between
sentence 1 and sentence 2 without a clear transition. The subject of the first sentence is “international
policies.” The subject of the second sentence is “harvested wood products.” Until we read the last phrase
of the final sentence, we have no idea how the two subjects might be related.

Good Example:

“International policies like the Kyoto Protocol have emphasized the need to increase efforts to reduce
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and increase carbon storage in non-atmospheric pools. One way carbon
is stored is through harvested wood products, which include all wood materials that leave a forest after a
harvest. These products, which already play an important role in shipping and manufacturing, now have
a role to play in advancing global environmental initiatives.”
Why this works: This paragraph is more cohesive because it is clear how each sentence links to one
another. The second sentence draws from the information provided in the first sentence (specifically the
reference to carbon storage) to introduce HWPs. Similarly, the final sentence links back to the topic of
the very first sentence (the international policies).

Conciseness

Writing is concise when it is brief and to-the-point. Concise writing employs only the words that are
necessary to convey meaning with accuracy, and it is devoid of unnecessary or ambiguous words or
phrases. Writing becomes more concise when you strive to use specific language, uncomplicated
exposition, and jargon only when it is necessary and meaningful for the target audience.

Bad Example:

“As a civil engineering intern, I worked with the Facilities Management Services Division to execute daily
activities in response to workplace issues. Sign Inventory was my main area of research. I helped
investigate over 500 signs based on their reflectivity and compliance with federal guidelines.” (45 words)

Problem: The phrase “execute daily activities in response to workplace issues” is so broad in meaning
that it fails to tell us anything meaningful about the work the author performed.

Good Example:

“As a civil engineering intern, I worked with the Facilities Management Services Division to investigate
over 500 signs based on their reflectivity and compliance with federal guidelines.” (26 words)

Why this works: By replacing the very general phrase “execute daily activities in response to workplace
issues” with language that is more specific, the writing is more to-the-point, helping to advance the
narrative and make it more compelling to read.

Organization

(Day, 2012)Clear scientific writing generally follows a specific format with key sections: an introduction to
a particular topic, hypotheses to be tested, a description of methods, key results, and finally, a discussion
that ties these results to our broader knowledge of the topic.

Scientific papers follow a clear organizational structure. Here’s the standard organizational system for a
scientific paper:

• Introduction: The introductory section provides the audience with the background information
they need to know to understand the purpose and findings of your scientific inquiry. An introduction also
gives you an opportunity to explain the unique value of your study and findings.

• Materials and methods: This section explains how you conducted your study or experiment. A
section on your materials and methods offers enough details that someone else could potentially
recreate your experiment.
• Results: The results section provides an objective explanation of what you discovered during
your study or experiment. In this section, scientific authors summarize all the relevant qualitative and
quantitative from their various charts, graphs or other data findings.

• Discussion: The discussion section gives you a chance to interpret the potential implications of
your study or experiment. If someone might draw multiple theories from your results, discuss all of
these possible interpretations and give an outline for potential future studies.

• Conclusion: In your conclusion, reiterate the main points of your paper and explain the
significance of your studies or experiment.

Evaluating Quality of Writing

(Boscoloa, Pietro, Barbara Arféb, and Mara Quarisaa., 2007)A useful approach for evaluating the quality
of your academic writing is to consider the following issues from the perspective of the reader. While
proofreading your final draft, critically assess the following elements in your writing.

• It is shaped around one clear research problem, and it explains what that problem is from the
outset.

• Your paper tells the reader why the problem is important and why people should know about it.

• You have accurately and thoroughly informed the reader what has already been published about
this problem or others related to it and noted important gaps in the research.

• You have provided evidence to support your argument that the reader finds convincing.

• The paper includes a description of how and why particular evidence was collected and
analyzed, and why specific theoretical arguments or concepts were used.

• The paper is made up of paragraphs, each containing only one controlling idea.

• You indicate how each section of the paper addresses the research problem.

• You have considered counter-arguments or counter-examples where they are relevant.

• Arguments, evidence, and their significance have been presented in the conclusion.

• Limitations of your research have been explained as evidence of the potential need for further
study.

• The narrative flows in a clear, accurate, and well-organized way.

3

While writing is a critical part of the scientific process, it is often taught secondarily to scientific concepts
and becomes an afterthought to students. How many students can you recall who worked on a
laboratory assignment or class project for weeks, only to throw together the written report the day
before it was due?

For many, this pattern occurs because we focus almost exclusively on the scientific process, all but
neglecting the scientific writing process. Scientific writing is often a difficult and arduous task for many
students. It follows a different format and deviates in structure from how we were initially taught to
write, or even how we currently write for English, history, or social science classes. This can make the
scientific writing process appear overwhelming, especially when presented with new, complex content.
However, effective writing can deepen understanding of the topic at hand by compelling the writer to
present a coherent and logical story that is supported by previous research and new results.

