Short Guide to Writing About Science

This short guide shows students how to tackle the machanical problems that most science writers face from a scientific perspective. Integrating writing with the thinking practices required in science, this book gives students a step-by-step guide to writing lab notebooks, lab reports, formal research papers, and science essays. The text also explains the different styles required of various parts of a science paper, from the introduction, conclusion, and interpretation of data sections to the methods, and materials, and presentation of data sections. Finally, the text contains several examples and illustrations from professional science journals in such disciplines as chemistry, physics, mathematics, computer science, and engineering.1. Introduction: Science Writing and the Imagination. 2. Why Good Scientific Thinking Can Lead to Bad Science Writing. 3. Writing from the Moment of Observation: Lab and Field Notebooks. 4. From Lab Notebook to Lab Report. 5. Preparing to Write the Research Paper. 6. How to Write Titles. 7. How to Write Abstracts. 8. How to Write the Introductory Section. 9. How to Write About Hypotheses, Models, and Theories (HMT). 10. How to Cite and List References. 11. How to Write the Materials and Methods Section. 12. How to Present Results.