Scientific Writing

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Scientific Writing
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The Good and the Bad News

• Good news
• The world is not magically divided into good
  writers and bad writers anyone can write well if
  they are prepared to spend the time and effort
• Bad news
• The world is not magically divided into good
  writers and bad writers anyone can write well if
  they are prepared to spend the time and effort

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Pandas Punctuation
A panda walks into a café. He orders a sandwich,
eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots
into the air.
Why? asks the confused waiter, as the panda
makes towards the exit. The panda produces a
badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it
over his shoulder.
Im a panda, he says, at the door. Look it
up.
The waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure
enough, finds an explanation.
Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal,
native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves.
So, punctuation really does matter, even if it is
only occasionally a matter of life and death.
Truss, L. 2003. Eats, shoots leaves. The zero
tolerance approach to punctuation. Profile Books
Ltd.
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Pandas eat mainly bamboo leaves, stems and shoots

• A panda's daily diet consists almost entirely of
  the leaves, stems and shoots of various bamboo
  species.
• Bamboo contains very little nutritional value so
  pandas must eat 12-38kg every day to meet their
  energy nee

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Why its worth writing well

• It is part of a scientists job to communicate
  their work to other scientists, and the public
• Making the effort to write well forces you to
  think about what you are writing
• Higher marks!

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Outline of Workshop

• What is good writing?
• Structure
• Presentation
• Exam essays

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What is good writing?

• Good writing is good because it does its job more
  efficiently
• The function of a piece of writing is to
  communicate
• It is your job as a writer to keep the reader
  reading
• It is your job as a writer to make the reader
  understand

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Questions to ask yourself

• What am I trying to say?
• What words will express it?
• What image or phrase will make it clearer?
• Is this image fresh enough to have an effect?
• Could I have put it more succinctly?
• Have I said anything that is avoidably ugly?

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Some Ideas

• Decide on a structure before you start writing
• Be prepared to go through two drafts
• Leave some time between drafts
• Do not write anything you do not understand
• Think about reading your work aloud
• Do not include irrelevant material be concise
• Do not make the reader do your work for you

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Types of Structure

• Introduction
• Theory A
• Theory B
• Conclusions
• References

• Introduction
• what are we talking about?
• why is it important?
• definitions and background information
• outline of structure
• Theory A
• Theory B
• Conclusions
• References

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Type of Structure

• Introduction
• Theory A
• description
• evidence
• examples
• problems
• Theory B
• Conclusions
• References

• Introduction
• Theory A
• Theory B
• description
• evidence
• examples
• problems
• Conclusions
• References

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Type of Structure

• Introduction
• Theory A
• Theory B
• Conclusions
• synthesis of x and y
• implications/future developments
• References

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Presentation general advice

• When using a computer, use a clear, legible font
  at a reasonable size (VERDANA or ARIAL, FONT 10
  or 11)
• Double or 1.5 spacing, and leave margins for
  comments
• Make sure your name (and the name of the person
  setting the essay) are on the front
• Number pages and include a word count
• Use figures, tables and quotes (when appropriate)
• Punctuation!
• Spelling!
• Grammar!
• Cite references correctly
• Species names should be in italics or underlined
• Do not plagiarise!

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Exam Essays

• Answer all the questions (one essay in the exam
  for SEF031), even if it means leaving some
  unfinished
• Be concise
• Take a few minutes to think about structure at
  the start. Stick to it, unless you realise you
  have missed out something absolutely vital
• When revising, look at previous exam papers and
  try to plan (not write) essays for the questions

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Conclusion

• The function of a piece of writing is to
  communicate
• Ask yourself what you are trying to say and how
  you can best say it. If there is anything you can
  do to say it more clearly do it!

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SEF031 Essay 1 Title
Discuss the differences and similarities of the
lysogenic and lytic cycle of bacteriophages.
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SEF031 Essay 1 Title
Discuss the differences and similarities of the
lysogenic and lytic cycle of bacteriophages.
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Type of Structure

• Short Introduction
• Basic Information from the LIFE book - several
  paragraphs
• Text looks better with a free line between
  paragraphs
• Additional paragraphs. What is new or novel about
  this topic from 2008 2014?
• Conclusion
• synthesis of x and y
• implications/future developments
• Reference(s)

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Information on Recent Developments

• Web of knowledge
• PubMed

webofknowledge.com
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Information on Recent Developments
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Recent Developments - some shortcuts
www.sciencedaily.com
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Recent Developments - some shortcuts
http//physorg.com/
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Type of Structure

• Short Introduction
• Basic Information from the LIFE book - several
  paragraphs
• Additional paragraphs. What is new or novel about
  this topic from 2008 2014??
• Conclusion
• synthesis of x and y
• implications/future developments
• Reference(s)

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REFERENCING

• You need to read/consult approximately 3-6
  references
• The first or main reference will be the LIFE book
  
• The LIFE book must be cited in the text of the
  essay and then listed at the end in a section
  entitled REFERENCE
• YOU ONLY HAVE TO CITE THE LIFE BOOK IN THE ESSAY
  WHICH YOU WILL WRITE IN THE WORKSHOP IN WEEK 4.

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REFERENCING

• Referencing the LIFE textbookFor example....
• One of the most important differences between
  viruses and bacteria is .................... 
  (Sadava et al. 2009).    
• The "et al." is used when a reference is written
  by more than two authors. 
• If the book was written by just two authors it
  would be given as, for example (Sadava and Heller
  2009). 
• However (Sadava and Heller 2009) is not correct
  because your main text book has FOUR different
  authors. ReferencesSadava, D., Hillis, D.M.,
  Heller, H.C. and Berenbaum, M. R. 2009. Life The
  Science of Biology. 9th Edition. Sinauer
  Associates, Inc. Sunderland.

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REFERENCING some general rules

• References do not have to be given at the end of
  every sentence. 
• If for example you write a paragraph and all
  information is taken from one source, then you
  only need to cite the source once at the end of
  the paragraph. 
• If a paragraph contains information from two
  different sources, then you need to give both
  references at the appropriate locations within
  the paragraph. 
• And so on, if you use more references.

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REFERENCES

• Do NOT reference Wikipedia or other sources of
  information that are not reliable.
• Best to avoid using random biology websites.
• Use main textbooks, book chapters, or published
  papers.
• Do not use A-level biology textbooks

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Type of Structure
Do NOT begin the essay with In this essay I
will...... Write directly and succinctly!
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WritingIt is VERY important to write neatly
in order for the work to be read and corrected. 
If your writing cannot be read, then you cannot
gain marks for it!  Please write your name
using CLEAR BLOCK CAPITALS.
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Marking Criteria See Handout on module website
from Week 00 SEFP Marking Criteria
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Week 4
Essay under exam conditions 50 minutes allowed
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The Best Essays
Excellent standard of written English Excellent
understanding of the science, with examples from
book new/novel examples Clearly show how to
cite a reference in the text, and list reference
at the end of the essay
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Marking Scheme
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Marking Scheme
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Marking Scheme