1. General Writing Concerns

2. What do scientist write?
Abstracts
Research papers
Reviews
Book chapters
Books
Theses

3. Clarity is essential
All documents need to be read clearly and transparently.
No room for ambiguity/ Doubtfulness
English may not be the readers 1st language

4. Rules for clarity Everyone will acquire his or her own style
However, there are some general rules:
Use short sentences which express single concepts
I worry if my sentences exceed three lines
Use short paragraphs
Avoid using parentheses
Use good grammar and punctuations
If in doubt, keep it simple

5. A useful tips
You will annoy your friends, but please try to read your own work out loud.
If you find it hard to speak then
something is wrong with the text
When correcting text try little and often rather than long boring sessions
Get a friend to read your work

6. Don’t worry too much!
Many international journals now employ copy editors and proof readers who pick up most errors before publication
Often this will convert your English into American English!

7. Common errors Keep track of singular and plural forms
Keep track of tense
Most experiments and procedures will be described in the past tense

8. More on tense
A good way to separate what you have shown from what others have reported is to mix tenses in your writing
This is common in a discussion section
Most pure science journals tend to require third person
These data demonstrate that….
rather than saying that “I demonstrated that….”

9. The next step
When you have decided what you are trying to communicate set up a mock results section
Label several sheets of blank paper:
Table 1, 2 etc
Figure 1, 2 etc
Roughly sketch what data will go on what page
Shuffle the pages into a logical order
Does it seem complete
Yes? Write the paper!
No? What else do you need to do?

10. Even more…. Choose a punchy title
Write a brief introduction. Maybe only 2 sentences
Very briefly describe the methods
Show ‘solid’ data (with statistics if needed)
The conclusion should show how you have answered your original question.