Ground Plan for Writing Forestry 545 January 28, 2014

1. Ground Plan for WritingForestry 545January 28, 2014 Dr Sue WattsFaculty of ForestryUniversity of British ColumbiaVancouver, BC CANADA sue.watts@ubc.ca http://suewatts.forestry.ubc.ca/frst-545/

2. Quick review Requirements of scientific writing are: • Logic (be clear) • Precision (be correct) • Brevity (be concise)

3. Quick review • Scientific writing always has a clarity of direction • It is always concise • It is always accurate

4. Journals What did you learn from your assignment?

5. Getting ready to write • Write down your ideas as you have them • Keep your notebook at hand • Every idea deserves a new piece of paper Keep copies of everything, back up files

6. Pace yourself • You can only work creatively for a few hours each day • You need a quiet spot • Remember that you cannot write a whole paper in one day! IT IS ALL ABOUT ORGANIZATION

7. Organization is key to successfulscientific writing Take your written ideas - these could be on pieces of paper, or transcribed to paper from a voice recording

8. Organization is key to successfulscientific writing • Take your written ideas • Organize your ideas

9. Organization is key to successfulscientific writing • Take your written ideas • Organize your ideas • Disassemble your organization

10. Organization is key to successfulscientific writing • Take your written ideas • Organize your ideas • Disassemble your organization • Rewrite your ideas

11. Organization is key to successfulscientific writing • Take your written ideas • Organize your ideas • Disassemble your organization • Rewrite your ideas • Reorganize your ideas

12. The 12 step method Any big project can be daunting Organized “steps” can really help

13. Step #1When is the right time to publish? You know how many journals are out there and that there is already a massive amount of scientific literature…. Can you justify adding to this?

14. Step #1When is the right time to publish? A public diary of your diligent activities as a scientist does not constitute a scientific journal article!

15. Step #1When is the right time to publish? You cannot publish just your accumulated facts that may “shed light” on some, as yet, non-existent problem!

16. Step #1When is the right time to publish? Also, consider that the printed word is indelible Safeguard your future reputation by never publishing something that would not inspire confidence in your work

17. Step #1When is the right time to publish? So, to answer the question…

18. Step #1When is the right time to publish? When a research question of some importance has been asked and A convincing answer has been found

19. Step #1When is the right time to publish? You do not always need to wait for the complete answer (especially in forestry) You can publish once a sizeable step has been made

20. Step #1When is the right time to publish? Ultimately you need to satisfy your own conscience (and the editorial critics) that a significant advance in knowledge has been made

21. Step #2Identify the question and conclusion • What question has been asked? • What are the conclusions? This step establishes exactly what the article will be about

22. Step #2Identify the question and conclusion You probably had multiple questions in your research But, to write a journal article you must decide which of your question(s) to discuss

23. Step #2Identify the question and conclusion “What question has been asked” could also be stated as “what hypothesis has been examined”

24. Step #2Identify the question and conclusion What question has been asked, or what hypothesis has been examined, is NOT the same as “what was the purpose of this research”

25. Step #2Identify the question and conclusion If you introduce your research by way of its “purpose” and do not identify your hypothesis your work is lacking explicitness and definition A common error!

26. Step #2Identify the question and conclusion Group exercise Find the “question(s) being asked” and the “conclusions” for the papers that your group has been assigned

27. Step #3What is the most suitable journal? Consider To get accepted your article must be within the scope of the target journal Determine this before you go any further

28. Step #3What is the most suitable journal? Consider Journal quality & prestige (impact factor, immediacy index, editorial board) What are your supervisor’s and colleagues’ opinions?

29. Step #3What is the most suitable journal? Consider Size of audience (circulation) Advertising usually indicates a circulation >5,000 Electronic access?

30. Step #3What is the most suitable journal? Consider Audience for the journal (specialists or generalists) Is this still important given full access to titles and journals through electronic data bases?

31. Step #3What is the most suitable journal? Consider Speed of publication Are articles available electronically? How soon?

32. Step #3What is the most suitable journal? With a journal in mind, study a copy of the journal’s “Instructions to Authors”

33. Step #4Relate your findings to current knowledge If you are ready to write, you should have a pretty good idea of step #4 in your mind already However, before you begin writing you will still need to clarify further “how your findings relate to current knowledge”

34. Step #4Relate your findings to current knowledge What you write must specify the EXACT area in which your advance has been made No deviations

35. Step #4Relate your findings to current knowledge What you write must specify where the work of others stopped short You will need to specify what future developments could be made

36. Step #4Relate your findings to current knowledge As you “lay the ground plan” for your writing you will need to eliminate irrelevant aspects of the field This focusing process will help immensely with your preparation of an introduction and discussion

37. Step #4Relate your findings to current knowledge Your thinking at this stage must be PRECISE Example: Think of the jig-saw of pieces that make up a complicated process such as photosynthesis….

38. Step #4Relate your findings to current knowledge Your thinking at this stage must be PRECISE Example (continued): You are not describing the whole puzzle, but just the pieces immediately surrounding the new knowledge of your findings on how acid rain impacts the rate of chlorophyll production

39. Step #5Write your title and synopsis Why do this now?

40. Step #5Write your title and synopsis • Because you can (you have enough information) • Because writing a synopsis will really help peg out your ground plan

41. Step #5Write your title and synopsis You already have an idea of: • What you want to say (Step #2) • How it relates to previous knowledge (Step #4) • Your own experimental evidence

42. Step #5Write your title and synopsis Using your: • Chain of reasoning • Observations • Deduction You can write a synopsis that puts this all together without a weak link HINT Do this as though you are catching up with an old friend

43. Step #6Re-read the journal purpose and scope This is your last chance to change your mind about the selection of a journal

44. Step #6Re-read the journal purpose and scope To be a successful writer, you must always be acutely aware of your audience From now on all of your words will be directed towards your selected journal and its readers

45. Step #6Re-read the journal purpose and scope Communication, by definition, must go TWO ways You must know your audience so that they will receive what youtransmit effectively

46. Step #7Read the “instructions to authors” This will tell you such things as whether there is a page limit, what style manual to follow etc In your thesis you should follow the style of a major journal from your field

47. Step #8Decide on a basic form Usual form for scientific articles is 4 sections • Introduction • Methods (may include materials) • Results • Discussion / Conclusions

48. Step #9Stock the sections How to get frustrated: Sit down and try to write in complete sentences on day 1! (only works if you are a born writer)

49. Step #9Stock the sections How NOT to get frustrated: • Concentrate on facts, ideas and logical connections • Use a new sheet of paper for each section

50. Step #9Stock the sections How NOT to get frustrated: As you are trying to write, put your facts, thoughts, experiments and observations on to paper and then into the correct section Order does not matter at this stage