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What is a scientific paper

Language of a Scientific Paper. In scientific writing, language need not be difficult, and the best English is that which gives the sense in the fewest words. Literary tricks, metaphors and the like, divert attention from the message to the style. They should be used rarely, if it all, in a sci

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What is a scientific paper

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    1. What is a scientific paper? A scientific paper is (i) the first publication of original research results; (ii) in a form whereby peers of the author can repeat the experiments and test the conclusions and; (iii) in a journal or other source document which is readily available within the scientific community. (Day, 1979:2)

    2. Language of a Scientific Paper In scientific writing, language need not be difficult, and the best English is that which gives the sense in the fewest words. Literary tricks, metaphors and the like, divert attention from the message to the style. They should be used rarely, if it all, in a scientific writing. (Day, 1979:5)

    3. Formal vs. Informal English Jordan (1980:18) Formal No Contractions: It did not, they have, they will not Non-prep. Verbs; conduct, discover, investigate Impersonal: introductory it or there, impersonal pronoun one, passive voice. Informal Contractions: It didnt, theyve, they wont Prepositional verbs: carry out, find out, look into Personal pronouns: I, you, we Hesitation fillers: er, um, well, you know, you see.

    4. Informal/Spoken Economics?---Yes, well, um---economics is, I suppose, about people trying to--- let me see ---match things that are scarse---you know---with things that they want,---oh yes, and how these efforts have an effect on each other---through exchange, I suppose.

    5. Formal/Written Economics is the social science that studies how people attempt to accommodate society to their wants and how these attempts interact through change.

    6. Sentence Variety A scientific paper which merely consists of long and complicated sentences will baffle the reader; on the contrary, a scientific paper which uses a series of short and simple sentences will also be monotonous and uninteresting to the reader. A short sentence is strong and forceful but only if it has longer sentences beside it. To have too many short sentences merely gives a very jerky effect. One should try to vary complex and compound and simple sentences, and long sentences, e.g. Soon it was dark is good if on each side it has a longer sentence but it is of a little value beside other very short sentences. (Campbell, 1961:107)

    7. Effective Sentences Combining sentences Two sentences: The Titanic was discovered seventy-three years after being sunk by an iceberg. The wreck was located in the Atlantic by a team of French and American scientists. Combined Sentence: Seventy-three years after being sunk by an iceberg, the Titanic was located in the Atlantic by a team of French and American scientists.

    8. 2. Reducing clauses The Titanic, which was a huge ocean liner, sank in 1912. The Titanic, a huge ocean liner, sank in 1912. When they were confronted with disaster, some passengers behaved heroically, while others behaved selfishly.

    9. 3. Reducing phrases Although loaded with luxuries, the liner was thought to be unsinkable. The luxury liner was thought to be unsinkable.

    10. 4. Using strong verbs and avoiding nouns formed from verbs Weak verbs : The proposal before the city council has to do with locating the sewage treatment plant outside city limits. Stronger verbs : The proposal before the city council suggests locating the sewage treatment plant outside city limits. Weak verbs : We oversaw the establishment of a student advisory committee. Strong verbs : We established a student advisory committee.

    11. 5. Eliminating unneeded words Padded : The bookstore entered the order for the books that the instructor has said will be utilized in the course sequence. Concise : The book store ordered the books for the course.

    12. Diction Descriptive writing : the words used should be partifular, not general, and concrete, not abstract; in other words, it should be precise and vivid. Walk (general) stroll, wander, limp, trudge, and plod (specific, appealing to the readers sense visual); All kinds of boats (general) ocean liners, tramps, yachts, rowing-boats (specific) A large amount of merchandise (general) a great load of oranges or a huge packing-case, an enormous bale of cloth (specific) Campbell, 1961:106-7)

    13. Diction in scientific texts Three categories of lexis : highly technical, sub-technical, and general. Highly technical in Biology (the circulation of blood) : atrium, ventrile, arteriole, and venule; Sub-technical vocabulary in scientific and technical texts : reflection, intense, accumulate, tendency, isolate and dense; Both technical and sub-technical (made up of root plus suffixes and prefixes : cyto-, extra-, -logy,-meter, etc. (Kennedy & Bolitho, 1984:58)

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