Sainani SciWrite 1.3
Summary
TLDRThe video script discusses principles of effective scientific writing, using an example from a top biology journal. It critiques the use of nouns instead of verbs, vague language, unnecessary jargon, and acronyms that slow down the reader. The speaker emphasizes the importance of clarity, active voice, and strong verbs to improve readability. The script provides a rewritten version of a complex sentence for clarity and introduces upcoming topics like cutting clutter and using active voice.
Takeaways
- π The script discusses principles of effective writing in scientific literature, specifically targeting issues found in a Cell journal article.
- π The use of nouns instead of verbs can slow down the reader's comprehension, as verbs make sentences more dynamic.
- π Vague words like 'physiologic' and 'molecular species' can hinder the reader's ability to form a clear mental image.
- π« Unnecessary jargon and acronyms, such as 'gliomagenesis' and 'MIR' for micro RNA, can disrupt the reader's flow and understanding.
- π The author encourages avoiding acronyms except for the most standard ones to enhance readability.
- π£οΈ The passive voice can make sentences difficult to read, contrasting with the more natural active voice.
- βοΈ The distance between the subject and the main verb should be minimized to maintain the reader's focus.
- βοΈ The script emphasizes the importance of cutting unnecessary words and phrases to reduce clutter.
- π The rewritten example provided in the script demonstrates how simplifying language can improve clarity.
- π Upcoming discussions will focus on the active voice, using strong verbs, and keeping the subject and main verb close together.
Q & A
What is the main issue the speaker has with the example taken from the journal Cell?
-The speaker struggles with the example because it is difficult to read and understand what the authors intended to say due to the use of nouns instead of verbs, vague words, unnecessary jargon, and acronyms.
Why does the speaker suggest using verbs instead of nouns in scientific writing?
-Verbs move sentences along and make them more engaging, while nouns can slow the reader down. Using verbs like 'dis-regulate', 'initiate', 'progress', and 'express' instead of their noun forms makes the writing more dynamic and easier to follow.
What is the problem with using vague words in scientific writing according to the speaker?
-Vague words do not provide a clear picture in the reader's mind, making it difficult for them to understand the author's point. Words like 'physiologic' and 'molecular species' are too broad and do not add much to the clarity of the writing.
Why does the speaker criticize the use of the acronym MIR for micro RNA?
-The speaker criticizes the use of MIR as an acronym because it is an acronym of an acronym, which can be confusing. Additionally, acronyms can halt the reader's progress as they may need to look up what the acronym stands for, especially if it is not a standard one.
What is the impact of using passive voice in scientific writing as discussed in the script?
-Using passive voice can make sentences difficult to read because it inverts the natural English sentence structure of subject-verb-object. The speaker mentions that the passive voice is awkward and will be discussed in more detail in the following week.
How does the speaker suggest rewriting the difficult sentence from the Cell journal?
-The speaker suggests rewriting the sentence to be more straightforward and easier to understand by using active voice and clear language. The revised sentence is: 'Changes in micro RNA expression play a role in cancer including Glioma. Therefore, events that disrupt micro RNAs from binding to their target RNAs may also promote cancer.'
What is the first principle of effective writing that the speaker plans to discuss?
-The first principle of effective writing the speaker plans to discuss is learning to cut unnecessary words and phrases to eliminate clutter.
What are the other principles of effective writing that will be covered in the following week?
-The other principles of effective writing to be covered include using the active voice instead of the passive voice and writing with strong verbs, avoiding turning verbs into nouns, and not burying the main verb.
Why is the use of jargon and acronyms discouraged in the script?
-The use of jargon and acronyms is discouraged because they can halt the reader's progress and comprehension. Unless the acronym is very standard and familiar to everyone, most readers will not know it and will have to stop to figure it out.
What is the impact factor of the journal Cell mentioned in the script?
-The impact factor of the journal Cell mentioned in the script is approximately 32.
What does the speaker mean by 'burying the main verb' in a sentence?
-The speaker refers to the issue where the main verb of a sentence is placed too far from the subject, causing the reader to wait for the verb and making the sentence difficult to follow.
