Workshop for AGEP Students RCSE, University of Puerto Rico

By Sandra Macksoud Lopez, Ph.D.July 8, 2009

The ability to write effectively is a critical skill sought for in potential employees, and is highly related to professional success. It is important to write well, since well written documents are more effective, easier to read and understand.

What educational experiences in writing have you had as science students?

Why write?To communicate

To convey knowledge, explain and build disciplines (publishing as dialogue)

To educate- facilitate understanding

To persuade-decision makingTo inform To entertain

Why should scientists write?It is a thought process that leads them to a deeper understanding of their work. By objectifying thoughts, the scientist is better able to organize thinking and stimulate further development.

When do you write, and what do you write?

Possible texts Dissertation proposal and dissertationResearch report Article for peer reviewed journal (different levels)Grant proposal Article for lay public Educational material Essays Personal statements or letters for admissions to graduate

school StoriesPoems Examples of effective writing in sciencehttp://www.bedfordstmartins.com/modeldocs/natural.htm

Aspects to considerThe psychology of writing Elements of high quality writing

The process of writing

Science has its own languageA discourse is an institutionalized way of speaking

that determines not only what we say and how we say it, but also what we do not say.

Discourses provide a unified set of words, symbols, and metaphors that allow us to construct and communicate a coherent interpretation of reality.

Scientific writing is a social discourse with its own qualities, different from literature, general education, journalism.

Journal of Science Communicationhttp://jcom.sissa.it/archive/08/02

Styles of writingStyle is the personality of a publicationGood scientific writing is often

beautiful in its elegant simplicity. While the central quality is clarity, it should also be interesting. Its nature is rational and logic, not emotional, but this does not mean it has to be boring.

Clarity “Clear communication, which is the

prime objective of scientific reporting, may be achieved by presenting ideas in an orderly manner and by expressing oneself smoothly and precisely.

By developing ideas clearly and logically, you invite readers to read, encourage them to continue, and make their task agreeable by leading them smoothly from thought to thought.” Publication Manual of the American

Psychological Association.

KEEP IT SIMPLE

“All big things have little names, such as life and death, peace and war, or dawn, day, night, love, home. Learn to use little words in a big way - It is hard to do. But they say what you mean.

When you don’t know what you mean, use big words: They often fool little people.”

Precision Say all you have to say in the fewest possible

words, or the reader will be sure to skip them; and in the plainest possible words, or he will certainly misunderstand them.

AVOID REDUNDANCY

The readerWho are you writing for? Different audiences

AgeEducational levelProfession Ethnic background

Reader expectationThe needs and expectations of readers affect the

interpretation of text. Readers have relatively fixed expectations about where in the structure of prose they will encounter particular items of its substance.

Information is interpreted more easily if it is placed where most readers expect to find it.

If writers can become consciously aware of these locations, they can better control the degrees of recognition and emphasis a reader will give to the various pieces of information being presented.

Good writers are intuitively aware of these expectations; that is why their prose has what we call "shape."

Structure, organization, formatFind the appropriate style manual, and

always read the “Instructions to authors” section of a journal before starting to write

http://www.writing.engr.psu.edu/Beginning and ending, (angle versus

straightforward), close with a punch Length

CoherenceInterconnect ideas so that the text

flows

ONE PAPER, ONE STORY!!!Transitions between sentences and paragraphs

Tone-active voice, positive The rationale behind using the passive voice in scientific writing is

that it enhances objectivity, taking the actor (i.e., the researcher) out of the action (i.e., the research).

Unfortunately, the passive voice can also lead to awkward and confusing sentence structures and is generally considered less engaging (i.e., more boring) than the active voice. This is why most general style guides recommend only sparing use of the passive voice.

Currently, the active voice is preferred in most scientific fields, even when it necessitates the use of "I" or "we." It's perfectly reasonable (and more simple) to say "We performed a two-tailed t-test" rather than to say "a two-tailed t-test was performed," or "in this paper we present results" rather than "results are presented in this paper."

Nearly every current edition of scientific style guides recommends the active voice, but different instructors (or journal editors) may have different opinions on this topic.

http://www.temple.edu/writingctr/handouts/styleandclarity/toneandformality.htm

Avoid sexist writingAvoid using he and him as all-purpose pronouns to refer to

people in general. (Of course, if you're writing about a particular male person, use male pronouns.)

