1a-清华科技英语写作课件

Scientific Writing and Presentation in EnglishA. GodfreyTsinghua University, Spring Semester2008General introduction to the course:•course objectives:–to structure your article to follow a clear argument–to understand the scientific publication process–to learn how to proof-read an article–to avoid some of the most common errors in style andgrammar•practice is the only way to improve–each paper you write can be better than the previousoneScientific Writing: Lecture 1#3Course evaluation •exercises in class (a few –as time permits)–not individually evaluated•exercises outside class –not evaluated (discuss next class –review material)•evaluated written assignment–writing a short paper–proof-reading a piece of text•“Common Mistakes” –clearly marked (**)–will be marked more criticallyThis is a course in English..–discussing issues of the use of the English language in English•If you do not understand something please say so (in English…)!Scientific Writing: Lecture 1#5The course will cover several study areas •(1) English grammar –must be correct –can be very useful to help make your paper stronger •(2) Issues specific to Scientific writing –convention –style / formatting / organization of ideas•(3) Discussion of example writing–published articles –draft versions of your papers?•I will try and mix these up in each class –nobody wants to sit through 90 minutes of grammar…•and I don’t want to teach 90 minutes of grammarOutline of course content•organizing the information (before you write…)•choosing the level of detail •choosing and maintaining your main idea •common mistakes•Tsinghua Journal proof-reading•Editor for Materials Science and Technology•previous students!•use of abbreviations•making proper reference to other published research •choosing the correct style–scientific papers require the use of formal languageScientific Writing: Lecture 1#7Outline of course content (continued)•proof-reading–how to do it–when to do it•dealing with the journal Editor and referees –“Don’t Panic!!”•legal and ethical issues–copyright details•other kinds of scientific presentation–poster/conference oral presentation Outline of grammatical issues we will cover •parts of a sentence•verbs –tense (when the action took place)–voice (focus of the action)•use of definite/indefinite article (“the”/”a”)•paragraph construction and flow of text–conjunctions (linking words)•conditional properties (“if/when”)•I will keep things as simple as possible –I am a scientist –not a linguist….Scientific Writing: Lecture 1#9•Dates for the course–Mar6th –Apr 24th (TUESDAY EVENINGS FOR 2 PERIODS, i.e. NOT on Fridays –though we may swap days for one week)–assignment (writing exercises and paper writing) to be given out Apr 17th ; to be handed in Apr 29th (?? –not yet finalized…)What is scientific writing?•Many kinds –we will consider only that which:•presents an idea/argument–includes “evidence” in support of your argument•results (new or old)•contains “technical information”–audience is limited –to a certain extent…>>archival scientific publications<< (journal articles)•Other kinds include:–manuals, technical documentation, popular scientific writing (e.g. newspaper/magazines), internal reportsScientific Writing: Lecture 1#11Why publish scientific papers?•your supervisor told you to•it is a course requirement•to improve your chances of getting a job/new position–these are all secondary reasons…•you have a good new idea/new insight/new data –the reason you should have in your mind when you prepare the paper Purpose of scientific publication•to spread information/new ideas•to allow other researchers to test (verify) your results–scientific “proof” relies on data fitting a theory•(the word proof originally had the meaning of “to test”)–contradictory data–errors in your assumptions–other unknown errors•e.g. “cold fusion”… -yet to be reproduced•“review” process only looks for obvious errorsScientific Writing: Lecture 1#13Characteristics of good scientific writing (1)“April is the cruellest month, breeding Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing Memory and desire, stirring Dull roots with spring rain. Winter kept us warm, covering Earth in forgetful snow, feeding A little life with dried tubers. …”T.S. Eliot “The Waste Land” (1st stanza)Beautiful writing; very concise,but what does it mean?-poetry achieves success by using ambiguity say as much as possible in the smallest number of words.Characteristics of good scientific writing (2)•brief and concise–only includes the information that is relevant to the main argument–easy to reproduce the experimental details•accurate–ambiguity is good for poetry –very bad for scientific papers•at best your argument will not be understood•at worst experimental data cannot reproduced•Three most important things for scientific writing:–Accuracy, Accuracy, Accuracy.There are several different types of archivalscientific publication•letters, rapid communications–short (few pages), rapid review, camera-ready copy •journal article–most common format–varies in length from 4 –30 (printed) pages–often more than one referee•review article–“long” –relative to normal length of articles in journal–by prior arrangement with a journal•“viewpoint set” (e.g. Scripta Materialia)–invited short