Scientific writing follows a rigid structure; a format developed over hundreds of years and considered to
be the most efficient means for communicating scientific findings to the broader research community.
Moreover, the format has the advantage that it allows the paper to be read at several levels,

(Day, 2012)Clear scientific writing generally follows a specific format with key sections: an introduction to
a particular topic, hypotheses to be tested, a description of methods, key results, and finally, a discussion
that ties these results to our broader knowledge of the topic. This general format is inherent in most
scientific writing and facilitates the transfer of information from author to reader if a few guidelines are
followed.
The stages, and standard format of scientific writing is with six main part helps readers to find expected
information and analysis:

• Title--subject and what aspect of the subject was studied, it Clearly describes contents

• Abstract--summary of paper: The main reason for the study, the primary results, the main
conclusions

• Introduction--why the study was undertaken

• Methods and Materials--how the study was undertaken

• Results--what was found

• Discussion--why these results could be significant (what the reasons might be for the patterns
found or not found)

how to get started

What you should know

(Kotz et; al, APRIL 2013)Most researchers find it challenging to start writing a new paper and to remain
motivated during the process. Every writer experiences good and bad writing days. There are, however,
many possibilities to make writing generally more efficient and also more fun.
The order of the writing process does not have to be the same as the eventual order of the article
sections, and you may find some sections easier to write than others. As the introduction and discussion
sections are often perceived as the most difficult ones, you may find it easier to start with the methods
and results. Furthermore, there are advantages to writing or finalizing the introduction and discussion at
the end (but before the abstract) as their contents depend on the choice of journal and on the methods
and findings presented in the paper.

Before actually starting to write a paper, it is absolutely vital that the first author as well as the main
collaborators on the paper have a clear, shared understanding of the primary research objective and key
findings of this paper. Without this, it will be impossible to write a clear and concise story. A paper is
often one of many resulting from the same, large research project, and there is always more to report
from that project than is possible within the word limit. Therefore, each individual paper has its own
objective, allowing you to decide what needs to be reported and what can be omitted. It is also
important to choose a potential journal and target audience at an early stage. You must pay particular
attention to writing the abstract of your paper. Your abstract is essential for providing a condensed,
potted history of your results in a fraction of the words that you use in the paper. Like a Readers Digest
Condensed Book, this section of your paper should only convey the most interesting and most important
parts of your work. Ideally, your abstract will be added to a public database such as MEDLINE® or
PubMed® and will therefore achieve a much wider distribution than the journal article itself. People
don’t read the whole article unless they have a vested interest in the topic and many people rely on
reading the abstract to decide whether to obtain the entire article.

The abstract should be organized by first stating the aims of the study followed by the basic study design
and methods. This should then be followed by the main results including specific data and their
statistical significance. Finally, finish with the conclusion and interpretation.

To ensure that the abstract contains all of the necessary information, many journals now require that
you structure your abstract formally.

2. What you should do

Before wondering “how to start?” think about “when and where” you are most serene, creative, and
productive in writing. What environment inspires you? Where are you most concentrated and least
distracted? What day of the week and what time of the day do you find most fruitful for writing? It is
helpful to set aside blocks of several hours of uninterrupted writing and to give writing the priority it
deserves in your otherwise busy agenda.

Split the thinking from the writing! Structure your complete storyline before actually writing full
sentences and paragraphs. Prepare a “skeleton,” especially for the introduction and discussion section.

Use single-word topics or one-liners indicating the main message of each paragraph to create a logical
and convincing storyline within the section (these headings later become the “lead sentences” of your
paragraphs).

Gather key publications related to your paper and add notes under each heading with appropriate
citations.

Replace the notes with rough sentences to build a paragraph (of approximately 6–8 sentences).
Rewrite the sentences until the whole paragraph reads well.

Check whether the paragraph has a “head” (i.e., a lead or first sentence that summarizes the essence of
the paragraph) and “tail” (i.e., a bridge or final sentence that connects with the next paragraph).

Create empty tables and figures right at the beginning. This will force you to decide what results are
most relevant, allowing you to create a clear and concise storyline. Discuss the skeleton and empty
tables/figures with your main coauthors; at this stage, it is still easy to make major changes.

Keep up your motivation by planning writing sessions into your calendar (minimum 2 h) and dividing the
writing of a paper into manageable chunks, which can be achieved during one session. Make writing a
priority during these sessions and avoid any distractions such as answering e-mails. Go with the flow
when you feel it is going well, but stop writing when you get stuck. Use several small breaks (5–10 min)
during a session to clear your mind, and use longer breaks (several hours or days) to create sufficient
time for reflection. Do not wait too long to ask for help and talk with coauthors about your paper. Define
feasible intermediate goals (e.g., “I want to send a skeleton of my paper to my coauthors by the end of
the week”) and define your final goal (e.g., “I want to submit the paper to the journal before the end of
the month”). Last but not least, reward yourself when reaching intermediate and final goals!

title and abstract

1. What you should know

The title and abstract are the most important parts of a paper. They are important for editors who will
scan the title and abstract to decide if it should be sent out for external peer review; for reviewers, who
will get a first impression of the paper; and for readers, as the title, abstract, and keywords are often the
only parts of the paper that are freely accessible to everyone online, including readers in developing
countries. Electronic search databases use words in the title and abstract to yield search results. In
PubMed, the similarity between documents is measured by the words they have in common, and terms
in the title are given more weight. It is therefore essential that the title and abstract contain all the
important terms that potential readers may use in searching for relevant literature and “related articles.”

The author instructions of your chosen journal give information on requirements for titles. Some allow
only single titles, whereas others allow subtitles, possibly with a colon. Informative titles are those that
present the outcome of the study (e.g., Drug x is effective in reducing cholesterol), whereas some
journals prefer a descriptive title stating the subject and design of the study (e.g., Drug x for treatment of
hypercholesterolemia: a placebo-controlled randomized trial). Journals may require a short running title
to be used at the top or bottom of each page, facilitating reader navigation through the journal.

