A short guide to Scientific Writing. Jeroen Sonke CNRS & University of Toulouse

Transcription

1 A short guide to Scientific Writing Jeroen Sonke CNRS & University of Toulouse

2 Science document structure Keywords; key finding (read me!) Summary of what I did & found What is the problem? How did I solve the problem? What did I find out? What does it mean? What are the implications? Title Abstract Introduction Materials and Methods Results Discussion Conclusions/Implications

3 Science document structure Keywords; key finding (read me!) Summary of what I did & found What is the problem? How did I solve the problem? What did I find out? What does it mean? What are the implications?

4 Some basic suggestions Always write for a general science audience (fellow students, non-specialists) Think of science writing as story telling..it has to be interesting! Put yourself in the place of the reader! Use simple words and make a phrase as short as possible, 1-2 lines maximum. Keep subject and verb together. Use few verbs. Each phrase must connect to the next..never change topic between phrases One paragraph is often also connected to the next; sometimes you can use closing and opening phrases that reflect links between paragraphs. Repeat words from one phrase to the next.this creates clear links Avoid use of pronouns (it, they, these, their, those, ).most of the time it is not clear to what word pronouns refer it is better to repeat words. Do not use emotional words (very, huge, complicated, extremely..) Can t find a word? Use a thesaurus to find synonyms

5 Title (=marketing) the title should contain the key words describing the work presented and the scientific findings. Compare: Air-sea exchange of gases The role of marine biology in air-sea exchange of CO2 If you results are highly conclusive: incorporate the conclusion in the title: Reduced air sea CO2 exchange in the Atlantic Ocean due to biological surfactants

6 Google How to write a Nature abstract

7 Abstract Basic Introduction to Field Detailed background, explaining current paradigm Ocean CO2 uptake accounts for 20 40% of the post-industrial sink for anthropogenic CO2. State problem, or inconsistency State what you have investigated State what you find (present tense) State the implications for your and related fields. Pereira et al., 2018, NGEO:

8 Abstract Basic Introduction to Field Detailed background, explaining current paradigm Ocean CO2 uptake accounts for 20 40% of the post-industrial sink for anthropogenic CO2. The uptake rate is the product of the CO2 interfacial concentration gradient and its transfer velocity, which is controlled by spatial and temporal variability in near-surface turbulence. State problem, or inconsistency State what you have investigated State what you find (present tense) State the implications for your and related fields.

9 Abstract Basic Introduction to Field Detailed background, explaining current paradigm State problem, or inconsistency Ocean CO2 uptake accounts for 20 40% of the post-industrial sink for anthropogenic CO2. The uptake rate is the product of the CO2 interfacial concentration gradient and its transfer velocity, which is controlled by spatial and temporal variability in near-surface turbulence. This variability complicates CO2 flux estimates and in large part reflects variable sea surface microlayer enrichments in biologically derived surfactants that cause turbulence suppression. State what you have investigated State what you find (present tense) State the implications for your and related fields.

10 Abstract Basic Introduction to Field Detailed background, explaining current paradigm State problem, or inconsistency State what you have investigated Ocean CO2 uptake accounts for 20 40% of the post-industrial sink for anthropogenic CO2. The uptake rate is the product of the CO2 interfacial concentration gradient and its transfer velocity, which is controlled by spatial and temporal variability in near-surface turbulence. This variability complicates CO2 flux estimates and in large part reflects variable sea surface microlayer enrichments in biologically derived surfactants that cause turbulence suppression. Here we present a direct estimate of this surfactant effect on CO2 exchange at the ocean basin scale, with derived relationships between its transfer velocity determined experimentally and total surfactant activity for Atlantic Ocean surface seawaters. State what you find (present tense) State the implications for your and related fields.

11 Abstract Basic Introduction to Field Detailed background, explaining current paradigm State problem, or inconsistency State what you have investigated State what you find (present tense) State the implications for your and related fields. Ocean CO2 uptake accounts for 20 40% of the post-industrial sink for anthropogenic CO2. The uptake rate is the product of the CO2 interfacial concentration gradient and its transfer velocity, which is controlled by spatial and temporal variability in near-surface turbulence. This variability complicates CO2 flux estimates and in large part reflects variable sea surface microlayer enrichments in biologically derived surfactants that cause turbulence suppression. Here we present a direct estimate of this surfactant effect on CO2 exchange at the ocean basin scale, with derived relationships between its transfer velocity determined experimentally and total surfactant activity for Atlantic Ocean surface seawaters. We found up to 32% reduction in CO2 exchange relative to surfactant-free water. Applying a relationship between sea surface temperature and total surfactant activity to our results gives monthly estimates of spatially resolved surfactant suppression of CO2 exchange. Large areas of reduced CO2 uptake resulted, notably around 20 N, and the magnitude of the Atlantic Ocean CO2 sink for 2014 was decreased by 9%.

