Guidelines To Write A Scientific Paper

Guidelines for Writing a Scientific Paper, January 2010
Celia M. Elliott
Guidelines for Writing

a Scientific Paper
Celia M. Elliott
Department of Physics
cmelliot@illinois.edu
Copyright 20010 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois with thanks to David Hertzog and Lance Cooper
Women in Chemistry Workshop, January 12, 2010

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Three broad themes will be covered: in the workshop

1) basic principles of communications in general and communicating in science in
particular
2) advice about writing a technical manuscript for publication in a journal
3) using persuasion in scientific communications
Disclaimer:
My perspective may be biased because all of my experience is in physics and
nuclear engineering.
Chemists: Consult The ACS Style Guide: Effective Communication of Scientific

Information, ed. J.S. Dodd (American Chemical Society, Washington DC,
1997).
Copyright, Board of Trustees of the

University of Illinois 1
Celia M. Elliott
Disclaimer...
Youll see this icon in the lower right corner of some of the slidesit indicates a
Celia Commandment.
Although I will state the Celia commandments dogmatically and emphatically, and I
believe in them passionately, they are actually advice, based on 40 years of
writingnot law.

Celia M. Elliott
Before you pick up a pencil,

answer four strategic questions...
What is your motivation for writing the paper?

To achieve fame and fortune; to get noticed or promoted
To disseminate your results to other workers in your field
To provide a permanent archival record of your work
To establish precedence by publishing before your competitors can
To propose a new program or area of research
What is the purpose of this paper?
Reporting original, significant research results
Documenting methods or establishing standards
Warning of a hazardous condition
Examining the feasibility of a project
Reinterpreting previously reported results
Reviewing the literature
Providing an overview of the topic
Who is the audience for this paper?
What are their needs, interests, level of knowledge, motivation for reading?
How significant is the information?
How widely should it be disseminated?
How rapidly should it be disseminated?
How important is a permanent archival record?
Ask a fifth question if youre working on something that has potential commercial applications:
Can it be published at all?You cannot patent anything that has been published or
otherwise publicly disclosed.

Celia M. Elliott
Choosing the appropriate venue

for a paper is a key decision
Considerations:
Publish in the most suitable periodicalget advice from your adviser and colleagues
Publish in the most prestigious journal that will accept your ms.
Achieve publication as quickly as possible (usually)
Is posting on an electronic archive for wide distribution and early feedback permissible?
Reasons for flexibility:

Several journals may have the same readership but different policies for subject emphasis
and length of articles. You must find the best fit with your paper.
Some journals publish faster; e.g., if a journal has scheduled a number of special issues,
publication of your ms. may be delayed for months.
Editorial trends; editors develop preferences for hot topics, to the exclusion of others. If a
journal has just published two special issues on your topic, the editor may not be interested
in another long paper on that subject. Consult recent issues of your first choices, or write to
the editor to enquire about his interest in your topic.
Ulrichs Periodicals Directory has circulation figures for ~300,000 serials, periodicals,
annuals, and newspapers worldwide.
http://www.ulrichsweb.com
318 journals listed for chemistry-physical

Celia M. Elliott
The (professional) publication

process is lengthy and exacting
Author submits manuscript to editor

Editor determines if the paper is appropriate:
Represents new and significant work
Is scientifically sound
Falls within the journals topical coverage
If the paper does not meet all of these criteria, it is rejected and returned without review
If the paper meets the criteria, the editor selects qualified referees and sends them paper for review
Reviewers provide written comments on:
The technical soundness of the paper
Mistakes and omissions
Additional work to be referenced
Suggestions for clarification, deletion of superfluous material, or other improvements
Reviewers also make a confidential recommendation to the editor:
Accept paper as written
Recommend optional changes
Require mandatory changes
Reject paper
If the reviewers suggest changes, the editor returns the manuscript to the author, along with the
anonymous reviewers reports, and requests revisions
The author makes the requested changes, additions, or deletions, and returns the revised manuscript
The editor determines that the author has satisfactorily complied with the reviewers requirements and
accepts the paper