Outlines
π Effective Writing Principles
The speaker introduces the topic of effective writing in scientific literature, using an example from a top-tier biology journal. They critique the use of nouns instead of verbs, vague language, unnecessary jargon, and acronyms, which can hinder reader comprehension. The example provided discusses the dysregulation of micro RNA activity in cancer, but the language used makes it difficult to understand. The speaker points out that using verbs instead of nouns can make sentences more dynamic, and that vague terms like 'physiologic' and 'molecular species' do not contribute to clarity. They also note the overuse of acronyms, such as 'MIR' for micro RNA, which can disrupt the reader's flow. The speaker emphasizes the importance of avoiding such writing pitfalls for better communication in scientific writing.
π Revising for Clarity
The speaker continues with a discussion on improving the readability of scientific writing by revising the previously critiqued passage. They explain the awkwardness of the passive voice and how it can make sentences difficult to read, contrasting it with the more natural active voice. The revision provided simplifies the language, cuts unnecessary words, and maintains the subject-verb proximity for clarity. The speaker then outlines the principles of effective writing to be covered, including cutting clutter, using the active voice, and writing with strong verbs. They stress the importance of these principles for enhancing the clarity and impact of scientific communication.
Mindmap
Keywords
π‘Dysregulation
π‘Micro RNA
π‘Glioblastoma
π‘Molecular species
π‘Passive voice
π‘Active voice
π‘Acronym
π‘Clutter
π‘Verbs
π‘Vague words
Highlights
The importance of effective writing in scientific literature.
An example from the top biology journal 'Cell' is used to illustrate writing principles.
The impact of dysregulation of micro RNA activity in cancer.
The use of nouns instead of verbs can slow down the reader.
Vague words can hinder the reader's understanding.
The overuse of jargon and acronyms can disrupt the reading flow.
The issue of acronyms within acronyms, exemplified by 'MIR' for micro RNA.
The difficulty of understanding passive voice constructions.
The recommendation to use active voice for clearer communication.
The problem of burying the main verb, causing reader confusion.
The benefits of keeping the subject and main verb close together.
The principle of cutting unnecessary words and phrases for clarity.
The goal of making scientific writing more accessible and engaging.
The upcoming discussion on the use of active voice versus passive voice.
The focus on using strong verbs and avoiding verb-to-noun conversions.
The edited version of the 'Cell' example for improved readability.
The overview of principles for effective writing to be covered in the following weeks.
Transcripts
So in this next module, I'm gonna go through another example, and use it to
kinda lead into giving you an overview of a couple of principles of effective
writing that I'll be talking about this week as well as next week.
So here's another example that I pulled out of Cell, which of course is the top
biology journal. It has a impact factor of something like
32. So again this is really representative of
the kinds of things you read in the literature.
So it says dysregulation of physiologic micro RNA, MIR.
Activity has been shown to play an important role in tumor initiation and
progression, including gliomagenesis. Therefore, molecular species that can
regulate MIR activity on their target RNAs without affecting the expression of
relevant, mature MIRs may play equally relevant roles in cancer.
So, again, as I'm reading through this, I'm struggling to get through it.
I'm struggling to figure out exactly what it is that the authors were intending to
say. So for this example, I'm gonna.
Point out some very specific features that make these two sentences difficult to
read. So first, as in the examples we saw
earlier, there's the use of nouns rather than verbs.
So the authors use dis-regulation, initiation, progression and expression.
Those are all nouns that could have been verbs: dis-regulate, initiate, progress
and express. Verbs really move the sentences along
whereas, nouns kind of slow the reader down.
The authors also here use some vague words.
The problem with using words that are really vague is that the readers cannot
get a concrete picture in their head of what the author is talking about.
So, those vague word, words don't really add anything.
So, for example, the word physiologic here.
Well, physiology is something that's really, really broad.
So, I'm not exactly sure what the authors mean by physiologic.
It doesn't really add much for me. And then we get down to molecular species.
Well, molecular species could be a lot of things.
And so again, by saying something so vague, it's hard for me to form.
A concrete picture in my head of what the authors are talking about.
So, also note the use of unnecessary jargon and acronyms in this passage.
So we get the term, gliomagenesis. Which is just kind of a fancy way to say,
the formation of glioma. There's easier ways and more direct ways
to say that. We also get kind of, an interesting
acronym in this example. The acronym is actually the reason I
happen to pick this particular example. So the authors abbreviate the term micro
RNA as MIR. It's a little bit amusing, right?
