Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Celia M. Elliott
Copyright 20010 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois with thanks to David Hertzog and Lance Cooper
Disclaimer:
My perspective may be biased because all of my experience is in physics and
nuclear engineering.
Disclaimer...
Youll see this icon in the lower right corner of some of the slidesit indicates a
Celia Commandment.
Although I will state the Celia commandments dogmatically and emphatically, and I
believe in them passionately, they are actually advice, based on 40 years of
writingnot law.
Considerations:
Publish in the most suitable periodicalget advice from your adviser and colleagues
Publish in the most prestigious journal that will accept your ms.
Achieve publication as quickly as possible (usually)
Is posting on an electronic archive for wide distribution and early feedback permissible?
Ulrichs Periodicals Directory has circulation figures for ~300,000 serials, periodicals,
annuals, and newspapers worldwide.
http://www.ulrichsweb.com
318 journals listed for chemistry-physical
Hew to it witlessly
Title
Abstract
Background and Introduction
Technical Description
Results
Discussion
Conclusions
Acknowledgments
References
Special Sections, if needed
You dont really understand something until you can explain it to somebody else
who doesnt know anything about it.
The act of composition disciplines the mind; writing is one way to go about
thinking, and the practice and habit of writing not only drain the mind, but supply it
too. Strunk and White, The Elements of Style, 3rd ed., p. 70.
Write incrementally
The conventional method is to do a project, write the paper, and get it published, but
that method is flawed:
1) You forget or overlook important insights and milestones after the fact.
2) If youve worked on a project for an extended period, you get bored, and thats
reflected in the ms.
3) You cant find the time to write up the paper because youve moved on to a new
project.
H.B. Michaelson, How to Write and Publish Engineering Reports and Papers (Oryx
Press, Phoenix, 1990).
Train yourself to outline and organize what youre going to say before you begin to write
Think of your outline as a map that is going to guide the reader to the conclusions that you want him
to reach: that the work presented is important, that it advances previous work significantly, and that
it proves the hypothesis you set out to test.
Emphasis:
the data
the method
the interpretation
your recommendations
potential applications
Heres an example:
Problem
Analysis/
Previous Assumptions/
Results Method Conclusions
Work Treatment of
Data
Background/ Alternative
References
Introduction Explanations
What problem did you study? What unanswered question did you set out to solve? And why is it
important? Work until you can describe the problem and its importance in one sentence.
What results are you reporting? How is the best way to present them to the reader? In words? In
equations? In a table or plot (best for revealing relationships)? In an image (powerful, memorable,
compact)?
What method did you use to tackle the problem? Why did you choose that method? How are you
sure that you measured what you set out to measure? Why is your method better, faster, cheaper
than work that has been done before? Omit details that are commonly known or tailor to the
prescribed length of the paper.
How does your work build on, expand, confirm, or contradict previous work? (This will drive your
background and introduction and references sections.) What does the reader need to know to
understand the problem, results, and method that youre reporting?
How did you analyze your data? Are there any treatments of data that must be disclosed?
What does it all mean?
Put yourself
in the background
More editors are allowing first person/active voice because so many people write passive voice so
badly.
Use of the passive voice offers two distinct advantages in technical writing:
1) creates the appearance of objectivity and a facts-based approach by presenting results and
conclusions without attributing them to specific agents
2) allows front-loading of key words and phrases to in make them stand out
Instead of worrying about voice, use strong verbs; proper verb choice is often the
difference between crisp, clear text and bloated, clumsy writing.
Replace wimpy verb phrases with strong, action verbs
Weak verb phrasesmade a determination determined
performed a measurement measured
carried out the analysis analyzed
The human immune system is responsible not only for the identification of
foreign molecules, but also for actions leading to their immobilization,
neutralization, and destruction. (25 words)
The human immune system not only identifies foreign molecules, but also
immobilizes, neutralizes, and destroys them. (16 words, crisper, more direct)
Change nouns ending in tion, ment, and ance back into the verbs they are
derived from; your writing will be more crisp and concise.
Write with nouns and verbs, not adjectives and adverbs. The adjective hasnt been
built yet that can pull a weak or inaccurate noun out of a tight place. Will Strunk
We communicate in wordstrain
yourself to use language precisely
Communication is not broadcastingit is successful only when the receiver understands the
content of a message as the sender intended it
Eight steps to meaningful communication:
1) You have an idea
2) You select a medium to transmit the idea
3) You encode the idea for the medium
4) You transmit the message
5) Your audience receives the message
6) The audience decodes it
7) The audience transmits a message back to you about what the message means
8) You confirm that the message has been understood as you intended
The difference between the right word and the almost-right word is the difference between
lightning and lightning bug.Mark Twain
If you are not a native English speaker (and even if you are)many words in
English have both a denotation (the dictionary definition) and a connotation (a
more subtle additional shade of meaning).
Example: the dictionary says the following words are synonyms: feasible,
workable, usable, useful, practical, realistic, achievable, obtainablebut they dont
all mean exactly the same and theyre not interchangeable.