Journals usually require a structured abstract with headings (such as background, methods, results, and
discussion). The abstract must clearly highlight the issue addressed by the study and the key findings. An
abstract should be a stand-alone one, without any reference to the main text or the literature. Most
journals have a strict word limit for the abstract (typically 200–300 words). While an abstract must be
pleasant to read on its own, the narrative tone and style must be more telegraphic than that of the main
text.

2. What you should do

Take time to write the title and abstract. Enjoy their uniqueness. Take a quiet moment to re-read your
paper and write down the keywords of the different sections. Determine if you need an informative or
descriptive title. Use the keywords and active verbs to formulate several potential titles (e.g., Variable x
predicts fracture risk). Try to write the most important keywords at the beginning of the title, as readers'
attention is focused on the beginning. Although running titles may often contain abbreviations, avoid
them in the title and abstract. Determine what factor makes your paper unique and try to stress that in
the title. Make the title stand out from other literature in the field.

Use the keywords of each section of the paper to construct the abstract. Always state the objective of
your study at the beginning. Follow the journal's format for abstracts strictly but creatively. Limit your
statements on each section to two or three sentences. Try to use short phrases, simple language, and
common word combinations, and avoid the passive voice as much as possible. Describe the important
concepts using language fully consistent with the main text. Sentences may require a slightly different
syntax if there are no headings because the journal requires an unstructured abstract.

The results section is the most important part of the abstract. Start by clearly and honestly stating the
answer to the research question, including the primary outcome, and be self-critical when pondering
how many secondary outcomes to include. If you report percentages, provide details of sample size.
Never present only P-values but give effect sizes (with 95% confidence intervals).

Once the abstract is completed, it helps to ask yourself four questions, each relating to one section:
“What is known and why is this study needed?” (Background), “What did we do?” (Methods), “What did
we find?” (Results), and “What does it mean?” (Discussion). Also ask yourself “So what?”; this is what
editors and reviewers often ask themselves when reviewing papers. Have three draft titles and the
abstract ready before sending the paper to coauthors for comments. Critically revise them every time
the main text undergoes revisions. Construct title and abstract from keywords from all sections of the
main text.•

Example of a well-structured abstract

Randomized controlled trial of specialist nurse intervention in

heart failure2

Objectives To determine whether specialist nurse intervention

improves outcome in patients with chronic heart failure.

Design Randomized controlled trial.

Setting Acute medical admissions unit in a teaching hospital.

Participants 165 patients admitted with heart failure due to left ventricular systolic dysfunction. The
intervention started before discharge and continued thereafter with home visits for up to 1 year.

Main outcome measures Time to first event analysis of death from all causes or readmission to hospital
with worsening heart failure.
Results 31 patients (37%) in the intervention group died or were readmitted with heart failure compared
with 45 (53%) in the usual care group (hazard ratio − 0·61, 95% confidence interval 0·33 to 0·96).
Compared with usual care, patients in the intervention group

had fewer readmissions for any reason (86 versus 114, P = 0·018), fewer admissions for any reason (86 v
114), fewer admissions for heart failure (19 v 45, P < 0·001) and spent fewer days in hospital for heart
failure (mean 3·43 v 7·46 days, P = 0·0051).

Conclusions Specially trained nurses can improve the outcome of patients admitted to hospital with
heart failure.

When writing your abstract, put your most concise and important sentences on a page, join them into an
abstract and then count the words. Abstracts always benefit from a serious word trim. It is essential that
you adhere to the word limit. Some journals such as Science and Nature that are very well regarded in
scientific circles request very short abstracts, which may be as low as 100 words. However, the usual
limit is 250 words. Even if a larger word count is allowed, limit yourself to 250 words. MEDLINE® accepts
only 250 words before it truncates the end of the abstract and cuts off your most important sentences,
that is the conclusion and interpretation in the final sentences. It is always amazing how many words you
can leave out if need be. If you can’t word trim yourself, ask a colleague to do it for you. Other people
can often be more objective and ruthless than you can be with your own writing.

Use important keywords at the beginning of the title.• Avoid abbreviations and passive voice (title and
abstract).•Always state the objective and start the results section with the answer to the research
question (abstract).•Give sample size if you report percentages (abstract).•Present effect sizes with
confidence intervals (abstract).•Check if the abstract covers the 4 Ws:•Background: What is known and
why is this study needed?•Methods: What did you do?•Results: What did you find?•Discussion: What
does it mean?•Check that the abstract can be read independently from the main text.• Revise every
time the main text is revised (title and abstract).

Introduction

What you should know

Today many editors (and reviewers) of empirical papers prefer short and focused introductions. The
purpose of the introduction is to give the reader the essential information to understand why you did
the study and to state the research question. It establishes the context of the work being presented by
summarizing the relevant literature to date (with references) and the current views on the problem you
investigated. The introduction must allow readers to understand the biological, clinical, or
methodological rationale for your study. It should be tailored to the journal you will submit the paper to.
A good introduction will “sell” the study to editors, reviewers, readers, and sometimes even the media.

