Scientific Writing

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M.Sc. Nanoscience and
Nanotechnology- 2012
Scientific Writing
Lectures 1 & 2
Grammar, Style and Usage
Prof. Lakshman Dissanayake

2. Scientific Writing is important for:
• Writing scientific papers (research
publications)
• M.Sc.Project Reports
• M.Phil./Ph.D. Theses
• Technical Reports/Project Reports
• Review Papers
• Research Grant Proposals
• Books and Monographs
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3. Scientific Writing
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Scientific Writing is a skill to learn.
Need practice.
Large set of rules, do’s and don’ts.
But it is very personal.
Use all the feedback (from Research
Papers, Project Reports, Theses, Journals,
Magazines…

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Why Do You Publish?
• Make contributions to the advancement of
knowledge for the betterment of society
• Be recognized professionally by peers
• Advance in the profession

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• Scientific writing is primarily an exercise in organization.
• Scientific writing is highly stylized with distinctive components.
• Scientific paper should have the proper order of components.
• Research work should be communicated effectively and clearly
using simple words of known meaning.
• The best English in scientific writing is to make the point in the
fewest possible words.
Writing a Scientific Paper

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Writing a Scientific Paper
• Use simple and short sentences instead of complex
and long sentences. Divide long sentences into two
or three simple short sentences.
• Enjoy the sheer beauty of a simple declarative
sentence using clear, precise words.
• If the components are properly organized, the paper
will almost write itself.

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Two Essential Ingredients
• Good organization.
• Appropriate language within the
organization.

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‛To be a successful writer
I know of only two methods;
read a lot and write a lot’
Stephen King

9. Structure
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•A good article has a definite structure,
makes its point, and does not waste space
and time.
• The most difficult part in writing a scientific
paper is planning its structure.

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• How do I structure the report?
• Do I need to incorporate
figures/tables/photographs ?
• Do I need to incorporate
graphics/images?
• How will the report be presented
finally?
• How do I ensure that grammar &
spellings are correct?
Writing a Scientific Report:
Organization

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• What is it about?
• What level of analysis is involved?
• What reading & research is involved?
• Where can I go to get it?
• What do I need to extract?
• How can I summarise without plagiarising?
• How can I prepare a bibliography?
Writing a Scientific Report

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•Analysis of topic
•Abstracts
•Background research
•Analysis of data
•Figures and Tables
•First draft
•Revision & editing
•Document design
•Proof reading
•Printing & binding
Preparatory
Stages

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• Only one idea in a sentence
• Keep short: <20 words
• Vary length.
• Long sentences: greater risk
of grammatical errors.
Writing Sentences

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• Content
- original, sound research, timely, valuable, justifiable,
replicable
• Selection
-WHAT should be included, and in how much detail.
-Focused, in sufficient detail that someone else could
replicate.
• Organisation
- logical, following a conventional pattern for article or
thesis
• Presentation
- appropriate writing style, choices of words and
phrases. Grammar, punctuation, spelling. Visually:
does it look good on the page? Typography, layout,
clear diagrams/tables/charts.
What makes academic writing good?

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• How many books/articles/theses have you
read in relation to the paper/report you are
plannng to write ?
• How many of them impressed you in the way
they were written?
• What were your objectives for reading them?
Before starting to write, ……Read a lot!

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Consider:
Macro level – whole piece
Mid level – large sections
Micro level – paragraphs
Highlight key issues – any specific issues?
Analysing style

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Elements of style: Report Structure
• There are no “set rules” for the structure of your report but most
research reports will include some or all of the following:
– Title Page
– Highlights/Graphical highlights (new)
– Abstract
– Introduction
– Theory
– Experimental Method
– Experimental Results
– Discussion and Conclusion
– acknowledgement
– References
– Appendices of raw data and calculations where appropriate.

