Writing Resources
Need scientific writing resources for your papers or proposals? We are here to help. The process of scientific writing is confusing. As a result, it can take years to learn. In addition, scientific writers face a considerable challenge to figure out which scientific writing resources are relevant. In other words, who has time to research how to write on top of actually writing?
Don’t worry! Our team has curated the highest quality scientific writing resources into a convenient checklist. Moreover, our list of scientific writing resources contains essential information about academic writing. This is to say, the list contains what we wish we had known as graduate students.
Must-have resources for all scientific writers
Our goal is to help students and researchers write better scientific papers and proposals. Therefore, we aim to help you make sense of the process and increase skillfulness. In fact, we have used and evaluated all of the resources we suggest. We do not profit in any way from use or purchase. Above all, we are scientists helping scientists.
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Academic writing centers
Most universities offer writing support. However, our experience is that most on-campus centers aim at writing college essays, not scientific papers. For instance, tutoring rooms are filled with undergraduates figuring out how to make a basic argument. Meanwhile, the demands of scientific writing are much higher. Therefore, we curated a group of online writing centers that, when taken together, provide comprehensive scientific writing resources.
- Amherst College’s Online Resources for Writing – In summary, the center offers support for all aspects of the writing process.
- Harvard University’s Writing Center Guides – In short, the center offers helpful guides on discipline-specific topics.
- Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab (OWL) – To sum up, the site offers extensive, detailed, and useful information, including grammar and mechanics.
- University of Wisconsin Writer’s Handbook – In summary, the handbook guides writers through most stages of the research process.
Academic English support
Academic writing in English poses a considerable challenge. Furthermore, the task is even greater for non-native speakers of English. Despite the difficulty with English construction, it is possible to master the conventions of scientific writing in English. The following guides offer a good start.
- Strunk, W., & White, E. B. (2009). The elements of style. Fourth ed. New York: Pearson Longman.
- Cochrane, J. (2003). Between you and I: A little book of bad English. Cambridge: Icon.
- Grammar Girl. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.quickanddirtytips.com
- O’Conner, P. T. (2009). Woe is I: The grammarphobe’s guide to better English in plain English. Updated and expanded Third ed. New York: Riverhead Books.
- Truss, L. (2004). Eats, shoots & leaves: The zero tolerance approach to punctuation. New York: Gotham Books.
In addition to these resources, please check out our in-depth guide to academic English.
Scientific writing guides
- Alley, M. (2018). The craft of scientific writing. New York: Springer.
- Day, R. A., & Gastel, B. (2018). How to write and publish a scientific paper. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.
- Glasman-Deal, H. (2016). Science research writing: For non-native speakers of English. London: Imperial College Press.
- Heard, S. B. (2016). The scientist’s guide to writing: How to write more easily and effectively throughout your scientific career. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
- Lindsay, D. (2013). Scientific writing: Thinking in words. Collingwood, Vic.: CSIRO Publishing.
In addition to these resources, please check out our in-depth guides to scientific research papers and scientific research proposals.
Guides for writing in specific scientific fields
Engineering
- Alley, M. (2018). The craft of scientific writing. New York: Springer.
Life and Medical Sciences
- Hofmann, A. H. (2020). Scientific writing and communication: Papers, proposals, and presentations. New York: Oxford University Press.
Mathematics
- Higham, N. J. (1998). Handbook of writing for the mathematical sciences. Philadelphia: SIAM, Soc. for Industrial and Applied Mathematics.
Physical Sciences
- Lindsay, D. (2013). Scientific writing: Thinking in words. Collingwood, Vic.: CSIRO Publishing.
Style guides relevant to scientific writing
- American Psychological Association. (2010). Concise rules of APA style. Sixth ed. Washington, DC: APA.
- Council of Science Editors. (2014). Scientific style and format: The CSE manual for authors, editors, and publishers. Eighth ed. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
- Gibaldi, J. (2008). MLA style manual and guide to scholarly publishing. Third ed. New York: Modern Language Association of America.
- Turabian, K. L., et al. (2018). A manual for writers of research papers, theses, and dissertations: Chicago Style for students and researchers. Ninth ed. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Scientific societies
Does your scientific field have a society? If so, society may offer writing resources. For example, the American Astronomical Society (AAS) offers a curated list of resources for communicating research. In addition, AAS also offers conference workshops on scientific writing. Similarly, many other scientific societies offer writing support.
With this in mind, check out JobStar’s comprehensive list of professional societies organized by discipline. See yours? Likewise, please check out our in-depth guides on evaluating evidence and developing an editing process.
In conclusion, we hope that you will use and benefit from these scientific writing resources. Finally, please share your story with us and tell a friend. We are always looking for new ways to reach struggling scientific writers.
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