Have a native English speaker to read your manuscript.
Do not overstate...
Mark Twains adviceEvery time you write very, substitute damn. Your editor
will remove all the damns for the sake of propriety, and your writing will be much
better.
People pay attention at the beginning and the end of segmentsthey tend to drift off in the middle.
Dont bury your important points in the middle of a narrative; put them at the beginning or the end
of paragraphs and sections.
Make it easy for the reader to pick out your important points:
graphical highlighting
figures
use of descriptive subheadings
preview important points at the beginning of sections and summarize them at the end of sections
Use figures to emphasize important points. A reader will think about that important
point at least three times if you illustrate itonce when he reads the text, once
when he looks at the image, and again when he reads the caption.
Can you tell me the four reasons I gave you 30 seconds ago for why you should
include figures in your paper?
Can you remember the image that was shown on the last slide?
I rest my case...
Organization
Logical and incremental
Important points stand out
Style
Clear, concise expression; appropriate use of technical language
Freedom from errors in grammar, usage, and typography
Observation of scientific conventions in notation and nomenclature
Only one main idea per paragraph; follow the 4-step construction rule:
State the main idea.
Explain it.
Give an illustrative example of it.
Summarize it in a way that leads naturally to the next paragraph.
Note that this method positions the important ideas strategically.
The probability that a first draft will not require revision approaches 0.
Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is
nothing left to take away.Antoine-Marie-Roger de Saint-Exupery
Brevity is a key goal. Use your revisions to clarify and simplify.
Give yourself adequate time to reflect and rewrite.
Revising should incorporate four distinct elements:
1) clarifying the selection and presentation of ideas.
2) organizing the narrative logically and incrementally.
3) using language precisely and concisely.
4) correcting mechanical errors that detract from a professional argument.
Consider using
descriptive
section titles
instead of
generic ones
Using more informative headings attracts a prospective readers attention and creates
signposts to guide him through the manuscript.
Describe the apparatus, computer codes, or other devices used in the work.
Identify materials and give exact specifications.
Describe procedures in detail.
Give operating ranges.
Include sufficient mathematical detail to reproduce derivations and check numerical
results.
Explicitly describe any hazards, e.g., toxicity, radiation hazards, biohazards,
explosive tendencies.
The standardGive sufficient detail so that other practitioners trained in the art
would be able to reproduce your experiment and obtain the same results.
The figures shown here are taken from Mapping the One-Dimensional Electronic States of
Nanotube Peapod Structures, D.J. Hornbaker et al., Science 295, 828 (2002).
1. Artists rendering of buckyballs encapsulated in a carbon nanotube, and the modifications in the
local electronic structure of the nanotube
2. STM imaging of the peapod
3. Model calculation of the electronic structure of a peapod
4. Variation of the DOS in a peapod, from STM tunneling spectra
5. The model Hamiltonian used for #4.
Use figures to emphasize your main points; the reader will have to process them at least three
timesonce when he reads the text, again when he looks at the figure, and again when he reads
the caption.
All figures and tables must be called out (i.e., specifically discussed) in the text.
Position figures and tables after their first mention in the text, and preferably on the same page;
dont make the reader hunt through your paper to find the relevant figure or table.
Use the captions to point out important features of the figure; tell the reader what to look at and
why it is significant.
Make your figures exciting and visually interestinggive the reader something positive to
remember.
Graphic excellence is that which gives to the viewer the greatest number of ideas in the shortest
time with the least ink in the smallest place.Edward Tufte
Compare the results to prior work, both the authors and others.
Interpret the results; explain what you think they mean.
Explicitly state any assumptions that youve made.
Discuss honestly any limitations of the work.
Suggest aspects of the work that should be tested further, and how to do it.
Describe prospective applications.
Emphasize what is new about this work; what have you contributed?
Evaluate the results from the standpoint of the original objectives of the work. What
do you know now that you didnt know then? What questions have you answered?
What have you contributed?
s
Note that this section is titled conclusion (what we have deduced from doing
this experiment), NOT conclusion (congratulations, youve slogged your way to
the end of this paper)!
Unless you are reporting something that has never been thought of before in the history of
science, using a method that you have invented from scratch, you must include references to
prior work.
The References section is not a bibliography; include only references that are specifically
called out in the text.
References should not be sprinkled through an article like pixie dust; they should be used
thoughtfully to aid the reader. Although some may consider references mere window
dressingsomething to be added to a manuscript to make it look scholarlytheir misuse
speaks loudly for itself. Any reader quickly recognizes indiscriminate reference to the work
of others. Such citations become annoying rather than illuminating a may interrupt the flow
of exposition.H.B. Michaelson, How to Write & Publish Engineering Papers and Reports
Cite the reference at the end of the phrase,1 or sentence, in which it is first mentioned
[Elliott, 1998], depending on the journals preferred style
In general, superscripts go outside punctuation; in-line call-outs go inside (but consult the
journal).
