Scientific Writing and Reporting Quiz

Scientific Writing and Reporting

• Scientific writing in English began in the 14th century, evolving from personal letters to freestanding articles with specific methods, findings, and conclusions.
• The Royal Society established good practice for scientific writing, emphasizing plain and accurate description over rhetorical flourishes.
• An industry has developed to help non-native English speaking authors improve their text before submission to scientific journals.
• Software tools relying on Natural Language Processing, such as SWAN, help writer scientists evaluate the quality of their manuscripts prior to submission.
• Different fields have different conventions for writing style, and individual journals within a field usually have their own style guides.
• Some issues of scientific writing style include the use of passive voice, tense generalizations, and preferences about "we" vs. "I" as personal pronouns.
• Contemporary researchers in writing studies have pointed out that blanket generalizations about academic writing are seldom helpful, and the use of passive voice allows the writer to focus on the subject being studied.
• Scientific writing has a strong emphasis on the use of peer-reviewing throughout the writing process, ensuring accuracy and well-thought-out information.
• Different types of citation and reference systems are used in scientific papers, depending on the journal and the discipline.
• Scientific reports typically follow the stages of the scientific method, with sections including abstract, introduction, methods, results, conclusions, and acknowledgments.
• The introduction discusses the issue studied and discloses the hypothesis tested, while the methods and results sections include the step-by-step procedure, observations, and data collected.
• Papers must go through peer review by experts with significant knowledge in the field before getting published.