scientific writing need to be clear and precise

Why does your scientific writing need to be clear and precise?

Scientific writing is not just something used to talk about science, but a form of technical writing that experts and scientists use to explain and communicate their research to the world. A good piece of scientific writing should maintain the same clarity and precision of that used in research work. In communication between the author and the audience, scientific writing demands precision- a precise use of words and phrases, and most important clarity. 

All the above three criteria are crucial because of the highly technical terms and phrases used by the author to represent his/her work especially to an audience with very less or no knowledge on the subject. It must be acknowledged that sometimes the audience might be from a different discipline and may not be a native speaker of the language used in the writing. 

Due to the vast number of audiences which a journal attracts, it is important to keep the work as precise as possible which helps in preventing any mistranslations and misunderstandings. It is also essential to portray communicating figures, and facts used in research as well as the description of results, precise and exact. 

What does it mean to be clear and precise in scientific writing?

A key to any writing is to focus on words and punctuation. Subtle differences in the word choice or correct use of punctuation can significantly elevate ones writing. 

An organization of writing is crucial. The paper should be telling a story, making it logical, with specific rules going into each section. In academic wiring, your work needs to be unambiguous and accurate. Though not as simple as it sounds, 

it will help in making it more readable to the audience. Writing precisely requires careful thinking and editing. If a person has to work too hard to comprehend what he reads, then a problem persists in the authors writing skills. 

Remember you’re not trying to impress, you’re are writing to communicate

If you want your work to be read, you as an author should do most of the work for the audience, and a key important part of this is implementing a flow in your writing. 

What strategies to use in scientific writing?

When writing your piece, you should be clear in the information you are providing. The key to any great writing is its structure. For example, if you are covering three different topics in a paragraph and don’t give a coherence, then the reader will not be able to comprehend and find it hard to read. 

Another crucial guideline to achieve flow is to always provide ample information to your audience so that each sentence is lucid. Every sentence provided by you as an author should comprehend each other. This can be achieved by providing information or referring to the previous sentence before introducing new information. Below are some pointers:

  • Using effective transitions between paragraphs, sections, and within sentences when applicable.
  • Writers are recommended to start their sentences using strong verbs and nouns, and not use weak phrases. 
  • Always strive to have clarity in your writing, try to make the unspoken spoke. Just because a sentence or piece of information is comprehensible by you as a writer doesn’t mean your audience is on the same wavelength as you are. 

There is always a point of exhaustion an author reaches. At times like this, try to take the break you need, step away from your writing and have a look at it again from a fresh perspective. This will not only help you rectify your mistakes but also helps you view your work from a reader’s point of view. 

Why is it so important to maintain a standard in scientific writings?

In the field of science, good writing skills is not a luxury, but a much-needed skill. It is fundamental to spread knowledge, but also for creating knowledge among the audience. During the writing process as an author, we are forced to keep things precise and simple. It is by our writing that we bridge the gap with respect to the lack of clarity or information. According to the great philosopher Artur Schopenhauer

“Unclear writing is an indication of unclear thinking”

If an author cannot concisely, clearly, and logically represent his collected and analyzed data, it doesn’t matter even if its groundbreaking discovery, the reader will not be able to understand and question your results. So it should be really stressed that the clearer authors explain their work, the better understood by more number of people. 

How to Write a Good Introduction?

How to Write a Good Introduction?

An introduction is a part of an article, research paper or any other write-up which has to be crisp, catchy and comprehensible, as you just have a few seconds to captivate the interest of your reader. If you skip on to write an attractive introduction your write-up may end up like other content which is hardly read by anyone. Obviously, no one wants to take that chance, therefore knowing how to write a good introduction that holds your reader and interests him to read the write-up completely is something worth to know.

Your efforts for the initial few lines can decide whether a reader will read the rest hundreds of lines. Well, if you are struggling to write a great introduction for your articles and research papers then here we are sharing some important considerations to help you move ahead.

Keep it broader initially then narrow down: Start the main passage with a broad description of the idea or context of the research work and later on narrow it down to the core idea of the topic. This helps in positioning the sequels of an idea in a well-defined manner rather than haphazardly. Moreover, this way you can cover up all the necessary points to be mentioned in the introduction. This allows positioning the research work or any idea within the boundaries of your expectations and making it accessible to the readers in a comprehensible form.

Why should I read this? Try finding this answer: Once you have created a rough draft covering the broader aspects of the write-up, try to narrow it down by asking why you should read it? Does the introduction highlight what mentioned in the title? Does it maintains the flow of the explanation from one sentence to another or can a reader comprehend it easily without putting many efforts? Answers to these questions will be able to cover up the points necessary to capture the attention of the reader addressing why one should read it.

Catch the eyeballs at first sight: It is often said that if your first line of the content is catchy and relatable there high chances that a reader will stick to your write-up. But the question arises on how to make an introduction catchy at first sight? Well here are a few things that you can follow:

  • Starts the introduction with an anecdote – Hook the reader’s interest at first sight by giving a hint about the article using an intriguing narrative. You can use any famous saying with proper credits or make your own.
  • Start with the numbers – Not every time you have something relatable to make it attractive using an anecdote. In such cases try using statistics, wherein you can highlight the issue or any idea with earlier references. For example, while writing an article for PCOS condition, you can start with highlighting the severity of the condition with few stats such as ‘1 in 10 women suffer from PCOS’.
  • Create a story: Another way is to create a story to which the reader can relate to. Here you can start on a personal note (in case of articles and blogs) or give scientific background (in case of research papers and related technical content) with proper references. For example, when writing for Ebola virus you can highlight from where the virus first originated and how it was transferred from bats to humans etc.
  • Ask questions: One of the old and best ways to hook your reader’s interest is to question them. This helps in creating a curiosity in the minds of readers that forces them to know the answers, making them read the content thoroughly.

Keep it short and crisp: Compose a crisp and concise introduction. Dispose of filler words and expressions. It’s great to practice multiples times to get into the flow of writing crisp sentences while keeping in mind to capture the reader’s eye in the opening section.

We hope that the above-mentioned points aid you in learning writing an effective introduction that helps in captivating the interest of your readers. If you are interested in knowing more tips then you must visit our blog on ‘Tips for beginners to learn scientific writing skills’. Also, if you seek any special help in writing research work and other documentation involving scientific writing feel free to connect with our team.