The structure of an introduction can be visualized as a funnel. The broadest part at the top (beginning)
represents the general context of the study topic. It then narrows down to more topical contextual
information, ending with the specific rationale of the study and, vitally, the aim, purpose, or objective.
The introduction does not have a set maximum word count like the abstract but should be as concise as
possible, typically not more than 10–15% of the full word count of the paper. The introduction starts the
story line of your paper, so only start writing it once you have got the bigger picture of the outline of the
paper.

2. What you should do

Introductions should be short and arresting and tell the reader why you undertook the study. The best
introductions fit on one page. In essence, this section should be brief rather than expansive and the
structure should funnel down from a broad perspective to a specific aim‫ى‬story.

Paragraph 1:

What we know

Paragraph 2:

What we don’t know

Paragraph 3:

Why we did this study

Ask yourself if you are happy with the outline. Preferably have a look at your skeleton, and choose the
important lead sentences for the introduction.

Take these lead sentences and develop them into four to five paragraphs, while keeping the funnel
model in mind. Think about relevance, discussion of existing evidence, the gap in the evidence, and the
promise (aim) of the current paper. You should never be tempted to put “text book” knowledge into your
introduction because readers will not want to be told basic information that they already know. For
example, the sentence, Asthma is the most common chronic disease of childhood, must be one of the
most overused phrases in the last decade. All scientists working in asthma research and most people in
the community already know this and don’t want to be told it yet again.

The introduction must not be a full review of the whole field you are researching, although you do need
to find it all and read it in the context of writing the entire paper. It should allow readers to understand
why you set out to perform this study and why the specific aims are what they are. First discuss the
general background, preferably stressing the magnitude of the problem or the societal burden of the
disease. Then outline what is known on the specific subject and what is still unknown. This should
connect with the discussion, but avoid too much overlap. Leave comparisons with other studies for the
discussion. Identify the gap in the evidence and clearly explain why this knowledge is relevant. Do not
hesitate to emphasize why this study is needed and important. Then proceed to the problem statement
of the paper, which is the actual start of your story line. Remember that the final paragraph of the
introduction will attract readers' attention. So end the introduction by stating your research question or
hypothesis and explain briefly what you have done to answer this question. Try to combine this with
what was done to answer the question, preferably indicating the study design. Doing so will create a nice
bridge to the methods section, in which you will explain the approach in detail. Clearly separate the
major (primary) from the minor (secondary) research questions. Be critical about including secondary
aims, but if you want to mention them, use a separate sentence and make sure to label them as
secondary aims.

Use clear, clean, and unemotional language. Try to use active verbs, and consider using signaling words
(such as to determine whether, to clarify this, to compare …). Use present tense for established facts
(e.g., “low back pain is a common reason to consult physical therapists”) and past tense or present
perfect for findings you do not consider established (e.g., “two treatment sessions a week proved more
beneficial than one session per week in a cohort study”). Back up important statements by a reference,
and be sure to cite the source of the original data. Only choose those references that are truly relevant,
and select the most relevant ones if you have more options. Be aware that editors appreciate citations to
relevant papers in their journal as they indicate that you show an interest in its contents, and it may
facilitate citation scores.

Before you can begin writing, you need to have an aim or a research question that is both novel and
worth answering. The most essential part of the introduction is the last paragraph, which gives details of
your aim or hypothesis. This is where the sentence that will dictate the content of the remainder of your
paper should be found. This sentence sets up the expectations for the rest of the paper and should be
the very first sentence that you write in collaboration with your coauthors. This is also a good place to
tell your readers, in a few words, the type of study design that you used to test your hypothesis. Finally,
you should never end the introduction section with a quick summary of your own results.

Check if the introduction has a funnel shape with clear sections on ○general background (what is this all
about?);○what is known and what is unknown about this specific subject (why was this study needed,
and why is it important?); ○primary research question (what did we want to know?); and ○study aim and
design (what did we do to answer the research question?).•Look at the length of the introduction
(maximum 10–15% of the total word count).•Determine if the introduction is the start of the story line
of your paper by looking at your outline (skeleton).•Ask yourself, “Will this introduction sell my paper to
editors, reviewers, readers, and the media?”

methods

What you should know

(Kotz et; al, APRIL 2013)If you consider a research study as a delicate dish of knowledge, a paper's
methods section would be like a recipe that lists all the necessary ingredients of the study and how they
need to be combined during cooking. Ideally, it allows the dish to be prepared again with the same
result. The methods section ties the introduction to the results section to create a clear story line; it
should present the obvious approach to answer the research question and define the structure in which
the results will be presented later.

The methods section of a paper presenting original research from a quantitative study has four basic
elements: study design, setting and subjects, data collection, and data analysis. It is quite common to use
such subheadings to structure the section (the target journal may offer specific guidance). In the case of
research in humans, the authority providing ethical clearance needs to be stated as well.
2. What you should do

Start by developing a “skeleton” with the basic elements of the methods section (see the first
installment of this series). If available, refer to a published protocol or previously published papers from
the same research project for additional information about the methods. This allows you to keep the
methods section more concise. Be sure, however, to include all information that the reader needs to
understand on how the key findings in this paper were derived.

Mention the design of the present study, such as randomized controlled trial, prospective/retrospective
cohort study, case–control study, or cross-sectional survey. If you find it difficult to fit your study into a
specific type of design, try to describe the key design components, for example whether it was an
interventional and/or observational study and whether data were collected longitudinally and/or cross-
sectionally.