Celia M. Elliott
Peer review ensures the accuracy and

significance of publications in the
archival record*
*in the best of all possible worlds, Candide...
Independent recommendations of recognized experts in the field

Reviewers are expected to offer objective and constructive criticism
Reviewers are anonymous and are expected to maintain strict confidentiality
Process should produce better papers
Author benefits from insight and suggestions of experts
Reviewer #3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VRBWLpYCPY

Celia M. Elliott
Science has evolved a template

for archiving scientific results
Hew to it witlessly
Title
Abstract
Background and Introduction
Technical Description
Results
Discussion
Conclusions
Acknowledgments
References
Special Sections, if needed
Well go through these sections one at a time later in the workshop...

Celia M. Elliott
You cant wait until youre finished
Because we think in words, the act of expressing observation in languageof

distilling amorphous thoughts into wordsis a powerful tool for clarifying your
thinking.
You dont really understand something until you can explain it to somebody else
who doesnt know anything about it.
The act of composition disciplines the mind; writing is one way to go about
thinking, and the practice and habit of writing not only drain the mind, but supply it
too. Strunk and White, The Elements of Style, 3rd ed., p. 70.

Celia M. Elliott
Write incrementally
The conventional method is to do a project, write the paper, and get it published, but
that method is flawed:
1) You forget or overlook important insights and milestones after the fact.
2) If youve worked on a project for an extended period, you get bored, and thats
reflected in the ms.
3) You cant find the time to write up the paper because youve moved on to a new
project.
Instead, write in increments:

1) construct a preliminary outline, based on the your initial goals for the project
2) write portions of the results and discussion sections while youre taking and
analyzing your data
Advantages of the incremental method:

You may discover additional data that are needed while the equipment is still set up
and the project ongoing.
You get a finished paper faster, with more time to revise and edit.
H.B. Michaelson, How to Write and Publish Engineering Reports and Papers (Oryx
Press, Phoenix, 1990).

Celia M. Elliott
Write from an outline
Train yourself to outline and organize what youre going to say before you begin to write
Think of your outline as a map that is going to guide the reader to the conclusions that you want him
to reach: that the work presented is important, that it advances previous work significantly, and that
it proves the hypothesis you set out to test.
What are the key ideas? (restrict to <3)

What are the supporting ideas?
What details should be included?
What background information does the reader need to understand the paper?
What is the emphasis?
How long should the manuscript be to ideally present these ideas?
What illustrations and data are needed?
How should they best be presented?
Emphasis:
the data
the method
the interpretation
your recommendations
potential applications

Celia M. Elliott
Heres an example:
Problem
Analysis/
Previous Assumptions/
Results Method Conclusions
Work Treatment of
Data
Background/ Alternative
References
Introduction Explanations
What problem did you study? What unanswered question did you set out to solve? And why is it
important? Work until you can describe the problem and its importance in one sentence.
What results are you reporting? How is the best way to present them to the reader? In words? In
equations? In a table or plot (best for revealing relationships)? In an image (powerful, memorable,
compact)?
What method did you use to tackle the problem? Why did you choose that method? How are you
sure that you measured what you set out to measure? Why is your method better, faster, cheaper
than work that has been done before? Omit details that are commonly known or tailor to the
prescribed length of the paper.
How does your work build on, expand, confirm, or contradict previous work? (This will drive your
background and introduction and references sections.) What does the reader need to know to
understand the problem, results, and method that youre reporting?
How did you analyze your data? Are there any treatments of data that must be disclosed?
What does it all mean?
Use the 35 card trick to organize your thoughts

Celia M. Elliott
Put yourself
in the background
Voice: to be or not to be?

