Introduction to Scientific Writing

1. Introduction toScientific Writing COM 116 MH Rajab

3. Introduction Writing a term paper, proposal or a scientific article is different from writing a short story or an essay as you used to do in the UPP. It takes time, training and effort.

4. Introduction • Scientific writing, e.g., writing a term paper, proposal or an article, is quite different from writing a short story. • It has special formats attached to it • It takes time, training and effort.

5. Why most research proposals fail? • Most experts say they fail because of poor writing, formatting and presentation than because of blemished science. • So, how do you write for reviewers or readers makes a BIG difference. • In all what you do position yourself to succeed.

6. Strategy… • When you write, try to be: • precise, • concise, and • right to the point.

7. Hints • Every word must be chosen carefully. • Every sentence must be written to convey the message you’re planning to convey. • Every paragraph must flow logically out of the ones that have preceded it.

8. Remember… • Readers and reviewers rarely take the time to interpret poorly written text.

9. Hints • Use clear, simple, and reasonably short sentences. • Using a comma “,” or a period “.”, to break sentences up into smaller ones is a good habit. • Avoid weak words like, if, hope, might, and replace them with ‘expect”. • Use correct words when there is a choice between two (since vs. because, alternate vs. alternative, principal vs. principle, etc…)

10. Hints, continued… • If you can’t find the right word the first time, do not let it bother you. • Write down whatever comes to mind at the time and continue • Most likely you’ll find the inspired wording later- during the rewrite.

11. Components of a Scientific Paper • Title • List of authors, affiliation, date • Background and Significance • Objectives/hypothesis • Methods • Results & Discussion • Conclusion(s) • References

12. How to Create a Title for Your Proposal? • It is the first impression of your application • “You may never get a second chance at making a first impression.“ • It should stress the product of the research • Make it as interesting and informative • Make a list of several candidates and seek help from your colleagues to choose the best.

13. Writing “the Objectives” Section • It is the template or the master plan for your research plan. • An example: “ The objective of this research proposal is to identify risk factors that will predict renal dysfunction in adult patients with type II diabetes.”

14. Significance Subsection • It helps to justify the need for the proposed research • Should be brief, i.e., about 1/3 of a page max • Place it at the beginning or at the end of the Background and Significance Section.

15. Significance Subsection, continued… • Indicate that there is a gap in the knowledge or unmet need and its continued existence is an important problem. • Follow by a sentence or two explaining why this project is significant, why it’ll fill that gap. • Validate your statements by listing benefits that could be expected as a result of applying the new knowledge.

16. Reference • SW Russell and DC Morrison. The Grant Application Writer’s Workbook. 2008