How not to write about complexity in science
April 10, 2012 by Prof. David M. Schultz
Filed under Blog, Featured, Writing
Having graded over 130 student essays this past fall, I saw a certain word pop up again and again: complex. “Earthquakes are a complex problem.” “Titan has a complex methane distribution over the Tropics.” “To pin down the many complexities and feedbacks involved in jet stream blocking may prove to be difficult.” “Governments and international […]
Review: “Writing Science” by Joshua Schimel
March 21, 2012 by Prof. David M. Schultz
Filed under Blog, Featured, Resources, Uncategorized, Writing
I just finished reading a new book Writing Science: How to Write Papers That Get Cited and Proposals That Get Funded by Prof. Joshua Schimel, in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology at UC Santa Barbara. Schimel’s book is the perfect companion to Eloquent Science. Whereas Eloquent Science provides guidance about how to […]
Speaking Science to the Public
A while back, I was asked about the type of guidance that I would provide someone who wanted to communicate to the public via their National Hydrometeorological Service’s Web page. The book I most highly recommend is “Don’t Be Such a Scientist”. The author definitely has an American way of writing, so nonnative American English […]
Teller on Communicating Science
February 27, 2012 by Prof. David M. Schultz
Filed under Blog, Featured, Writing
No, not Edward Teller, but Teller of the magic act Penn and Teller. The Smithsonian magazine’s March 2012 issue has an article written by Teller, available online. In the article, Teller explains seven principles for how magicians convince the audience of the trick. After reading them, I think many could be equally applied to convincing […]
Writing a Thesis: How to Interact with your Supervisor
September 1, 2011 by Prof. David M. Schultz
Filed under Blog, Featured, Writing
Three-Month Thesis has a thoughtful post about how many thesis drafts you need. I would disagree with a few things on that page. 1. The number of drafts depends very strongly on the student. I would argue that you need as many drafts as it takes to finish the thesis. 2. In principle, the quality […]
How To Improve Your Writing
August 21, 2011 by Prof. David M. Schultz
Filed under Blog, Writing
Three things will speed your improvement. Reread How-To guides and other inspirational books and articles. Here are some links and some recommendations ([1] and [2]) to get you started. For me, I derive inspiration from Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style, which I reread every 3-5 years. Rereading parts of Eloquent Science can also […]
How important is it to use “important” in your writing?
August 20, 2011 by Prof. David M. Schultz
Filed under Blog, Featured, Uncategorized, Writing
Have you read an article where the author talks about “an important process” or “the important role of another process”? Do these sort of platitudes go in one of your ears and out the other? Are you convinced by the author’s use of the word “important” that it truly is an important process? Or, do […]
Ten Rules of Academic Writing
August 11, 2011 by Prof. David M. Schultz
Filed under Blog, Featured, Resources, Writing
An essential list of tips about writing by the many of the experts. Abstract: Creative writers are well served with ‘how to’ guides, but just how much do they help? And how might they be relevant to academic authors? A recent survey of writing tips by twenty-eight creative authors has been condensed to the ten […]
Scientific Manuscript Editing Services
July 25, 2011 by Prof. David M. Schultz
Filed under Blog, Featured, Resources, Writing
In my experience as editor, rarely do I reject a manuscript solely because of improper use of the English language (usually from authors who are non-native English speakers, although not entirely). Many rejected manuscripts have this problem, however, so poorly written manuscripts contribute to the author being unable to convince reviewers that their research is […]
Is it in your nature to use “nature” in your scientific writing?
June 26, 2011 by Prof. David M. Schultz
Filed under Blog, Featured, Writing
Some authors have a habit of using the word “nature” commonly in their writing. I suspect that they don’t even think about it. It just seems, well, natural. In fact, the word is empty of meaning in many contexts. “cumuliform nature”: “the cauliflower-like visual appearance of convective clouds” “nature of the convection”: What do you […]