Active voice: the subject of the sentence performs the actionthe subject acts
Active voice is more direct
Passive voice: the subject of the sentence receives the action of the verbthe subject is acted upon
Passive voice emphasizes what was found, not who did the finding
Passive voice can be pedantic and wordy in the hands of amateurs
More editors are allowing first person/active voice because so many people write passive voice so
badly.
Use of the passive voice offers two distinct advantages in technical writing:
1) creates the appearance of objectivity and a facts-based approach by presenting results and
conclusions without attributing them to specific agents
2) allows front-loading of key words and phrases to in make them stand out
The choice of voice is largely a matter of what you want to emphasize

We used an SEM to examine the surface defects of the MoGe thin films. (AV)
We examined the surface defects of the MoGe thin films using an SEM. (AV)
An SEM was used to examine the surface defects of the MoGe thin films. (PV)
Surface defects of the MoGe thin films were examined with an SEM. (PV)

Celia M. Elliott
I always use wimpy verbs

and complicated syntax;
sounds more scientific.
Write with simple nouns and verbs
Instead of worrying about voice, use strong verbs; proper verb choice is often the
difference between crisp, clear text and bloated, clumsy writing.
Replace wimpy verb phrases with strong, action verbs
Weak verb phrasesmade a determination determined
performed a measurement measured
carried out the analysis analyzed
The human immune system is responsible not only for the identification of
foreign molecules, but also for actions leading to their immobilization,
neutralization, and destruction. (25 words)
The human immune system not only identifies foreign molecules, but also
immobilizes, neutralizes, and destroys them. (16 words, crisper, more direct)
Change nouns ending in tion, ment, and ance back into the verbs they are
derived from; your writing will be more crisp and concise.
Write with nouns and verbs, not adjectives and adverbs. The adjective hasnt been
built yet that can pull a weak or inaccurate noun out of a tight place. Will Strunk
Make adjectives and adverbs quantitative, not qualitative.

Celia M. Elliott
We communicate in wordstrain
yourself to use language precisely
Communication is not broadcastingit is successful only when the receiver understands the
content of a message as the sender intended it
Eight steps to meaningful communication:
1) You have an idea
2) You select a medium to transmit the idea
3) You encode the idea for the medium
4) You transmit the message
5) Your audience receives the message
6) The audience decodes it
7) The audience transmits a message back to you about what the message means
8) You confirm that the message has been understood as you intended
Some scientific communications (particularly written communications), have no mechanism for

Steps 7 and 8. Consequently, writers must be particularly careful that the meaning they seek to
convey is encoded precisely and unambiguously and in words that the receiver can
understand.
Use standard nomenclature and notation

Specify; give concrete examples
Quantify
Most sloppy writing is just sloppy thinking made manifest.cme
The difference between the right word and the almost-right word is the difference between
lightning and lightning bug.Mark Twain

Celia M. Elliott
Build a robust vocabulary to convey

precise shades of meaning
To write well, you must read a lot.
If you are not a native English speaker (and even if you are)many words in
English have both a denotation (the dictionary definition) and a connotation (a
more subtle additional shade of meaning).
Example: the dictionary says the following words are synonyms: feasible,
workable, usable, useful, practical, realistic, achievable, obtainablebut they dont
all mean exactly the same and theyre not interchangeable.
Have a native English speaker to read your manuscript.

Celia M. Elliott
Do not overstate...
...but avoid wimpy qualifiers
Striking the right balance of persuasiveness and objectivity is critical.

When you overstate, the reader will be instantly on guard, and everything that has
preceded your overstatement and everything that comes after it will be suspect,
because...he has lost confidence in your judgment.William Strunk, Jr. and E.B.
White, The Elements of Style, 3rd ed. (Boston, Allyn and Bacon, 1979), p. 72-73.
Avoid wimpy qualifiersvery, rather, somewhat
Rather, very, little, prettythese are the leeches that infest the pond of prose,
sucking the blood of words. The constant use of the adjective little (except to
indicate size) is particularly debilitating; we should all try to do a little better, we
should all be very watchful of this rule, for it is a rather important one and we are
pretty sure to violate it now and then.Strunk & White, p. 73.
Mark Twains adviceEvery time you write very, substitute damn. Your editor
will remove all the damns for the sake of propriety, and your writing will be much
better.