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Sentence
• Consists of subject, verb, and object
– Keep subject and verb close together!
Eg: Electrochemical detection of pesticides has
drawn much attention during recent times owing
to its advantages compared to other detection
methods.
– Semiconductor quantum dots are used for
targeted drug delivery.
• Each sentence should make a single point.
• maximum of about 20 words per sentence.

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What the reader expects in a sentence
• Main action of the sentence is expressed in the main
verb.
• Subject is the agent of the action (if the agent is
important).
• Sentence tells a story.
– In this report, we describe a systematic study of
the effect of the size of nano-particles on ionic
conductivity of polymer electrolytes.

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Passive voice
• Makes sentences more wordy & complicated.
• Recommended for scientific writing, but its
changing.
• Use when agent is not important.
– Interaction between silica and 2-chlorophenol
was investigated using FTIR spectroscopy.
– Does not matter who investigated it !

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Active voice
• Adds action to the sentence.
• Adds interest.
• Makes sentences shorter.
• Active Voice:We analyzed the FTIR spectrum of the
newly synthesized clay-polymer nanocompistes…
• Passive Voice: The FTIR spectrum of the newly
synthesized clay-polymer nano-composites were
analyzed…

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Subject-Verb Disagreement
• Problem: easy to forget what the subject is (singular
or plural) when we use long strings of phrases to
modify it.
• Solution: read the sentence, omitting the modifying
phrases, so that subject and verb are together
– Singular subject uses singular verb.
– Plural subject uses plural verb.

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• When observations have been repeated or go from
past to present: use Present Perfect
– We have shown that….
– The authors have claimed that….
• When referring to figures or tables: use Present
– Figure 2 is a mass spectrometry analysis of…..
– Table 3 shows the dependence of ionic
conductivity on the size of the nano-particles.

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• Methods:
– In a paper: use Past
•GST proteins were purified as
described.
– In a grant: use Future
•The efficiency of these solar cells will
be investigated using……

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Person
• It is perfectly good to use the first person in
scientific writing:
– We performed a XRD analysis of …..
– We and others have shown that ……
• Or the third person:
– Jones and colleagues reported that…

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• The trend toward plain language is becoming
popular in scientific writing and in scientific
journals.
• If simple words can be used to convey the
message, don’t use elaborate and fancy
words.

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But….be careful….
• Do not use informal speech in scientific writing
– Not: We got the following results…
– Use: We obtained the following results
• Other words not to use:
– Not: We got to
– Use: We will have to
– Not: We can’t conclude..
– Use: We cannot conclude…

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Style, Grammar and Vocabulary
In Scientific Writing
The use of personal pronouns, ‘I’ and particularly
‘you’, is rare in scientific writing, where an
objective or impersonal style is standard.
“We” or “Us” can be used.
• Use of the passive is a common way to avoid
using personal pronouns.

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Writing in an Impersonal Scientific Style: The Passive
Using the passive is a way of removing the subject
[I, Weerasinghe, the MSc students] and prioritising
the object e.g.
Several samples (object) were analysed(verb) …. by
me (object deleted)
Disadvantage: it can remove agency, making it
unclear who performed a particular action.

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Writing in an Impersonal Scientific Style: The Passive
•X is demonstrated by
• Z are based on
• X is provided by
• X is used
• X was evaluated
• It is expected that …..
• It was found that
• It was concluded that
• It is widely held …
• To determine the effects of x,a series of measurements
was taken….
• An increase in the range of 60% is anticipated as a result
of y

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Writing in an Impersonal Scientific Style- Modal Passives
Modals [e.g. can, could, possibly, very likely, may, might, will, would]
have an important effect on varying the strength of a claim you are making
about your data:
– It can/could be seen/observed/concluded that
– It can be suggested that
– It can be tentatively accepted that
– x can be characterised
– This can be done by/carried out by
– x can be done by/measured by
– This would suggest that
– Attention should be given to
– It is very likely that…………….