Explain when and where the study was conducted, how the sample was recruited or selected, and which
inclusion/exclusion criteria were applied. Provide a sample size calculation for studies set up to
statistically test a specific hypothesis.

With regard to the data collection, define precisely what exposure (e.g., stressful life events) or
intervention (e.g., cognitive behavioral therapy) you investigated, what outcomes you measured (e.g.,
depression), how you measured them (e.g., using a self-reported depression scale), and when
measurements were made (e.g., during the screening visit and after 12 months of follow-up). Cite
original research on existing measurement tools you used, and state if you designed a tool specifically for
the study. Provide details of measurement properties (reproducibility, validity, and responsiveness) if
these are crucial for the interpretation of the main results. A useful order if you used various
measurements is to start with the outcome measure (or dependent variable), followed by the exposure
measures (or main independent variables), and possible covariates.

Match the part on data analysis with the research questions. If you present a primary research question
in your introduction and one or more secondary questions, start by explaining the primary analysis,
followed by the secondary analyses. Provide sufficient detail on the statistical techniques you used; do
not assume that readers understand what you did from the name of a technique. Be very clear about the
definition and operationalization of the dependent and main independent variable, the use of covariates
(i.e., if and how you adjusted your analyses), and the handling of missing data. Be honest and clear
about the analyses you intended a priori to test your hypothesis and the analyses that were exploratory.
Avoid putting results in the methods section, such as numbers of subjects recruited and followed up.

As there may be various ways to answer a research question, try to explain, where necessary, why you
made certain methodological choices and why you think these were the best options given the context.
You can demonstrate the credibility of your methods by citing previous research.

After you have drafted the methods section, ask yourself, “Would a researcher be able to reproduce our
study with the information I provide in this paper?” Also check whether the section contains redundant
information that is not necessary to understand the paper's story line. This check is particularly
important when the paper is one of the many arising from a larger study. Only describe methods for
which results are presented later.
Include basic information on study design, setting and subjects, data collection, data analysis, and ethical
approval• Refer to previous publications from the same large research project, such as a study protocol,
for additional information (if applicable)•Consider providing detailed information on the methods as
web-only supplementary materials• Ask yourself, “Would a researcher be able to reproduce the study
with the information I provide in this paper?”

Results

What you should know

The results section of an article presents a clear, concise, and objective description of the findings from a
particular study and is mostly written in the past tense. The findings are presented without
interpretation, as this should occur in the discussion section only. You may think of the results section as
mirroring the methods section: For every method (what you did), there should be a corresponding result
(what you found) and vice versa. A common order of elements is: recruitment/response, characteristics
of the sample, findings from the primary analyses, secondary analyses, and any additional (unexpected)
findings. Ideally, the results section is a dynamic interplay between text and figures/tables; the most
important data will be shown in both. Tables and figures are particularly useful to present larger
quantities of data (see part 7 of this series on “Tables and figures”).

The word “significant” is often used in everyday language to stress something that is important or
substantial, but in a scholarly article, it is probably better to use the words “statistically significant” if you
want to report a difference proven by a statistical test. Although the reporting of P-values is very
common in the medical literature, interpretation of findings based solely on P-values can be misleading
and is therefore discouraged. The 95% confidence interval not only contains the information from P-
values but also additionally shows the direction of the treatment effect (whether toward harm or
benefit), the size of the effect estimate, and its degree of precision.

2. What you should do

Keep the story line of your paper in mind: Findings in the results section should match and answer the
research questions from the introduction, using the procedures explained in the methods section.
Retaining this focus will help you to be more concise, that is, to decide which findings to present and
which to leave out.

Start the results section with a description of the recruitment/response of participants, or rather the
yield of other procedures by which you obtained the data for your analyses. In prospective research,
such as randomized controlled trials, it is particularly useful to present a flow chart of the recruitment
procedure and the response of participants to treatment or measurement events (this typically becomes
Figure 1 of your paper). The next step is to describe the characteristics of the study sample. Data on the
sample can be presented very efficiently in a table (typically Table 1) and should include basic
demographic characteristics as well as the major clinical and lifestyle variables.

Use more tables and figures to support the main text of the results section. As with all information from
tables and figures, you should not repeat this information in its entirety in the text but only highlight the
findings that support your hypothesis and those which are unexpected.
Begin a new paragraph for the results from the primary analyses. These should be presented early in the
results section to stress their importance. Also use a new paragraph for results from secondary analyses.
End the results section, if applicable, with a short paragraph on any additional (unexpected) findings.
Make it clear that these findings result from ancillary (post hoc) analyses and are intended to generate
new hypotheses. Avoid words such as “remarkably” or “strikingly,” which imply an interpretation of the
findings. Use similar sentences and words to present similar results and do not try to find new ways to
write the same (i.e., synonyms), as this will only confuse the reader.

Always use the same order when presenting data. For example, always report findings from the
experimental group before those from the control group. Provide effect sizes, such as odds ratios or
relative risks, together with their 95% confidence intervals. Never report results with P-values only. Make
consistent use of meaningful decimals for reported figures. So unless you have a very large sample size
(let us say N> 1,000), present numerical values with one decimal place. Furthermore, present measures
of central tendency together with their appropriate measures of variability: mean (standard deviation) or
median (interquartile range). Always present the absolute number of cases in addition to relative
measures (e.g., “The percentage was 22% (33/150) in the intervention group compared with 15%
(23/150) in the control group”).