Celia M. Elliott
Write with your

reader in mind
Know thy audience!

Why is the person reading your paper?
What is his motivation? (What does he want to know?)
What do you want him to learn? to believe?
What do you need to tell him so that he can understand?
What is likely to confuse him?
What will he object to?
Be aware how most scientists read a paper:

1) scan down the table of contents to select a paper for further reading if the title
looks interesting
2) read the abstract
3) read the conclusions section
4) look at the figures and tables
5) scan the methods section
6) read the full paper
*If the work is in their field, theyll look at the references to see if their work is cited
between Steps 2 and 3.

Celia M. Elliott
Position your important

points strategically
People pay attention at the beginning and the end of segmentsthey tend to drift off in the middle.
Dont bury your important points in the middle of a narrative; put them at the beginning or the end
of paragraphs and sections.
Make it easy for the reader to pick out your important points:
graphical highlighting
figures
use of descriptive subheadings
preview important points at the beginning of sections and summarize them at the end of sections

Celia M. Elliott
Most people remember images

better than words
Figures promote
reader interest,
provide supporting
evidence, help explain
complex ideas and
relationships quickly,
and give the reader
something to
remember
Myosin V. walking on actin
Courtesy of P. Selvin
Figures serve four functions in scientific communications:

1. promote reader interest.
2. provide supporting evidence.
3. help explain complex ideas and relationships quickly and concisely.
4. give the reader something to remember.
Use figures to draw a reader in to your story.
Use figures to emphasize important points. A reader will think about that important
point at least three times if you illustrate itonce when he reads the text, once
when he looks at the image, and again when he reads the caption.

Celia M. Elliott
Can you tell me the four reasons I gave you 30 seconds ago for why you should
include figures in your paper?
Can you remember the image that was shown on the last slide?
I rest my case...

Celia M. Elliott
The quality of a scientific document

is judged on four criteria
content, organization, significance,
and style
Courtesy A. Bezryadin
D.S. Hopkins, D. Pekker, P.M. Goldbart, and A. Bezryadin,

Science 308, 17621765 (2005).
There are four main distinctives of quality in scientific writing:

Technical content:
Data is error-free and valid; any selection or statistical treatment of data is disclosed
Sufficient detail is provided so that peers can reproduce the experiment
Figures and tables present information clearly and unambiguously
Assumptions are clearly stated and supported
Alternative approaches or interpretations are candidly discussed
Validity and significance

Balanced interpretation
Organization
Logical and incremental
Important points stand out
Style
Clear, concise expression; appropriate use of technical language
Freedom from errors in grammar, usage, and typography
Observation of scientific conventions in notation and nomenclature

Celia M. Elliott
The quality of the

writing is as
important as the
content
Ideas are presented clearly and unambiguously.

Language is precise and concise; semantics and syntax promote understanding.
Main points are emphasized and readily identifiable.
Reader cues and transitional statements are provided; no gaps in logic or unwritten
assumptions.
Mistakes in grammar, spelling, punctuation, and standard (U.S.) English are absent.
Conventional notation and nomenclature are used.
Only one main idea per paragraph; follow the 4-step construction rule:
State the main idea.
Explain it.
Give an illustrative example of it.
Summarize it in a way that leads naturally to the next paragraph.
Note that this method positions the important ideas strategically.

Celia M. Elliott
Write short sentences...
...and control your modifiers
Strive for brevity and clarity.

Write short sentencesless than 25 words.
Avoid long strings of nouns used as adjectivesmean field anisotropic
superconducting reverse bias toroid magnet (or MASRBTM, to its fans)

Celia M. Elliott
Expect to rewritemany times
The probability that a first draft will not require revision approaches 0.
Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is
nothing left to take away.Antoine-Marie-Roger de Saint-Exupery
Brevity is a key goal. Use your revisions to clarify and simplify.
Give yourself adequate time to reflect and rewrite.
Revising should incorporate four distinct elements:
1) clarifying the selection and presentation of ideas.
2) organizing the narrative logically and incrementally.
3) using language precisely and concisely.
4) correcting mechanical errors that detract from a professional argument.
Ideally, editing should be done in three passes:

1) reading for content (the science).
2) editing for style (organization and language)
3) proofreading for mechanics (spelling, punctuation, grammar, usage)
Writing well is a learned skilltrain yourself to recognize good writing; emulate

good examples, and practice, practice, practice.

