Writing Skills for Scientists - workshop

Written Communications:
A workshop for Researchers
Facilitated by Ian J Seath
V1
© 2017 Copyright ISC Ltd.1

Today’s workshop…
Learning objectives:
• To enable participants to plan, structure and identify readers’ needs
when writing
• To enable participants to improve the clarity and quality of their
writing
Explore:
• Why 90% of written communication fails to “hit the mark” with readers
• How structure, flow and signposting can aid clarity
• How “foggy” is your writing? – how to test it with the Fog Index and
apply plain English principles
• “Eats, shoots and leaves” – how to avoid the basic grammar traps

Exercise:
 What determines the
perceived quality of a
scientific (or any
other) paper that you
write?

 What determines the
perceived quality of a
scientific (or any
other) paper that you
write?
 Originality and
importance of ideas
 Effectiveness of
communication
 Usefulness as a
source of
information
“The paper is not a description of the work, it IS the work” –
Richard Feynman

Typically, only 10% of written communication “hits the
mark” and drives action
Confused
& missed
opportunity
15%
Drives
Action
10%
Deleted,
or binned
55%
“So what?”
20%
Reader-
focused
Writer-
focused
Rambling
drivel
Carefully
crafted
Clarity
Target

How do you target the reader?
 Get inside their head
 What do they know?
 What do they need to know?
 How will they react?
 What turns them on, or off?
 What are their needs?
 Identify what’s in it for them
 Also consider:
 Who will see the document?
 It may not just be the person who asked for it
 Think about other people who may be “copied in”

What provides clarity?
 Structure
 Logical flow
 Signposting
 Headlines
 Numbering
 Bullets
 Layout
 Use of “white space”
 Pictures and graphics (including branding)
 Colour
 Careful choice of typeface (unless there is a corporate standard)
 Clean and simple
 Use of plain English
 Short sentences and paragraphs
 Avoid jargon (include a Glossary, if necessary)

Structure
 Tell them what you’re
going to tell them
 Tell them
 Tell them what you
told them
 Make sure the key messages
you want them to take away
with are clearly set out in the
introduction and the
conclusion
 and in the Abstract if your
paper includes one

Foggy writing…
 Although not
inherently prone to
obesity, Dachshunds
do have a propensity
to consume excessive
quantities of nutrients,
resulting in a
dangerously elevated
Body Mass Index.

Foggy writing…
 Although not
inherently prone to
obesity, Dachshunds
do have a propensity
to consume excessive
quantities of nutrients,
resulting in a
dangerously elevated
Body Mass Index.
 Given the chance,
Dachshunds will eat
too much and get fat.

Readability statistics
 Fog Index:
 Sample approx. 100 words
Average No. of Words per Sentence
No. of Words with > 2 Syllables
 Readability Index:
 Sample approx. 100 words
Average No. of Words per Sentence
Average No. of Syllables per 100 Words
High No. = Readable
Low No. = Hard to read
Aim: 10 - 20
High No. = Hard to read
Low No. = Readable
Aim: 5 - 15

Calculate the Fog Index…
When one wishes to withdraw a certain amount of money from
one’s bank this is most easily expedited through the mechanism
of an Automated Teller Machine. You will be required to insert
your Debit or Credit Card in the appropriate slot in the ATM and
follow the on-screen instructions to key in your Personal
Identification Number using the keypad located adjacent to the
screen. The ATM will then ask you to decide on the requisite
amount of cash and whether or not you require a receipt to be
printed by the dispensing unit. Your cash will be made available
for you and can be retrieved from the machine, together with the
printed receipt, if that was an option you selected.

Use plain English
 Short paragraphs
 One idea per paragraph
 Short sentences
 Remember the Fog Index
 Everyday words
 Consistent
 Clear meaning
 Write personally
 I, We and You
 Use the active voice

Use everyday words
Wordy
 Apportionment
 Conjecture
 Due to the fact that
 Determine
 Elucidate
 Imperfection
 Masticate
 Moreover
 On the assumption that
 Recision
 Surmise
Plain English
 Divided into
 Guess
 Because
 Decide; work out
 Explain
 Defect; flaw
 Chew
 Also
 Assuming
 Cut off
 Imagine

Beware of Latin phrases and
abbreviations
 ad hoc
 i.e.
 e.g.
 N.B.
 viz
 et al
 ipso facto
 sic
 They do have a place,
but not everyone may
be familiar with them

Write personally…
 All customers will be offered
an appointment time
 A visual health-check will be
carried out on every vehicle
that enters the workshop
 Customers’ vehicles will be
ready at the agreed time
 All invoices will be explained
and transactions will be
processed in a timely and
satisfactory manner

