Fundamentals of Scientific Writing-style

Basic scientific writing rules for words and word location ✅

General advice on style in science

Basic for composing technical sentences

Info on technical style. Including first and third person, active and passsive voice, past and present tense, sentence length, verbs, and actions, lists of comparisons and common errors

Plants were kept in the cold overnight.
Plants were kept at 0ºC overnight.


We utilized UV light to induce mutations in Arabidopsis
.We used UV light to induce mutations in Arabidopsis.

Avoid using these words. actually
practically basically
quite essentially
rather fairly
several much
very really
virtually

It is well known that there are four main coronavirus subtypes.
There are four main coronavirus subtypes.

Don't use Abbreviations ex.
The increase in SSTIs caused by CA-MRSA but not by MSSA is especially marked in the pediatric population as
a study from PCH shows


The increase in soft tissue infections caused by community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus but not by methicillin-sensitive S. aureus is especially marked in the pediatric population as a study from
Philadelphia Children’s Hospital shows.

Nomenclature.
Species and most Latin derivates are in italics (in vivo, Physcomitrella patens) (note that some style guides may differ
with respect to use of italics for Latin derivatives)
Human genes: all caps and italics (ADH3, HBA1)
Mouse genes: first letter capitalized, the rest lowercase, italics (Sta, Shh, Glra1)
Human proteins: capitals, no italics (ADH3, HBA1)
Mouse proteins: like genes, but no italics (Sta, Shh, Glra1)
Restriction enzymes: a combination of italics and nonitalics (e.g., BamHI); check with the supplier for the correct
nomenclature if unsure

Word Location.
Place old, familiar, and short information at the beginning of a
sentence
Place new, complex, or long information at the end of a sentence
Get to the subject of the main sentence quick
Place the verb immediately after the subject and the object right
after the verb

Use the first person.
It was hypothesized that spiders can regrow lost legs.
We hypothesized that spiders can regrow lost legs.

Use the active voice. Parrots were attacked by hawk B3. -> Hawk B3 attacked parrots.

Use the past tense for observations and specific interpretations. Use the present tense for general rules and established knowledge

Write short sentences and aim for one main idea in a sentence.
An increase in temperature occurred.
Temperature increased.

Avoid strings of nouns. Use clear pronouns and preposition

Use correct parallel form. Avoid faulty comparisons

Avoid errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation

Summary.

  1. Use precise words.
  1. Use simple words.
  1. Omit unnecessary words and phrases.
  1. Avoid too many abbreviations.
  1. Use correct terminology and nomenclature.
  1. Establish importance.
  1. Place old, familiar, and short information at the beginning of a sentence.
  1. Place new, complex, or long information at the end of a sentence.
  1. Get to the subject of the main sentence quickly.
  1. Place the verb immediately after the subject and the object right after the verb.

Summary.

  1. Use the first person.
  1. Use the active voice.
  1. Use the past tense for observations and specific interpretations.
  1. Use the present tense for general rules and established knowledge.
  1. Write short sentences and aim for one main idea in a sentence.
  1. Use active verbs.
  1. Avoid strings of nouns.
  1. Use clear pronouns.
  1. Use correct parallel form.
  1. Avoid faulty comparisons.
  1. Avoid errors in spelling, punctuation, and grammar