Posted in: better scientific writing

Most of us are very adept at problem-solving--we solve problems every day, from small problems such as figuring out the best route to take to work to larger issues, such as dealing with difficult people. In fact, most of us are so good at solving problems that we may not even realize when we're actively involved in that problem-solving mode! If we are so good at solving problems, why are there so many of us...
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In our classes, we always discuss reader-centered writing; that is, writing that fully considers readers and what they want and need and how they're going to use the document. Another element of this is "noise." "Noise" can be categorized as the distractions readers face when reading. Some of these, of course, are caused by the writer and some are the result of noisy offices,...
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Too many writers (and non-writers) we've worked with over the years fail to use appropriate or effective topic sentences. As you may recall from seventh grade grammar, a topic sentence tells readers what to expect from a paragraph. While the topic sentence doesn't have to be the first sentence in a paragraph, many readers expect it to be and take that first sentence as their "cue" in terms of what the...
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popupPositivity in WritingSimplicity and Positivity Key to Effective Technical, Business, and Scientific Writing In verbal communication, less is expressed in words than in the expression, tone, and emotion conveyed by the speaker. Verbal skills come naturally; on the other hand, developing effective written communication skills can take years and quite a bit of training. Below are two simple, yet effective,...
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A lot of writers don't think much about writing logically and how it can affect scientific or technical writing; that is, they often simply assume that their readers will understand what they're trying to do and why. The problem with this, of course, is that our readers may not understand the point we're trying to make or why we're making it. Recently, we illustrated logic by using a paragraph that...
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