My scientific writing students and my editing clients often seem to get lost while writing their articles. It's as if they set out to cross the forests of Siberia without a map and compass, or a GPS, and with no clearer goal than the hope of reaching an ocean someday. And whereas some people might enjoy months or years of footloose wandering through a real wilderness, my clients generally don't enjoy the feeling of being lost while writing. So what I try to do is show them some techniques that will help them write a clear, focused article that is organized like those that are in many high impact journals.
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Sunday, January 19, 2014
Pre-writing will help you get it right
"On my list of maladaptive practices that make writing harder, Not Outlining is pretty high…Get your thoughts in order before you try to communicate them to the world of science." (Silva 2007, 71)
Scientists need to organize their thoughts before they ask a native-speaker or an editing service to help them with their English grammar and usage. If the ideas in a scientific paper are disorganized or disconnected, the paper can be rejected or returned for revision because it is too difficult for the editor or reviewers to understand, even though there are few or no grammar errors.
To help organize and connect their ideas, almost all good writers do some kind of pre-writing that helps them to create, record and organize ideas. Pre-writing is especially important to prepare yourself to write in a second language, or to make sure that your ideas will be understood after translation. If the micro-scale aspects (vocabulary, grammar, etc.) of your writing are weak, you can compensate for this by strengthening the macro-scale aspects (organization and the connections between ideas).
Scientists need to organize their thoughts before they ask a native-speaker or an editing service to help them with their English grammar and usage. If the ideas in a scientific paper are disorganized or disconnected, the paper can be rejected or returned for revision because it is too difficult for the editor or reviewers to understand, even though there are few or no grammar errors.
To help organize and connect their ideas, almost all good writers do some kind of pre-writing that helps them to create, record and organize ideas. Pre-writing is especially important to prepare yourself to write in a second language, or to make sure that your ideas will be understood after translation. If the micro-scale aspects (vocabulary, grammar, etc.) of your writing are weak, you can compensate for this by strengthening the macro-scale aspects (organization and the connections between ideas).
Sunday, January 12, 2014
Speaking engagement this weekend
Because of a speaking engagement this weekend, I will not be posting any new material until next weekend.
Sunday, January 5, 2014
A good scientific article is like an organism, not a molecule
If you were sick, would you go to a biochemist or a doctor? I would go to a doctor, because in addition to biochemistry, she would have studied physiology, histology, anatomy, pathology, and many other subjects. A doctor understands how the body works at both the micro- and macro-scales.
What does this have to do with writing? Well, the problem is that when treating a "sick" piece of writing that needs to be improved, both students and teachers of scientific English often act like biochemists instead of doctors. They focus only on the micro-scale aspects of the writing such as whether a noun should be preceded by "a" or "the". This could be compared to treating a patient with a severe spinal deformity by giving him calcium supplements, then smiling and wishing him luck as you wave goodbye. Although the calcium supplements may indeed help the bones in his spine to become stronger, and weak bones may be part of his problems, he probably needs surgery and physical therapy to be able to stand up straight and breath easily. In the same way, grammar and vocabulary are important, but not enough for good writing. Macro-scale aspects, such as the way sentences, paragraphs and sections are organized and connected in good English writing, are also necessary to tell the story of your research.
What does this have to do with writing? Well, the problem is that when treating a "sick" piece of writing that needs to be improved, both students and teachers of scientific English often act like biochemists instead of doctors. They focus only on the micro-scale aspects of the writing such as whether a noun should be preceded by "a" or "the". This could be compared to treating a patient with a severe spinal deformity by giving him calcium supplements, then smiling and wishing him luck as you wave goodbye. Although the calcium supplements may indeed help the bones in his spine to become stronger, and weak bones may be part of his problems, he probably needs surgery and physical therapy to be able to stand up straight and breath easily. In the same way, grammar and vocabulary are important, but not enough for good writing. Macro-scale aspects, such as the way sentences, paragraphs and sections are organized and connected in good English writing, are also necessary to tell the story of your research.
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