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Writing for Science

Writing for Science. Texas State Writing Center. Getting Started. What class are you writing for? What is your professor asking for? What is your thesis statement (what is your claim/hypothesis)? What style/citation format does your professor want you to use? Who is your audience?

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Writing for Science

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  1. Writing for Science Texas State Writing Center

  2. Getting Started What class are you writing for? What is your professor asking for? What is your thesis statement (what is your claim/hypothesis)? What style/citation format does your professor want you to use? Who is your audience? • What terms do people in your field use? Outside your discipline?

  3. Style • NEVER use first person point-of-view • Check grammar, spelling, and punctuation • Word choice • Concise • Don’t fluff • Clinical language (appropriate to field) • Objective language

  4. Format APA – American Psychological Association CSE – Council of Science Editors When in doubt, ask your professor for specifics!

  5. APA Formatting Basics Separate title page Should contain title, author’s name, and institutional affiliation Abstract Contains a running header On the title page the header should read Running head: SHORTENED TITLE The following pages should read SHORTENED TITLE

  6. APA Formatting Basics Each page is numbered in the upper right corner 1” margins Double space everything Two spaces after periods (except in published work) 12 pt. Times New Roman Indent paragraphs .5”

  7. CSE Formatting Basics Separate title page with title, name Abstract Page numbers in lower right Double space everything Two spaces after period 12 pt. Times New Roman Indent paragraphs 0.5” 1” margins

  8. Organization Title page Abstract Body IMRAD • Introduction • Methods • Results • Discussion

  9. Introduction Common knowledge/background information • Introduce the topic being researched/experimented on • Why is the topic/question important? • What is the potential significance of the results? • real-world applications • Thesis/research questions – What question are you trying to answer? • Hypothesis – predicted results of experiment

  10. Methods and Materials What you did and how you did it • What was your research design? • Experimental • Quasi-experimental • Case study • What equipment, instruments, and supplies were used? • Give brief discussion of any statistical analysis applied to data (do not mention results yet)

  11. Results Succinctly present results Present data in logical, understandable format • Figures • Tables • Legends • Graphs • Observations DO NOT ANALYZE DATA IN THIS SECTION!

  12. Discussion Discuss the results • Restate thesis/claim/hypothesis • Does your data confirm/refute your hypothesis? • Re-establish importance of your study (big picture) • What are the implications of your results? • Discuss limitations of study • Suggest future research

  13. Writing an Abstract Write this section last • It should be a concise summary of your whole paper • A good way to do this is to write one or two summary sentences per section • You may also be required to give a list of keywords

  14. Sample CSE Abstract

  15. Do not indent the first line of an abstract Sample APA Style Abstract

  16. Finding Sources Only use scholarly sources Wiki (anything) pediais NOT a scholarly source! • Use the most current literature available • Use primary sources, when possible • Avoid citing a citation • Google Scholar • ISI Web of Science • Texas State Library database

  17. Avoiding Plagiarism Things you must cite: Data (that you have not collected) Paraphrases Quotes All ideas that are not your own Common knowledge When in doubt, cite it!!

  18. Texas State Writing CenterMichelle Elliott & Rachel SnowFall 2012

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