New Book Profile: How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper

Title: How to write and publish a scientific paper (T11.D33 2006: New Book shelf)
Edition: 6th
Authors: Robert A. Day and Barbara Gastel
Publisher: Greenwood Press
Year: 2006
303 pages

...the research scientist, perhaps uniquely among the trades and professions, must provide a document showing what he or she did, why it was done, how it was done, and what was learned from it. ... Thus, the scientist must not only "do" science but must "write" science. (p. ix)

The above quotation from the preface of this book illustrates how important it is for science students to learn how to write. This book benefits from clear, concise writing and neatly demarcated sections, making it easy to skim for portions relevant to your own writing challenges. It is not meant to teach you to be a better writer but rather a better science writer, primarily addressing issues that are unique to science writing. Yet, it is not a workbook and provides few examples. Although the book is designed for graduate students and professionals, undergraduates will benefit immensely from putting its advice into practice now.

Part I addresses preliminaries such as the definition of science writing, its history and ethics. This section is useful in helping delineate the difference between the writing that you will do for your science classes versus the writing you will do in an elective class. The chapter Approaching a Writing Project offers considerations before you write, which can save time in revision later.

Part II deals with the nitty gritty of each section in a scientific paper. Chapters on the title, abstract, introduction, and materials and methods sections seem the most useful. Chapters on the Results and Discussion Section would benefit from more examples but offer a few choice tidbits. I recommend getting as good style manual rather than the book's chapter on citing.

Part III on graphs, tables, and photographs uses great examples to show when each is needed and, perhaps more importantly, when each is not needed. In addition, correct formatting of each is discussed.

Part VI on conference communications clarifies the differing types of preparation and writing needed for oral versus printed communication, and offers limited advice for handling difficult question and answer periods.

The chapter, Use and Misuse of English, is highly recommended for highlighting some of the most common mistakes I have seen (over and over again) as a copy editor, although the section on dangling modifiers may prove confusing for many students. The next chapter on avoiding jargon is also useful, but, in my opinion, even better, is Appendix 2: Words and Expressions to Avoid (one of my personal pet peeves being "in order to" which uses 3 words to simply say "to").

In addition to the aforementioned sections, the book includes chapters on conducting peer review, becoming involved professionally in scientific communication, and writing a dissertation, CV, and a grant proposal.

I am working on an annotated list of books available at Eckerd for science writing, and I will put it on the blog when it is available. If you would like to talk to me or have me look over your papers, please contact me for an appointment.