Writing Science in Plain English, Second Edition
Second Edition
9780226825038
9780226825021
Writing Science in Plain English, Second Edition
Second Edition
An updated edition of the essential guide for all scientists—from undergraduates to senior scholars—who want to produce prose that anyone can understand.
Scientific writing is often dry, wordy, and difficult to understand. But, as biologist and experienced teacher of scientific writing Anne E. Greene shows in Writing Science in Plain English, writers from all scientific disciplines can learn to produce clear, concise prose by mastering just a few simple principles. This short, focused guide presents roughly a dozen such principles based on what readers need to understand complex information, including concrete subjects, strong verbs, consistent terms, organized paragraphs, and correct sentence structure. Greene illustrates each principle with real-life examples of both good and bad writing and shows how bad writing might be improved. She ends each chapter with revision exercises (and provides suggested answers in a separate key) so that readers can come away with new writing skills after just one sitting. To help readers understand the grammatical terms used in the book, an appendix offers a refresher course on basic grammar.
For this second edition, Greene has incorporated the latest research on what makes writing effective and engaging and has revised or replaced exercises and exercise keys where needed. She has also added new features that make it easier to navigate the book. A new resource for instructors who use Writing Science in Plain English in their classes is a free, online teacher’s guide. Drawn from Greene’s long experience teaching students how to write science clearly, the teacher’s guide provides additional lectures, assignments, and activities that will inform and enliven any class.
Scientific writing is often dry, wordy, and difficult to understand. But, as biologist and experienced teacher of scientific writing Anne E. Greene shows in Writing Science in Plain English, writers from all scientific disciplines can learn to produce clear, concise prose by mastering just a few simple principles. This short, focused guide presents roughly a dozen such principles based on what readers need to understand complex information, including concrete subjects, strong verbs, consistent terms, organized paragraphs, and correct sentence structure. Greene illustrates each principle with real-life examples of both good and bad writing and shows how bad writing might be improved. She ends each chapter with revision exercises (and provides suggested answers in a separate key) so that readers can come away with new writing skills after just one sitting. To help readers understand the grammatical terms used in the book, an appendix offers a refresher course on basic grammar.
For this second edition, Greene has incorporated the latest research on what makes writing effective and engaging and has revised or replaced exercises and exercise keys where needed. She has also added new features that make it easier to navigate the book. A new resource for instructors who use Writing Science in Plain English in their classes is a free, online teacher’s guide. Drawn from Greene’s long experience teaching students how to write science clearly, the teacher’s guide provides additional lectures, assignments, and activities that will inform and enliven any class.
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Table of Contents
Preface to the Second Edition
Chapter 1: Why Write Science in Plain English?
Chapter 2: Before You Write
Audience
Register
Tone
Chapter 3: Tell a Story
Make Characters Subjects and Their Actions Verbs
Use Strong Verbs
Place Subjects and Verbs Close Together
Chapter 4: Favor the Active Voice
Benefits of Active Voice
When to Use Passive Voice
Chapter 5: Choose Your Words with Care
Use Short Words Instead of Long Ones
Keep Terms the Same
Break Up Noun Strings
Rethink Technical Terms
Chapter 6: Omit Needless Words
Redundancy
Metadiscourse and Transition Words
Affirmatives and Negatives
Chapter 7: Old Information and New Information
Put Old Information at the Beginnings of Sentences
Put New Information at the Ends of Sentences
Chapter 8: Make Lists Parallel
Chapter 9: Vary the Length of Your Sentences
Chapter 10: Design Your Paragraphs
Issue
Development
Conclusion
Point
Chapter 11: Arrange Your Paragraphs
Chronological Order
General to Specific
Least Important to Most Important
Problem to Solution
Compare and Contrast
Transition Words Revisited
Acknowledgments
Appendix 1: Basic Writing Concepts
Appendix 2: Exercise Key
Index
Chapter 1: Why Write Science in Plain English?
Chapter 2: Before You Write
Audience
Register
Tone
Chapter 3: Tell a Story
Make Characters Subjects and Their Actions Verbs
Use Strong Verbs
Place Subjects and Verbs Close Together
Chapter 4: Favor the Active Voice
Benefits of Active Voice
When to Use Passive Voice
Chapter 5: Choose Your Words with Care
Use Short Words Instead of Long Ones
Keep Terms the Same
Break Up Noun Strings
Rethink Technical Terms
Chapter 6: Omit Needless Words
Redundancy
Metadiscourse and Transition Words
Affirmatives and Negatives
Chapter 7: Old Information and New Information
Put Old Information at the Beginnings of Sentences
Put New Information at the Ends of Sentences
Chapter 8: Make Lists Parallel
Chapter 9: Vary the Length of Your Sentences
Chapter 10: Design Your Paragraphs
Issue
Development
Conclusion
Point
Chapter 11: Arrange Your Paragraphs
Chronological Order
General to Specific
Least Important to Most Important
Problem to Solution
Compare and Contrast
Transition Words Revisited
Acknowledgments
Appendix 1: Basic Writing Concepts
Appendix 2: Exercise Key
Index
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