Problems with the term “overrunning”
August 15, 2011 Filed under Blog, Featured, Uncategorized, Writing
Several authors have criticized the use of the term overrunning to represent warm-frontal lifting here and here. I don’t need to add anything to those Web pages, but I do want to point out that the definition provided in the American Meteorological Society’s Glossary of Meteorology is wrong and ambiguous. overrunning—A condition existing when an […]
For better outcomes in the review process, send your editor some food and drink
If the results from a recently published article on the factors affecting judges making parole decisions are analogous to that of a journal editor making accept/revise/reject decisions on manuscripts, then send your editor some food and encourage them to take a break. Danziger, S., J. Levav, and L. Avnaim-Pesso, 2011: Extraneous factors in judicial decisions. […]
Ten Rules of Academic 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 […]
How to add line numbers to your manuscript
The journals of the American Meteorological Society now require line numbers in submitted manuscripts. How do you add such line numbers to your manuscript? From p. 374 of Eloquent Science: A Practical Guide to Becoming a Better Writer, Speaker and Scientist: “Final Checks of Your Manuscript,” “Lines numbered in margin”: You may wish to add […]
Quick Guide to Writing a Solid Peer Review
Nicholas and Gordon, writing in EOS, offer up one of the best summaries of how to write a peer review I’ve read. Download that article from here.
“This issue was not raised by the other reviewers, so we prefer not to address it.”
As a reviewer and an editor, I occasionally see an author respond to a reviewer comment with the above response: “This issue was not raised by the other reviewers, so we prefer not to address it.” This response has always bothered me, but I didn’t know why. After thinking about it recently, now I know […]
Scientific Manuscript Editing Services
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 […]
Finding common ground with climate-change contrarians
July 18, 2011 Filed under Blog, Featured, Presentations
This article by Prof. Scott Denning from Colorado State University was published in the UCAR Magazine. He offers three pieces of wisdom for interacting with audiences who may be hostile. 1. Begin from common ground. 2. Engage the audience on a human level. 3. Emphasize the basics. Denning argues that our inability to interact with […]
Is it in your nature to use “nature” in your scientific 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 […]
Eloquent Science 4-GB flashdrives
I have these nifty Eloquent Science 4-GB flashdrives for sale. They cost £10/€15/$15 if you see me in person, or add £3/€5/$6 for postage. The drive comes preloaded with lots of great resources: • Excerpts and outtakes from Eloquent Science • 21 direct links to online resources • 61 articles specifically designed to help develop […]