12 Abstract Basic Introduction to Field Detailed background, explaining current paradigm State problem, or inconsistency State what you have investigated State what you find (present tense) State the conclusions and implications for your and related fields. Ocean CO2 uptake accounts for 20 40% of the post-industrial sink for anthropogenic CO2. The uptake rate is the product of the CO2 interfacial concentration gradient and its transfer velocity, which is controlled by spatial and temporal variability in near-surface turbulence. This variability complicates CO2 flux estimates and in large part reflects variable sea surface microlayer enrichments in biologically derived surfactants that cause turbulence suppression. Here we present a direct estimate of this surfactant effect on CO2 exchange at the ocean basin scale, with derived relationships between its transfer velocity determined experimentally and total surfactant activity for Atlantic Ocean surface seawaters. We found up to 32% reduction in CO2 exchange relative to surfactant-free water. Applying a relationship between sea surface temperature and total surfactant activity to our results gives monthly estimates of spatially resolved surfactant suppression of CO2 exchange. Large areas of reduced CO2 uptake resulted, notably around 20 N, and the magnitude of the Atlantic Ocean CO2 sink for 2014 was decreased by 9%. This direct quantification of the surfactant effect on CO2 uptake at the ocean basin scale offers a framework for further refining estimates of air sea gas exchange up to the global scale.

13 Text analysis: phrase length Basic Introduction to Field Detailed background, explaining current paradigm State problem, or inconsistency State what you have investigated State what you find (present tense) State the conclusions and implications for your and related fields. Ocean CO2 uptake accounts for 20 40% of the post-industrial sink for anthropogenic CO2. The uptake rate is the product of the CO2 interfacial concentration gradient and its transfer velocity, which is controlled by spatial and temporal variability in near-surface turbulence. This variability complicates CO2 flux estimates and in large part reflects variable sea surface microlayer enrichments in biologically derived surfactants that cause turbulence suppression. Here we present a direct estimate of this surfactant effect on CO2 exchange at the ocean basin scale, with derived relationships between its transfer velocity determined experimentally and total surfactant activity for Atlantic Ocean surface seawaters. We found up to 32% reduction in CO2 exchange relative to surfactant-free water. Applying a relationship between sea surface temperature and total surfactant activity to our results gives monthly estimates of spatially resolved surfactant suppression of CO2 exchange. Large areas of reduced CO2 uptake resulted, notably around 20 N, and the magnitude of the Atlantic Ocean CO2 sink for 2014 was decreased by 9%. This direct quantification of the surfactant effect on CO2 uptake at the ocean basin scale offers a framework for further refining estimates of air sea gas exchange up to the global scale.

14 Text analysis: phrase length Basic Introduction to Field Detailed background, explaining current paradigm State problem, or inconsistency State what you have investigated State what you find (present tense) State the conclusions and implications for your and related fields. Ocean CO2 uptake accounts for 20 40% of the post-industrial sink for anthropogenic CO2. The uptake rate is the product of the CO2 interfacial concentration gradient and its transfer velocity. This velocity is controlled by spatial and temporal variability in near-surface turbulence. The variability complicates CO2 flux estimates and in large part reflects variable sea surface microlayer enrichments in biologically derived surfactants that cause turbulence suppression. Here we present a direct estimate of this surfactant effect on CO2 exchange at the ocean basin scale. We derived experimental relationships between its transfer velocity and total surfactant activity for Atlantic Ocean surface seawaters. We found up to 32% reduction in CO2 exchange relative to surfactant-free water. Applying a relationship between sea surface temperature and total surfactant activity to our results gives monthly estimates of spatially resolved surfactant suppression of CO2 exchange. Large areas of reduced CO2 uptake resulted, notably around 20 N, and the magnitude of the Atlantic Ocean CO2 sink for 2014 was decreased by 9%. This direct quantification of the surfactant effect on CO2 uptake at the ocean basin scale offers a framework for further refining estimates of air sea gas exchange up to the global scale.