Celia M. Elliott
Dont start at the beginning...
A journal article consists of the following sections:

Title
Abstract
Background/Introduction
Methods/Procedure
Results
Discussion
Conclusions
Acknowledgments
References
Appendixes
BUTMost authors follow this order in preparing a manuscript or talk:

Resultsthis is the reason youre writing the paper
Methods/Procedure
Discussion
Conclusions
Background and Introduction
References
Abstract
Title
Acknowledgments
Appendixes, if needed

Celia M. Elliott
Consider using
descriptive
section titles
instead of
generic ones
Instead of using standard (and boring) section headings (Background, Experimental

Set-Up, Results), try writing short, informative, keyword headings.
Examplefor a paper on a first-principles study of UC

Method First-principles projector-augmented wave calculation
Results Calculated bulk properties of uranium carbides
Discussion Point defects in uranium carbide
Using more informative headings attracts a prospective readers attention and creates
signposts to guide him through the manuscript.

Celia M. Elliott
Start with the Results section
it is the point of writing the paper
Include only relevant information.

Emphasize the results achieved, not the chronological history of the experiment.
Identify obvious dead-ends.
Describe statistical treatment or selection of data, if any.
Use tables or graphs to organize, summarize, and reveal relationships in numerical
data (q.v. Edward Tuftes The Visual Display of Quantitative Information).

Celia M. Elliott
The Methods section describes

how the work was done in detail
Describe the apparatus, computer codes, or other devices used in the work.
Identify materials and give exact specifications.
Describe procedures in detail.
Give operating ranges.
Include sufficient mathematical detail to reproduce derivations and check numerical
results.
Explicitly describe any hazards, e.g., toxicity, radiation hazards, biohazards,
explosive tendencies.
The standardGive sufficient detail so that other practitioners trained in the art
would be able to reproduce your experiment and obtain the same results.

Celia M. Elliott
Effective figures are critical

1 2 3
The figures shown here are taken from Mapping the One-Dimensional Electronic States of
Nanotube Peapod Structures, D.J. Hornbaker et al., Science 295, 828 (2002).
1. Artists rendering of buckyballs encapsulated in a carbon nanotube, and the modifications in the
local electronic structure of the nanotube
2. STM imaging of the peapod
3. Model calculation of the electronic structure of a peapod
4. Variation of the DOS in a peapod, from STM tunneling spectra
5. The model Hamiltonian used for #4.
Use figures to emphasize your main points; the reader will have to process them at least three
timesonce when he reads the text, again when he looks at the figure, and again when he reads
the caption.
All figures and tables must be called out (i.e., specifically discussed) in the text.
Position figures and tables after their first mention in the text, and preferably on the same page;
dont make the reader hunt through your paper to find the relevant figure or table.
Use the captions to point out important features of the figure; tell the reader what to look at and
why it is significant.
Make your figures exciting and visually interestinggive the reader something positive to
remember.
Graphic excellence is that which gives to the viewer the greatest number of ideas in the shortest
time with the least ink in the smallest place.Edward Tufte

Celia M. Elliott
Use different kinds of figures to

convey different information
Courtesy IBM Almaden Research Center
The main advantage of photographs is realism.

A cut-away drawing can show the inner workings of something that a photograph
cannot. It also allows control of detail, so that important features are revealed and
emphasized.
A diagram can illustrate the flow of a variable through a system.
A plot can reveal relationships among variables.
Topography of three gadolinium atoms on a niobium (110) surface, superimposed

on a dI/dV conductance map, showing the response of a superconductor to a
magnetic impurity. IBM Almaden Research Center,
http://www.almaden.ibm.com/vis/stm/hexagone.html.

