# Hilary Glasman-deal - Science Research Writing (Highlights)  ## Metadata **Review**:: [readwise.io](https://readwise.io/bookreview/24818275) **Source**:: #from/readwise **Zettel**:: #zettel/fleeting **Status**:: #x **Authors**:: [[Hilary Glasman-deal]] **Full Title**:: Science Research Writing **Category**:: #books #readwise/books **Category Icon**:: 📚 **Highlighted**:: [[2023-02-28]] **Created**:: [[2023-03-04]] ## Highlights - The aim is not simply to make it possible for the reader to understand; the narrative should be strong enough to make it impossible for the reader NOT to understand. ([Location 119](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08S3BNN18&location=119)) ^483302170 - Before you begin planning your text, reverse engineer a current example of the relevant genre as a model. ([Location 130](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08S3BNN18&location=130)) ^483302171 - Using elegant English may actually make your research article less accessible, or even less accurate. For example, using a thesaurus to avoid repetition is counter-productive; a framework should not suddenly become a methodology, an approach or a model without warning. ([Location 253](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08S3BNN18&location=253)) ^483302172 #caveat - Where grammar issues are discussed, the aim is not to identify rules for ‘correct’ grammar, but rather to avoid ambiguity. ([Location 282](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08S3BNN18&location=282)) ^483302173 - The book shows you how to use the journal papers you read to develop the appropriate writing skills, so you need to collect a set of target research articles before you start. The set should consist of at least four recently-published research papers from the journals you usually read. ([Location 299](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08S3BNN18&location=299)) ^483302174 - be no more than five years old, given the speed at which science research writing is developing and changing. ([Location 308](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08S3BNN18&location=308)) ^483302175 - This represents the way information is ordered in the Introduction and the Discussion: in the Introduction you start out by being fairly general and gradually narrow your focus towards your own study, and the opposite is true in the Discussion. ([Location 398](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08S3BNN18&location=398)) ^483302176 - One way to identify the function of a sentence is to look at the tense of the main verb. What is that verb tense normally used for? Is the verb in the same tense as in the previous sentence? If not, why has the writer changed the tense? ([Location 410](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08S3BNN18&location=410)) ^483890422 - Many research articles begin by establishing how or why the topic is useful or important, so in your target articles you will often find something in the first sentence like much study in recent years or a major role or widely-used. ([Location 452](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08S3BNN18&location=452)) ^483890423 - Phrases that refer to recent time like in recent years or in the past five years are normally followed by the Present Perfect tense ([Location 455](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08S3BNN18&location=455)) ^483890424 - If you are focusing on the current situation, it is common to use the Present Simple tense ([Location 458](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08S3BNN18&location=458)) ^483890425 - It’s worth noting, however, that what is recent or current now will not be recent or current in five years’ time, so if you are hoping that your research article will still be relevant five years from now, consider using an identifiable date, e.g. since 2018. ([Location 459](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08S3BNN18&location=459)) ^483890426 - Sentence 2 is in the Present Simple tense, which is the verb tense used for accepted/established facts. Research papers often begin, either in the first sentence or the first paragraph, with accepted or established facts. ([Location 473](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08S3BNN18&location=473)) ^483890427 - Always show your readers the general picture before you proceed to the details: show them the wall before you start to talk about the bricks! ([Location 489](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08S3BNN18&location=489)) ^483890428 - As a general rule it is better to provide slightly too much background information than slightly too little. ([Location 494](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08S3BNN18&location=494)) ^483890429 - Many facts which are now accepted by researchers began their life — perhaps years ago — as research findings. ([Location 518](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08S3BNN18&location=518)) ^483890430 Present perfect tense, to present simple tense, finally the background fact without the need to cite. - Every study that you mention in the Introduction should be both relevant and essential to the research background of your own study, and should lead towards the motivation for your study. ([Location 554](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08S3BNN18&location=554)) ^483890431 - To keep the review in the Introduction on track, plan and organise the research contributions according to an organisational pattern. ([Location 570](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08S3BNN18&location=570)) ^483890432 - General-to-specific Writers frequently start with general research in the field, possibly a review article, and gradually move to research that is closer to the problem or gap dealt with in the present study. This is the most common pattern. ([Location 571](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08S3BNN18&location=571)) ^483890433 - Different approaches/theories/models ([Location 574](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08S3BNN18&location=574)) ^483890434 - Chronological order ([Location 577](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08S3BNN18&location=577)) ^483890435 - To link the studies and contributions, consider words or phrases such as: ([Location 580](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08S3BNN18&location=580)) ^483890436 #writing-sentence - This is where you begin to move towards your own paper or study, and the specific problem you will deal with. This is normally done either by identifying a gap in the existing knowledge or by indicating that there is a problem in previous research. It is conventional to introduce it with a signal such as However or Although, and these words have an ‘instant recognition’ feature that alerts the reader to the gap. Note that in professional writing it is unusual to put the gap or problem in the form of a question; it is normally stated as a prediction, suggestion or hypothesis. ([Location 604](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08S3BNN18&location=604)) ^483890437 - Writers normally use the Present Simple tense to describe the work itself (This paper is organised as follows/This study focuses on…) and the Past Simple tense to talk about the aim of the work (The aim of this project was…/Our aim was…). ([Location 620](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08S3BNN18&location=620)) ^483890438 - GENERIC INTRODUCTION MODEL ([Location 651](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08S3BNN18&location=651)) ^483890439 #model <!