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Writing in an Impersonal Scientific Style: Sentences with It/There
To avoid the passive, we can use impersonal constructions starting
with ‘It’ and ‘There’ e.g.
– It is essential to
– It is important to
– It is necessary to
– It may be possible to
– It may be necessary to
May reduces commitment
– There is general agreement that ….
– There are a number of reasons for
– There is a strong possibility that ….
– There seems to be
– There appears to be
Seems/appears- reduce the strength of the proposition

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Writing in an Impersonal Scientific Style- Other Forms
By making the study/experiment/paper/report the subject
– This study shows…..
– This report gives……
– Section 1 covers…..
– The results obtained…..
– The measurements obtained in this study/experiment….
– The results section gives detailed data for …..
– The results of this experiment were inconclusive
– X allows y to …….
– One way of measuring the output of ……..
– By measuring the peak positions in the IR spectra from……..

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It is surely axiomatic that the aim of scientific or technical writing is to
transmit information accurately, quickly and economically from one
person to another.
But why do so many scientists and engineers make their writing so
heavily unreadable?
Obviously, their subject matter is sometimes complex and conceptually
difficult; but frequently the « unreadability » stems from use of a style
that makes the reader’s task much heavier than it need be.
« Style » matters - direct, effective and readable.

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•Clear
•Concise
•Correct
•Complete
Writing with Style
Overall Requirements:
4 Cs

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Writing with Style
General tips to improve writing:
•Study more grammar
•Memorise useful expressions
•Read More
•Practice Writing
•Study Vocabulary
•Consider what makes writing effective

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Writing with Style - Clarity
•Use a dictionary
•Use a Thesaurus
•Use correct grammar
Be Clear:
Use Plain English:
• Avoid trying to sound too
intelligent
• Simple words are better
than complex words

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Particular Grammar
•The Comma (,)
•Quotation Marks (“ “)
•Question Marks (?)
•Exclamation Marks (!)
•Semi Colon (;)
•Colon (:)
•Apostrophe (‘)
•Hyphen (-)
Writing with Style - Correctness

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• Should be placed where it sounds as if
needed – it represents a small pause
in reading
• There are 20 possibilities where
commas may be used – better to
develop a ‘comma sense’
The Comma (,)
Writing with Style - Correctness

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 A fast, accurate method.
 For example, this is where you use a comma.
 After we set up the instrument, we observed some
peculiar spectra.
 On February 4th, 2013, the independence day
parades will be held in Kandy.
 The student, with overwhelming debts, was very
depressed.
 That is a lie, Mr. Perera !
Examples of Comma use:
Writing with Style - Correctness

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• Two forms, single (‘) or double (“)
• Used to enclose direct
speech/quotations
• Used to enclose Titles
• Used to indicate enclosed terms are to
be read at a different level than the
rest of the sentence.
The Quotation Marks (“…”)
Writing with Style - Correctness

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The Question Mark (?)
Used to indicate a question
Often read with a rising tone
Placed inside quotation marks if it
belongs to the spoken matter.
Writing with Style - Correctness

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The Exclamation Mark (!)
• Used to end a sentence that
makes an abrupt statement.
• Can describe joy, anger, surprise,
humour, danger.
What a surprising result !
Writing with Style - Correctness

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The Semi Colon ;
Often used before words like
‘however’, ‘moreover’ …
Used to break up lists
Writing with Style - Correctness

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The Colon (:)
Used to introduce a list.
Can be used before somebody
speaks, or a quotation/saying.
Can break a sentence where the
second part summarises/ expands
what was stated in the first.
Replaces words similar in meaning
to ‘as a result’.
Writing with Style - Correctness

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The Apostrophe (‘)
Punctuation most abused,
especially by sign writers
Used to denote possession
Used to replace a missing letter
(contractions)
It does not go before every ‘s’ & it
is not used to make nouns plural.
Writing with Style - Correctness

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Examples of Apostrophe use:
 Einstein’s Theory of Relativity
 Keels’ Supermarket
 The boy’s bicycle (singular boy)
 The boys’ bicycles (plural boys)
 The tree’s height – the height of the tree
 Newton’s Laws
 A weeks’ holiday
 Two weeks’ holiday
 He’s a swimmer / She’s a swimmer
 It’s here!
 Sri Lanka’s cricket team
Writing with Style - Correctness

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Scientific Writing
Increasing power to separate:
Comma(,)
Colon(:)
Dash(-)
Parentheses( )
Semicolon(;)
Period(.)