Write the abstract after youve finished the paper; writing is an evolutionary process, particularly if
you write incrementally. The focus and emphasis of a paper may change during the writing
process, and the abstract must reflect the finished ms.
The quality of your abstract determines to a great extent whether anybody actually reads your
paper.
An abstract should contain:
A concise statement of the problem studied
A brief explanation of the approach used
A succinct description of the principal results obtained
A summary of the conclusions reached
Celias foolproof abstract recipe:
Answer the following questions, in this order:
What problem did you study and why is it important?
What methods did you use?
What were your principal results?
What conclusions can you draw from your results about the problem you studied?
Make your sentences as specific and quantitative as possible
Vary the length of the abstract by the length of the answers to the four questions.
The abstract must stand alone; no figures, tables, references, complex equations, or undefined
acronyms.
Image: two point defects adorning a Cu (110) surface; the point defects scatter the surface state
electrons, resulting in circular standing wave patterns. IBM Almaden Research Center,
http://www.almaden.ibm.com/vis/stm/hexagone.html.
Copyright, Board of Trustees of the
University of Illinois 35
Guidelines for Writing a Scientific Paper, January 2010
Celia M. Elliott
Busy scientists employ three criteria when deciding if they will invest time in reading a
paper:
The information conveyed in the title.
The reputation of the author.
The abstract.
Play fair; dont trick people into reading your paper by a misleading title.
Wastes their time.
Ruins your reputation.
Effective titles are concise, descriptive and interesting
Worst title I have ever seen:
Towards the Observation of Signal over Background in Future Experiments
Second-worst title: Report of the Subgroup on Alternative Methods and New
Ideas
But not too interesting--Looking from the East at an Elephant Trotting West: Direct CP
Violation in B0 Decays http://arxiv.org/abs/hep-ph/0203157
Accurately convey the content of the paper.
Frontload the title; put key words first; eschew introductory fluff (On the observation of...
Towards a theory of...).
Limit title to a maximum of 12 words; think long and hard about putting colons in titles.
Avoid unfamiliar acronyms, abbreviations, or symbols in the title.
Use an appendix for supplementary material that is necessary for completeness, but
which would detract from the narrative flow if presented in the body of the paper.
Persuasion in science?
Research is not complete, no matter how many experiments have been conducted, no matter
how many puzzles have been solved, until peers outside of a research team are persuaded that
youve done something significant and your conclusions are correct.
Persuasion is a social process and is an essential part of the creation, testing, and advance of
scientific knowledge.
Persuasive skills are also important in leadership, teamwork, and other fundamentals of
success in the scientific enterprise.
Success in science and engineering requires good persuasive skills.
As a scientist you will use persuasion:
In scholarly papers
In reports and recommendations to superiors
In proposals to funders or customers
Among team members in work groups
In directives to subordinates
In science, the credit goes to the man who convinces the world, not to the man to whom the
idea first occurs.Sir Francis Darwin
In this section, well look at the three components of persuasion, how to establish credibility
in science writing, and the ethics of using persuasion.
The Greek philosopher Aristotle (384 BC-322 BC) first laid out the basic tenets of
persuasion nearly 2400 years ago in The Art of Rhetoric, wherein he elucidated the
process of logical persuasive argument.
Pathos here retains its original Greek meaning, viz. having an effect upon the
emotions; exciting the passions or affections; moving, stirring, affectingnot
pathetic but passionate.
Sign posts are reader cues such as graphical highlighting (boldface or italic), use
of headings and subheadings, arrangement of text on the page, incorporation of
figures and tables, and mathematical proofs.
Establish your credibility by demonstrating your familiarity with the problem (background
and introduction section)
Cite the work and opinion of experts (references)
Dont overstate your claims or force your data (results section)
Dont hide things (methods/procedure section)
Anticipate questions and objections and candidly discuss opposing views (discussion
section)
Persuasion
is powerful;
use it
judiciously
and
ethically
http://physics.illinois.edu/people/Celia/SciWrite.pdf
cmelliot@illinois.edu
W. Strunk and E.B. White, The Elements of Style, 3rd ed. (Allyn & Bacon, Boston,
1979).
V. Booth, Communicating in Science, 2nd ed. (CUP, Cambridge, 1993).
H.B. Michaelson, How to Write and Publish Engineering Papers and Reports, 3rd
ed. (Oryx Press, Phoenix, 1990).
S.L. Montgomery, The Chicago Guide to Communicating Science (University of
Chicago Press, Chicago, 2003).
E. Tufte, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, 2nd ed. (Graphics Press,
Cheshire, CT, 2003).
Remember:
Good writing is an evolutionary process that comes in stages:
Getting in the mood.
Getting words on paper/screen.
Revising, revising, revising, revising, revising, revising, revising, revising,...
FINISHING!!!*
*Do not use too many exclamation points in scientific writing!! People will think
youre a crackpot!!!!