Instead of: Every executive expects his bonus.Try writing Plural Pronouns: Executives expect their bonuses.Second-Person Pronouns: As an executive, you can expect your bonus.No Pronouns: Executives expect regular bonuses.

Avoid using men to refer to people in general. (That is, of course, unless you're writing about men and only men, in which case you'd use the word men.) Instead of: the man who wants to be an astronaut or the men who do their own auto repairsTry writing Indefinite Pronouns: anyone who wants to be an astronautGender-Neutral Words: people who do their own auto repairs

Recommendations from the “Science of scientific writing”

1. Syntactic resolution: follow a grammatical subject as soon as possible with its verb.

2. Place in the stress position the "new information" you want the reader to emphasize.

3. Place the person or thing whose "story" a sentence is telling at the beginning of the sentence, in the topic position.

4. Place appropriate "old information" (material already stated in the discourse) in the topic position for linkage backward and contextualization forward.

Twelve common errors1. Sentence fragments2. Sentence sprawl3. Misplaced and dangling modifiers4. Faulty parallelism5. Unclear pronoun reference6. Incorrect pronoun case7. Omitted commas8. Superfluous commas9. Comma splices10. Apostrophe errors11. Words easily confused12. Misspellings

Sentence fragmentsMake sure each word group you have

punctuated as a sentence contains a grammatically complete and independent thought that can stand alone as an acceptable sentence.

Example: Scientists report no human deaths due to excessive caffeine consumption. Although caffeine does cause convulsions and death in certain animals.

Sentence sprawlToo many equally weighted phrases and

clauses produce tiresome sentences.

The hearing was planned for Monday, December 2, but not all of the witnesses could be available, so it was rescheduled for the following Friday, and then all the witnesses could attend.

[There are no grammatical errors here, but the sprawling sentence does not communicate clearly and concisely.]

Misplaced and dangling modifiersPlace modifiers near the words they describe; be sure the

modified words actually appear in the sentence. A modifier is a phrase or word meant to describe or explain part of a sentence. In Example 1a, the phrase before the comma modifies the subject of the main sentence, which is "I":

Example 1a: Driving down the interstate, I saw the dead dog.

The modifer “driving down the interstate”clearly describes the action of “I.”

A dangling or misplaced modifier is not clearly connected to its object, making the sentence unclear or illogical:

Example 1b: I saw the dead dog driving down the interstate.

In Example 1b, the modifier appears to describe “the dead dog,” an unlikely candidate for a driver’s license. The problem with dangling modifiers is that they confuse your reader. To get an idea of how embarrassing this kind of mistake can be, take a look at our list of the best dangling and misplaced modifiers of all time.

Faulty parallelismBe sure you use grammatically equal

sentence elements to express two or more matching ideas or items in a series.

The candidate's goals include winning the election, a national health program, and the educational system.

The candidate's goals include winning the election, enacting a national health program, and improving the educational system.

Unclear pronoun referenceAll pronouns must clearly refer to definite

referents [nouns].Use it, they, this, that, these, those, and

which carefully to prevent confusion.Einstein was a brilliant mathematician. This is

how he was able to explain the universe.Einstein, who was a brilliant mathematician,

used his ability with numbers to explain the universe.

Incorrect pronoun caseDetermine whether the pronoun is being

used as a subject, or an object, or a possessive in the sentence, and select the pronoun form to match.

Castro's communist principles inevitably led to an ideological conflict between he and President Kennedy.

Omitted commasUse commas to signal nonrestrictive or

nonessential material, to prevent confusion, and to indicate relationships among ideas and sentence parts.

When it comes to eating people differ in their tastes.

Superfluous commasUnnecessary commas make sentences

difficult to read.

Field trips are required, in several courses, such as, botany and geology.

The term, "scientific illiteracy," has become almost a cliche, in educational circles.

Comma splicesDo not link two independent clauses with a

comma (unless you also use a coordinating conjunction: and, or, but, for, nor, so, yet).

Instead use a period or semicolon, or rewrite the sentence.

