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Communicating
Science
an introductory guide for conveying scientific
information to academic and public audiences
clarity
content
coherence precision
concision
Roy Jensen
Common grammatical considerations
Writing for the reader (page 3) clarity
• Write as if you are talking to the reader.
• Write in a positive and professional
content
tone.
• Write to persuade the reader of your
coherence precision
ideas and conclusions.
Strategies for quality writing (page 9) concision
• Keep the subject and verb close together.
• Put appropriate information in the topic and stress positions.
• Present information in logical progressions.
Common tenses and voices (page 25)
• If something is true today, write it in the present tense.
• If something occurred and is complete, write it in the past tense.
• If something will or should happen, write it in the future tense.
• Endeavor to write in the active voice. It is engaging and easier to read.
• Use the passive voice to put emphasis on the action or when the
subject committing the action is unknown.
Minimize the use of nominalizations (page 32)
• Use verbs to convey the desired information.
Other considerations
• subject-verb agreement (page 34)
• parallel grammatical structure (page 37)
• British vs. American English (page 39)
Common revisions (page 42)
As you write and review work, continuously ask yourself:
• What information does this phrase add?
• What other meaning can a reader infer?
• How can I rewrite this sentence to improve its readability?
Formatting common information (page 61)
Formatting scientific information (page 65)
Communicating
Science
an introductory guide for conveying scientific
information to academic and public audiences
clarity
content
coherence precision
concision
Roy Jensen
Communicating Science: an introductory guide for conveying
scientific information to academic and public audiences
ISBN 978-0-9937397-3-6
Copyright, ©, 2016 by Roy Jensen. All rights reserved.
Electronic edition
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Versions of this resource
ISBN 978-0-9937397-2-9
(print edition)
ISBN 978-0-9937397-3-6
(electronic edition)
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Jensen, Roy, 1971–, author
Communicating Science: an introductory guide for conveying
scientific information to academic and public audiences / Roy Jensen.
Second edition
Includes index.
Issued in print and electronic formats.
ISBN 978-0-9937397-2-9 (paperback) – ISBN 978-0-9937397-3-6 (pdf) –
1. Communication in science. I. Title.
Q223.J45 2016 501'.4 C2016-900840-1
C2016-900841-X
Printed in North America.
10—9—8—7—6—5—4—3—2
iii
Contents
Preface v
Chapter 1. Fundamentals of communication 1
1.1 Elements of effective communication 2
1.2 Punctuation 13
1.3 Document structure 20
1.4 Document language 25
1.5 Common revisions 42
Additional resources … 58
Chapter 2. Communicating scientific information 61
2.1 Formatting common information 61
2.2 Formatting scientific information 65
2.3 Copyright and plagiarism 71
2.4 Citations 76
2.5 Presenting scientific data: tables 88
2.6 Presenting scientific data: figures, images, and graphs 91
2.7 An introduction to statistical analysis 108
Additional resources … 117
Chapter 3. Fundamentals of learning 119
3.1 Learning theories 121
3.2 Learning and the brain 126
3.3 Considerations when teaching and learning 134
3.4 Reading for understanding 149
3.5 Effective learning and studying strategies 156
3.6 A process to maximize exam grades 158
Additional resources … 159
Chapter 4. Research methodology 161
4.1 History and evolution of science 162
4.2 The breadth of science 167
4.3 Types of research 169
4.4 Research methods 170
4.5 Academic integrity and research ethics 179
4.6 Conducting an investigative project 182
4.7 Conducting a research project 184
4.8 Research question development 187
4.9 Literature review and analysis 190
4.10 The realities of research 193
Additional resources … 197
iv
Chapter 5. Documents and presentations 199
5.1 Document and presentation development 201
5.2 Notebooks 209
5.3 Storyboarding 213
5.4 Laboratory reports 216
5.5 Article summaries 223
5.6 Research proposals 227
5.7 Scholarly articles, including essays and theses 232
5.8 Scholarly posters 251
5.9 Preparing documents for other audiences 264
5.10 Oral presentations 268
5.11 Public speaking 286
5.12 Other forms of communication 297
Additional resources … 309
Chapter 6. Peer review and peer evaluation 311
6.1 Peer review 312
6.2 Editing 315
6.3 Giving and receiving feedback 320
6.4 Peer evaluation 323
Additional resources … 323
Appendix A: Review questions 325
Appendix B: Electronic document preparation 327
B.1 Word processing (Microsoft Word®) 328
B.2 Spreadsheets (Microsoft Excel®) 342
B.3 Presentations (Microsoft PowerPoint®) 352
B.4 Mathematical equations 356
B.5 Electronic annotation 357
Appendix C: Assignments 361
Appendix D: Assessment rubrics 367
Laboratory report 368
Scholarly article; scientific essay 369
Scholarly poster 370
Oral presentation 371
Team project 372
Reviewing the reviewer 373
Oral presentation; scholarly poster (alternate scales) 374
Index 375
v
Preface
Communicating Science provides undergraduate science and engineering
students and new technical writers with a foundation for writing,
reviewing, and presenting scientific information: reports, proposals,
scholarly articles, essays, theses, scholarly posters, oral presentations,
and documents for public audiences.
