The Craft of Scientific Writing AEE 804 ANR Communication Strategies Spring 03 Reese & Woods

Scientific Writing In science the credit goes to the man who convinces the world, not to the man to whom the idea first occurs. - Sir Francis Darwin

Presentation Objectives Importance of Scientific Writing Key Principles audience purpose occasion

Impact of Career How well you communicate affects your career Successful scientist spent 25% of work week writing (Davis 1997) Professional scientists found writing their most useful subject (University of Wisconsin) MSU CANR Alumni need most work on their writing (Suvedi, 2001)

A Matter of Difference 1. Subject Matter 2. Writing Constraints audience occasion purpose 3. Purpose of Writing To inform To persuade 4. Writing Style

Communication Needs Conferences Lectures Meetings Posters Reports Articles Proposals Web Pages specific technical audiences non-technical general

2. Writing the First Draft 3. Revising, Revising, Revising Writing Stages 1. Getting in the Mood 2. Writing the First Draft 4. Finishing 3. Revising, Revising, Revising

In the Beginning Begin by analyzing your constraints Audience Occasion Who they are What they know Why they will read How they will read Occasion Format Formality Politics and ethics Process and deadline Purpose To inform To persuade

Aspects Affecting Reader Content Style Form

wordswordswordswords Style What You Control Structure wordswordswords words wordswords wordswordswordswords Language Illustration

Broad Content Issues Check your use of supporting evidence. Check your use of sources. Check to see that you achieve your purpose. Check your attention to audience. Check for overall impression.

Organization & Presentation Check the overall organization. Check sentence structure and style. Check paragraph structure. Check format. Check documentation.

20 Most Common Errors 1. Missing comma after an introductory element. Frankly, we were baffled by the findings. In fact, agricultural education… Determined to get the job completed, we worked all weekend. Though I gave advice for revising, his draft only became worse.

20 Most Common Errors 2. Vague Pronoun Reference Transmitting radio signals by satellite is a way of overcoming the problem of scare airwaves and limited how, they are used. Company policy prohibited smoking, which many employees resented. the airwaves a policy

20 Most Common Errors 3. Missing comma in a compound sentence We wish dreamily upon a star and then we look down to find ourselves standing in mud. The words “I do” may sound simple but they mean a life commitment. , ,

20 Most Common Errors 4. Wrong word their The Pacers played there best, but that was not good enough. Paradise Lost contains many illusions to classical mythology. their allusions

20 Most Common Errors 5. Missing comma(s) with a nonrestrictive element. Susan who was the president of the club was first to speak. John’s first doll Malibu Barbie is still his favorite. , ,

20 Most Common Errors 6. Wrong or missing verb ending Ernesto use feline imagery throughout the poem. The United States drop two atomic bombs on Japan in 1945. uses dropped

20 Most Common Errors 7. Wrong or missing preposition. We met in Union Street at San Francisco. Who called the game yesterday? on in off

20 Most Common Errors Comma Splice for I was strongly attracted to her, she had special qualities. They always had ham for Easter, this was a family tradition. for Having

20 Most Common Errors 9. Missing or misplaced possessive apostrophe. AEE is pleased to announce it’s new graduate students. its

20 Most Common Errors 10. Unnecessary shift in tense Abby laughs until she cried during the class. Brian is in charge of finance; he will always keep his office locked. cries keeps

20 Most Common Errors 11. Unnecessary shift in pronoun When one first sees a painting by Cathy, you are impressed by a sense of power. one is

20 Most Common Errors 12. Sentence fragment The old aluminum boat sitting on its trailer. We returned to the drugstore. Where we waited for out parents. was

20 Most Common Errors 13. Wrong tense or verb form Luke Reese has broke many soccer records. By the time Jim arrived, Mikel left. broken had

20 Most Common Errors 14. Lack of subject-verb agreement A central part of my life goals have been to go to graduate school. has

20 Most Common Errors 15. Missing comma in a series AEE Graduate students study mostly teaching, methods, writing and other research activities. ,

20 Most Common Errors 16. Lack of agreement between pronoun and antecedent Neither Nadja nor Kari felt that they had been treated fairly. she

20 Most Common Errors 17. Unnecessary comma (s) with a restrictive element. People, who wanted to preserve wilderness areas opposed the plan to privatize national parks.

20 Most Common Errors 18. Fused sentence The current was sift he could not swin to shore. . He

20 Most Common Errors 19. Misplaced or dangling modifier. She had decided she wanted to be an agriscience teacher when she was ten years old. When she was ten years old, she had decided she wanted to be an agriscience teacher.

20 Most Common Errors Its/It’s confusion The car is lying on it’s side in the ditch. Its a white 2000 Audi. . its It’s

Select a Writing Mentor Review Journals for writing style. Identify a writing mentor to assist with thinking through and reviewing paper.

Final Thought Our greatest battles are that with our own minds. - Jameson Frank Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire. - William Yeats There is one thing stronger than all the armies in the world, and that is an idea whose time has come. - Victor Hugo