Scientific writing

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5 steps to enhance your

Scientific writing

This guide was developed to guide graduate students through a scientific writing project.

5 steps to enhance your scientific writing

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1. Find your angle

When developing a scholarly writing project, begin by reflecting on your strengths and interests to find a meaningful topic. Avoid selecting a "hot" or controversial issue simply for recognition. Instead, aim to make a general contribution to your field. Then, narrow your topic to a clear, focused question or audience, and identify appropriate publication outlets early in the process.

• Choose topics that align with your interests, experiences, skills, and future goals.
• Consider specific audiences, purposes, methods, time frames, or participant groups to narrow your focus.
• Identify publication outlets early for guidance or inspiration.

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5 steps to enhance your scientific writing

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2. Find your story.

According to Greene (2025, scientific writing requires “a story about characters and actions; for strong verbs close to their subjects; for old information at the beginnings of sentences and new information at the ends; and for specific kinds of information in predictable places in paragraphs and documents” In other words, you will need to develop a narrative describing what was done to find a solution to a problem.

📽️ Olson (2013) describes how scientific writing is good storytelling.

📝 Click on the icon to learn more about how to build a narrative using the ABT technique.

5 steps to enhance your scientific writing

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3. Make your plan

Step 1: Locate sources. Since you will need to contextualize your writing in relation to the research that came before, you will need to find credible sources to cite in a consistent citation style.

Step 2: Craft an annotated bibliography. Creating an annotated bibliography is a writing skill, which can help you keep track of your sources..

Step 3: Draft an outline. Create a plan (typically a linear concept map) to organize your thoughts.

5 steps to enhance your scientific writing

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4. Put it all together

In addition to telling a story scientific writing requires plain language— writing that makes complex scientific ideas clear and accessible. This is accomplished by:

• tailoring your writing to your audience
• choosing the right register
• and projecting an effective tone.

Link

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about grammar.

5 steps to enhance your scientific writing

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5. Edit, then edit, and finally, edit

• Editing is as much a part of writing as writing itself.

• Self-editing is often difficult, but using a tactic called reader simulation can be helpful.

• You can also check for flow by asking yourself the following questions:

• Can any abstract nouns be changed to concrete? Passive verbs to active?
• Can any words be removed? Any phrases be shortened?

Learning more about coherence, cohesion, and transitions can also help you edit better!

Link

5 steps to enhance your scientific writing

kmrehak.com

5. Edit, then edit, and finally, edit

• Editing is as much a part of writing as writing itself.

• Self-editing is often difficult, but using a tactic called reader simulation can be helpful.

• You can also check for flow by asking yourself the following questions:

• Can any abstract nouns be changed to concrete? Passive verbs to active?
• Can any words be removed? Any phrases be shortened?

Learning more about coherence, cohesion, and transitions can also help you edit better!

Link

Compare ABT with other storytelling templates:

___ AND___, BUT ____. THEREFORE, ___.

An example from my dissertation: "To address the need for a more diverse healthcare workforce, more online classes AND DEI initiatives are being implemented in post-secondary health science programs. AND instructional designers are professionals who know how to design inclusively for online learning. BUT no one knows how much agency they have when working with faculty or within higher ed hierarchies. THEREFORE, I'm going to hold focus groups and interview instructional designers to find out how they perceive and operationalize inclusive design in their work for online health science course developments."

Plain language

The slide deck aims to show how to craft sentences and paragraphs that guide readers smoothly from familiar to new information, using strong verbs, concrete nouns, and concise phrasing. You’ll also see how active voice, careful word choice, and logical structure help readers follow your ideas with ease. Ultimately, plain language isn’t about “dumbing down” science — it’s about communicating with clarity, confidence, and purpose.

The link to the Scientific Writing - Plain Language slide deck.

Reader simulation

According to Heard (2016), reader simulation is a srategy for self-revising, which involves forgetting what you know and seeing the draft as a reader would. It helps if you reduce familiarity with what you’ve written focusing on different issues each time you revise. Tactics include:

• Read for self-revision in a different place or time than you wrote your draft.
• Read for self-revision at the time of day you think least clearly.
• Convert your draft to an unfamiliar font or medium.
• Read your draft out loud.
• Post a reminder: “Be the Reader”
• Target typical problems of writer familiarity: unclear pronoun antecedents, misaligned topic sentences, missing transitions, assumed knowledge”

Outlines

According to Gastel & Day (2016), an outline is “an ordered list of topics or points that summarizes the intended content of your manuscript”

What is an annotated bibliography?

According to Purdue Online Writing Lab, "A bibliography is a list of sources (books, journals, Web sites, periodicals, etc.) one has used for researching a topic. ... An annotation is a summary and/or evaluation. Therefore, an annotated bibliography includes a summary and/or evaluation of each of the sources."