•Write the results section in the past tense. •Structure roughly into: recruitment/response, sample
characteristics, primary analyses, secondary analyses, and ancillary analyses. •Match the results section
with the methods section. •Present findings without interpretation. •Highlight findings from tables and
figures in the text. •Present estimates with 95% confidence intervals. •Consider providing additional
results in tables and figures as web-only supplementary material.

discussion

What you should know

The purpose of the discussion section is to give the reader a summary of the main findings and to put
them into context by comparing with previous work and discussing future implications and any
shortcomings of the research design.

Although the structure of the introduction can be visualized as a funnel, the discussion can be visualized
as an inverted funnel. Thus, the introduction and discussion together form an hourglass shape. The
discussion starts with the narrowest part by answering the research question in the summary of main
findings, and it then gradually widens out to comparisons with other studies and the interpretation of
the study findings in the wider context of the study topic. Although the results section merely presents
data, the discussion section offers an interpretation of the data, and should never present new results. A
typical discussion section consists of: main findings, comparison of findings with those reported in the
literature, strengths and limitations, and implications for clinical practice and/or research.

2. What you should do

Start thinking about the discussion even before collecting the first data. Many aspects and “pearls and
pitfalls” of the study, as well as its relation with other studies in the field, will be discussed when
developing, carrying out the research and analyzing the data, and in project group meetings. Make notes
and a list of keywords as a reminder of these useful discussions, while remembering your story line at all
times. Having such a list will greatly facilitate writing the first draft of the discussion section and will
serve as a skeleton for this section of the paper (see “How to start writing”).

Start by presenting the main findings, by answering the research question in exactly the same way as you
stated it in the introduction section (see “Introduction”). If you cannot present the main findings in three
sentences, it may mean that you have forgotten the storyline of the paper. Do not waste words by
repeating results in detail, and only use numbers or percentages if they are really necessary for your
message. Do not ignore or cover up inconvenient results. Reviewers will pick them up anyway, and it
weakens your paper if you try to hide them. Also, do mention unexpected findings by explicitly stating
that they were unexpected and did not relate to a prior hypothesis; such honesty will strengthen your
paper.

Include a separate subsection about the strengths and weaknesses of the study. Every study has its
limitations, and you should make sure to mention them. Sometimes it is possible to counterbalance a
limitation with a specific strength, for instance by referring to an ancillary analysis.

When comparing with other studies, discuss the reasons for differences and similarities with your results
and do mention the limitations of those studies, but be respectful and objective. Importantly, try to
stress what your data adds to the existing body of evidence.

Write the discussion by imagining yourself in a dialog with an interested reader. Depending on the scope
of the journal, anticipate what kind of questions readers (and thus reviewers and editors) might have.
This will help you decide what aspects deserve to get most attention, and thus the largest number of
words, in your discussion. Be cautious about choosing words that are too strong. It is appropriate to use
“may” or “might.” “Show,” “demonstrate,” and “suggest” are also more appropriate than “prove,” which
can hardly ever be used in research.

Try to formulate possible implications (for clinical practice and/or research, depending on the focus of
the paper). Never, ever(!), just write that further research is needed; this is practically the same as telling
people not to forget to breathe. Similarly, do not try to “sell” or announce future studies, as the journal
editors or its readers do not have access to those data at that moment. Embrace the uniqueness of this
specific study and always remember to stick to the original storyline of the paper.

End the discussion section with a conclusion presenting your findings in light of the evidence in the field
and the specific strengths and limitations of your research. Try to think of it as the one-liner (citable
statement) that readers must remember when having seen your work.

•Check if the discussion has a clear inverted funnel shape with distinct sections providing:-A summary of
main findings (What did we find?);-Comparisons with other studies (What is known?, What is new?, and
How does this fit in?),-Strengths and limitations (Are the findings true?-Implications (Are the findings
important? What can we do with them?).•Answer the research question in the first paragraph and check
if this is in line with the research question posed in the introduction (hourglass model).•Check to see if
the discussion section does not present new results.• Be frank about acknowledging limitations.• Ensure
it offers a clear ending to the storyline of the paper (citable statement).•Formulate a clear and concise
one-liner as the bottom line of the paper.

tables and figures

What you should know

Tables and figures are an efficient way of presenting findings from a study. If they are designed well, they
provide more information than an author could possibly put into words. A paper's key findings should be
presented in tables and figures, as readers will look at them to get an overview of the study results.
Importantly, they must be self-explanatory; a reader should be able to fully understand the information
without having to read the text. Most journals allow only a limited number of tables and figures to be
part of the print version of a paper (often around 5–6). However, additional illustrations can usually be
submitted as supplementary material for readers to download from the journal's Web site.

It is highly recommended to design the layout of tables and figures carefully; a clear and suitable layout
emphasizes the credibility of the study results, which is essential for the peer-reviewing process. Chaotic
illustrations, on the other hand, will irritate and frustrate editors and reviewers, thereby reducing the
chances of acceptance. Using special software to prepare figures may improve their quality. Journals
usually adapt the layout of tables to their own style during the copy editing process, but often not that of
figures. It is therefore important for authors to ensure that the contents of figures are correct and
readable. Note that permission is needed if you want to use a figure created by somebody else.