Write personally…
 All customers will be offered
an appointment time
 A visual health-check will be
carried out on every vehicle
that enters the workshop
 Customers’ vehicles will be
ready at the agreed time
 All invoices will be explained
and transactions will be
processed in a timely and
satisfactory manner
 You will be offered an
appointment time
 We will check your car visually
when it comes into our
workshop
 Your car will be ready at the
agreed time
 We will explain your invoice to
you and ensure you are happy
with the payment process

Use the active voice
Passive (Object first)
 The test is conducted by a
qualified technician
 The Project Proposal must be
signed by the Lab. Manager
 The trial was designed and
planned by the GLP Team
 The food should be divided
into three, equal-sized daily
portions by the cat’s owner
Active (Subject first)
 A qualified technician conducts
the test

Eats, shoots and leaves

Test: can you find the 15 errors?
Even people who spend most of their working day writing to
colleagues’, customer’s and prospective customers’ may be
unsure about their own grasp of grammar and punctuation. They
might not have had an English grammar-lesson for years. And,
as a result they feel nervous when they write, or confused when
their writing is corrected or rejected for no apparent reason.
But all disciplines’ that communicate in writing need to ensure
that they’re grammar is at an acceptable standard. Incorrect
grammar will affect a change in peoples perception of you and
your organisation. Remember you and you’re colleague’s cannot
segment your readers’ by those who are good and those who
are bad at grammar but you can try to imagine how it effects
them.

Test…
Even people who spend most of their working day writing to
colleagues, customers and prospective customers may be
unsure about their own grasp of grammar and punctuation. They
might not have had an English grammar lesson for years. As a
result they feel nervous when they write, or confused when their
writing is corrected or rejected for no apparent reason.
All disciplines that communicate in writing need to ensure that
their grammar is at an acceptable standard. Incorrect grammar
will effect a change in people’s perception of you and your
organisation. Remember you and your colleagues cannot
segment your readers by those who are good and those who are
bad at grammar, but you can try to imagine how it affects them.

Apostrophes
 There are only 2
correct uses:
 Possessive
 Howard’s way
 The dogs’ collars
 Shortening words
 Hasn’t
 Wasn’t
 Isn’t
 Can’t
 They’re
 The ‘70s
 They are not used for
plurals:
 Two cat’s
 My photo’s
 5 Toshiba PC’s
 The 1960’s
 My collection of CD’s
All the above are wrong

Common mistakes
 They’re – Their - There
 Affect – Effect
 Insure - Ensure
 Criteria - Criterion
 Principle – Principal
 Stationery – Stationary
 Compliment – Complement
 Practice – Practise
 Accept – Except
 To – Too – Two
 Disinterested – Uninterested
 Dependant - Dependent
 Less – Fewer (if you can count it, use “fewer”)

PERSONAL ACTION PLANS

Facilitated by Ian J Seath
ian.seath@improvement-skills.co.uk
07850 728506
@ianjseath
uk.linkedin.com/in/ianjseath

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Appendix:

Enabling Readability Scores in Word
Click the File tab, and then click Options.
Click Proofing.
Under When correcting spelling and grammar in Word,
make sure the Check grammar with spelling check box is
selected.
Select Show readability statistics.
After you enable this feature, open a file that you want to
check, and check the spelling. When Word finishes
checking the spelling and grammar, it displays information
about the reading level of the document.

Readability Scores in MS Word
Each readability test bases its rating on the average number of syllables per word and words per sentence. The
following sections explain how each test scores your file's readability.
Flesch Reading Ease test
This test rates text on a 100-point scale. The higher the score, the easier it is to understand the document. For most
standard files, you want the score to be between 60 and 70.
The formula for the Flesch Reading Ease score is:
206.835 – (1.015 x ASL) – (84.6 x ASW)
where:
ASL = average sentence length (the number of words divided by the number of sentences)
ASW = average number of syllables per word (the number of syllables divided by the number of words)
Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level test
This test rates text on a U.S. school grade level. For example, a score of 8.0 means that an eighth grader can
understand the document. For most documents, aim for a score of approximately 7.0 to 8.0.
The formula for the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level score is:
(.39 x ASL) + (11.8 x ASW) – 15.59
where:
ASL = average sentence length (the number of words divided by the number of sentences)
ASW = average number of syllables per word (the number of syllables divided by the number of words)

Further reading
 Eats, shoots and leaves: Lynne Truss
 ISBN-13: 978-0007329069
 How to write an effective scientific paper
 http://acmg.seas.harvard.edu/presentations/powerpoints/djj2009/gsf_pap
er_2.pdf
 Writing for your business in plain English
 http://www.slideshare.net/quarrion51/writing-for-your-business-in-plain-
english-presentation
 English grammar for the utterly confused
 http://www.slideshare.net/cromenuaer/english-grammar-for-the-utterly-
confused-23472373

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