Does “play a role” still play a role in your writing?
Consider these sentences, paraphrased from real journal articles. ❌ Rising motion is hypothesized to play a role in the transport of moisture to the tropopause. ❌ Insolation forcing plays a primary role in determining equatorial seasonality. ❌ The Rocky Mountains play a key role in controlling the land and sea-surface temperatures in high latitudes. ❌ […]
Common Problems with However, Therefore, and Similar Words
One of the common writing mistakes that I observe is the misuse of however, therefore, and other similar words. Here, I am referring to the use of these words as conjunctions (i.e., words that connect two ideas), not the definition of however that means “in whatever way” (e.g., “However you decide, know that I will […]
Editorial: How to Be a More Effective Author
Looking for top tips from the editors of Monthly Weather Review on how to be a more effective author? The November 2022 issue has an editorial by the 21 editors with our top tips from planning the paper, writing the paper, addressing a rejected manuscript, and responding to reviewers and editors. In addition, we have […]
How to be a more effective reviewer
As part of its 150th anniversary celebrations, Monthly Weather Review published my editorial “How to be a more effective reviewer”. The editorial has four sections: receiving the invitation, writing the review, after the initial review, and communicating with the editor. It provides guidance for first-time reviewers, but also experienced reviewers, to help make your reviews […]
The Five Most Common Problems with Introductions
Source: https://scribemedia.com/write-book-introduction/The introduction is often the toughest part of a scientific paper to write. Authors looking for good role models in the published literature are often seduced by less-than-ideal examples that look superficially good and easy to emulate, but are not as effective as they could be. Here, I indicate five of the most common […]
Eliminate excessive and unnecessary acronyms from your scientific writing
Source: https://sspinnovations.com/blog/know-your-gis-and-non-gis-abbreviations-acronyms-and-initialisms/ I can’t say that there was a specific moment when I noticed it happening more often. Either it is increasing in frequency or it is testing my patience more these days. That is the tendency for authors to introduce numerous and unnecessary acronyms in their manuscripts. These authors abbreviate phrases, geographical locations, and […]
Chinese translation of Eloquent Science now available
Thanks to the hard work of colleagues, there is a Chinese-language translation of Eloquent Science now available. A huge thank you to translators Haijiang Kong, Yan Han, Feimiao Zhao, M. Song, and Jidong Gao, who worked hard over many years to get this out. I am especially grateful to Haijiang who was the one who […]
Get your paper accepted faster: Responding to reviewers’ comments
July 10, 2021 Filed under Articles, Blog, Featured, Publishing, Reviewing, Uncategorized, Writing
Getting your manuscript accepted at a journal can typically take one to three rounds of back and forth with reviewers, each round taking one to three months. In my experience as Editor, sometimes the process could go faster because of things that the author could have done better or done differently when writing their responses […]
“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. […]
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 […]