Celia M. Elliott
In the Discussion section, explain

your observations and your analysis
Compare the results to prior work, both the authors and others.
Interpret the results; explain what you think they mean.
Explicitly state any assumptions that youve made.
Discuss honestly any limitations of the work.
Suggest aspects of the work that should be tested further, and how to do it.
Describe prospective applications.
Emphasize what is new about this work; what have you contributed?
For intermediate reports, include a Future Work section.

Celia M. Elliott
The Conclusions section

tells what your results mean
Evaluate the results from the standpoint of the original objectives of the work. What
do you know now that you didnt know then? What questions have you answered?
What have you contributed?
State the logical implications of the results:

Do they suggest directions for future study?
Do they support development of technological applications?
Do they identify a dead end that should be abandoned.
s
Note that this section is titled conclusion (what we have deduced from doing
this experiment), NOT conclusion (congratulations, youve slogged your way to
the end of this paper)!

Celia M. Elliott
The Background and Introduction

explains what motivated the work
Think of questions when you write this section:

1. What question the work is addressing.
2. What questions will the reader have in thinking about your work? What do you
need to tell him that he might not already know to understand the work and its
significance?
Learn to think of writing as telling a storya compelling, logical story of your
work. What elements must you include for the reader to understand and
believe?
The background and introduction section should:
Give a concise background of the problem and what questions previous workers
have left unanswered.
Describe the experimental or theoretical basis for the work.
Explain the significance, scope, and limitations of the work.
Preview the technical contents to follow.

Celia M. Elliott
References are mandatory
Unless you are reporting something that has never been thought of before in the history of
science, using a method that you have invented from scratch, you must include references to
prior work.
The References section is not a bibliography; include only references that are specifically
called out in the text.
References should not be sprinkled through an article like pixie dust; they should be used
thoughtfully to aid the reader. Although some may consider references mere window
dressingsomething to be added to a manuscript to make it look scholarlytheir misuse
speaks loudly for itself. Any reader quickly recognizes indiscriminate reference to the work
of others. Such citations become annoying rather than illuminating a may interrupt the flow
of exposition.H.B. Michaelson, How to Write & Publish Engineering Papers and Reports
Cite the reference at the end of the phrase,1 or sentence, in which it is first mentioned
[Elliott, 1998], depending on the journals preferred style
In general, superscripts go outside punctuation; in-line call-outs go inside (but consult the
journal).

Celia M. Elliott
Every article must contain a

stand-alone abstract
Write the abstract after youve finished the paper; writing is an evolutionary process, particularly if
you write incrementally. The focus and emphasis of a paper may change during the writing
process, and the abstract must reflect the finished ms.
The quality of your abstract determines to a great extent whether anybody actually reads your
paper.
An abstract should contain:
A concise statement of the problem studied
A brief explanation of the approach used
A succinct description of the principal results obtained
A summary of the conclusions reached
Celias foolproof abstract recipe:
Answer the following questions, in this order:
What problem did you study and why is it important?
What methods did you use?
What were your principal results?
What conclusions can you draw from your results about the problem you studied?
Make your sentences as specific and quantitative as possible
Vary the length of the abstract by the length of the answers to the four questions.
The abstract must stand alone; no figures, tables, references, complex equations, or undefined
acronyms.
Image: two point defects adorning a Cu (110) surface; the point defects scatter the surface state
electrons, resulting in circular standing wave patterns. IBM Almaden Research Center,
http://www.almaden.ibm.com/vis/stm/hexagone.html.
Celia M. Elliott
The title is the first hook to your

prospective audience
Busy scientists employ three criteria when deciding if they will invest time in reading a
paper:
The information conveyed in the title.
The reputation of the author.
The abstract.
Play fair; dont trick people into reading your paper by a misleading title.
Wastes their time.
Ruins your reputation.
Effective titles are concise, descriptive and interesting
Worst title I have ever seen:
Towards the Observation of Signal over Background in Future Experiments
Second-worst title: Report of the Subgroup on Alternative Methods and New
Ideas
But not too interesting--Looking from the East at an Elephant Trotting West: Direct CP
Violation in B0 Decays http://arxiv.org/abs/hep-ph/0203157
Accurately convey the content of the paper.
Frontload the title; put key words first; eschew introductory fluff (On the observation of...
Towards a theory of...).
Limit title to a maximum of 12 words; think long and hard about putting colons in titles.
Avoid unfamiliar acronyms, abbreviations, or symbols in the title.