15 Text analysis: pronouns Basic Introduction to Field Detailed background, explaining current paradigm State problem, or inconsistency State what you have investigated State what you find (present tense) State the conclusions and implications for your and related fields. Ocean CO2 uptake accounts for 20 40% of the post-industrial sink for anthropogenic CO2. The uptake rate is the product of the CO2 interfacial concentration gradient and its transfer velocity. This velocity is controlled by spatial and temporal variability in near-surface turbulence. The variability complicates CO2 flux estimates and in large part reflects variable sea surface microlayer enrichments in biologically derived surfactants that cause turbulence suppression. Here we present a direct estimate of this surfactant effect on CO2 exchange at the ocean basin scale. We derived experimental relationships between its transfer velocity and total surfactant activity for Atlantic Ocean surface seawaters. We found up to 32% reduction in CO2 exchange relative to surfactant-free water. Applying a relationship between sea surface temperature and total surfactant activity to our results gives monthly estimates of spatially resolved surfactant suppression of CO2 exchange. Large areas of reduced CO2 uptake resulted, notably around 20 N, and the magnitude of the Atlantic Ocean CO2 sink for 2014 was decreased by 9%. This direct quantification of the surfactant effect on CO2 uptake at the ocean basin scale offers a framework for further refining estimates of air sea gas exchange up to the global scale.

16 Text analysis: pronouns Basic Introduction to Field Detailed background, explaining current paradigm State problem, or inconsistency State what you have investigated State what you find (present tense) State the conclusions and implications for your and related fields. Ocean CO2 uptake accounts for 20 40% of the post-industrial sink for anthropogenic CO2. The uptake rate is the product of the CO2 interfacial concentration gradient and CO2 transfer velocity. This velocity is controlled by spatial and temporal variability in near-surface turbulence. The variability complicates CO2 flux estimates and in large part reflects variable sea surface microlayer enrichments in biologically derived surfactants that cause turbulence suppression. Here we present a direct estimate of this surfactant effect on CO2 exchange at the ocean basin scale. We derived experimental relationships between CO2 transfer velocity and total surfactant activity for Atlantic Ocean surface seawaters. We found up to 32% reduction in CO2 exchange relative to surfactant-free water. Applying a relationship between sea surface temperature and total surfactant activity to our results gives monthly estimates of spatially resolved surfactant suppression of CO2 exchange. Large areas of reduced CO2 uptake resulted, notably around 20 N, and the magnitude of the Atlantic Ocean CO2 sink for 2014 was decreased by 9%. This direct quantification of the surfactant effect on CO2 uptake at the ocean basin scale offers a framework for further refining estimates of air sea gas exchange up to the global scale.

17 Science document structure Keywords; key finding (read me!) Summary of what I did & found What is the problem? How did I solve the problem? What did I find out? What does it mean? What are the implications? Title Abstract Introduction Materials and Methods Results Discussion Conclusions/Implications

18 Introduction - Function Quite literally, the Introduction must answer the questions, "What was I studying? Why was it an important question? What did we know about it before I did this study? How will my study advance our knowledge?"

19 Introduction - Structure The structure of the Introduction can be thought of as an inverted triangle - the broadest part at the top representing the most general information and focusing down to the specific problem you studied. Begin your Introduction by clearly identifying the subject area of interest. Do this by using key words from your Title in the first sentences of the Introduction. Explain the context by summarizing what we knew about the specific problem before you did your study. If you are lost, summarize each cited paper in 1-2 phrases, in chronological order of appearance. Then make a logical story of these phrases.. Be sure to clearly state the purpose and /or hypothesis that you investigated. Use a simple statement like, "The purpose of this study was to..." or "We investigated three possible mechanisms to explain the... (1) blah, blah..(2) etc. Provide a clear statement of the approach to the problem studied. We measured # rock samples from X and Y for major and trace elements.

20 Materials & Methods Provide enough detail so that others can repeat your study But do not make this section unnecessarily long

21 You have two choices: Results & Discussion Separated sections: Results: Present your key results, without interpretation, in an orderly and logical sequence: simple results first.then more complex results Discussion: Interpret your results in light of what was already known. Explain our new understanding of the problem after taking your results into consideration. End by discussing the broader implications of your work (if any). One single section: Results & Discussion Present some results, and discuss them. Indicate unknowns; then present more results to build up the story. It is a matter of taste

22 Conclusions or Implications Most scientific papers have a final conclusions section. If you decide to summarize only your main points, make it short (because it is repetitive wrt the discussion, and abstract). More interesting, and proposed by some journals, is an implications section. By this we mean the broader implications your findings on your research field, and on other research fields. Ex. surface sea water biological surfactants: Sea spray (aerosol) formation Sunlight reflection?

23 Some final thoughts When you read papers, pay attention to the writing: Is it easy/difficult to follow? Is it boring/passionate? Why? Inspire yourself by the good papers Use websites on scientific writing for advice Write a draft of your paper or section of a paper First, put as many words/thoughts on paper in simple phrases Then start reviewing your draft by applying rules : Check phrases are short Check for pronouns (it, these, those, that ). Remove them Check that phrases connect; make it logical; refine the storyline. Work closely with your advisor/team.have other people read your text. Analyze all corrections one by one (never just accept corrections.you learn nothing). Remember: you don t have to agree with corrections!

24 The END Questions?