Scientific Writing

We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology. – Carl Sagan

As the global language of science, English goes hand-in-hand with scientific exploration and discovery. As a result, knowing English Scientific Writing is very important. We need to be able to communicate with not only other scientists and specialists but also the general public, many of whom do not speak general English as a native language. Scientific English was developed as a result.

Whether you are a committed scientist or just an avid enthusiast, Scientific Writing is a great tool to have. These posts will help you develop your scientific language skills:

Latest posts on Scientific English:

How to Structure a Scientific Article: A Guide

If someone were to ask you what are the important aspects of writing a scientific article, how would you respond? What points would you choose? Inevitably somewhere on your list is how to structure the scientific article. Certain things have to go in certain places. If they don’t, the article becomes confusing and readers stop…

How to Structure a Scientific Article: LDR

Crafting a well-structured scientific article is essential for effectively communicating your research findings. Clear structure not only guides your reader through your thought processes but also helps to highlight the importance and impact of your work. There are several models you can follow when structuring your article, each with its strengths and suitable applications. One…

How to Structure a Scientific Article: OCAR

One of the core methods used to structure scientific articles is OCAR – an acronym that stands for Opening, Challenge, Action, and Resolution. It provides a clear and logical framework for presenting your research, helping to ensure readers understand and appreciate your work. An easy way to think about OCAR is to think of a…

The Basics of Scientific Writing

Just like learning anything, it is best to start with the basics (building blocks) and work up. If you are interested in learning Scientific Writing, I recommend you have an intermediate to advanced level of English. If you understood everything to get to this point so far, you will be fine.

The building blocks of Scientific Writing

The best way to start learning this “language” is to compare it to something you already know: general English. All those things you either learnt in school or when learning English are important. The good news: you use them in very specific ways and there are few to no exceptions to the rules! Here are some important concepts:

The Basic Characteristics of Scientific English

The words ‘Scientific English’ often conjure up convoluted, impenetrable sentences in the mind’s eye. What if I told you that it should not be this way? What if I said that Scientific Language (of any kind) should actually be easy…

Hedging

Time to get out the trimmers! No, not that kind of hedging!! Hedging is an important tool that all writers should have in their arsenal, especially when writing in an academic or scientific context. But what is hedging? Hedging is…

Now that you have the basics down, let’s look at some more advanced topics:

How to Structure a Scientific Article: OCAR – Resolution

Crafting an effective resolution is a key component of structuring your scientific article. The resolution serves as the climax of your paper, offering a summary of your key findings and their implications. This article provides insights into the elements of a good resolution and common pitfalls to avoid. Elements of a Good Scientific Article Resolution…

How to Structure a Scientific Article: OCAR – Action

After crafting a compelling challenge, the next step in structuring your scientific article is detailing the ‘Action’. The action phase typically involves describing the Materials and Methods you used in your study and presenting the Results and Discussion. This article aims to guide you through effectively presenting these crucial components in your scientific paper. Materials…

How to Structure a Scientific Article: OCAR – Challenge

In our previous article, we outlined how to craft a captivating opening for your scientific paper. The next critical component in the structure of your scientific article: the ‘Challenge’. The challenge of a scientific article could be either a hypothesis or a question. This depends on how much is known and also on the field.…

Paragraph Structures in Scientific English

In previous articles we have looked at linking paragraphs, linking sentences, and how to write sentences in Scientific English. These articles have had a common theme: structure. This article is also part of that series, focusing on the two types of paragraph structures in Scientific English. What is a paragraph? Why does it need a…

How to Link Paragraphs in Scientific English

In How to Link Sentences in Scientific English, we looked at how to link sentences by taking elements from one sentence and connecting them to parts of other sentences. Before reading this article about how to link paragraphs, you should read that article first. This article will be using information from that article. Linking Paragraphs…

How to Link Sentences in Scientific English

In How to Make Sentences in Scientific English, we talked about different positions in a sentence, for example, the topic and stress, and why you would choose to order information in a certain way. Please read that article before reading this one, which expands on that. In this article, we will look at how to…

How to Make Sentences in Scientific English

As a teacher of Scientific English, I often get the following questions from students: “How do you make sentences in Scientific English”? “Is there a specific way to write sentences”? When I first started learning Scientific English myself, my initial reaction was “No, of course not. It is still English. English is a flexible language,…

What is an abstract?

So you have to write a scientific paper. You’ve done the research, you have an idea of what you will write about, and you have figured out the structure of the paper. There is just one problem – that pesky part at the beginning called the “abstract”. What is an abstract? What does it do?…

Can I trust this scientific article? Is this a predatory journal?

We have all been there: a friend comes up with a random crazy fact and you think to yourself “I don’t think that’s true”. Sometimes you see, hear or read something and doubt the message or what it wants to say. Something about it seems off to you. If you are a scientist, you may…

Types of Scientific Publishing

If you are part of the world of science in any way, you will know that many in the scientific community equate publishing articles with success. Many universities, companies and research institutions place a lot of emphasis on scientific publishing. As a result there are many journals and ways to publish. Should you publish in…

Parts of a Scientific Manuscript

Previously we looked at the different types of scientific articles – what are they, what are the differences and what can you expect from each type. In this article, we are going to talk about the different parts of a scientific manuscript, what each part has (or should have) and what you can expect: Parts…

Types of Scientific Articles

Scientific English is used in many different situations and places; however, none is more visible than in scientific articles. There are many types of scientific articles: short and to the point, long and extremely detailed, and everything in between. What are the different types? What kind of information does each one have? Why should I…

Latin in Scientific Writing: When do you use it?

If you have read a scientific article or scientific publication before, it is highly likely that you have read some Latin terms. Latin in Scientific Writing is a relatively common practice. Many English words come from Latin and many of the terms we use today still follow the rules of Latin. Sometimes we even see…


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