Abstract
A writer who keeps dog-eared copies of Strunk & White and The Chicago Manual of Style nearby can't go too far wrong. But this large-format manual, focused as it is on scientific writing, would be a valuable addition to the reference library of every young scientist and many experienced ones whose careers depend on publication in the international scientific literature. As one should expect of a book of this type, the clarity of writing and logic of its organization are exemplary. It will work well as a vehicle for self-instruction or as a classroom text. The approach is learning-by-doing using provided research papers, papers chosen by the student from target journals, or a paper that the student has in progress as examples. The text is peppered with shaded task boxes containing exercises and questions for the reader's consideration or for discussion in the classroom context. The focus includes not just how to write a scientific article, but how to evaluate the content you wish to publish from an editor's or journal referee's point of view. Detailed consideration is given to each section of a research paper (abstract, introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion) and variations on the standard order.
Most valuable to the young author, I think, is the emphasis on the results section as a story. The process presented for converting data into knowledge is not new, but has never been more clearly laid out. After determining the target journal, the composition process begins not with writing but with questions on data organization and whether they are most clearly presented as tables or figures. The authors emphasize translation of well organized data tables and figures into clear sentences, with full consideration of active and passive verb forms, then organization of those sentences for logical flow.
In the chapter on discussion sections there is heavy emphasis on language choice, specifically the importance of verb choices to “negotiate the strength of claims.” While experienced authors and native English speakers may have little difficulty with these issues, sorting out the nuances of words like demonstrate, indicate, appears, and suggests are challenging for novice writers and those with English as an additional language. Additionally, the authors describe methods for developing “discipline-specific English skills” including use of computerized linguistic analyses called “concordancing” to identify all the ways specific words may be used in your particular scientific field.
The chapter on how to respond to editors and referees includes simple rules of thumb for dealing with critical comments and strategies for handling rejection. Reasons for rejection and response options are tabulated to guide the submitter to the best outcome. A chapter on skill development includes advice on journal clubs and writing groups, as well as giving constructive feedback and responding to critical comments in these contexts.
Margaret Cargill's background as a linguist and research communications educator and Patrick O'Connor's experience as both research scientist and educator synergize to improve both the science and art of scientific writing. If the authors' goal is to give scientists the tools to write and publish compelling, well documented, clear narratives that convey their work honestly and in proper context, they have succeeded admirably.