Celia M. Elliott
Give credit to others in the

acknowledgments* section
*N.B.There is no e between the g and the m in

the U.S. spelling of acknowledgment
Acknowledge contributions by professional colleagues who are not listed as

authorsdo not include titles or academic degrees.
Acknowledge financial support (funding agencies and grant numbers) of the work.
Do not include purely personal acknowledgments.
Acknowledgment is the most commonly misspelled word in academia. There is

no e between the g and the m in the U.S. spelling of acknowledgment. (Think
judgment.) If you dont believe me [and many dont], look at the acknowledgment
page of any book printed since 1900 by a reputable U.S. publisher.
Acknowledgement (like judgement) is a British spelling. We colonials have our
own rules.

Celia M. Elliott
Put supplementary material in an

appendix after the references
Most papers dont need appendixes.
Use an appendix for supplementary material that is necessary for completeness, but
which would detract from the narrative flow if presented in the body of the paper.
Glossary of terms or symbols

Computer codes
Proof of a theorem
Supplementary material of value to a specialist but of limited use to a general reader

Celia M. Elliott
Persuasion in science?
Research is not complete, no matter how many experiments have been conducted, no matter
how many puzzles have been solved, until peers outside of a research team are persuaded that
youve done something significant and your conclusions are correct.
Persuasion is a social process and is an essential part of the creation, testing, and advance of
scientific knowledge.
Persuasive skills are also important in leadership, teamwork, and other fundamentals of
success in the scientific enterprise.
Success in science and engineering requires good persuasive skills.
As a scientist you will use persuasion:
In scholarly papers
In reports and recommendations to superiors
In proposals to funders or customers
Among team members in work groups
In directives to subordinates
In science, the credit goes to the man who convinces the world, not to the man to whom the
idea first occurs.Sir Francis Darwin
In this section, well look at the three components of persuasion, how to establish credibility
in science writing, and the ethics of using persuasion.

Celia M. Elliott
The first persuader
The Greek philosopher Aristotle (384 BC-322 BC) first laid out the basic tenets of
persuasion nearly 2400 years ago in The Art of Rhetoric, wherein he elucidated the
process of logical persuasive argument.
The three bases of persuasion:
logoslogic, reason, fact
ethostrust, credibility, reliability
pathospassion, emotion, enthusiasm
While we rely on logic and credibility, in science, effective scientific

communications incorporate all three.
Pathos here retains its original Greek meaning, viz. having an effect upon the
emotions; exciting the passions or affections; moving, stirring, affectingnot
pathetic but passionate.

Celia M. Elliott
Build a logical case (logos)
First, decide what conclusion you want your audience to reach

Make a list of all the important points that the audience must know
Marshall supporting facts and explanatory information
Arrange the main points and supporting details in a logical order, so that each
moves the audience incrementally closer to the desired conclusion (outline!)
Create sign posts to guide the reader through your narrative
Sign posts are reader cues such as graphical highlighting (boldface or italic), use
of headings and subheadings, arrangement of text on the page, incorporation of
figures and tables, and mathematical proofs.

Celia M. Elliott
Logical exposition reveals the

relationship between data and ideas
Used with permission
Use precise, descriptive language

State assumptions and inferences explicitly and provide supporting detail
Provide transitional statements to tie ideas together
Position arguments strategically
To position arguments strategically:

Begin with and end with a strong argument
Put weaker arguments in the middle
Dont bury your recommendation, strongest points, or most compelling evidence in
the middle of your narrative; people pay attention at the beginning and end of
chunks of text.

