Today’s agenda: Cutting jargon and useless verbiage Peer editing of Discussion text

1. The Discussion section, continued Today’s agenda: Cutting jargon and useless verbiage Peer editing of Discussion text Student in-class writing Why grammar matters: the comma

2. Avoid jargon and seek simplicity, brevity, and clarity Robert A. Day. 1998. How to write and publish a scientific paper (5th edition). Oryx Press, Phoenix, AZ. Jargon or complex version Simple, brief, and clear version A considerable amount of much A considerable number of many A decreased amount of less A decreased number of fewer A majority of most A number of many A small number of few Absolutely essential essential Accounted for by the fact that because Adjacent to near Along the lines of like An adequate amount of enough An example of this is the fact that for example

3. In-class activity: Work on the Discussion sections of your papers. Ask for help if you need it, use an outline if that might help, but be sure all the objectives are met, the hypotheses addressed, etc. Remember, start by relating the results to your hypotheses, then interpret in the light of other work, and end by going back to the broad themes that you invoked to begin the Introduction.

4. Why does it matter if I use “correct” punctuation? It just slows me down, and everybody knows what I mean.

5. Why does it matter if I use “correct” punctuation? It just slows me down, and everybody knows what I mean. Please punctuate the following and explain what the words mean: A woman without her man is nothing Lynne Truss. 2003. Eats, Shoots & Leaves. Gotham Books.

6. Please punctuate the following: A woman, without her man, is nothing. Or A woman: without her, man is nothing.

7. What’s the difference between: No dogs, please. and No dogs please.

8. Are there any rules or is it all arbitrary? Isn’t the language supposed to evolve? (Or at least it does so, whether we want it to or not). Why do the French fight so hard against their language’s evolution? “Everyone has always regarded any usage but his own as either barbarous or pedantic.” Evelyn Waugh

9. Grammar and proper word use are important for at least three different reasons. Proper use of grammar (punctuation, word order, etc.) clarifies the meaning of a string of words so that we can be sure we understand precisely what is meant. In social discourse and in science, the normal goal is communication so we want people to understand us. Unlike oral communication, in writing we cannot use hand gestures, facial expressions, or tone of voice. So, the writing has to be precise.

10. Grammar and proper word use are important for at least three different reasons. Proper use of grammar (punctuation, word order, etc.) clarifies the meaning of strings of words so that we can be sure we understand precisely what is written. In social discourse and in science, the normal goal is communication so we want people to understand us. Unlike oral communication, in writing we cannot use hand gestures, facial expressions, or tone of voice. So, the writing has to be precise. The English language has a huge vocabulary and many words have similar but not identical meanings. Why not use the right word? Enjoy the richness of the language (though this can be a challenge).

11. Grammar and proper word use are important for at least three different reasons. Proper use of grammar (punctuation, word order, etc.) clarifies the meaning of strings of words so that we can be sure we understand precisely what is written. In social discourse and in science, the normal goal is communication so we want people to understand us. Unlike oral communication, in writing we cannot use hand gestures, facial expressions, or tone of voice. So, the writing has to be precise. The English language has a huge vocabulary and many words have similar but not identical meanings. Why not use the right word? Enjoy the richness of the language (though this can be a challenge). Sloppy writing conveys a disrespectful attitude towards the reader and also suggests other forms of sloppiness. If someone cannot take the time to check for mistakes in spelling, can you be confident that he or she collected the data carefully or ran the analyses correctly? Bad writing undermines the reader’s confidence in the whole project.

12. How is a cat different from a comma? , Vs.

13. How is a cat different from a comma? A cat has claws at the end of its paws, A comma’s a pause at the end of a clause. Lynne Truss. 2003. Eats, Shoots & Leaves. Gotham Books.

14. Why commas matter What is the difference between: The people in line who managed to get tickets were satisfied. The people in line, who managed to get tickets, were satisfied.

15. More on commas Leonora walked on her head a little higher than usual. The driver managed to escape from the vehicle before it sank and swam to the river-bank. The convict said the judge is mad.

16. “Using the comma well announces that you have an ear for sense and rhythm, confidence in your style and a proper respect for your reader.” Or, less kindly: “The rule is: don’t use commas like a stupid person.” Lynne Truss

17. Assignment for next class: Let’s look at whether there is a trend in the number of authors on papers in scientific journals. We will use Science as our example. Go on-line and examine the first 20 papers in the journal for the year designated below and record how many had a single author, two authors, three, etc. Only count research papers, not editorials, obituaries, commentaries or book reviews. Anderson 2010 Ott 1970 Ferguson 2005 Parilla 1965 Huang 2000 Peng 1960 Humphrys 1995 Reitz 1955 Joshi 1990 Rillera 1950 Keeton 1985 Ringstad 1945 Kim 1980 West 1940 Le 1975