Both tables and figures should have a clear relation with the text of the paper. They should be referred to
in the text in a chronological order starting with 1 (e.g., “Table 1 shows …;” “We observed … (Figure 1)”).
In clinical research papers, Table 1 usually shows the baseline characteristics of the study sample, and
Figure 1 the flowchart of participants, from recruitment to final follow-up.

When assembling a paper for submission, it is usual to insert each table and figure on a new page after
the reference list. The title of a table is usually presented at the top, whereas that of a figure is usually
placed at the bottom. Check early whether the target journal requires submitting tables or figures as
separate files and whether figures must have a specific file format (e.g., TIFF, JPEG, or PNG) to avoid
unnecessary work.

2. What you should do

Make a deliberate choice early in the writing process on which data to present in tables and figures.
Follow the target journal's instructions to the authors for drafting tables meticulously. Do not use them
for what can easily be put into words. Create an informative title describing the content of the table,
ensure a clear and attractive presentation of data, and explain all abbreviations in the legend. The legend
is also useful for presenting the minimum/maximum values of measurement scales (making it easier for
the reader to interpret values), or the level of statistical significance of the tests (usually marked with
asterisks: *P<0.05, **P<0.01, ***P<0.001). Ask a colleague without knowledge of the study to explain
the table to you to check its self-explanatory nature.

Avoid repeating all the information from the tables in the text, but stress the most important findings
that support your hypothesis and those findings that are unexpected or otherwise remarkable. Keep the
headings of table columns short (maximum of two lines) and place comparisons (e.g., between
intervention and control groups) from left to right. Put your row headings into a meaningful order from
top to bottom and indent subheadings for categories within a variable. For example, present results from
the total sample above those of any subsamples. Present numbers in cells but their units of
measurement in the column or row headings. Be consistent: use the same terms for important aspects
(such as names of groups) in both text and tables.

Journals usually charge for colored illustrations, so unless you do not mind spending money on this,
prepare black-and-white or gray-scale figures and check whether the scales are distinguishable after
printing. When designing tables, use horizontal lines to mark the top and bottom and to separate the
column headings from the body, but no vertical lines. Use landscape page format for wide tables. If you
think of a table as a bookshelf, you do not want anything interrupting your eye movement from left to
right.

Make a deliberate choice early in the writing process on which key findings to present in tables/figures•
The title should reflect what is shown. •Ensure that tables/figures are self-explanatory. •Do not repeat
information from tables/figures in the text but emphasize the important findings. •Design tables/figures
to make them clear and easy to read. •Start each table/figure on a new page, after the reference list.

references

What you should know

Science moves forward by building on the research work of others, so it is important to appropriately
cite previous work to acknowledge your sources, underpin your hypothesis, show that you are familiar
with the relevant field, and give credit to the work of others, as well as avoid being charged with
plagiarism. If you see your scientific paper as the spider in a large web, correct citations will allow
readers to get an overview of the main work done previously within the field (the web). References can
direct readers to supporting or diverging views and also to sources that may add relevant data to your
work.

Organizing references can be time consuming. Most researchers work with reference management
software, allowing them to organize, store, and download references of any type (scientific papers,
books, web pages, and other publication types) at all times. Most of these programs support automatic
importing of references from databases such as PubMed. Any references added to a citation manager
can be easily inserted into the text of the paper. Word processor plug-ins enable automatic formatting of
in-text citations and references lists using any of the many journal reference styles available from the
citation manager software. This impacts on the way the citation is displayed in the main text (e.g.,
numbered or author–date), but also determines how the reference list itself will be shown (e.g.,
numbered, alphabetically, three authors, all authors, and so on). When pieces of text are moved around
during revisions, the reference management software will automatically reorder the references. Papers
that have been accepted but not yet published can be cited as “in press.”

Since 2000, publications have been assigned digital object identifiers (DOIs) through CrossRef, a
cooperative effort among publishers to enable consistent cross-publisher citation linking. The DOI for a
document is permanent, whereas its location or URL may change. The DOIs are searchable through
www.crossref.org.

2. What you should do

Choose your reference management program and always use it for references throughout your career.
Find the output style of the intended journal in the author's instructions and choose that style when
automatically formatting citations. If you cannot find the output style, choose the Vancouver style
(recommended by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors) or American Psychological
Association style, which are nowadays the most common reference styles in biomedical research.

Make sure to acknowledge a source each time you describe a fact derived from that source. Importantly,
go back to the original source. Authors quite often rely on references provided by other authors when
citing papers, or they may use references to scientific work that described a fact (e.g., in the
introduction), which was actually proved in a different paper. If you use a direct quotation, put the
sentence in quotation marks. However, be very cautious about adaptations of full sentences. Take the
information and use your own words, paraphrase, and summarize to avoid the charge of plagiarism. Do
not aim to cite widely established facts; e.g., everyone knows that the sun rises every day. Never use
footnotes; this is sometimes done in books, but not in biomedical journal articles.

