A GUIDE to SCIENTIFIC WRITING
1. Genera and species names are always italicized:
a. Examples:+++
i. Myxococcus xanthus
ii. M. xanthus
iii. H. sapiens
iv. Pseudomonas or P. fluorescens
2. Gene name symbols, in any species, are always italicized, while protein name
symbols have their first letter capitalized and are not italicized:
a. Examples:
i. The act gene produces the Act protein.
ii. The Bap1 protein is produced in an operon that has 4 genes
including the bap1 gene.
3. Words with Latin origins: plural vs. singular
PLURAL
bacteria
media
SINGULAR
bacterium
medium
4. Use Past Tense For Lab Notebooks, Lab Reports and Scientific Papers:
a. Always write in past tense. (Except when writing the “Purpose” which
should be done ahead of time and refers to what will be done that day.)
After all, you are describing what has been done. If you write in present
tense it will seem as though you are copying from the lab manual or that
you don’t understand the point of a lab report… which is to report on
things you have already finished doing.
b. DO NOT use “I”! This sounds very informal and quite amateurish, in the
scientific community. Simply use past tense. If you absolutely have to use
the first person, use “we” even if you’re only referring to yourself. Keep
in mind that all professional writers do this. You will rarely see an author
in a newspaper, journal article or scientific paper refer directly to
themselves. Examples:
DO NOT USE “I’:
First, I prepared a wet mount slide.
Next, I stained the samples using the Gram
stain procedure.
Based upon the Gram stain results, I
decided the bacteria were Gram positive.
INSTEAD,USE PAST TENSE:
First, a wet mount slide was prepared.
Next, the samples were stained using the
Gram stain procedure.
The Gram stain revealed that the bacteria
were Gram positive.
c. Exception: you can use future tense when discussing future plans or
experiments in the discussion section of your paper. It is often in the
discussion section of the paper where you can refer to yourself as “we.”
Again, even though the discussion section is a little more informal, do not
use “I”.
i. Examples:
1. In future experiments, the bacteria will be isolated and
identified.
2. In future experiments, we plan to isolate and identify
soil bacteria from the genera Pseudomonas.
5. DO NOT use contractions. Contractions are not acceptable in any type of formal
writing and they are not accepted in scientific writing.
a. DO NOT use “can’t” or “it’s”
b. Instead use “cannot” or “it is,” etc.
6. Figures, tables, charts:
a. Charts, tables (etc.) are a good way to strengthen your argument and show
that you have synthesized/summarized important information or concepts.
Do this whenever possible. It also demonstrates good organization and
clear thinking.
b. Label all tables, charts, figures (etc.) and capitalize the name of it. For
example: “Figure 1.” or “Table 2.”
c. If you include any figure, table, chart, picture, diagram, (in a paper or
report write-up) you must label it, and refer to it in your writing. Explain
why this chart is there and what it is supposed to show or explain. DO
NOT include any charts, figures (etc.) if you are not going to refer to it.
Failing to refer to the chart makes a paper or report seem unpolished and a
little thoughtless.
i. Example:
1. “All results obtained from the experiment are
summarized in Chart 1.”
2. Or, you could write, “We conducted ten distinct
biochemical tests and recorded the results the following
day (Chart 1).”
7. Vocabulary:
a. Pretend you’re a lawyer or a private investigator solving a crime. It can be
helpful to think of the scientific process as very similar to trying a case in
court. Your lab reports or scientific papers can use the same type of
language (i.e. “legaleeze”) to describe what you have done in your
experiments and the conclusions you have drawn.
i. Examples
1. Based on the tests performed, the evidence strongly
suggests that our sample is Myxococcus xanthus.
2. By the process of elimination, possibilities x, y, and z
were ruled out.
3. The evidence points to candidate X as the probable
identity of the unknown.
b. Use formal vocabulary. Do not use slang or casual language. Remember,
this is a formal document that reflects on your thinking processes and
intellectual ability. With this in mind, you should pay attention to your
vocabulary. If something sounds too casual, look for another word or
phrase in an online thesaurus. Here are some examples:
INSTEAD OF:
I put the slide on the microscope
I did the following experiments.
After looking at the data, I think my sample
is X.
USE THIS:
The slide was placed on the microscope.
The following experiments were
performed. Or…The following
experiments were carried out.
After analyzing the data, we conclude that
the sample is X.
8. DO NOT Make Absolute Statements.:
a. Learning to phrase your conclusions without resorting to absolute
statements is another convention of formal scientific writing. When you
are answering questions in a lab notebook or writing conclusions in a
report, you may think the professor/TA wants you to be 100% right or to
figure out the absolute truth of the matter. However, that is not the case;
they want you to draw a well-reasoned conclusion based on the evidence
(your results). Every scientist, lawyer, or investigator knows they are not
going to be correct every time. The important thing is to make the best
conclusion you can and cite your reasons, evidence, data, etc. Therefore,
this uncertainty should be reflected, very subtly, in your writing. If you do
this, your writing shows that you know what is expected of you as a
scientist (you are expected to collect and analyze data, and then to draw
appropriate conclusions –not to assume you have found the ultimate truth)
and your writing will have a more sophisticated tone. But if you resort to
making absolute statements, not only will your writing seem amateurish,
but you will often make statements that are completely false.
i. Examples
1. Do not say, “There is no doubt that our bacterium is
Pseudomonas aeruginosa.”
2. Instead say, “Our results provide strong evidence that
our sample is Pseudomonas aeruginosa.”
3. Or use “likelihood.” “Based on the results described in
Table 2, our sample is most likely Pseudomonas
aeruginosa.”
4. Or, present your conclusion as the best choice out of the
possible choices. “Table 3 illustrates the results of our
experiments compared to all the possible outcomes.
After comparing our results to the outcomes for sample
B, it is evident that sample B is the best match.
MORE VOCABULARY AND PHRASES
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Experiment, study, examination, test
Illustrate, indicate, demonstrate, show, point to
Conclude, determine, identify, discover, find, reveal, uncover, solve, resolve,
verify
(Conduct, perform, carry out) an experiment
data, evidence, results, outcomes, findings
candidates, possibilities
distinguish, differentiate