Celia M. Elliott
Add authority (ethos)
Add authority to your arguments:
Establish your credibility by demonstrating your familiarity with the problem (background
and introduction section)
Cite the work and opinion of experts (references)
Dont overstate your claims or force your data (results section)
Dont hide things (methods/procedure section)
Anticipate questions and objections and candidly discuss opposing views (discussion
section)
Be candid about shortcomings, limitations, or weaknesses

Increase your credibility by demonstrating your objectivity
Neutralize objections by anticipating and answering them
Evenhandedness is particularly important if your method or results are controversial

Celia M. Elliott
Reciting facts is not sufficient

(pathos)
Facts must be assembled into arguments

Adapt to your audience; consider understanding, perceptions, and motivation
Scientists are suspicious about emotional appeals; temper your enthusiasm to what
you can prove, not what you believe.

Celia M. Elliott
Persuasion
is powerful;
use it
judiciously
and
ethically
Go beyond the dont make things up case.
Dont distort the facts.

Dont choose facts selectively.
Dont exaggerate or give deceptive emphasis.
Dont omit pertinent objections or counter-arguments.

Celia M. Elliott
Sources of good advice and

further reading
http://physics.illinois.edu/people/Celia/SciWrite.pdf
cmelliot@illinois.edu
W. Strunk and E.B. White, The Elements of Style, 3rd ed. (Allyn & Bacon, Boston,
1979).
V. Booth, Communicating in Science, 2nd ed. (CUP, Cambridge, 1993).
H.B. Michaelson, How to Write and Publish Engineering Papers and Reports, 3rd
ed. (Oryx Press, Phoenix, 1990).
S.L. Montgomery, The Chicago Guide to Communicating Science (University of
Chicago Press, Chicago, 2003).
E. Tufte, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, 2nd ed. (Graphics Press,
Cheshire, CT, 2003).
Remember:
Good writing is an evolutionary process that comes in stages:
Getting in the mood.
Getting words on paper/screen.
Revising, revising, revising, revising, revising, revising, revising, revising,...
FINISHING!!!*
*Do not use too many exclamation points in scientific writing!! People will think
youre a crackpot!!!!


Guidelines To Write A Scientific Paper

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Guidelines for Writing a Scientific Paper, January 2010

Guidelines for Writing

Women in Chemistry Workshop, January 12, 2010

Three broad themes will be covered: in the workshop

Chemists: Consult The ACS Style Guide: Effective Communication of Scientific

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Before you pick up a pencil,

What is your motivation for writing the paper?

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Choosing the appropriate venue

Reasons for flexibility:

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The (professional) publication

Author submits manuscript to editor

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Peer review ensures the accuracy and

*in the best of all possible worlds, Candide...

Independent recommendations of recognized experts in the field

Reviewer #3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VRBWLpYCPY

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Science has evolved a template

Well go through these sections one at a time later in the workshop...

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You cant wait until youre finished

Because we think in words, the act of expressing observation in languageof

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Instead, write in increments:

Advantages of the incremental method:

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Write from an outline

What are the key ideas? (restrict to <3)

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Use the 35 card trick to organize your thoughts

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Voice: to be or not to be?

The choice of voice is largely a matter of what you want to emphasize

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I always use wimpy verbs

Write with simple nouns and verbs

Make adjectives and adverbs quantitative, not qualitative.

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Some scientific communications (particularly written communications), have no mechanism for

Use standard nomenclature and notation

Most sloppy writing is just sloppy thinking made manifest.cme

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Build a robust vocabulary to convey

To write well, you must read a lot.

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...but avoid wimpy qualifiers

Striking the right balance of persuasiveness and objectivity is critical.

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Write with your

Know thy audience!

Be aware how most scientists read a paper:

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Position your important

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Most people remember images

Figures serve four functions in scientific communications:

Use figures to draw a reader in to your story.

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