20 Tips For a Scientific Writing Style

Posted by David Watson . on December 28, 2019

For a report, research report, paper, article, essay, argument and thesis, you use a scientific or academic writing style. Scientific writing mainly means that it is not you but the subject that is central. It is not about what you think, but what the research yields, for example.

Academic writing is a hallmark of campus-based education. This is a parameter a student understands what is learned during a certain academic time span. Academic writing is not the goal but is a test tool for the effectiveness of absorption of subject matter. For some students, academic writing is difficult or even “scary”. They tend to imagine a complex set of rules that accompany every academic paper writing. That’s not entirely wrong, yes, academic papers have a certain format that distinguishes them from non-academic papers. However, the format can be learned, one of them by reading this short article to the end. Here are 20 tips for a scientific writing style:

  1. Write as much as possible in the present tense. That certainly applies to Introduction and Discussion. Method (and materials) and Results can be in the present or past tense. There are no set rules for it, but be consistent in your language.
  2. Do not or hardly ever use the I form. It’s not about you but the result. If you have doubts about setting a subject, getting help with writing papers can be very helpful.
  3. Characteristics of a readable academic style are:Objectively, Diligent, Impersonal, For Business.
  4. Ensure a clear structure. For this you have chapters, paragraphs and sentences at your disposal. The characteristic of each academic paper is regularity. Without order, no scientific message can be conveyed. Regularity symbolizes the stages of thinking that must be done by a student.
  5. Titles of chapters and sections have the same style, the same structure and the same logical hierarchy. Titles and subtitles do not end with a period.
  6. Paragraph heads have the same style, the same structure and do not end with a dot.
  7. Make sure there is a connection between paragraphs.Each paragraph is basically a stage of thinking and we cannot make final conclusions if we damage the sequence. Academic writing is a series of thought processes, not just a series of words without meaning.
  8. Ensure coherence within paragraphs and sentences by means of structural indicators.
  9. Place the most important information at the beginning in the paragraph. It aims to provide a main picture for your readers. This is the emphasis of what you are going to write, every letter and every word.
  10. Don’t make your sentences unnecessarily long either. Alternate short and long sentences.
  11. Use summaries to increase the readability and structure of the text.
  12. Use the active form as much as possible.
  13. Be scarce with the auxiliary verbs becoming, will, may, may and must.
  14. Avoid old-fashioned words and expressions.
  15. Test your text against the six requirements of business communication: clear, efficient, attractive, appropriate, correct, convincing.
  16. Design the structure before you begin the writing process.
  17. You don’t have to write “weighty” to make your text scientific. It is about the content, your views and your findings. By presenting clearly and convincingly, a world can be won by the reader.
  18. Vary in sentence structure. Don’t let every sentence start in the same way.
  19. Be careful when using professional terms.
  20. You should preferably quote with a few quotes indicating the name and year and page of, for example, the book or magazine where the cited text can be found.

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