Transcript THE SCIENCE OF SCIENTIFIC WRITING George D. Gopen and

“THE SCIENCE OF SCIENTIFIC
WRITING”
George D. Gopen and Judith A.
Swan
Technical Writing
ENGL 3153
Scott Hale
Scientific Writing
Remember:
The goal is to communicate.
Accurate information is useless if the
reader cannot understand it.
When presenting data in a
table
Give context before
data.
The information which
is familiar (time
increments) comes
before the “new”
data.
Time
0 min
3 min
6 min
Degrees
25
27
29
Reader Expectations

Readers expect information from left to
right and top to bottom in chronological
(or other standard order of) sequence.
– Example:
 If
the headings in your resume are top to
bottom, and your content moves from left to
right, don’t put a heading to the left/right of
another (horizontally) or provide any content
arranged vertically.
Reader Expectations: cont’d

Readers expect the writer to follow
generic considerations (Introduction,
Experimental Methods, Results and
Discussion)
– Example:
 A cover
letter should announce the position
being applied for before the writer begins to talk
about his/her qualifications.
Improving Accessibility

First, grammatical subjects should be
followed as soon as possible by their
verbs.
– Avoid:
I
would, because of many reasons--the first of
which is location, the second of which is
challenge, the third of which is independence-like to remain my own boss.
Accessibility--Con’t

Second, every unit of discourse, no
matter the size, should serve a single
function or make a single point.
– Avoid:
I
have received a bachelor’s degree from the
University of Oklahoma and, since I live nearby,
can come in to interview at any time.
Accessibility--Con’t

Third, information intended to be
emphasized should appear at points of
syntactic closure.
– Syntactic closure occurs at the end of a
clause or sentence.
 Syntactic
closure comes HERE, but it can also
come HERE.
"Put in the topic position the old information that links
backward; put in the stress position the new information
you want the reader to emphasize.”
1. The backward-linking old information can
appear in the topic position.
– Example
 While
doing this experiment, a problem with the
calibration was observed. This problem will
have to be corrected before we can move on.
– NOT
 Before
we can move on, we must correct this.
Emphasis--Con’t
2. The person, thing or concept whose story it is
can appear in the topic position.
– Example:
 The
asphalt was heated, then cooled, over 100
times in rapid succession. Only minor cracking
occured.
– NOT
 Our
highly-skilled engineers tested the asphalt.
They heated and cooled it, and they found only
minor cracking occured.
Emphasis --Con’t
3. The new, emphasis-worthy information can
appear in the stress position.
– Example:
 We
are pleased to report that we have had
success.
– NOT:
 This
report of our success, which we are
pleased to provide, follows.
Look for Logical Gaps
Explanations should be step-by-step,
and should not omit a step--assuming
the reader can supply specialized
knowledge. Treat descriptions of
processes like mathematical proofs-supply all steps.
Make the Central “Action”
Clear
Whether you are proving a hypothesis,
making a recommendation (even of
yourself), or reporting difficulties, make
certain that this action is performed in
your document (make it apparent and
stress it).
Summary
Follow a grammatical subject as soon
as possible with its verb.
 Place in the stress position the "new
information" you want the reader to
emphasize.

Summary--Con’t
 Place
the person or thing whose
"story" a sentence is telling at the
beginning of the sentence, in the
topic position.
Summary--Con’t

Place appropriate "old information"
(material already stated in the
discourse) in the topic position for
linkage backward and contextualization
forward.
Summary--Con’t
Articulate the action of every clause or
sentence in its verb.
 In general, provide context for your
reader before asking that reader to
consider anything new.

Summary--Conclusion

In general, try to ensure that the relative
emphases of the substance coincide
with the relative expectations for
emphasis raised by the structure.