Check out the complete course and the suggested book: The Elements of Style by Strunk and White.

Introduction

  • Use strong verbs (“to be” is boring)
    • Don’t turn verbs into nouns
    • Don’t bury the main verb (verb close to the subject near the start of the sentence)
    • Data are, datum is
    • Affect = verb and effect = noun (generally)
    • Compare to = similiraties between different things, Compare with = to point out differences between similar things

Use passive voice purposefully and sparingly

Where to use passive voice? In the methods section. Why? Because what was done is more important than who did it. Besides, the methods section is not the most exciting prose of the paper; most people just skim this section. It is very tricky to write the methods section in the active voice because you have to be quite creative to avoid starting every sentence with we. Hence, it does not need to be as lively as the other sections of the paper.

Comma, colon, dash, parentheses, and semicolon

  • Increasing power to separate:
    • Comma
    • Colon
      • Introduce a list, quote, explanation, conclusion, or amplification (last clause sets up the next).
    • Dash
      • Add emphasis or insert an abrupt definition/description.
      • Use only when a more common mark of punctuation is anedequate.
      • En and Em dashes (read more)
        • “En dash” (–):
          • Approximately the length of the letter n.
          • Keyboard shortcut (Windows): Alt + 0150.
          • Used to mark ranges.
        • “Em dash” (—):
          • Length of the letter m.
          • Keyboard shortcut (Windows): Alt + 0151.
          • Used to separate extra information or mark a break in a sentence.
    • Parentheses
      • Insert afterthought of explanation.
      • Not essential.
    • Semicolon
      • Connect two independent clauses (subject + predicate).
      • Separate items in lists that contain internal punctuation.
    • Period
  • Increasing formality:
    • Dash*** 17:38
    • Parentheses
    • The others
  • The rule of three’s (lists, examples). When it is arbitrary, default to three examples.

Parellelism

Make the choice for the structure and stick with it.

  • Pairs of ideas joined by “and”, “or”, or “but” should be written in parallel form. E.g.:
    • SVX but/and/or SVX
    • Infinitive phrase but/and/or Infinitive phrase
  • Lists of ideas should be written in parallel form.

Paragraphs

  • Should be short (readers appreciate white spaces).
  • 1 paragraph = 1 idea.
  • Give away the punchline early:
    • WRONG: details, details, data, conclusion.
    • RIGHT: take-home message (similar to topic sentence), supporting ideas.
  • Paragraph flow:
    • logical flow of ideas:
      • Sequential in time (avoid bizarre time lines);
      • General to specific (take-home, general point, specific elements);
      • Logical arguments (if a then b;a;therefore b).
    • parallel sentence structures;
    • if necessary, use transition words. A transition word tells the reader: “Hey! I am going here, I am goin there!”, working as “crutches” for faulty underlying logic.
      • No fancy transitions (e.g., on the other hand, nevertheless), use “AND” (tacking on additional information) and “BUT” (changing gears).
  • Make the last sentence memorable (readers remember first and last sentence best).
  • Boil each sentence down to its upshot (the final or eventual outcome or conclusion) and organize/edit the paragraph.
    • Outline what the paragraph is trying to convey: main idea, supporting ideas, and sub-supporting ideas.
  • Repetition:
    • Is the second instance of the word even necessary?
    • If the word is necessary, is a synomym really better than just repeating the word?
    • For consistency, repeat key words (e.g., names of comparison, groups, variables); it is clearer for readers.
    • Elegant variation = disastrous variation in scientific writing: the reader thinks you are talking about something else.
  • Is it possible to represent the paragraph’s idea using a table/diagram rather than prose?
  • Changing ideas = new paragraph. Use “however” for constrast.

    Acronyms and Initialisms

  • Acronym = read as a word (e.g., NASA).
  • Initialism = read each letter (e.g., CPU).
  • Resist the temptation to abbreviate words because they occur frequently.
  • Use only standard; otherwise readers are burdened (like translating a foreign word).
  • Remember readers don’t typically read start to finish; if you must use acronyms:
    • Define them separately in the abstract, each table/figure, and the text.
    • For long papers, redefine occasionally.

