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academic papers

Aug 03

Impact vs. effect in academic writing: Which one should you use?

By Academic papers, Short and sweet, Vocabulary

The noun impact has replaced the noun effect in many types of writing, especially in business and web writing. Forceful and charismatic, impact is the life of the party; effect is the shy noun in the corner. It’s no surprise impact has been driving effect out of the academic writing scene.

Those who care about the impact vs. effect difference may wonder, May I use impact as a synonym for effect in academic writing? Depending on context, you may. Having worked as a freelance editor and proofreader for many years, I’ve noticed that many economists and social scientists prefer to study impacts, not effects. But should you use impact when you mean effect in academic writing? Here’s some information to help you decide. Read More

Apr 23

Writing geoscience papers: A list of useful resources

By Academic papers, Editing, Writing

Open book with globe behind to represent writing geoscience papers resources“About 10 percent enjoy writing; the other 90 percent consider it a necessary chore”, says David R. Lindsay in Scientific Writing = Thinking in Words.

Writing geoscience papers becomes less of a chore if you have access to all the resources you need. Having to pause in the middle of a sentence to look up whether a term is hyphenated or check the capitalization of a geological unit can slow you down. And being unsure about what to include in an illustration can set you back days or weeks.

To help you speed up the process of writing and editing geology manuscripts, in this article I will discuss several resources for earth scientists and editors. Read More

Feb 17

Is “et al.” singular or plural?

By Academic papers, Short and sweet, Writing

Et al. is a commonly used Latin abbreviation in scholarly writing, so most academics know what it means. If you don’t, a dictionary will give you the explanation.

But whether et al. is singular or plural is not always clear, even to experienced writers. An author may use a singular verb after et el.; another author may use a plural verb after et al. Are they both correct, or who is wrong and who is right? To help you understand how to use et al. in a sentence so it’s grammatically correct, let’s look at a few examples. Read More

Dec 23

Placement of only: What’s the correct way of using only in a sentence?

By English writing skills, Grammar, Short and sweet

In spoken English or informal writing, the placement of only is rarely an issue, so go with your ear. Here is an example:

Tea only tastes good when I’m sad. Tea tastes good only when I’m sad.

Both sentences have the same meaning: I like the taste of tea only when I’m sad.

In academic writing, though, be careful with the placement of modifiers to avoid introducing ambiguity and attracting criticism from reviewers.

Does the placement of only in a sentence matter?

Read More

Jul 17

How to make scientific figures for publication: A 10-step guide

By Academic papers, Figures, Writing

Blue pen and charts and graphs to illustrate how to make scientific figures for publication

Depending on your graphic design skills, perfectionism level, and available time, making scientific figures for publication could take as long as, or longer than, writing your research paper.

To save time, you might want to recycle and reuse some of the images you made for a poster or PowerPoint presentation. But tweaking them to fit the journal can be time-consuming. That’s why it’s often best to make graphics for research papers from scratch so you have publication-quality images.

Learn how to make scientific figures for publication in an effective way.

Read More

May 13

Is it acceptable to use “we” in scientific papers?

By Academic papers, Short and sweet, Writing

Some of us were taught in school that the use of first-person personal pronouns makes scientific writing subjective. But it’s not true. Using we or I in a research paper does not always shift the spotlight away from the research. And writing in the third person or using passive voice does not make a piece of research writing objective. So, if a reviewer or thesis advisor tells you to remove all first-person references from your manuscript, know that it is not incorrect to use I or we in a paper, despite what many people believe.

So, the short answer to the question in the title is yes. It is acceptable to use we in your paper to refer to you and your co-authors. Whether you use first person pronouns or not is a writing style choice. Read More

Mar 05

Should I edit my own research paper?

By Academic papers, Editing, Short and sweet

Yes, you should edit your own paper for grammar, spelling, logic, clarity, and style.

Why edit your own research paper

As the author of your research paper, you know better than anyone else what message you want to convey. So, it’s a good idea to be your paper’s first editor—but only if you know how to edit a research paper. (If you don’t, ask an experienced editor for tips, read academic writing books, and seek editing resources online.) Read More

Feb 12

Do all references have to be cited in text in APA Style?

By Academic papers, Short and sweet, Writing

If you need to follow APA Style and are wondering if all entries in your reference list must be cited in the main text, you need to first understand the difference between a reference list and a bibliography.

APA Style reference list vs. bibliography

In general, the journals that follow APA Style use reference lists, not bibliographies. So, if you’re writing an APA research paper, you most likely need to create a reference list. Reference lists and bibliographies belong to different species.

A reference list has only the works cited in the text. In contrast, a bibliography comprises not only some or all the works cited in the text but also other works not mentioned in the text. These can be sources the author consulted in the preparation of the text, works recommended for further reading, or both. Also, bibliographies may contain notes (annotated bibliographies). Read More

Nov 03

Should you use trademark symbols in scientific writing?

