Scientific Writing

Partido, B.B.

Scientific writing has many similarities and differences to standard writing. A standard template guides the overall design: (introductory paragraph with thesis statement, main body of paragraphs, conclusion paragraph) and the construction of each paragraph (topic sentence, supporting sentences, concluding sentence). The flow of the writing should go from broad to narrow (thesis statement) through the main body and from narrow to broad in the conclusion. However, in scientific writing, the economy of words guides the word count. It is always best to express the most ideas in the most direct way, using the least number of words.

• Practice writing and thinking– As with all skills, practice makes perfect.
• Learn by example from the writings of others– The more you read the style of scientific writing, the easier it becomes to write scientifically.
• Learn the nuances of this style and format– The more you read the style of scientific writing, the easier it becomes to understand the style and format.
• Pay attention to how professional scientists write about their work– This comes with reading scientific writing.
• Improvement achieved by repeatedly practicing reading, writing, and critiquing others’ writing