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 […]

“Don’t use the same word twice.”

There’s always that memory that you have from your childhood that still influences your life today. When I was probably 8 years old, someone showed me a centipede on the ground and then said, “Don’t touch it. It’s poisonous.” Of course, now I know better, but I still can’t help but be unrealistically reluctant today. […]

Tribute to Jinny Nathans, AMS Archivist and Librarian

Jinny Nathans (Photo Source: Cambridge Rotary Club) It is devastating to hear that Jinny Nathans passed away this past week due to COVID-19. From American Meteorological Society Executive Director Keith Seitter: “I’m sorry to report that AMS staff lost one of its own to COVID-19. Longtime archivist and librarian Jinny Nathans died this past Sunday. […]

Eloquent Science Workshops for Your Organization

I am delivering online and in-person workshops on scientific-communication skills designed specifically for your needs.

Chapter 5: “The Motivation to Write”, plus Video: “Overcoming Barriers to Writing”

“Writing can be a struggle, or it can be fun. Most likely it is both. The attitude with which we approach the writing project can determine its success. Lack of motivation and writer’s block can prevent us from beginning, continuing, completing, and enjoying writing projects. This chapter provides strategies for overcoming these obstacles to our […]

Chapter 24: Accessible Oral Presentations: Free to download

“Most of the time at conferences is spent listening to others talk. Given the over- whelming challenge for the audience to sit through, absorb, and remember mate- rial from all these presentations, a speaker must be memorable to connect with the audience. As the previous chapters focused on scientific writing, this chapter starts by distinguishing […]

Please don’t pass a review invitation onto your student or colleague

From time to time, I get reviewers who need to decline a review invitation, but instead tell me that they’ve passed on their review invitation to a student or colleague. The invitee may think that they are helping out the editor (in some cases, they are), but there are good reasons why they should not […]

How to download a reference from AMS Journals Online

. 1. Go to an article, say http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/abs/10.1175/MWR-D-16-0460.1 2. On the red bar, click on the download button (third icon from left). 3. This screen appears: http://journals.ametsoc.org/action/showCitFormats?doi=10.1175%2FMWR-D-16-0460.1 4. At the bottom, you can copy the text for the reference list, including the doi. Steenburgh, W.J. and L.S. Campbell, 2017: The OWLeS IOP2b Lake-Effect Snowstorm: Shoreline […]

How Bill Paxton Helped Us Understand Tornadoes in Europe

Today I learned that Bill Paxton died at the age of 61. I never met him, although I knew people who had met him during the filming of Twister. He was said to be friendly and curious about the science on set. Many meteorologists of a certain age group are likely in this career because […]

Goodreads loves Eloquent Science

The Goodread visitors who have read Eloquent Science rate us quite highly: 4.15 out of 5. Thank you to everyone! UPDATE (30 July 2022): 4.48 now. Thank you! https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7391723-eloquent-science

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