• Redeem yourselves on quiz #3 (if you get it all right as a class, earn 5 extra quiz points for everyone here)
• Language & Science of scientific writing• Quiz #4 • Deep reading (this is really hard) • Fast reading (recognizing structure helps)• Paper topics and groups
Quiz 3: Modifiers, pronouns, and parallelism, and Ch. 4 & 5 Correct sentences 1-3, or write “no error” if applicable.
1. The objectives of the Viking mission were to obtain high-resolution images of the Martian surface, characterize the structure and composition of the atmosphere and surface, and to search for evidence of life. (practice sentence #6 – parallel structure)
2. At this time, the Department of Energy is only considering Yucca Mountain as a possible
storage site for nuclear waste. For that reason, this report will not consider other sites. (practice sentence #3 – modifiers)
3. Although the design flaws in the Titanic were realized soon after its sinking in 1912, the
reasons for the severe damage inflicted by the iceberg remained a mystery until its discovery in 1985. (practice sentence #1 – pronouns)
Circle the correct word choice below.
4. The affect effect of the boring seminar talk was visible on the faces of the sleeping audience. (2nd page of assigned reading, p. 74, 1st example in bold)
5. She threw a hunk of pure potassium into the toilet bowl, facilitating causing the
destructive bathroom explosion. (p. 84, eliminating needlessly complex words)
Quiz 3: Modifiers, pronouns, and parallelism, and Ch. 4 & 5 Correct sentences 1-3, or write “no error” if applicable.
1. The objectives of the Viking mission were to obtain high-resolution images of the Martian surface, TO characterize the structure and composition of the atmosphere and surface, and to search for evidence of life. (practice sentence #6 – parallel structure)
2. At this time, the Department of Energy is only considering Yucca Mountain as a possible
storage site for nuclear waste. For that reason, this report will not consider other sites. (practice sentence #3 – modifiers)
3. Although the design flaws in the Titanic were realized soon after its sinking in 1912, the
reasons for the severe damage inflicted by the iceberg remained a mystery until its discovery in 1985. (practice sentence #1 – pronouns)
Circle the correct word choice below.
4. The affect effect of the boring seminar talk was visible on the faces of the sleeping audience. (2nd page of assigned reading, p. 74, 1st example in bold)
5. She threw a hunk of pure potassium into the toilet bowl, facilitating causing the destructive
bathroom explosion. (p. 84, eliminating needlessly complex words)
Quiz 3: Modifiers, pronouns, and parallelism, and Ch. 4 & 5 Correct sentences 1-3, or write “no error” if applicable.
1. The objectives of the Viking mission were to obtain high-resolution images of the Martian surface, TO characterize the structure and composition of the atmosphere and surface, and to search for evidence of life. (practice sentence #6 – parallel structure)
2. At this time, the Department of Energy is only considering ONLY Yucca Mountain as a
possible storage site for nuclear waste. For that reason, this report will not consider other sites. (practice sentence #3 – modifiers)
3. Although the design flaws in the Titanic were realized soon after its sinking in 1912, the
reasons for the severe damage inflicted by the iceberg remained a mystery until its discovery in 1985. (practice sentence #1 – pronouns)
Circle the correct word choice below.
4. The affect effect of the boring seminar talk was visible on the faces of the sleeping audience. (2nd page of assigned reading, p. 74, 1st example in bold)
5. She threw a hunk of pure potassium into the toilet bowl, facilitating causing the destructive
bathroom explosion. (p. 84, eliminating needlessly complex words)
Quiz 3: Modifiers, pronouns, and parallelism, and Ch. 4 & 5 Correct sentences 1-3, or write “no error” if applicable.
1. The objectives of the Viking mission were to obtain high-resolution images of the Martian surface, TO characterize the structure and composition of the atmosphere and surface, and to search for evidence of life. (practice sentence #6 – parallel structure)
2. At this time, the Department of Energy is only considering ONLY Yucca Mountain as a
possible storage site for nuclear waste. For that reason, this report will not consider other sites. (practice sentence #3 – modifiers)
3. Although the design flaws in the Titanic were realized soon after its sinking in 1912, the
reasons for the severe damage inflicted by the iceberg remained a mystery until its THE SHIP’S discovery in 1985. (practice sentence #1 – pronouns)
Circle the correct word choice below.