Insert references that are relevant to the research question in the introduction and those that are
relevant to the interpretation of the results in the discussion, although there may be overlap. Although
you need to provide the readers with the underlying context and cite references to important work,
some journals limit the number of references you can include (reviews and meta-analyses excepted). If
you have several references that back up a specific statement, choose the one you think is most
appropriate. Consider choosing the reference which (1) provides the highest level of evidence, (2) is
open-access available, (3) has been most recently published, or (4) has been published in the journal to
which you are submitting your manuscript. The latter will demonstrate to editors that you know and
read their journal (which you should anyway, if you want to successfully publish with them).

Carefully check the reference list before submitting until you are sure that it is 100% correct. Reference
software can be helpful, but it does not think for you and may make mistakes during formatting. Do
realize that if your reference list is not up to high standards, editors and reviewers may also doubt the
core of your paper or analysis.

•Use reference management software at all times. •Find the requested output style in the author
instructions of the target journal and adhere to it 100%.•Always cite the original source behind a
statement. •Use your own words to describe facts derived from references, never copy paste sentences.
•If you need to choose among several references, select one by considering the level of evidence, open-
access, year of publication, and published in the target journal. •Meticulously check the final reference
list for errors.

authorship

What you should know

Being an author of a scientific paper—and having a key role as an author (first, second, last,
corresponding, or guarantor)—can help your career. It is therefore unsurprising that authorship is a
highly debated issue in meeting rooms and around coffee machines at academic departments. Authors
must be distinguished from contributors based on all three criteria (see checklist) of the International
Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE, www.icmje.org). Contributors who do not qualify for
authorship can be listed in the acknowledgements (with permission), preferably accompanied by a
statement of their contribution. Likewise, authors are usually asked to complete and sign both
authorship and conflict-of-interest forms. In large multicenter studies, group authorship may be chosen,
where the key researchers are listed as the leading authors, followed by “on behalf of the xyz group.”
The members of that group are listed in the acknowledgments but mostly identified as authors in search
engines such as PubMed.

For biomedical journals in most countries, the first author is the most important position, followed by
the last author (supervisor) and the second author. Some journals allow joint first authorship; this is
usually indicated by a note in the author affiliation section. Many journals will also ask for one author to
be identified as a guarantor and another as the corresponding author. The guarantor “takes
responsibility for the integrity of the work as a whole, from inception to published article.” The
corresponding author is the primary contact person for questions related to the underlying work, during
the editorial process and after publication. Often, both the corresponding author and/or the guarantor
will be either the (junior) first author who ran the project or the (senior) last author who supervised it.

2. What you should do

Discuss contributions and authorship at the outset of a project and evaluate this from time to time. Most
projects will produce multiple papers, and author roles can be different for each paper. The author team
should preferably be unambiguous about who will act as the lead author for specific papers before the
manuscript is initially drafted (see item on “how to get started”). Remember that people may shift
careers, move to different places, or lose interest. It helps to have a core team of at most 2–3 people
who typically make the day-to-day decisions in a project and who discuss authorship order as well.
Consider preparing a written document describing the authors' roles, circulating it, and making sure it is
clear that these agreements may be subject to change and renegotiation throughout the project.
Preparing a written agreement forces a team to discuss what constitutes authorship and also explicitly
sets out what the team thinks about factors that would change authorship or the order of authors
throughout the project. Authorship gives credit where credit is due but also assigns responsibility to
coauthors.

As a lead author, be aware that working with multiple coauthors requires planning. Prepare the primary
draft with one other author. (S)he can also act as a backup when it comes to deciding on conflicting
suggestions from other coauthors. Make this explicit when circulating the draft for critical review by all
coauthors and preferably state what you expect from them: for example, general feedback on the draft
or more specific comments on subsections. Be explicit in your communication as these expectations may
differ between coauthors. Provide your coauthors with a deadline to respond and ask them to notify you
when this is not feasible. Once a paper is off your desk, you cannot work on it. Hence, the planning of
your project as a whole, and individual papers in particular, may be heavily affected by a nonresponding
coauthor. On the final draft, ask the coauthors to meticulously check their names, including initials, titles,
and affiliations. Misspelled names will appear in search engines such as PubMed.

Discuss authorship and develop a written authorship document (including lead authorship) at an early
stage during a project. •Check and follow ICMJE criteria on contributor ship and authorship. Authors
should have (1) contributed substantially to the conception and design, acquisition of data, or analysis
and interpretation of data;(2) contributed to writing the paper or revising it critically for important
intellectual content; and (3) given final approval of the version to be published. •Ask coauthors to
critically review and provide feedback with targeted questions and set them deadlines to respond. •Ask
coauthors to meticulously check their names, initials, and affiliations before submitting.

Each section or component of a scientific paper, in addition to being positioned in the paper in a specific
order may be written using a specific language style. Within each component or section, the writer may
use a specific verb tense and a choice of voice (active versus passive).

For example, to report on the results, one will, most likely, use the past tense: “We identified two
different proteins.” Note the use of the active voice, as opposed to the passive voice. Many scientific
journals have strict guidelines nowadays: they require authors to write primarily in the active voice in
order to avoid convoluted passive voice forms.
Conclusion – Importance of Scientific Writing

It may not be glamorous, but scientific writing is a critical ingredient in the whole scientific process.
Without peer-reviewed academic journals, it would be nearly impossible to organize knowledge in a
manner that is accessible or understandable. There are flaws in the system, but it is the best we have for
now. Love it or hate it, there is no question that scientific writing is critically important.