Scientific Writing

1. Scientific Writing Research Experiences for Undergraduates

2. Schedule for July 7 • Effective Scientific Writing • AIP Guidelines • REU Report Format • Peer Review of Intro

3. Schedule for July 14 • Q & A on REU Reports • Writing an Effective Graduate School Essay • Writing Effective Resumes and Letters

4. Guidelines for Effective Writing in Physics • Be clear • Be concise • Be complete • Put yourself in the reader’s place

5. Good Scientific Writing • Use active voice • Be economical/concise • Provide forward momentum Order Transitions Sentence & paragraph length

6. It was thought that magnetoresistance could provide an answer. • McCray believed that magnetoresistance could provide an answer.

7. due to the fact that BECAUSE

8. There are clear advantages to our mapping regarding the strong-coupling regime. • Clear advantages to our mapping exist regarding the strong-coupling regime.

9. The development of nanofabrication techniques for thin metallic wires has renewed interest in one-dimensional electron systems. Such systems differ fundamentally from those in three dimensions, where electron-electron interactions can be absorbed into a local Fermi-liquid description of weakly interacting quasiparticles. • (“hook and eye” construction)

10. Using Transitions • Use the appropriate transitions to show the relationships between ideas within paragraphs and between paragraphs • Use a variety of transitional words and phrases

11. Achieving coherence in your writing • Use transitions carefully • Use “hook and eye” construction within a paragraph • Use coordination and subordination to show the relationship between 2 ideas

12. Coordination & Subordination • Putting 2 ideas together with a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) shows equality. • Putting 2 ideas together with a subordinating conjuction (because, when, if, although, since, while, etc.) shows inequality.

13. Before a particle gets to any chamber in CMS, it will have to make it through the detector’s absorbers that form the calorimeter system (energy measurements). These absorbers will stop just about any particle except muons. Hundreds of different particles will spray from the collision point, but they are mostly hadrons (particles composed of quarks). Because hadrons interact strongly with matter, they cannot penetrate very far into the absorbers.

14. Major parts of the report • Title • Abstract • Introduction • Body of the paper • Acknowledgments • References

15. Considerations • Use graphics purposefully and correctly • Use topical headings to guide the reader • Keep your reader in mind (undergrad physics major with no specialist knowledge of your topic)

16. Major AIP Rules • Keep verb tense consistent, especially within a passage • Use variety in words and sentences • Treat the word “data” as plural • Use the serial comma • Use the number rule • General rule: 0-9, use the word; 10 and above, use the numeral

17. Writing Effective Graduate School Essays, Resumes, and Application Letters

18. General format for grad school essays • Brief intro that makes your purpose clear • Paragraph about background • Academic qualifications • Research and volunteer experience • Paragraph about professional goals • Paragraph that ties your background and goals to program you are applying to • Brief conclusion which reinforces your confidence in your ability and the choice you have made

19. Application Letters • Introduction • Purpose of letter • Overall qualification for job/program • Body paragraphs • Key qualifications – be selective and detailed • Conclusion • Thanks the reader for consideration • Indicates interest in position • Provides contact info

20. Resumes • Vital stats: Name, address, phone, email • Education • Experience • References (optional)