papers on common themeScientific Writing: Lecture 1#15Examples in field of materials science •letters, rapid communications (RC)–Journal of Materials Letters–Applied Physics Letters–Journal of Microscopy (RC)–Materials and Metallurgical Transactions (RC)•journal articles–Acta materialia–Journal of Materials Processing Technology–Physica [A,B,C,D,E]–(most articles are of this type)•review articles–Progress in Materials Science–Materials Science and Engineering: R: Reports–Acta materialiaScientific Writing: Lecture 1#17Differences not only in length •content–letter may focus more on a new result–review article (by definition) contains more background information, less new experimental data•presentation–organization of the information–formatting of the finished paper For any type of article there should be a main idea •what is the single main idea you want to tell other scientists about?•for you should be able to express this idea in a single sentence•this idea will influence the layout, content, and language of your article•start with defining your idea–make sure you know exactly why you are writing this paperScientific Writing: Lecture 1#19Think of your main idea as a “tag-line”•“tell me in less than 20 words why the paper is interesting”•think of movie (film) advertising–plot (abstract –summary of what happens)–“tag-line” –why should I pay 10$ to go and see this film?example film tag-lines•The Day After Tomorrow –“Whoever said "Tomorrow is another day"... didn't check the weather. ”•Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones –“A Jedi Shall Not Know Anger. Nor Hatred. Nor Love.”•Together (和你在一起)–“Some lessons can only be learned by heart. ”•Brazil –“It’s only a state of mind”•Three days of the Condor –“His codename is Condor. In the next 24 hours everybody he trusts will try to kill him”Scientific Writing: Lecture 1#21example scientific paper tag-lines •tensile strength is controlled by second-phase precipitation•tensile strength is a trade-off between solute and second phase strengthening•annealing treatments can be used to obtain an optimum tensile strength–focus on the annealing treatment•the tag line does not provide enough information to explain your argument. It never appears in the article. It provides a hidden backbone to the article You will see this list many times during thiscourse…•define–the problem that you wish to address•choose–the data that you will include to support your idea •organize–the data and arguments to support your idea•write the paper•Three important steps before you start writing!Scientific Writing: Lecture 1#23The basic structure of an archival scientificpublication•“A whole is that which has a beginning, middle, and ending”; Aristotle on a written document •this simple pattern is useful for scientific writing •each part has a specific purpose•beginning–why the work was carried out; how you carried out the work •middle–what was the result of your work•end –looks at the overall meaning of the workThere is a standard pattern for many journalarticles that follows this format•Introduction •Methods (Experimental)•Results •Discussion •Conclusions –(Acknowledgements/References/Appendices)•Abstract (Summary)–is a completely separate piece of writing that describes the content of the articleBEGINNING MIDDLE ENDformat)Acta Materialia 51 (2003) 4423–4435Scientific Writing: Lecture 1#25 Example of recently published articles (simpleformat)Acta Materialia 51 (2003) 1827–1839Scientific Writing: Lecture 1#27format)Acta Materialia 51 (2003) 4603–4610Acta Materialia 51 (2003) 3037–3051An analysis of the sections for a simple (standard)layout of an article•Introduction •Methods (Experimental Methods)•Results •Discussion •Conclusions•NOTE: always check the required journal style •this layout is not definitive (other layouts are possible)–useful to start writing articles using this layout.Scientific Writing: Lecture 1#29Section: Introduction•One purpose -to prepare readers for the “middle” of the paper (the “Results” of your work)–provides the relevant background to understanding the research•includes results of other closely related research–provides a clear indication as to what problem are you addressing, or what idea you wish to present–provides an idea of what information (sometimes explicitly) will be presented in the article•The Introduction is the most important part of the paper–and the hardest to write wellSection: Introduction (cont.)•what the section shouldn’t contain–your results–results are assumed to be other people’s work. If you include them here you risk confusing the reader•**a “weak outline” of the paper–“Section 3 will present the results. In section 4 we will discuss the results then finally we will present some concluding remarks in section 5”–3: Results–4: Discussion–5: Conclusions–redundant information (not concise) –avoid!!Scientific Writing: Lecture 1#31Section: Introduction (cont.)•sometimes an outline can be useful however –“First the methods used for the measurements are explained, and their suitability for use in determining the dislocation density justified. In section 3 a model is developed that relates dislocation density to creep-rate. The experimental results of dislocation density are then used to make predictions of creep-rates in the material. Finally in section 4 some of the limitations of the model are analyzed, and the required accuracy in experimental creep-rate measurements to test the model is discussed •if you use an outline, make sure it is useful!