Making writing easier

Break your writings task into small and realistic goals.

  • Write 400 words today.
  • Write the first two paragraphs of the discussion section.

Recommended order

  1. Tables and Figures
  2. Results (easier after having tables & figures)
  3. Methods
  4. Introduction (After 1, 2, and 3, easier to frame)
  5. Discussion
  6. Abstract

Tables and Figures

  • Don’t do it haphazardly! They are the foundation of your story. Editors, reviewers, and readers may look first (and maybe only), at titles, abstracts, and tables and figures.
  • Figures and tables should stand alone (readers should not refer back to text: define acronyims, experimental details, etc.) and tell a complete story – and progress in that story one to the next.
  • Each table/figure should make a clear point (know what it is, and stick to it!).

An article about computational science in a scientific publication isn’t the scholarship itself, it’s merely advertising of the scholarship. The actual scholarship is the complete software development environment and the complete set of instructions which generated the figures — Jon Claerbout, Stanford

  • Use the fewest figures and tables needed to tell the story (as in prose, be concise and to the point).
  • Do not present the same data in both a figure and a table.

Tables vs. Figures

  • Figures
    • Visual impact
    • Show trends and patterns
    • Tell a quick story
    • Tell the whole story
    • Highlight a particular result
  • Tables
    • Give precise values
    • Display many values/variables

Table

Title

  • Indentify the specific topic or point of the table: every table tells a story, and the tile should give a quick synopsis of the story.
  • Use the same key terms in the table title, the column headings, and the text of the paper.
  • Keep it brief! E.g.: “Descriptive characteristics of the tow treatments groups, means +- SD or N (%)”.

Table formats

  • Model your tables from already published tables! Don’t re-invent the wheel!!
  • Follow journal guidelines RE:
    • Roman or Arabic numbers
    • centered or flush left table number, title, column, headings, and data
    • capital letters and italics
    • the placement of footnotes
    • the type of footnote symbols
  • Most journals use three horizontal lines: one above the column headings, one below the column headings, and one below the data.
  • Graying out lines also is ok (shading helps guiding readers’ eyes)

Redflags

  • Gridlines = Signals slopiness and lack of professionalism (bad quality paper)
  • Values are not lined up
  • Unreasonable number of significant figures
  • No units
  • Too many columns (detracts from main message)

Figures

  • Primary evidence
    • electron micrographs, gels, photographs, pathology slides, X-rays, etc.
    • indicates data quality
    • “Seeing is believing”
  • Graphs
    • line graphs, bar graphs, scatter plots, histograms, boxplots, etc.
  • Drawings and diagrams (can help the reader understand tedious/convoluted info)
    • illustrate an experimental set-up or work-flow
    • indicate flow of participants
    • illustrate cause and effect relationships or cycles
    • give a hypothetical model
    • represent microscopic particles or microorganisms as cartoons

Figures legends

Allows the figure to stand alone. May contain:

  1. Brief title
  2. Essential experimental details
  3. Definitions of symbols or line/bar patterns
  4. Explanation of panels (A,B,C,D, etc.)
  5. Statistical information (tests used, p-values)

Graphs

  • Line graphs
    • show trends over time, age, or dose (can display group means or individuals)
  • scatter plots
    • Used to show relationships between two variables (the dirty laundry = all the data) (particularly linear correlation)
    • Allows reader to see individual data points=more information!
    • Superimposed slanted lines can draw your eye and make you see inexistent relationship
  • bar graphs
    • Used to compare groups at one time point
    • Tells a quick visual story • individual-value bar graphs • histograms • box plots • survival curves

Tips for graphs

  • Tell a quick visual story
  • Keep it simple!
  • Make it easy to distinguish groups (e.g., triangles vs. circles vs. squares is not easy!)
  • If it’s too complex, maybe it belongs in a table

Diagrams and Drawings

  • illustrate an experimental set-up or work-flow
  • indicate flow of participants
  • illustrate cause and effect relationships or cycles
  • give a hypothetical model
  • represent microscopic particles or microorganisms as cartoons

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