How to Write a Scientific Paper Writing for Understanding · Zeiger M. Essentials of Writing...

How to Write a Scientific Paper

ASHG 2011 Writing Workshop; Albertine ©2011

Kurt H. Albertine, Ph.D.

Professor of Pediatrics, Medicine (Adjunct), and

Neurobiology & Anatomy (Adjunct)

Associate Dean of Faculty Administration,

School of Medicine

Editor-in-Chief, The Anatomical Record

- Writing for Understanding -

Outline

● Writing for understanding

● Reviewers’ hell


Please, do

not write

reviewers’

“Hell”!

“Hell”, MC Escher, Italian Period, 1935 (copy after a scene by H Bosch) ASHG 2011 Writing Workshop; Albertine ©2011

● “…science is not data.

Data are the raw

material of science. It

is what you do with the

data that is science –

the interpretation you

make, the story you

tell.”

Why Strive to Write Clearly?

Zeiger M. Essentials of Writing Biomedical Research Papers. pg 1, 2000


Critical Self-Assessment

● Does the reviewer have to work to understand

your manuscript?

● No

● Yes


Worth Pondering

● The reviewer has a life, too!

● S/he is reviewing at midnight, after being on

service for 36 hours, her/his children are sick,

and her/his spouse is out of town

● Reviewer’s “hope”

● At least some of “their” manuscripts will

receive favorable enthusiasm that places the

manuscript in the “accept” category


● Goals

● Clear, simple, informative figures and tables

● Unambiguous writing

● Place your study and results in context

● Logical story

● Creates the least confusion

● Brings focus on significance and impact

● Creates a storyline

● Makes the results obvious

Writing for Understanding (Clarity)


● To write for understanding…

Guides for Writing Clearly

● Determine how much to tell the reviewers

● Target the audience

● Be a credible writer


● You want a second date

Analogy: The First Date

● Title and Abstract

● Captivate the imagination of the reviewers

● Gives reviewers something to look forward

to; not dread!

● Make the first impression a good impression!

● Clear writing

● Significance

● (Innovation)

● Impact


● To attain clear understanding, clear writing is

required

Be a Credible Writer

● The study of writing is NOT a waste of time!

● Proper grammar, punctuation, and

sentence and paragraph structure are

essential

● Tools to attain understanding


Appropriate Use of Punctuation

● “Standards of punctuation

in general…are approaching

the point of illiteracy; self-

justified philistines.”

Truss L. Eats, Shoots & Leaves. 2004 ASHG 2011 Writing Workshop; Albertine ©2011

● Use accurate and specific words

Say What You Mean, Simply - 1


● Most important words in a grant application

Keywords

● Why?

Clear Keywords Vague Keywords

Rats Animals

Preterm infants Children


● Example: “Change”

Unclear Word Choice

● What does “change” mean?

● Increased/decreased?

● Longer/shorter?

● Heavier/lighter?



● Use active, rather than passive, voice

● Avoid bias in your writing


● Avoid


● Jargon (“out there”)

● Euphemisms (“to pass away”; die)

● Modifying words (adjectives, adverbs)

● ‘Very’ (very big)


● "I'm disinclined to acquiesce to your request…”

Pretentious Writing

* Pirates of the Caribbean - The Curse of the Black Pearl, 2003

… improvement

● “No"

● Captain Barbossa

to Elizabeth Swann


Good Sentence Structure

● Noun verb completer

● Keep sentences about 20

words or less

● Avoid starting sentences with

names of authors, lab groups,

or years

● Keep the science the subject!

● Jack and Jill ran up the hill


● Avoid


● Complicated descriptions (e.g., a scientist’s

directions to any where)


● Questions to ask yourself

Good Paragraph Structure

● Does the topic sentence clearly state the main

idea of the paragraph?

● Do the supporting sentences contain specific

details and ideas that develop the main idea?

● Is the final sentence a conclusion; or a

transition to the next paragraph?

● Do the sentences flow smoothly and

logically?


Follow the Yellow Brick Road…

● Why use schemas, cartoons, pathway

roadmaps, etc.?

● “A picture is worth a thousand words”

● However, …


● … the picture and words must agree!


● … the writing should not be contradictory!


Schemas, Cartoons, Pathways, etc

● Why use them?

● “A picture is worth a thousand words”

● Synthesize concepts


How Does Your Study Advance the Field

● Ask yourself questions about your study that

reviewers are likely to ask

● What answers do you want or need?

● Write down the answers

● The list provides an organizational

framework (outline)


● Content

Writing Checklist

● Are sufficient details presented to support the

hypothesis, overall impact, and significance?

● Are the major ideas developed appropriately?

● Are irrelevant ideas removed?


“Relativity”, MC Escher, Back in Holland, 1941-54

All of the

elements are

present, but

where is the

storyline?

If you write this way…

…expect

“rejected”


Thank you!


1. American Medical Association. Manual of Style. 9th edition,

Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore, 1998. (ISBN 0-683-40206-4).

2. Briscoe MH. Preparing Scientific Illustrations. 2nd edition, Springer,

NY, 1996. (ISBN 0-387-94581-4).

3. Sova DB. Writing Clearly. A Self-Teaching Guide. John Wiley &

Sons, Hoboken, NJ, 2004. (ISBN 0-471-17952-33).

4. Strunk W Jr and White EB. The Elements of Style. 3rd edition,

MacMillan Publishing Co., NY, 2000. (ISBN 0-02-418200-1).

5. Zeiger M. Essentials of Writing Biomedical Research Papers. 2nd

edition, McGraw-Hill, Inc., NY, 2000. (ISBN 0-07-072833-X).

6. Zinsser W. On Writing Well. Harper & Row Publishers, NY, 1988.

(ISBN 0-06-091479-3).

Bibliography


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