By Academic papers, Editing, Writing

Trademark symbols in academic writing with sticky note saying yes or no

When writing a research paper, you may need to mention a brand or a proprietary building material, machine, medicine, or any other commercial product. Should you use trademark symbols in scientific writing every time you mention the name of a trademark?

In product documentation, trademarks usually appear together with the ® or ™ symbol. But this doesn’t mean you have to use either of these symbols every time you write the name of a trademark. In fact, there’s no legal requirement to use trademark symbols in academic writing.

So, if you’re wondering if you should use trademark symbols in the research methodology, abstract, or introduction of your paper, the short answer is no. The following is a more detailed explanation of the use of trademark symbols in scholarly publications. Read More

Aug 10

Write your research paper outline: A concise guide

By Academic papers, Tips, Writing

After doing the actual research, it’s time to write your research paper outline. If your paper were a building, the outline would be its architectural plan. The purpose of a research paper outline is to help you plan your paper and organize its content in logical sections.

Here is a concise guide to writing a research paper outline and some advice on how to use it to write your paper. Read More

Mar 23

Verb tenses in scientific writing: Which tense should you use?

By Academic papers, Editing, English writing skills

Sticky notes with past and present verb tenses in scientific writing

If you’re fluent in English, using tenses in scientific writing should come naturally to you. You shouldn’t need to flip through a grammar book, ask a freelance editor, or search online for “methods tense” or “literature review tense”.

But verb tenses may start to haunt you if you’re writing an article for a top peer-reviewed journal and you know you have to get every detail right. For example, you may wonder, What tense should be used in methodology sections? Should the introduction or literature review be written in the present tense or past tense?

In this post I’m going to answer these and other questions on verb tenses in scientific writing to make it easier for you to understand which tenses to use in a research paper.

Read More

Apr 28

Academic editing tips for research scientists

By Academic papers, Editing, Tips

Book with golden halo to represent academic writing tips and halo effectLong time ago, when I earned my living as a research fellow, I thought reading academic editing tips was a waste of time. I wasn’t a writer, and scholarly writing wasn’t prose. My paper had to communicate the results of my research, and it had to be free of mistakes, but the writing style wasn’t important.

Now, as a freelance English editor, I know the quality of the language does matter. It can influence referees’ impression of a paper and, in turn, the editorial decision of the journal editor.

One reason might be a psychological bias called the halo effect. This is “the phenomenon whereby we assume that because people are good at doing A they will be good at doing B, C and D”, as The Economist explains it.

The reverse phenomenon is called the negative halo. It may lead some referees—those who do not try to combat this unconscious bias—to assume that a poorly written paper contains less-than-perfect science.

Many scientists know about this bias and do their best to combat it. However, even when they make a purely unbiased, objective decision when evaluating a manuscript, journal editors appreciate well-written papers. That’s because good writing has two powerful qualities: clarity and effectiveness.

In this guide I’m discussing several academic editing tips that can help you improve your manuscript and its likelihood of being accepted for publication. Read More

Feb 27

Do you hyphenate Latin phrases?

By Proofreading, Punctuation, Vocabulary

Hyphenate Latin phrases or not

A client asked me, “Should a Latin expression be hyphenated when I use it as an adjective? For example, should status quo be hyphenated?”

No. In general, there’s no need to hyphenate Latin phrases used in English. To know when to hyphenate and when not to hyphenate Latin words used in English, you need to first understand hyphenation rules. Read More

Sep 13

How a PhD student procrastinates

By Funny stories, PhD life

Desk with papers, PC monitor, stapler, and pens as an image of how a PhD student procrastinatesFill in the blanks: “Instead of reading this, I should be______”. Yes, you’re probably procrastinating: postponing doing what you should be doing only to do other things, useful or useless.

Procrastination is not the same as laziness, which is the lack of action. Procrastination is often packed with action. And when you’re a PhD student, procrastination disguises itself as busywork—what looks like work, feels like work, but is not useful work—more often than you think. Here’s an example of how a PhD student procrastinates. Read More

Jun 06

The best academic writing books: My list

By Academic papers, Book reviews, Writing


The best academic writing books symbolized by watercolor showing blue and yellow books

The best academic writing books are those you’ll refer to throughout your time in academia. They become your desk’s permanent residents and give you reassurance when you are struggling to write a paper, report, or thesis.

To make it easier for you to discover those books, I’ve created this list. As with many other lists of the best academic writing books, mine too is bound to be subjective. But I hope it helps anyway. My list comprises not only books about academic writing but also books on nonfiction writing that would benefit anyone who writes scholarly texts. Read More

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