•in general only for longer papers, and those with non-standard layout Section: Experimental (Methods)•also prepares the reader for the middle of the paper•how did you carry out the experiments?•information is put here that would distract the reader in the “Results section”–details of routine processes, standard methods, equipment suppliers•for “technique papers”–standard procedures used –outline of the new techniques you have developed (the details are your results in this case)Scientific Writing: Lecture 1#33Section: Experimental (Methods) (cont.)•The information provided should be detailed –so that another research can repeat the work –times/temperatures/sequence of events–data pre-and post-processing•The information should be specific–what equipment you used–what programs you used•a reader can verify that the techniques/equipment are suitable for the data you are about to presentSection: Results•What you observed–reported in appropriate detail and accuracy to allow somebody to verify your work•Each result is introduced and explained individually–comparison of two results can go in the Discussion section•use of Figures and Tables–Figures show many values, or trends in data –Tables give individual valuesScientific Writing: Lecture 1#35•part of the “end” of your document•how do the results reflect the issues/ideas mentioned in the “Introduction”–the ideas in the two sections must match•what is the significance of the results?•information gained by comparing different results •may also contain any or all of (amongst others) –comparison with previously published research –possible sources of error in your results –implications (usefulness) in other research areas –outstanding questions requiring further researchSection: Discussion (cont.)•looking at all the results taken together•using individual results, or groups of results to develop a general understanding or to support a particular ideaScientific Writing: Lecture 1#37•the “end” of the article –only necessary though when the Discussion is long–check on the journal style…•re-state either the main results, or the main experiments–not strictly a conclusion so make sure this is only a small part of this section•summarize an argument leading to a particular conclusion–the argument should be relevant to the “Introduction”–the data should be presented in the “Results” section The “Abstract” is a separate piece of writing •provides a summary of:–what you did –how you did it –what the main results were –what the main conclusions were•in general does not contain –detailed reasons for carrying out the work•(one sentence at most)•unnecessary experimental information•included in abstracting services –“published” separately to your paperScientific Writing: Lecture 1#39Example layout of a recently submitted paper •(Abstract)•Introduction •Experimental •Results–Macroscopic texture evolution –TEM observations of microstructural evolution •Macroscopic and crystallographic orientation of the dislocation boundaries (GNBs)•Microstructural parameters –FEG-SEM/EBSP observations –Mechanical properties •Discussion –Microstructural evolution during rolling –Comparison between TEM and EBSP investigations –Microstructure-orientation correlation –Microstructure and mechanical properties •ConclusionsThe choice of headings requires some care •Single most important heading is the TITLE –this will be read by many more people than those who read the entire paper –search engines use Keywords/Abstract –humans use the title to decide whether to look at the abstract•should be:–complete, but not overlong –indicate whether your “idea” is a new result, a new technique, a new theory, etc.•identifies what research area is•distinguishes your work from other work in the research areaScientific Writing: Lecture 1#41Some example titles (good and bad)•“Studies on the Electro-deposition of Lead on Copper”–weak title: gives general research topic, but does not distinguish the work from other research in this area•“Effects of Rhodamine-B on the Electrodeposition of Lead on Copper ”–strong title: explains the unique aspect of the research (example titles)•“Effects of Rhodamine-B and Saccharin on the Electric Double Layer During Nickel Electrodeposition on Platinum Studied by AC-Cyclic Voltammetry”–weak title: too much information –what is the main point of the article?•“Use of AC-Cyclic Voltammetry for Study of Organic Agents in the Electrodeposition of Nickel on Platinum”–strong title –now we know the technique is the aspect the author wishes to emphasizeScientific Writing: Lecture 1#43More (real) example titles (good –I hope…)•“EBSP investigation of microstructure and texture evolution during equal channel angular pressing of aluminium”–technique used to study two material properties•“Annealing behavior of aluminium deformed by equal channel angular pressing”–behaviour of a material produced by a particular process•“Subdivision of original grains during cold-rolling of IF-steel.”–“original grains” is the important aspect•“Improved edge preservation near triple junctions during orientation averaging of EBSP data”–“Improved”….