A while ago I gave some tips and tricks how to start a scientific manuscript (click here). The idea was to record yourself while you are talking about your research, transcribe the recording and then edit the transcription.
I have not tackled, however, how to actually write and structure your text, build an argument, tell a story. And you know why? Because it is such a complicated process that I do not feel qualified enough to talk about it. At least not yet.
Yes, a scientific text is a story. Scientists are writers and well written papers are key to letting the world knowing about your world. Thanks to a colleague of mine, I discovered the teaching of Judy Swan – Associate Director for Writing in Science and Engineering. One key stone of her career is to communicate about scientific writing. Her key insight is that texts do not have a fixed interpretation. “Words do not have meanings, they have interpretations”, she states. The interpretation of words, sentences, entire texts depends on the contexts. Therefore, once a texts gets published, interpretations depends on the readers and how much they know and how much they understand what we write.
Good scientific writing manages the readers’ expectations. It begins at the level of the paper’s structure – introduction, methods, results, discussion – but it carries on at the level of paragraphs and sentences sentences. In a well written scientific text, important pieces of information are placed in locations where readers expect emphasis on important pieces of information.
Enjoy the video.
fabian tomaschek 