Diseased coronary arteries are often surgically bypassed, however half of all bypass grafts fail within ten years.

Apostrophe errorsApostrophes indicate possession for nouns

("Jim's hat," "several years' work") but not for personal pronouns (its, your, their, and whose).

Apostrophes also indicate omissions in contractions ("it's" = "it is").

In general, they are not used to indicate plurals.The Aztecs ritual's of renewal increased in

frequency over the course of time.In the current conflict its uncertain who's borders

their contesting.

Words easily confused"Effect" is most often a noun (the effect), and

"affect" is almost always a verb.Other pairs commonly confused: "lead"/"led"

and "accept"/"except."Check a glossary of usage to find the right

choice.The laboratory instructor chose not to offer

detailed advise.

MisspellingsSpelling errors are usually perceived as a

reflection of the writer's careless attitude toward the whole project.

Sentence structure and transitionsRepetition of key words and phrases links sentences and

paragraphs.Parallel structure (the repetition of a sentence pattern or a

grammatical structure within a sentence) strengthens the relationship between and among sentences.

Transitional words and phrases can create powerful links between ideas in your paper and can help your reader understand the logic of your paper.

However, these words all have different meanings, nuances, and connotations.

Before using a particular transitional word in your paper, be sure you understand its meaning and usage completely and be sure that it's the right match for the logic in your paper.

http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/Transitions.html

A dozen fumblegrammar rules for scientistsIt is recommended by the authors that the

passive voice be avoided.Subjects and verbs even when separated by a

word string has to agree.Writing science carefully, dangling

participles must not appear.It you reread your writing you will find that a

great many very repititious statements can be identified by rereading and identifying them.

Avoid using “quotation” marks “incorrectly” and where they serve no “useful” purpose.

cont.The naked truth is that editors will read the

riot act to any Tom, Dick, or Harry that uses cliches; avoid them like the plague.

In formal scientific writing, don’t use contractions or exclamation points!!

If we’ve told you once, we’ve told you a thousand times, a writer who uses hyperbole will come to grief.

In scientific writing, and otherwise, avoid commas, that are, really, unnecessary.

Cont.Subjects and their verbs whenever you notice

and can do so should be placed close.Remember it is better not to, if you can avoid

it, split an infinitive.Proofread your manuscript carefully to be

sure you didn’t any words out.

Clear, concise and direct sentencesUse the active voicePut the action in the verbPut wordy phrases on a dietReduce wordy verbsReduce prepositional phrases Reduce expletive constructionsAvoid using vague nounsAvoid unneccessarily inflated wordsAvoid noun stringshttp://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/ClearConciseSe

ntences.html

Fluidity-using transitionsTransitional words and phrases can create

powerful links between ideas in your paper and can help your reader understand the logic of your paper.

However, these words all have different meanings, nuances, and connotations.

Before using a particular transitional word in your paper, be sure you understand its meaning and usage completely and be sure that it's the right match for the logic in your paper.

http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~wricntr/documents/Transitions.html

The writing process: Sudden inspiration + planningUse a voice recorder The idea- the main focus of the text. Sources of information, references- how much is others’

versus your own words- paraphrasing, use citing guidelinesOutline- jot down the key ideas or topics, first as

brainstorming, progressively organizing, reorganizing and detailing. Different methods: scratch, topic, sentence, paragraph, graphic organizer.

Drafts- Don’t try to start with the introduction, just start writing wherever you feel comfortable and come back to it. Usually, the introduction is the last part that is completed. Decide how much information is enough.

Revising, editing and formatting. Look at the paper as a whole.

ProofreadGetting feedback- Share with critical friend

Factors that hinder writingProcrastinationWriting apprehensionDysphoriaImpatiencePerfectionismRules

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-oXvS-JJ_s&feature=related

Examples of nonproductive behaviors

I put off the writing as long as possible (until just before the deadline, if there is one)

I work best when I wait until the last minuteI use delaying tactics such as working first on

more “pressing” tasks, like cleaning the car, or reading my email.

Once ready to write, I spend time daydreaming

I complain about the person who made the writing task (and deadline) necessary.