4. The affect effect of the boring seminar talk was visible on the faces of the sleeping audience. (2nd page of assigned reading, p. 74, 1st example in bold)
5. She threw a hunk of pure potassium into the toilet bowl, facilitating causing the
destructive bathroom explosion. (p. 84, eliminating needlessly complex words)
Quiz 3: Modifiers, pronouns, and parallelism, and Ch. 4 & 5 Correct sentences 1-3, or write “no error” if applicable.
1. The objectives of the Viking mission were to obtain high-resolution images of the Martian surface, TO characterize the structure and composition of the atmosphere and surface, and to search for evidence of life. (practice sentence #6 – parallel structure)
2. At this time, the Department of Energy is only considering ONLY Yucca Mountain as a
possible storage site for nuclear waste. For that reason, this report will not consider other sites. (practice sentence #3 – modifiers)
3. Although the design flaws in the Titanic were realized soon after its sinking in 1912, the
reasons for the severe damage inflicted by the iceberg remained a mystery until its THE SHIP’S discovery in 1985. (practice sentence #1 – pronouns)
Circle the correct word choice below.
4. The affect effect of the boring seminar talk was visible on the faces of the sleeping audience. (2nd page of assigned reading, p. 74, 1st example in bold)
5. She threw a hunk of pure potassium into the toilet bowl, facilitating causing the
destructive bathroom explosion. (p. 84, eliminating needlessly complex words)
Quiz 3: Modifiers, pronouns, and parallelism, and Ch. 4 & 5 Correct sentences 1-3, or write “no error” if applicable.
1. The objectives of the Viking mission were to obtain high-resolution images of the Martian surface, TO characterize the structure and composition of the atmosphere and surface, and to search for evidence of life. (practice sentence #6 – parallel structure)
2. At this time, the Department of Energy is only considering ONLY Yucca Mountain as a
possible storage site for nuclear waste. For that reason, this report will not consider other sites. (practice sentence #3 – modifiers)
3. Although the design flaws in the Titanic were realized soon after its sinking in 1912, the
reasons for the severe damage inflicted by the iceberg remained a mystery until its THE SHIP’S discovery in 1985. (practice sentence #1 – pronouns)
Circle the correct word choice below.
4. The affect effect of the boring seminar talk was visible on the faces of the sleeping audience. (2nd page of assigned reading, p. 74, 1st example in bold)
5. She threw a hunk of pure potassium into the toilet bowl, facilitating causing the
destructive bathroom explosion. (p. 84, eliminating needlessly complex words)
Language (being forthright, familiar, and concise)
Language: being forthright (sincere and straightforward)
• Control tone (what language says about your attitude towards the subject)
– Avoid pretentious words (e.g., component/part, facilitate/cause, utilize/use)
– Avoid arrogant phrases (e.g., “as is well known” “clearly demonstrate”)
– Avoid silliness (e.g., clichés, or things that make you cringe, in correspondence, “meaningful growth position”)
Language: being forthright • Use strong nouns that provide one of the five senses to the reader
(e.g., an image)– “the existing nature of volcanic ash spewage” vs.
“how much ash spewed from the volcano”– Reduce abstract nouns where possible: factor, nature, capability, approach,
ability, environment (e.g., computer environment vs. computer)
• Use strong verbs– Weak vs. strong verb phrases:
Made the arrangement for arrangedMade the decision decidedMade the measurement of measured
– Buried vs. strong verbsIs beginning beginsIs following followsIs used to detect detects
Language: being familiar (using language your audience understands)
• Avoid jargon
• Define unfamiliar terms and abbreviations (good examples in Alley p. 113-114)
• Incorporate examples and analogies– Whenever you make general statements, anchor them with
examples. “Paleontology is an exciting field.”
– Analogies are valuable at conveying complex ideas or numbers. “The Colorado plateau covers an area of about 337,000 km2 in the southwestern U.S.”
Language: being concise (making every word count)
• Making your writing clear and forthright helps make it concise. – facilitate vs. make, utilize vs. use and make– the analytical environment vs. the lab
• 4 other ways to tighten your writing– Eliminating redundancies– Eliminating phrases with no meaning– Reducing sentences to simplest form– Cutting waste (large-scale structure)
Language: being concise (making every word count)
• Eliminating redundancies (needless repetition)– The aluminum metal cathode– The harmful toxic fumes– The already existing landslide– Mix together the chemicals– Completely eliminate redundancies– Increasingly more ridiculous
• Eliminating phrases with no meaning– It is interesting to note that– It should be pointed out that– The fact that– As a matter of fact
Language: being concise (making every word count)
• Reducing sentences to simplest form– At this point in time (now)– At that point in time (then)– In light of the fact that (because)– The question as to whether (whether)– Eliminate “fundamental” “somewhat unique”
“very important” “rather detailed”• Eliminating waste (large-scale structure)
Questions???