•“Microstructural evolution of IF-steel during cold rolling”–multi-technique study; no previous work on this combinationSection headings and sub-headings guide the reader to the information they are interested in.•for you (the author) the section headings provide a back-bone for your idea•for the reader (who may or not believe your idea) they provide quick access to information of interest to them•sections also provide “white space” –to allow you to change subject, or to reflect on the data•section headings should therefore be –informative (what information is contained, what is the main idea of the article)–relevant to the issues mentioned in the “Introduction”–of a consistent style (similar format, logical sequence)Scientific Writing: Lecture 1#45“The Sinking of the Titanic”•Given the same information, the section headings can help to focus the main idea in presenting that information•Movie-tag “The sinking of the ship that was meant to be unsinkable”(1)The R.M.S. Titanic sideswiped an iceberg at 11:40 p.m. on April 14, 1912. Estimated to be able to stay afloat for 2 days under the worst scenario, the ship sank in less than 3 hours [Gannon, 1995]. (BACKGROUND)(2) The iceberg created a 300-foot gash in the Titanic's hull above and below the waterline. (BACKGROUND)(3) Tests on Titanic's steel showed that the steel had high sulfur content, which increases the brittleness of steel by disrupting the grain structure [Hill, 1996]. This increase in brittleness contributed to the severity of the hull's damage. (MATERIAL ERROR)(4) Captain E. J. Smith had not slowed the ship's speed that night, although the ship's wireless operators had received several ice warnings. The ship was moving at more than 22 knots. (HUMAN ERROR)(5) The sea was a "flat calm," a rarity for these waters. Under suchconditions, there was no "tell-tale phosphorescent ripple"against the iceberg [Gardiner and Van der Vat, 1995]. Lookouts in the crow's-nest on the Titanic did not spot the massiveiceberg until only 5 minutes before the collision. That night, the lookouts had misplaced their binoculars. (HUMAN ERROR)(6) Even before the iceberg was spotted, Quartermaster Hitchensat the helm had begun to turn to port. When the alarm sounded, he turned full to port. His turning caused the Titanic tosideswipe the iceberg, rather than hit it head-on. Expertsbelieve that the ship would not have sunk so quickly had it hit the iceberg head-on [Gardiner and Van der Vat, 1995].(HUMAN ERROR)(7) The lower section of the Titanic was divided into sixteen majorwatertight compartments. After the collision, six watertightcompartments began filling with water. Soon, water spilled over the tops. Scientists have concluded that the watertightcompartments contributed to the disaster by keeping the flood waters in the bow of the ship [Gannon, 1995]. If there had been no compartments, the incoming water would have spread out, and the Titanic would have likely remained afloat for another six hours. (DESIGN ERROR)(8) Flares were fired and Titanic's wireless operators sent out anSOS, but the wireless operator of the nearest ship, theCalifornia, had gone to bed at 11:30. Controversy exists onwhether the California had seen the Titanic's signal flares. If so, why had its captain, Stanley Lord, not responded? (HUMAN ERROR)(9)Titanic's steel showed high levels of oxygen, which leads to anincreased ductile-to-brittle transition temperature. For Titanic's steel, that temperature was determined to be 25 to 35 degreesC [Hill, 1996]. The water temperature that night was belowfreezing. (MATERIAL ERROR)(10) The wrought iron rivets that fastened the hull plates to theTitanic's main structure also failed because of brittle fractureduring the collision with the iceberg. Low water temperatures contributed to this failure [Garzke and others, 1994].(MATERIAL ERROR)(11) As it filled with water, the bow submerged, raising the sternout of water. When the stern reached an angle of about 45degrees, the stresses in the ship's midsection (15 tons persquare inch) caused the steel to fail and the bow to rip loose and sink [Gannon, 1995]. Contributing to this failure in themidsection was the design of Titanic's huge spiral staircase.The staircase not only weakened the midsection's structure, but served as a means for water to pass up through the ship.(DESIGN ERROR)(12) The Titanic carried lifeboats for 1,178 people, a number thatexceeded regulations of that time. However, the crew, which had never been drilled on the use of the lifeboats, wasinexperienced at filling and lowering them. The first lifeboats into the water were not even half full. In all, only 705 weresaved by the lifeboats. (HUMAN ERROR)Version 1: General scientific presentation (Tag-line: “A catastrophe caused by a combination oferrors”)(TITLE): “Causes for the Rapid Sinking of the Titanic”1. Introduction (historical context)2. Research Methods (data collected from a variety of sources)3. Results3.1Human Errors Contributing to Collision With Iceberg• 3.1.1 Mistakes by Captain• 3.1.2 The ineffective use of the lifeboats• 3.1.3 Shipping Line Mistakes– 3.2 Design Errors in the Watertight Compartments– 3.3 Rapid Filling of Water Through The Spiral Staircase– 3.4 Material Flaws Contributing to Rapid Sinking• 3.4.1 Hull Steel• 3.4.2 Use of Brittle Wrought Iron• 4. Discussion– 4.1 Effects of Combined Material/Design Errors– 4.2 Human Errors Directly Contributing to Loss of Life• 5. Conclusions and RecommendationsScientific Writing: Lecture 1#51some problems with these (previous) headings •the subsection headings are neither in the same style, nor are they consistent in the level of detail. Both these errors lead to a confusion of the “idea” of the paper (“Causes for the rapid sinking…”)•the title is about the rapid sinking, so why is “loss of life” in the discussion section?. Also the ineffective use of lifeboats is not related to the rapid sinking of the vessel (it should not be in this section).