Handout: Common Errors in Student Science Writing

For many years, I have compiled a list of common errors that my students have made in writing scientific papers. I have printed it out and handed it out to several cohorts of first-year undergraduate students over the past few years. I hope this short guide to student writing has helped them improve.

It’s been a while, but after marking 67 Critical Literature Reviews this past semester, I felt it was time to update my handout. The length has nearly doubled from 4 pages to 7 pages, so we’re now packing even more content.

Feel free to use and adapt for your own writing courses, or your own edification on improving your scientific writing.

Common Errors in Student Science Writing – 14 January 2021 version

(Updated on 14 January 2021: item 51a, changed from ten to nine, for consistency with AMS style. Thanks, Matt Bunkers.)