Because RNA is already, itself, an acronym.
So the authors have made an acronym, of an acronym.
And this really is just showing you something that's really widespread out in
the scientific literature. Authors love to use acronyms.
They throw them all over the place. The problem with acronyms is that unless
they're things that are really, really standard that everybody is familiar with.
Most readers aren't gonna know your acronym.
Especially, if you just made it up which many authors do.
So, when they get to your acronym in the piece they're reading, they're gonna have
to stop and pause. And figure out, oh what was, what is MRI?
They have to go back and look it up. And that's gonna halt them.
That's gonna stop them and slow their reading.
It's really, really hard on the reader. It's great for the author, because it
saves them the time of having to write the whole word out every instance.
It's really, really, really hard on the reader so I'm going to encourage you to
avoid the use of acronyms for everything except the most standard acronyms that are
out there. So really get in the habit of trying to
decondition yourself from using so many acronyms.
You can see that in this case there's really no benefit to using the acronym so
Instead of saying you know, you're only saving a couple of letters here by using
MIR rather than micro RNA. And when I get to that second sentence,
and I see you know, molecular species that can regulate MIR, I had to pause and
actually think about what is MIR? So that slowed the reading down for me.
Another thing I want to point out, is in this first sentence the authors use was is
called the passive voice for their verb tense.
So they say, this regulation of physiologic micro RNA activity has been
shown. Now I'm going to spend quite a bit of time
next week talking about the difference between the active and the passive voice
so if this is the first time you're hearing about it or you're not that
comfortable with what that is, we'll go into it in great detail next week.
But for now I'll just point out that that's one thing that makes that sentence
kind of hard to read. Because the English language, the way we
normally talk, is we do subject, verb, object.
The passive voice inverts that and goes object, verb, subject or sometimes just
object, verb. It's a very awkward way, we would never
talk in that way. So, for example, if you take the sentence,
she throws the ball, that's in the active voice.
If you were to turn that in the passive voi, passive voice, you would say, the
ball was thrown by her. And you can see that, that sounds just
very awkward. It makes the writing really hard to read.
So next week we'll talk a lot about trying to not use the passive voice.
The second sentence of that passage is actually in the active voice.
But it has another problem with the verb. In this sentence, the subject of the
sentence is molecular species. The main verb in that sentence is may
play. But, notice that we don't get to, to the
main verb for a long time. We get molecular species and then we get
this whole descriptive clause. And then finally, we get to the verb may
play. Now the problem with this is that the
reader is waiting for the verb. So until you give the reader the verb, the
reader doesn't know where, where you're going with the sentence.
And so that's really hard on the reader. So putting too much distance between the
subject of the sentence and the main verb is a problem.
We're also gonna talk about that in great detail next week when we focus on verbs.
So I took that passage, and I rewrote it, kinda trying to fix some of these issues
that I just pointed out to you. And I'll tell you, I did not have the
author sitting right next to me while I was doing this edit, so I'm not 100
percent sure that I've completely represented what they were trying to say,
but I think I, I've got the general idea. So I, the rewrite says changes in micro
RNA expression play a role in cancer including Glioma.
Therefore, events that disrupt micro RNAs from binding to their target RNAs may also
promote cancer. And I think that's just a lot easier to
understand. I fixed a lot of those issues that I
talked about earlier. And notice how much shorter that second
sentence, that second passage is than the original.
So this leads into giving you a little overview of some of the specific
principles of effective writing that we're gonna be talking about this week and next
week. So the first one is, I want you to learn
to cut your words. Cut unnecessary words and phrases, get rid
of the clutter. We're gonna spend the rest of this week
talking about cutting clutter. Next week we'll talk in great detail about
the use of the active voice, rather than the passive voice.
And we'll also talk about writing with verbs.
Using strong verbs, avoiding turning verbs into noun.
And not burying the main verb. Keeping the subject and the main verb of
the sentence close together at the beginning of the sentence.
So we'll get to numbers two and three in great detail next week, when we focus on
verbs. This week, we're gonna focus on number
one. Learning to cut the clutter.
>> The preceding program is copyrighted by the board of trustees of the
Leland/Stanford Junior University. Please visit us at med.stanford.edu.
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)