Examples of nonproductive behaviorsI devalue the writing assignment and/or my

writing abilityI resist taking extra time to carry out post-

writing tasks such as revising, getting reviews from peers, proofreading carefully

I stop to correct errors and edit during the first draft

I prefer not to write until I have a substantial period of free time available

Self assessment as writerWhat types of documents do I need to

write?Who is my audience? What are my strengths and weaknesses

as a writer?? How do I go about writing? What are

the major challenges I face when I write?

Brainstormingalso called listing, is a process of generating a lot of information

within a short time by building on the association of previous terms you have mentioned.

Jot down all the possible terms that emerge from the general topic you are thinking about. This procedure works especially well if you work in a team. All team members can generate ideas, with one member acting as scribe. Don't worry about editing or throwing out what might not be a good idea. Simply write down a lot of possibilities.

Group the items that you have listed according to arrangements that make sense to you.

Give each group a label. Now you have a topic with possible points of development.

Write a sentence about the label you have given the group of ideas. Now you have a topic sentence or possibly a thesis statement.

ClusteringClustering is also called mind mapping or idea mapping. It is

a strategy which allows you to explore the relationships between ideas.

Put the subject in the center of a page. Circle or underline it. As you think of other ideas, link the new ideas to the central

circle with lines. As you think of ideas that relate to the new ideas, add to

those in the same way. The result will look like a web on your page. Locate clusters

of interest to you, and use the terms you attached to the key ideas as departure points for your paper. Clustering is especially useful in determining the relationship between ideas. You will be able to distinguish how the ideas fit together, especially where there is an abundance of ideas.

Clustering your ideas lets you see them visually in a different way, so that you can more readily understand possible directions your paper may take.

FreewritingFreewriting is a process of generating a lot of

information by writing non-stop. It allows you to focus on a specific topic, but forces you to write so quickly that you are unable to edit any of your ideas.

Freewrite on the assignment or general topic for several 5-10 minutes non-stop. Force yourself to continue writing even if nothing specific comes to mind. This freewriting will include many ideas; at this point, generating ideas is what is important, not the grammar or the spelling.

After you've finished freewriting, look back over what you have written and highlight the most prominent and interesting ideas; then you can begin all over again, with a tighter focus. You will narrow your topic and, in the process, you will generate several relevant points about the topic.

LoopingLooping is a freewriting technique that allows you to increasingly

focus your ideas in trying to discover a writing topic. You loop one 5-10 minute freewriting after another, so you have a sequence of freewritings, each more specific than the other.

The same rules that apply to freewriting apply to looping: write quickly, do not edit, and do not stop. Freewrite on an assignment for 5-10 minutes. Then, read through your freewriting, looking for interesting topics, ideas, phrases, or sentences. Circle those you find interesting.

A variation on looping is to have a classmate circle ideas in your freewriting that interests him or her. Then freewrite again for 5-10 minutes on one of the circled topics. You should end up with a more specific freewriting about a particular topic. Loop your freewriting again, circling another interesting topic, idea, phrase, or sentence. When you have finished four or five rounds of looping, you will begin to have specific information that indicates what you are thinking about a particular topic. You may even have the basis for a tentative thesis or an improved idea for an approach to your assignment when you have finished.

The Journalists' Questions A powerful way to develop a great deal of information about a topic very

quickly. Learning to ask the appropriate questions about a topic takes practice, however. At times during writing an assignment, you may wish to go back and ask the journalists' questions again to clarify important points that may be getting lost in your planning and drafting.

Who?: Who are the participants? Who is affected? Who are the primary actors? Who are the secondary actors?

What?: What is the topic? What is the significance of the topic? What is the basic problem? What are the issues?

Where?: Where does the activity take place? Where does the problem or issue have its source? At what place is the cause or effect of the problem most visible?

When?: When is the issue most apparent? (past? present? future?) When did the issue or problem develop? What historical forces helped shape the problem or issue and at what point in time will the problem or issue culminate in a crisis? When is action needed to address the issue or problem?

Why?: Why did the issue or problem arise? Why is it (your topic) an issue or problem at all? Why did the issue or problem develop in the way that it did?

How?: How is the issue or problem significant? How can it be addressed? How does it affect the participants? How can the issue or problem be resolved?

