The English Language of Science
In this WS we highlight the following topics:
• Language features related to publishing in English (and why?)
• Paragraphs
• Sentences
• Words
• Punctuation
• Using professional help and becoming a professional
We suggest that you evaluate these topics in your own text systematically. For example, to take one topic at a time and check parts of your text or published text or the text of your peers. Remember, these topics serve as guidelines and as with all our topics, they are by no means exclusive. The beauty of writing is that we can apply rules to our advantage, but there are many more roads that lead to Rome. However, from our experience, and from evidence, being aware of how things can be done, should be done, will make your justification of your choices that much more clear. Sometimes we need to question the rules that school books, teachers, and our native languages have implanted on our value system of the language we need to use for writing.
For example, the assumption that science writing needs to be formal or that we need to write in passives or that we can never use “I” when writing science. All three of these assumptions are not only wrong, but they are also right. Wrong because science writing is not informal writing. Right because science writing in some journals will actually not allow you to write in “I”.
In all cases, the goal is to increase the breadth of your writing skills, which include the breadth of your language application skills. Writing in passive is not wrong, writing in active tense is not wrong, writing long sentences is not wrong, but, question whether when we do so, does it achieve the ultimate aim of our text: clarity!
Let clarity be the driving force of all your science writing, which is rooted in rhetorical structures, but also in language structures.
When writing your science articles, we’re very much bound to the rules of communication and the tools our language provides us to convey that message as clearly as possible. Clarity is the main indicator for effective science writing, specifically because we are writing about topics which can contain immense complexity. The aim is to convey that complex topic as clearly as possible. Thus, making it even more complex will only deter the reader, but more importantly, challenge the reviewer of your paper.
The reviewing process and how this relates to language
As part of the final process of getting your paper published, the main obstacle is the journal reviewing process which in most cases consists of 3 steps.
Step 1: you submit your manuscript to the journal and it will end up in the hands of the editor of the journal who will usually conduct the first assessment. The first assessment usually consists of checking whether the topic of the manuscript matches that of the journal’s scope, whether the text meets the journal guidelines (technical aspects such as length, reference formatting, etc.).
Step 2: the editor of the journal will either a) send back the journal to you with a “reject”. In this case, your manuscript will most likely not have received a review from a reviewer and therefore not receive any suggestions on how the article can be improved. Reasons for a rejection are listed in step 1. Therefore, selecting a journal is essential and should be done early on. The editor might also b) forward the manuscript to 2 blind reviewers for review.
Step 3: If you received a rejection, find another journal and make sure it meets the journal requirements and submit and go through the steps again. If the manuscript has been forwarded to reviewers, you can expect a reply from the editor within a month (if lucky) or 3 months or half a year (this very much depends on the journal, and we suggest you check regularly what the turnaround period is of journals. You do not want to be stuck waiting for half a year to receive any review (positive or negative) — of course positive is way better than negative. A reply usually will result in 4 decisions: publish without major changes; accept with minor changes, accept with major changes, or reject, but suggest to resubmit to the same journal if re-written. The latter means that they like the topic but see major changes are needed (which might not be realistic) to make it publishable in their journal. An accept and resubmit with changes (minor or major) is great news! Few submissions receive a publish without major changes (ask your supervisor).
To achieve clarity in our writing, we need to be aware that our text requires organisation (rhetorical structures) and our language needs organising (the language rules that work in our favour).
We also need to be aware that the English language we use for publishing our manuscripts are in competition for meaning. This competition takes place at the level of:
1. The whole text
2. Paragraphs
3. Sentences
4. Words
The next sections give an overview of these 4 levels and the last section (punctuation) gives a good overview how we can use punctuation markings to favour the outcome of certain players in the competition.
Resources
Features of Language
Functions of Paragraphs part 1
Functions of Paragraphs part 2
Functions of Paragraphs part 3
Functions of Sentences
Functions of Words
Texts
At the level of our text, we have to consider what the underlying driving force is of our text. In other words, what words would we use when we think about our aim and outcome?
Answer this question for yourself. What do I want my journal article to do? What do I want my text to do?
You may remember this question coming up at the beginning of the course where we asked you to think about the rhetorical situation of your text. What it says and what it does.
The same logic applies to the question about your text in general. If we know what we want to achieve, or rather, what we want our text to achieve, we can start to pinpoint these areas in our text which achieve this. Either at the level of a paragraph (rhetorical structures) or at the level of sentences or words in those sentences.