-- New highlights added April 11, 2023 at 9:55 PM --> - The Past Simple just describes what the authors found in their study; the findings are linked to that study and are not presented as permanent truths. By contrast, choosing the Present Simple reflects a belief that the findings are strong and reliable enough to constitute a permanent truth. ([Location 1376](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08S3BNN18&location=1376)) ^506488928 - The event in (d) is in the Present Perfect tense because it is more relevant to the situation now than the event in (c). ([Location 1399](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08S3BNN18&location=1399)) ^506488929 - The choice of Present Perfect therefore implies that this research article will now pay attention to the selection of an appropriate biocompatible material. ([Location 1406](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08S3BNN18&location=1406)) ^506488930 - The way that a sentence starts and links to the previous sentences is central to its success, the success of the paragraph and the success of the text as a whole. ([Location 1426](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08S3BNN18&location=1426)) ^506488931 - One way is to overlap, meaning to repeat something from the previous sentence early in the next one: ([Location 1428](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08S3BNN18&location=1428)) ^506488932 - A second way is to use a pro-form (This method, These systems) to glue the sentences together: ([Location 1440](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08S3BNN18&location=1440)) ^506488933 - Note that when you use pro-forms, it is easier for the reader if you repeat exactly the same noun as you used the first time. ([Location 1453](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08S3BNN18&location=1453)) ^506488934 - A third way is not to finish the sentence at all, but to join it to the next sentence with a semicolon. Joining sentences with a semicolon works well when there are two consecutive sentences that are very closely related, particularly if one of them is short. ([Location 1463](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08S3BNN18&location=1463)) ^506488935 - Sentences with fewer than 20 words are understood by 90% of readers at first reading; ([Location 1472](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08S3BNN18&location=1472)) ^506488936 - The fourth way is to use a signal such as therefore or however to communicate the function of the sentence. ([Location 1474](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08S3BNN18&location=1474)) ^506488937 - This means repeating words across sentences, and particularly at the start of a sentence, to ensure that the reader is carried carefully from one item of information to the next. ([Location 1532](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08S3BNN18&location=1532)) ^506488938 - If you are using we/our to refer to people in general, it may be clearer to use a construction with It (It is known/thought that…). ([Location 1594](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08S3BNN18&location=1594)) ^506488939 - For example, average paragraph length in research articles is around 150–170 words; some paragraphs exceed 230 words and others are below 80, but it is unusual to find a research article in which many or most paragraphs are over 230 words or under 80. ([Location 1618](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08S3BNN18&location=1618)) ^506488940 - Skimming focuses your attention on the first line or sentence of each paragraph. ([Location 1629](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08S3BNN18&location=1629)) ^506488941 - Check that each paragraph has a function within that topic, for example to provide factual background/describe the advantage or disadvantage of a method/present an existing theory/explain why you agree with something/provide a detailed example/compare different techniques. ([Location 1650](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08S3BNN18&location=1650)) ^506488942 - Consider the density of the information and try to match eye-reading speed with brain-processing speed. This may mean using examples or paraphrases to slow down the flow of content, expanding concentrations of information, or breaking long sentences into smaller, well-linked units. ([Location 1704](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08S3BNN18&location=1704)) ^506488943 - The way a paragraph starts and links to the previous paragraph is key to the success of that paragraph and the text as a whole. ([Location 1706](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08S3BNN18&location=1706)) ^506488944 - Scientists aim to ‘move rapidly through the literature to assess and exploit content with as little actual reading as possible’4. ([Location 1727](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08S3BNN18&location=1727)) ^506488945 - In whatever form it appears in the future, the Methods section is likely to retain its primary function: to contain enough detailed information to ensure that other researchers can replicate the work done and obtain similar results. ([Location 1748](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08S3BNN18&location=1748)) ^506488946 <!-- New highlights added April 25, 2023 at 6:56 AM --> - Fig. 1.1 The shape of a research article ([Location 381](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08S3BNN18&location=381)) ^514377787 #pic  - This is because many of the things that are in the Introduction occur — often in reverse order — in the Discussion. ([Location 388](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08S3BNN18&location=388)) ^514377788 - Prepositions ([Location 6607](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08S3BNN18&location=6607)) ^514377789 #important #index - Verb tense choices ([Location 6624](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B08S3BNN18&location=6624)) ^514377790 #important #index