Writing For Science

 

Writing For Science                                   Download


CONTENTS
Preface, xi
1 SCIENTIFIC ENGLISH 1
Language as a Tool of Science, 1 The Communication Range of
Scientific English, 3 The Legacy of Scientifically Plain English, 7
The Human Dimension of Scientific English, 11 Scientific English
in Action, 16 Objectivity and Precision, 18 Clarity and Coherence, 31
Simplicity and Conciseness, 38 Misused Words and Phrases, 43
Punctuation, 51 Scientific English as a Dynamic Instrument, 52
2 LABORATORY NOTES 56
Purpose of Laboratory Notes, 56 Notebooks in the Workplace and
Educational Settings, 57 Legal and Ethical Responsibility in Laboratory
Notes, 58 Permanence of Notebooks and Notes, 60 Notebook
Organization and Entries, 61 Electronic Note Taking, 75 Laboratory
Reports, 76 From Laboratory Records to Other Communications, 79
3 WORKPLACE SCIENTIFIC WRITING: LETTERS, MEMORANDA,
AND ABSTRACTS 81
The Roles of Workplace Scientific Writing, 81 Job Application Letters
and Résumés, 83 Inquiry Letters, 90 Technical Memoranda, 94
Research Abstracts, 98 The Practicality of Workplace Scientific
Writing, 104
4 UNDERGRADUATE REPORTS IN THE SCIENCES 106
What Is a College Report in the Sciences? 106 Features of Scientific
Reports Shared with Other Disciplines, 107 Unique Features of
Scientific Reports, 108 Scientific Report Writing as a Human Process,
111 The Writing Situation: What Is Expected? 112 Working with
Others: Collaborative Scientific Reports, 113 The Recursive Stages
of Writing a Research Report, 114 Research and Writing: Asking the
Right Questions, 115 Getting Started: Topic and Source Decisions,
116 Types of Sources and Their Uses, 118 Electronic Sources, 128
Planning and Drafting the Report: Answering the Questions, 133
Making Choices about Reportorial Modes of Development, 137
Beginnings, Middles, and Endings, 139 Parceling a Report’s Contents
with Headings, 142 Additional Elements for Reports that Are Formal,
144 Writing the Draft and Meeting Reader Expectations, 147 Final
Copy: Reviewing, Editing, Revising, and Proofreading, 149 Being
Thorough from Start to Finish, 151
5 DOCUMENTATION OF SCIENTIFIC SOURCES 152
The Importance of Bibliographic Documentation, 152 Citing
Responsibly: Selectivity, Accuracy, and Completeness, 153 Examples of
Citation Styles in a List of References, 154 Sources Other than Articles
and Books, 161 Electronic Citations, 164 Citations in Text, in Visuals,
and in Bibliographic Notes, 168 Citations as a Reflection of
Professionalism, 172
Contents
viii
6 SCIENTIFIC VISUALS 174
The Importance of Scientific Visuals, 174 Purposes Served by Visuals
in Scientific Papers, 175 Planning and Designing Visuals, 176
Preparing Tables, 177 Preparing Figures, 183 Weighing Options and
Meeting Visual Expectations, 191
7 SCIENTIFIC PRESENTATIONS 194
The Professional Value of Scientific Presentations, 194 Unique
Benefits of Oral Presentations, 195 Timing, 197 Speaking, 198
Writing, 199 Viewing, 203 Poster Presentations, 207 Preparing
for an Audience, 210
8 SCIENTIFIC DISSERTATIONS 213
The Role of Writing in Graduate Scientific Education, 213 Learning
Scientific Writing in Graduate School, 214 Qualities that Define a
Scientific Dissertation, 216 The Parts and Structure of a Scientific
Dissertation, 217 Traditional Features of Front Matter, 218 IMRAD
Expository Style of Chapters, 223 After the Dissertation, 239
9 SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL ARTICLES 240
Professional Importance of Journal Articles in the Sciences, 240
Scientific Journals and Their Articles, 242 The Features of a Scientific
Journal Article, 243 Wording the Title, 244 Author Byline and
Affiliation, 246 Preparing the Abstract, 247 Acknowledgments,
249 Main Text: IMRAD Structure, Style, and Content Editing, 251
Ethical Publication in Science, 264 Final Considerations on the
Scientific Publication Process, 269
10 SCIENTIFIC GRANT PROPOSALS 271
What Is a Scientific Grant Proposal? 271 Guiding Parameters in
Preparing a Proposal, 273 Conventional Parts of a Grant Proposal,
274 Proposal Title and Summary, 276 Revisions in Resubmitted
Contents
ix
Proposals, 281 References in a Proposal, 282 Introduction and
Background, 284 Design and Methodology of the Proposed Work, 288
Budget Preparation, 292 The Challenge and Responsibility of Grant
Preparation, 294