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Scientific Writing Semicolon
Semicolon:
Indicates a pause, typically between two
main clauses, that is more pronounced than
that indicated by a comma.
Examples:
Mahatma Gandhi led the freedom struggle in India;
he also cared about the wellbeing of its people.
The efficiency of a solar cell depends on the open
circuit voltage Voc; It also depends on the short
circuit current, Isc.

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Scientific Writing; The Colon
Use a colon after an independent clause
to introduce a list of items, an
explanation, an amplification, or an
illustrative quotation.
“The colon has more effect than the
comma, less power to separate than the
semicolon, and more formal than the
dash.”

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Scientific Writing,The Colon (some examples)
“The hydrogen bonds are made as follows:
purine position 1 to pyrimidine position 1;
purine position 6 to pyrimidine position 6.”
“These pairs are: adenine (purine) with
thymine (pyrimidine), and guanine (purine)
with cytosine (pyrimidine).”
From: “A structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic
Acid”—Watson and Crick 1953

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Scientific Writing,
The Colon (list or explanation)
There are several methods to characterize
an electrolyte: X-ray diffraction,
impedance spectroscopy, differential
thermal calorimetry, dc polarization test
are some of these.

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• Example:
The UGC gradually increased the number of
university admissions: in 1990, 15,000 were
admitted; in 2005, 18,000; in 2008, when two new
universities started, the number admitted was
22,000.

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Scientific Writing,
Parentheses
Parenthesis (parenthetical expression):
A word, clause, or sentence inserted as an
explanation or afterthought into a passage that
is grammatically complete without it.
 If you remove the material within the parentheses, the
main point of the sentence should not change.
A thorough knowledge of some important parameters
(the charge carrier density, n, the mobility, µ and the
diffusion coefficient, D) is necessary for the
development of new electrolytes for electrochemical
power sources.

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Simplify
a majority of = most
at the present time = now
give rise to = cause
in some cases = sometimes
is defined as = is
it is believed that = The authors
think
on the basis of = by
pooled together = pooled
subsequent to = after
with the result that = so that

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USAGE
Verb Usage
Address This paper addresses……
Analyze This report analyzes….
Conclude From these results, it can be
concluded that……
Illustrate Figure 4 illustrates the…..
Present We present, for the first time, that….
Describe The methid described in the next
paragraph ….
Claim We claim that….
Acknowledge The authors wish to acknowledge……

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Preparation of Nanosilica Powder from Rice Husk
Ash by Precipitation Method
Nittaya Thuadaij and Apinon Nuntiya
This work presented a laboratory studies on the preparation of rice husk ash
by burning at 700 oC for 3 and 6 h, respectively. Consequently, silica content
obtained after heat treatment at 700 oC for 6 h was 98.14%. Rice husk ash
(RHA) was purified by alkaline extraction method used 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0 N
sodium hydroxide. Percent yield of silica extracted by 2.5 N NaOH, was 90.3%
and the infrared spectral data supported the presence of hydrogen bonded
silinol group and the siloxane groups in silica. Subsequently, the RHA was
subjected to precipitation method in order to produce nanosilica. The
precipitation was done by refluxing silica from RHA in boiling 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0
N NaOH, respectively. TEM results showed that 2.5 N NaOH for 10 h provided
agglomerate particles with dimension of 5-10. The specific surface area was
found to be 656 m2/g. From X-ray diffractograms and diffraction pattern
showed that the obtained products were amorphous nanosilica.