Somewhat surprisingly, writing guidelines are not uniform throughout
the sciences and even vary within a scientific discipline. While many
scientific organizations publish professional style guides, these guides are
high-level documents written for scientists, authors, editors, and
publishers. These guides can overwhelm a new writer. Communicating
Science consolidates common communication concepts for new science
writers. Communicating Science is unique in its breadth, exploring a wide
array of documents that a science writer may be required to prepare and
present and contains extensive sections on peer review and editing.
Communicating Science provides graduate students and/or professional
writers with a solid foundation for using the professional style guides of
their chosen career.
Communicating Science explores all aspects of preparing quality
professional documents and presentations.
Chapter 1 (Fundamentals of communication) presents strategies for
effective communication of scientific information and reviews grammar
and style expectations of academic documents and presentations.
Chapter 2 (Communicating scientific information) focuses on the
formatting of scientific information, tables, and figures, and expectations
when citing information.
Chapter 3 (Fundamentals of learning) introduces the constructivist
learning model and presents the current understanding of how people
learn, how learning changes with increasing knowledge about the subject,
and presents strategies for effective teaching and learning.
Chapter 4 (Research methodology) presents information on the history
of science and the development of the current classification of scientific
disciplines. The chapter presents the different types of research, common
research methods, and strategies for conducting investigative and
research projects.
Chapter 5 (Documents and presentations) presents guidelines for
producing and formatting documents and presentations commonly
required of scientists and academic science writers.
vi
Chapter 6 (Peer review and peer evaluation) presents tools and
strategies for engaging in effective peer review and peer evaluation,
including strategies for giving and receiving feedback. This chapter
emphasizes the importance of such skills in preparing quality documents
and presentations.
Appendix A (Review questions) lists questions authors should keep in
mind to guide the development of documents and presentations.
Reviewers should use these questions when reviewing documents and
presentations.
Appendix B (Electronic document preparation) instructs authors on
how to use the Microsoft Office® suite of tools to produce professional-
quality documents and presentations.
Appendix C (Assignments) presents assignments that build skills,
experience, and confidence in preparing and presenting documents. Most
assignments can be augmented with peer review and/or peer evaluation.
Appendix D (Assessment rubrics) presents rubrics for evaluating the
content, organization, and presentation (if applicable) of laboratory
reports, scholarly articles and essays, scholarly posters, and scientific
presentations. A rubric for evaluating the reviewer during peer review
activities is also included.
While Communicating Science does progress from simple to complex
concepts, it is possible (and valuable) to teach the chapters in a different
order. For example, applying the concepts in Chapters 1 and 2 to the
documents in Chapter 5 results in students concurrently improving their
grammar, presentation of scientific information, and their ability to
compose scientific documents and presentations. Additionally, teaching
the editing and peer review components in Chapter 6 early makes peer
review integral to the preparation of documents and presentations.
Students can use Communicating Science throughout their undergraduate
program. Depending on the institution and program offerings, there are
several ways of integrating Communicating Science into the
undergraduate program:
• as the course textbook for a science or technical communication course
• as a resource that is used in many courses from first- to fourth-year
• as a resource for students engaged in undergraduate research
Communicating Science is also a valuable resource for persons entering
careers where they are required to prepare quality professional documents
and presentations.
vii
Using this resource
To get the most out of this resource, you must apply the techniques
herein in your everyday activities. Remain conscious of grammar rules
and tenses, and think about how to improve the readability of your work.
This will improve your writing style, whether you are composing an
email, résumé, or scientific document. Get into the habit of reviewing
your work and find colleagues with whom you can review each other’s
work. This ensures your final documents and presentations are of the
highest quality.
The Additional resources … sections list the resources consulted while
preparing each chapter and additional resources that may be relevant for
anyone wanting to learn more about a given concept. In some sections,
information was adapted directly from other sources, and these resources
are cited appropriately.
Acknowledgements
I must express my thanks to the following people who have reviewed this
document so that it will be of the most value to you:
Aaron Swanbergson Dr. Derrick Clive Niall Fink
Audrey Habke Erin Dul Dr. Philip Comeau
Belinda Ongaro Dr. Hugh Cartwright Stephanie Unrau
Caitlin Guzzo Dr. Julie B. Ealy Dr. Umesh Parshotam
Caroline Lee Kate Singh-Morris
Dr. Craig MacKinnon Dr. Lawrence McGahey
I am especially indebted to Sarah-Nelle Jackson for her assistance with
Chapter 1 and with editing of the entire document.
A final thanks goes to Dr. Jeremy Tatum. Dr. Tatum sparked my interest
in science communication as he was identifying grammatical and style
errors in my dissertation … it is amazing where interests begin.
Comments and suggestions to improve this document are appreciated!
Roy Jensen
Offer me a choice between two entrants, [both curious about science, motivated,
and ambitious.] One has inadequate chemistry but good literacy skills, the other
the converse. Which do I feel has the greater chance of succeeding in a science
degree and beyond? Well, I shall take the literate one. Those who disagree with
me are quite welcome to the other. — Peter Towns