The answer to these questions should roughly fall into the following:
1. I want my article to be clear
2. I want my article to be well organised
3. I want my article to be persuasive
4. I want my article to add value to my field of research
When we break down these answers, we can apply specific organisational structures in our writing. For example, clear writing is writing which will most likely include a lot of repeating words, structures, verb tenses, subjects. In other words, clear writing is writing that can be quickly and accurately understood by “lazy” readers. It is writing which does not challenge the reader to find meaning, but the reader is able to follow the meaning the writer intends to convey to the reader.
For the article to be well structured, the most obvious response is to give it structure. In other words, outlining the main ideas at a paragraph level, idea level will give it structure. The structure is often also represented at the sentence level, or rather, the flow between sentences and ideas. Most often, we use linguistic glue or transition words and phrases to guide the reader through our structure. Think, for example, about words and phrases such as, “next”, “first”, “second”, “third”, “finally”, “in other words”, etc.
For the text to become persuasive, the text has to resort to argumentative structures which create a strong evidence-based argument. Finally, for value to come across in the text, a clear central message needs to run through the whole text which convinces readers that the content has value for them. Whether this value is value to enhance the field of research, value as a source of information, value for learning, etc.
As such, many aspects need to come together to create such harmony. One particular way to achieve this is through storytelling.
Storytelling
Storytelling is a technique that has been used for many many years. The concept is perhaps much more familiar when we relate these to other genres, such as children’s books, novels, film, etc., but the general structure underlying storytelling can equally be applied to science writing. What is storytelling? What makes a story a great story? Why are we interested in specific films, series, etc.? Generally, for stories to be interesting, they contain the main theme, characters, settings, tensions, and a climax and resolution. In science writing, we don’t call them as such, but they are there nonetheless. The settings and characters are the backgrounds of our study, the characters being that item that we investigate and the context in which that resides. When we explore the characters and settings, we realise that in our research they have a problem (or a tension) that needs solving. We demonstrate that we can resolve these by specific methods and results in our study, the action we take in our research. Once we have passed that stage, we can make specific conclusions, which is the climax of our story, followed by the implications of these conclusions on future research (future stories).
This storytelling path is very clearly outlined by Anna Clemens. Anna keeps a great blog expressing her perspectives on writing science. If you’re looking for a way to procrastinate — she is the to-go source for great information!
Educational Zones Another specific measure of value is how much your article educates. According to Eric Lightfouse, author of the book Scientific Writing for Impact Journals (2013), all research papers should have research zones spread across the different sections (see figure below). For example, the introduction is all about educating the reader. The methods section should contain a part that educates the reader about the method used. Why the method is useful, what the method does in comparison to other methods, etc.
So how does this relate to language? If you write from these keywords (or key concepts), it will definitely help you to bring focus to the text, and send out a clear signal to the reader.
Paragraphs
Paragraphs are typographic organisers of our text. As such, a paragraph should have an obvious function. Generally, we can state that paragraphs that are well structured across the manuscript are an ingredient for clear writing.
So what makes a clear paragraph?
According to Lunsford and Conners, 2008, a paragraph is “a group of sentences or a single sentence that forms a unit”. In addition, a paragraph is a unit of organisation that introduces and treats an idea and every “new idea” forms a new paragraph. But what constitutes a “new idea”? New ideas could be an entirely new idea or it can be a changing perspective on an old idea, or it can be a movement away from an idea.
Follow the video instruction to learn more about the Unified, Coherence and Distinct paragraphs.
Before submitting your manuscript to the journal, make sure you have it proofread and edited by a professional editor. Professional editors are those people who know what requirements journal articles set as a standard for their text and language use. Writing science, as should be clear by now, is a specific genre, and you are well on your way to becoming a professional in this genre. This means that the more you write, the more you commit, the easier it gets.
Using a professional to edit your text does not mean you are not a professional, it means that you are making sure that the article is being sent to the journal in its best shape, eradicating any misconceptions or misunderstanding that might be included as a result of language. As writers, we are often blind to our own conceptions, ambiguity, and misunderstandings. Good editors are trained to pick up on these. If you’re looking for a good language editor, or want to become one, contact the University of Tartu Centre for Academic Writing and Communication: communicatingscience@ut.ee
The following links are useful:
http://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk
https://students.flinders.edu.au/study-support/slc/online-guides/writing-resources
https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/