The science of scientific writing:the concept of reader expectations
• The purpose of scientific discourse is not the mere presentation of information and thought, but rather its actual communication.
• It matters only whether a large majority of the reading audience accurately perceives what the author had in mind.
• Therefore, to understand how to improve writing, we must understand how readers go about reading.
The science of scientific writing:the concept of reader expectations
• Readers interpret, and they get clues from structuret(time)=15', T(temperature)=32º, t=0', T=25º; t=6', T=29º; t=3',
T=27º; t=12', T=32º; t=9'; T=31º
The science of scientific writing:the concept of reader expectations
• Readers interpret, and they get clues from structure
Time (min)
Temperature (C)
0 25
3 27
6 29
9 31
12 32
15 32
The science of scientific writing:the concept of reader expectations
• Readers interpret, and they get clues from structure
Temperature (C)
Time (min)
25 0
27 3
29 6
31 9
32 12
32 15
We read left to right, so we prefer context on the left (topic position).
We prefer the new, important information on the right, where we naturally emphasize it (stress position).
Information is interpreted more easily and more uniformly if it is placed where most readers expect to see it.
The science of scientific writing:the concept of reader expectations
• Expectations at the paper level (large-scale structure)• Expectations at the paragraph and sentence level
(1) Every unit of discourse, no matter the size, should serve a single function or make a single point
(2) Follow the subject as soon as possible with its verb. We are not satisfied until we know what the subject is doing and what the sentence is about.
(3) Make sure the action of every sentence or clause is stated in its verb
The science of scientific writing:the concept of reader expectations
(4) Information that begins a sentence should establish the perspective and context for the sentence (first things first in the Topic Position)
- the person or thing whose “story” the sentence is telling- “old information” for linkage backward and context
forward
(5) Information to be emphasized should appear at Stress Points (save the best for last)
Questions?What do you remember about the examples in the article?
Quiz #4
Deep reading
Reading and writing skills are intertwined. How can we become better readers of difficult texts?
Learn to be deep readers who focus on meaning instead of surface readers who focus on facts and information.
Causes of students’ reading difficulties
• School culture that rewards surface reading (cost/benefit analysis)
• Resistance to time-on-task required for deep reading
• Perception that I am having trouble because text is “too hard for me”
• Teachers’ willingness to lecture over reading material
• Failure to adjust reading strategies for different purposes
How to fix this• Realize experts are not speed readers; they need to struggle
with texts to understand meaning
Deep reading takes time (think as you go; interact with text)– Form visual images to represent content – Connect to emotions– Recall past experiences that relate to reading– Predict what will happen next– Ask questions– Think about the use of language
• Adjust reading strategies for different purposes. Not every text requires deep reading. (End here 2012)
Fast, efficient reading
Brainstorm approaches
Recap Structure of a paper or report• Title/Authorship• Abstract: describe basic questions,
approach, implications. The “take home” message
• Introduction: central research question and background literature
• Methods: describe research methods• Results: present data• Discussion: present interpretation • Conclusions: interpretation, broad
implications, future• Works cited/Back matter
Important to answer questions as you go
• What is the main question?• What is the approach/method?• Main result or observation?• Main outcome/interpretation? (check)• Implications? (star)
With practice it gets easier to judge.
Methane Oxidation at Deepwater
The Deepwater Horizon blowout in June 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico has provided a site for studying a number of marine processes in situ that would not otherwise have been possible. The release of massive amounts of methane from the wellhead resembles rare but potentially dangerous massive outgassing events from natural seeps or gas hydrates along the ocean floor.
Kessler et al. (p. 312, published online 6 January) surveyed waters during the leak and after the wellhead was sealed and found that bacteria degraded all of the methane released from the well within ~120 days of the initial blowout—and within only ~40 days once the well was sealed. The presence of low oxygen anomalies in the water column and a shifted bacterial community structure toward methanotrophy suggests that the ecological response to such large events can be faster and more efficient than anticipated.
