科技文写作知识要求课件

ScientificWriting

Rhea-BethMarkowitz,PhDMedicalCollegeofGeorgiaAugusta,Georgia,USArbmarkowitz@1“Anaturalist’slifewouldbeahappyoneifhehadonlytoobserveandnevertowrite.” CharlesDarwin2OutlineSession1:ElementsofScientificWritingSession2:HowtoWriteaManuscriptSession3:PublicationPractices&EthicsSession4:CommonProblemAreasSession5:HowtoPublish(WesternJournal)Sessions6&7:CritiquesofyourwritingSession8:Questions&Review3Session1:TopicsWhatisscientificwriting?Howdoesitdifferfromwritingingeneral?Grammar&otherwritingessentialsPlainlanguageReferenceBooks4Whatisscientificwriting?Howdoesitdifferfromotherwriting?5NotpoeticorfloweryMoredirectandtothepointPassivevoice(NO)Wordy(doesn’tneedtobe)Moreprecise6Ourgoalistomakescientificwritingreadableandeasytounderstand7Grammar&OtherWritingEssentials8SentenceConsistsofsubject,verb,andobjectKeepsubjectandverbclosetogether!Serologicstudieshaveshownthatprimaryinfectionusuallyoccursduringchildhood.Eachsentenceshouldmakeasinglepoint20-22wordspersentence9Whatthereaderexpectsinasentence MainactionofthesentenceisexpressedinthemainverbSubjectistheagentoftheaction(iftheagentisimportant)SentencetellsastoryInthisreport,wedescribeasystematicstudyoftheroleofimmunodeficiencyinBKVandJCVviruria.10Subjectisatthebeginningofthesentence,unlessthereisadependentclause.Inwhichcase,subjectwillimmediatelyfollowtheclauseAsidefromthekinasedomainandphosphorylationsites,virtuallynothingisknownaboutstructure-functionrelationshipsintheenzyme.Verbimmediatelyfollowsthesubject11PositionsintheSentenceTopicpositionisatthebeginningofthesentence.ContainsoldinformationLinksusbackwardStresspositionshouldbeatendofthesentence.PointofclosureReceivesspecialemphasisNewinformation12Inotherwords:Thebeginningofthesentence(topicposition)willeitherlookforwardtotherest(i.e.,offercontext)orwilllookbackward(i.e.,providelinkage).Theendofthesentence(stressposition)willcontainthenew,importantinformation.13

DigestionofarchetypevirusshouldgivearadiolabeledSacIfragmentof129bpandaradiolabeledSphIfragmentof175bp.14Whicharetopicandstresspositions?

DigestionofarchetypevirusshouldgivearadiolabeledSacIfragmentof129bpandaradiolabeledSphIfragmentof175bp.15Voice:activevspassiveActivevoice:whensubjectperformstheactionoftheverbPassivevoice:whensubjectundergoestheactionoftheverbUsuallyconsistsofpartofverb“tobe”andpastparticipleofverb16Passivevoice

Makessentencesmorewordy&complicatedUsedtoberecommendedforscientificwritingNOTANYMORE!!!UsewhenagentisnotimportantCellswereculturedinDME….. Doesnotmatterwhoculturedthem!17ActivevoiceAddsactiontothesentenceAddsinterestMakessentencesshorterWeanalyzed…..18Convertpassivetoactive

Lookforburiedverbshiddeninwordsthatendin-ionAcarefulinspectionoftheesophagealmucosaisperformedastheendoscopeiswithdrawn.Thephysicianinspectstheesophagealmucosaastheendoscopeiswithdrawn.19Twoofthemostcommonerrorsmadeinscientificwriting….Subject-verbdisagreementDanglingparticiples20Subject-VerbDisagreementProblem:easytoforgetwhatthesubjectis(singularorplural)whenweuselongstringsofphrasestomodifyitSolution:readthesentence,omittingthemodifyingphrases,sothatsubjectandverbaretogetherSingularsubjectusessingularverb.Pluralsubjectusespluralverb.21Theincidenceofbasalcellcarcinomaandsquamouscellcarcinomaofskin(is/are)estimatedtoexceedonemillionperyear.Subjectisincidence,singular,thereforeuse

isBUT……22Basalcellcarcinomaandsquamouscellcarcinomaofskinareestimatedtooccurinoveronemillionperyear.

Subjectisplural:twocarcinomas,thereforeuseare

23DanglingParticiplesParticiple:formofverbthatactsasanadjectivee.g.,hanging,trappedDanglingwhentheimpliedsubjectoftheparticipleisnotthesameasthesubjectofthesentence24Wrappedaroundthespinalcord,thesurgeonfoundalargetumor.Wasthesurgeonwrappedaroundthespinalcord?Orthetumor?Sentencesaysthesurgeonwas.Changeto:Thesurgeonfoundalargetumorwrappedaroundthespinalcord.25DanglingparticiplesoftenoccurinpassivevoiceSolution:useactivevoice26StringsofpearlsToomanymodifiersinarowSticktoonly2or3UsehyphensforclarificationPatientBwasa57-year-old,right-handed,Caucasianmanwhowasadmitted….27DiagrammingSentences...lausd.k12.ca.us/lausd/offices/di/Burleson/Lessons/TS/diagram.htm/grammar/diagrams/diagrams.htm

28UseofTensesinScientificWritingDifferentpartsofascientificpaperusedifferenttensesWhenafacthasbeenpublishedorisestablished:usePresentTheprincipalmechanismofdouble-strandbreakrepairinhumansisnonhomologousendjoining.Ifafactisnotgeneralizedorfromaspecificexperiment:usePastWecharacterizedtheeffectsofmutationsatserine260and…..29Whenobservationshavebeenrepeatedorgofrompasttopresent:usePresentPerfectWehaveshownthat….Whenreferringtofiguresortables:usePresentFigure2isamassspectrometryanalysisof…..

30Methods:Inapaper:usePastGSTproteinswerepurifiedasdescribed.Inagrant:useFutureThefull-lengthcodingregionwillbeexcisedfromtheEcoRIsite….31Person

Itisperfectlygoodtousethefirstpersoninscientificwriting:WeperformedHPLC…Weandothershaveshown…..Orthethirdperson:Jonesandcolleaguesreportedthat…32Redundancy

Removeredundancy,verbosity,andallthingsthatarerepeated33OriginalsentencefromaChinesecolleagueOurpreliminarydatashowedthatGILZinhibitsbothPPAR2andC/EBPtranscription,butunliketheinhibitionofPPAR2whichinvolvesthedirectbindingofGILZtoPPAR2promoter(seeappendedpaper).GILZdoesnotbindtoC/EBPpromoter.34Changedto:OurpreliminarydatashowsthatGILZinhibitsbothPPAR2andC/EBPtranscription.However,whileGILZinhibits

PPAR2bydirectlybindingtothePPAR2promoter(seeappendedpaper),GILZdoesnotbindtotheC/EBPpromoter.35PlainLanguageinScience36Outdatedattitude:Theimportanceoftheworkisinverselyproportionaltothenumberofpeoplewhocanunderstandit..

ScienceEditor(2001)24:194.37Thetrendtowardplainlanguageisgatheringforceingovernment,academe,andscientificjournals....Ifsimplewordscanbeusedtoconveythemessage,don’tusefancywords.38But….becareful….DonotuseinformalspeechinscientificwritingNot:Wegotthefollowingresults…Use:WeobtainedthefollowingresultsOtherwordsnottouse:Not:WegottoUse:WewillhavetoNot:

We

can’tconclude..Use:

We