Credible Sources

1. Expert authorship: The work is written by researchers or professionals with recognized expertise in the field. Check their institutional affiliation, publication record, and credentials.
2. Peer review: Articles published in peer-reviewed journals have been evaluated by other experts for accuracy, rigor, and contribution to the field.
3. Evidence and citation quality: Credible sources are grounded in data and reference other reliable studies. Look for primary research with transparent methods and clearly cited evidence.
4. Reputable publication venue: The publisher or journal has a strong academic reputation and clear editorial standards.
5. Objectivity and transparency: In the source, the author acknowledges limitations, avoids one-sided arguments, and presents findings with appropriate caution.
6. Currency and relevance: The source reflects current (i.e., in the last five years) understanding and debates in the discipline, unless you are intentionally citing foundational or historical work.

Reader simulation

According to Heard (2016), reader simulation is a srategy for self-revising, which involves forgetting what you know and seeing the draft as a reader would. It helps if you reduce familiarity with what you’ve written focusing on different issues each time you revise. Tactics include:

• Read for self-revision in a different place or time than you wrote your draft.
• Read for self-revision at the time of day you think least clearly.
• Convert your draft to an unfamiliar font or medium.
• Read your draft out loud.
• Post a reminder: “Be the Reader”
• Target typical problems of writer familiarity: unclear pronoun antecedents, misaligned topic sentences, missing transitions, assumed knowledge”

OCAR

Introduction ⇨ What problem was studied? Methods ⇨ How was the problem studied? Results ⇨ What were the findings? And Discussion ⇨ What do the problems mean?

IMRAD

Opening ⇨ Whom is the story about? Who are the characters? / What is the larger problem you are addressing?

Challenge ⇨ What do your characters need to accomplish? What specific question do you propose to answer?

VS

Action ⇨ What happens to address the challenge?

Resolution ⇨ What do the problems mean?

What are the four parts to an annotated bibliography?

1. Summarize the sourceWhat is the topic? / What is the main goal or aim of the research? / What methodology was used? / What are the main results?
2. Critically evaluate the sourceHow reliable is this source? How did you arrive at that claim?
3. Compare/contrast with other sources in your bibliographyHow does this source compare with other sources? (Is it more or less trustworthy?) / How does the information in this source relate to other sources?
4. Situate source within your researchIn what ways does this source relate to your research? / How useful will this source be to your research? / How can this source be used in your research?

Why do we create annotated bibliographies? Making an annotated bibliography reveals the quality of a potential source and can reveal the relevance of that source to one's research. As you are exploring a topic, creating an annotated bilbilography is a way to assess the scope of research done on a topic and help to situate previous research with your own. For that reason, annotated bibliographies are particularly helpful for crafting literature reviews. Why can't we just use an abstract in place of an annotated bibliography? Michael Engle from the Cornell University Library said it nice and susinctly: "Abstracts are the purely descriptive summaries often found at the beginning of scholarly journal articles or in periodical indexes.Annotations are descriptive and critical; they may describe the author's point of view, authority, or clarity and appropriateness of expression."

Why do we create annotated bibliographies? Making an annotated bibliography reveals the quality of a potential source and can reveal the relevance of that source to one's research. As you are exploring a topic, creating an annotated bilbilography is a way to assess the scope of research done on a topic and help to situate previous research with your own. For that reason, annotated bibliographies are particularly helpful for crafting literature reviews. Why can't we just use an abstract in place of an annotated bibliography? Michael Engle from the Cornell University Library said it nice and susinctly: "Abstracts are the purely descriptive summaries often found at the beginning of scholarly journal articles or in periodical indexes. Annotations are descriptive and critical; they may describe the author's point of view, authority, or clarity and appropriateness of expression."

What are the four parts to an annotation?

1. Summarize the sourceWhat is the topic? / What is the main goal or aim of the research? / What methodology was used? / What are the main results?
2. Critically evaluate the sourceHow reliable is this source? How did you arrive at that claim?
3. Compare/contrast with other sources in your bibliographyHow does this source compare with other sources? (Is it more or less trustworthy?) / How does the information in this source relate to other sources?
4. Situate source within your researchIn what ways does this source relate to your research? / How useful will this source be to your research? / How can this source be used in your research?

These tips were summarized from the book chapter:

Jalongo, M. R., & Saracho, O. (2016). From trepidation to first draft. In M.R. Jalongo & O. Saracho's Writing for publication: Transition and tools that support scholars' success (pp. 47-67). Springer International. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31650-5

• The link to the full-text of the book in the University of Pittsburgh library system.

• The link to a PDF file of the chapter only.