Proofreadingis an essential part of the revision process.

Now that you have a whole paper, it's time to see how you can improve it as a whole! So, here are some E-A-S-Y proofreading tips to follow.       E ase the Tension   A loud   S low it Down!  Read backwards Y ield to Revision Process

Before You Proofread

Be sure you've revised the larger aspects of your text. Don't make corrections at the sentence and word level if you still need to work on the focus, organization, and development of the whole paper, of sections, or of paragraphs.

Set your text aside for a while (15 minutes, a day, a week) between writing and proofing. Some distance from the text will help you see mistakes more easily.

Eliminate unnecessary words before looking for mistakes.

Know what to look for. From the comments of your professors or a Writing Center instructor on past papers, make a list of mistakes you need to watch for.

When You Proofread Work from a printout, not the computer

screen. (But see below for computer functions that can help you find some kinds of mistakes.)

Read out loud. This is especially helpful for spotting run-on sentences, but you'll also hear other problems that you may not see when reading silently.

Use a blank sheet of paper to cover up the lines below the one you're reading. This technique keeps you from skipping ahead of possible mistakes.

Use the search function of the computer to find mistakes you're likely to make. Search for "it," for instance, if you confuse "its" and "it's;" for "-ing" if dangling modifiers are a problem; for opening parentheses or quote marks if you tend to leave out the closing ones.

When you proofreadIf you tend to make many mistakes, check

separately for each kind of error, moving from the most to the least important, and following whatever technique works best for you to identify that kind of mistake. For instance, read through once (backwards, sentence by sentence) to check for fragments; read through again (forward) to be sure subjects and verbs agree, and again (perhaps using a computer search for "this," "it," and "they") to trace pronouns to antecedents.

End with a spelling check, using a computer spelling checker or reading backwards word by word. But remember that a spelling checker won't catch mistakes with homonyms (e.g., "they're," "their," "there") or certain typos (like "he" for "the").

Technologies that support writing: wikis, track changes, readability statistics in

word, citations

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGmM4PHJurk

http://grant-writing-resources.blogspot.com/2008/03/51-use-readability-statistics-to.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dnL00TdmLY&feature=fvw

http://wiki-riki.wikispaces.com/Research+Papers+and+Reports

Tracking changeshttp://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/c

omments.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cinxpT_iIbo&feature=PlayList&p=7DDF0C35F878A36E&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=5

Resources University Writing Center, University of Central Florida-http://uwc.ucf.edu/Writing%20Resources/writing_resources_home.htm-http://uwc.ucf.edu/Grad%20Gateway/gg_home.htm#getting http://owl.english.purdue.edu/   Duke University Scientific Writing for Scientists

http://uwp.duke.edu/wstudio/resources/documents/science_sci.pdf American Scientist

http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/id.877,y.0,no.,content.true,page.1,css.print/issue.aspx

Writing as a Scientist http://www.library.ups.edu/instruct/kuglitsch/writingscience/

Writing exercises for engineers and scientists http://www.writing.engr.psu.edu/exercises/ Grammar girl

http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/EpisodeList.aspx http://www.bartleby.com/141/ The Elements of Style  William

Strunk, Jr.

References

Boice, R. (1990) Professors as writers: a self-help guide to productive writing. Oklahoma: Stillwaters Press.

Cypert, S. (1983) Writing effective business letters, memos, proposals & reports. Chicago: Contemporary Books.

Day, R. (1992). Scientific English: A guide for scientists and other professionals. Arizona: Oryx Press.

Elbow, P. (1981). Writing with power: techniques for mastering the writing process. New York: Oxford University Press.

Gopen, G. & Swan, J. (1990). The Science of scientific writing. American Scientist. Retreived from https://www.americanscientist.org/issues/id.877,y.0,no.,content.true,page.1,css.print/issue.aspx

Perrin, P. (1972) Writer’s guide and index to English. 5th ed. Scott, Foresman, &Co.: Illinois.

Whalen, D.J. (1996) I see what you mean: persuasive business communication. California: Sage Publications.

Williams, J. (1990) Style: toward clarity and grace. The University of Chicago Press: Chicago.