•errors contributing to the collision do not affect the rapid sinking of the Titanic –you don’t need to put all your data/results into a single paper!!! Version 1: General scientific presentation(better layout)(TITLE): “Causes for the Rapid Sinking of the Titanic”1. Introduction (historical context)2. Research Methods (data collected from a variety of sources)3. Results 3.1Design Errors Contributing to Rapid Sinking3.1.1Design of Watertight Compartments3.1.2Design of Spiral Staircase 3.2Material Flaws Contributing to Rapid Sinking3.2.1Hull Steel3.2.2Hull Rivets4. Discussion 4.1 Effects of Combined Material/Design Errors5. Conclusions and Recommendations Appendix: Human Errors Directly Contributing to Loss of LifeScientific Writing: Lecture 1#53one last error to fix on the previous slide •how can you have only one sub-section?–“like cutting a cake into one piece” (Alley M.,“The Craft of Scientific Writing”, Springer-Verlag, New York, 1996)•choices are either–add another subsection–remove the sub-heading Version 1: General scientific presentation(better layout)(TITLE): “Causes for the Rapid Sinking of the Titanic”1. Introduction (historical context)2. Research Methods (data collected from a variety of sources)3. Results 3.1Design Errors Contributing to Rapid Sinking3.1.1Design of Watertight Compartments3.1.2Design of Spiral Staircase 3.2Material Flaws Contributing to Rapid Sinking3.2.1Hull Steel3.2.2Hull Rivets4. Discussion 4.1 Effects of Combined Material/Design Errors 4.2. Effects of Combined Design/Human Errors5. Conclusions and Recommendations Appendix: Human Errors Directly Contributing to Loss of LifeScientific Writing: Lecture 1#55We could also write a paper focussing on the metallurgical aspects of the failure•Tag-line “Inappropriate materials selection to major cause for the rapid sinking of the Titanic”•Section headings will now change to reflect the new focus of the paper: one possible metallurgy-focussed outline (TITLE): “Metallurgical Causes for the Rapid Sinking of the Titanic”1. Introduction (low temperature mechanical strength; available clean steel technology)2. Methods (literature study; materials testing)3. Results 3.1 Hull Steel3.1.1 Metal Composition3.1.2 Low Temperature Tensile Strength 3.2 Hull Rivets3.2.1 Metal Composition3.2.2 Low Temperature Tensile Strength4. Discussion4.1 Materials Selection Errors 4.2 Other Errors Contributing to the Rapid Sinking 4.2.1 Human Errors 4.2.2 Design Errors5. Conclusions and RecommendationsScientific Writing: Lecture 1#57another possible metallurgy-focussed outline (“Results” are presented differently)(TITLE): “Metallurgical Causes for the Rapid Sinking of the Titanic”1. Introduction (low temperature mechanical strength; available clean steel technology)2. Methods (literature study; materials testing) 3. Results 3.1 Metal Composition3.1.1 Hull Steel3.1.2 Hull Rivets 3.2 Low Temperature Tensile Strength3.2.1 Hull Steel3.2.1 Hull Rivets4. Discussion4.1 Materials Selection Errors 4.2 Other Errors Contributing to the Rapid Sinking 4.2.1 Human Errors 4.2.2 Design Errors5. Conclusions and Recommendations Example of recently published articles (simpleformat)Acta Materialia 51 (2003) 4423–4435Scientific Writing: Lecture 1#59Example of recently published articles (simple format)Acta Materialia 51 (2003) 1827–1839Section Headings (summary)•even using a “standard layout”, the sub-section headings still should be chosen carefully•choose the headings to reflect your “main idea” (your “tag-line”•maintain the same style so that readers can follow the structure of the paper•avoid isolated headings (the “one-cut cake”)•choose the headings before you write the text!–to avoid the isolated heading problem sometime requires a large change to the structure of the paperScientific Writing: Lecture 1#61I told you this list would appear many times during this course…•define –the problem that you wish to address•choose –the data that you will include to support your idea•organize–the data and arguments to support your idea •write the paper•Once you have a good set of headings, structure of the paper is taken care of –we will come back to this topic later when we discuss “Steps in writing a paper”.Scientific Writing: Lecture 1#62for next class…•(1) write an outline for a version to send to “International Journal of Ship Design and Maritime Engineering”–TITLE:“Ship Design Errors Leading Directly to the Rapid Sinking of the Titanic”•(2) look at the organization (headings) of some papers in your research area. Are they well organized??。