Language for Scientific
Articles
Faizah Sari, Ph.D.
[email protected]
Workshop dan Klinik Penulisan Manuskrip Untuk
Peningkatan Kualifikasi Dosen
Depok, W. Java, Aug 22-24, 2016
Plan & Draft Your Paper
!
Decide on a thesis
A General Guide
Previous studies maintain that
A
has the
tendency to cause
B
to react as
C
. Such a
process requires
A
to ……….. The
measurement of ………...
widely known as
B
. B is defined as
……….. The behavior of
B
preempts
C
in that it ……. Therefore,
C
…….
………… ……… ………
Some Pointers: How to Prepare a
Realistic Outline
!
Always refer to the quotation you used in the
introduction.
!
Answer the research question.
!
Summarize your main points.
!
Present a powerful example.
!
Highlight your contribution to the discipline.
Plan & Draft Your Paper
!
Paraphrase properly
!
Avoid plagiarism
!
Document your
Your paper must be..
!
Clear
Can you improve this sentence?
!
It is necessary at this point in time
that tests be run for the purposes of
measuring the switch’s strength.
!
It is necessary at this point in time
that tests
must now
be run for the
purposes of
to
measur
e
ing the
Clarity
!
Avoid wordy sentences
Students living in close proximity in the dorms need to
cooperate together of they want to live in harmony.
!
Create straightforward sentences
There are stylistic similarities between “This Lime-Tree
Can you improve this sentence?
!
The wind was blowing 100 mi/hour
when suddenly there is a big crash,
and a tree falls into the living room.
!
The wind was blowing 100 mi/hour
Clarity
!
Keep your verb tenses consistent
She has admired many strange buildings at the university
but thought
thinks
that the new Science Center looked
looks
completely out of place.
!
Avoid ambiguous modifiers
The restaurant
only
offers vegetarian dishes for dinner.
~ambiguous
The restaurant offers
only
vegetarian dishes for dinner.
~better
Can you improve this sentence?
!
The leaders of the trade union
opposes the new law.
!
The leaders of the trade union
Follow a grammatical subject
as soon as possible with its
verb
Grammar Conventions
!
Subject-verb agreement
My teacher, as well as other faculty members, oppose
s
the
new law.
!
Use of adjectives and adverbs
Correctness
!
Comma use
Reflecting on one’s life, is necessary for emotional growth.
!
Colon use
The study deals with three kinds of treatment: onsite,
in-house, and virtual methods.
Common Practices
!
When you
introduce
the rationale of your study ….. use the present
tense.
!
When you present
theoretical considerations
….. use the present
tense. You may use the past tense to highlight a chronological order.
!
When you present
research methodology
….. use the past tense.
!
When you present
findings
….. use the present tense. You may use the
past tense to describe specific issues taking place during the study.
How to avoid common problems in writing a manuscript
Write
an idea down no matter how
insignificant it is. You must
keep record
of your thoughts for you might find the
littlest thought could impact the
direction of where you want to have
in your writing. You can discard
Develop A Strong Paragraph
!
Create an effective topic
sentence.
!
Repeat key words.
!
Use synonyms, transitions,
Can you identify the topic?
Bees disperse pollen.
Place in the stress position the
"new information" you want the
reader to emphasize.
"
Can you tell where the stress
is?
Times are hard, but you deserve a
raise.
You deserve a raise, but times are
hard.
Groundwater has entered Sunter’s sewer
system, exceeding the sewers’ maximum
Position
Type of Information The sentence
Topic
The information that
the sentence will
explain
Groundwater
has entered
the city’s sewer
system
Stress
The emphasis of
the string of
information
Exceeding the
sewer’s
Place appropriate "old
information" (material already stated
in the discourse) in the topic position
for linkage backward and
contextualization forward.
"
In general, provide context for your
reader before asking that reader to
consider anything new.
"
Every semester after final exams are over, I'm
faced with the problem of what to do with books
of lecture notes. They might be useful some day,
but they just keep piling up on my bookcase.
Someday, it will collapse under the weight of
information I might never need.
Lately, most movies I've seen have been merely
second-rate entertainment, but occasionally there
are some with worthwhile themes. The rapid
disappearance of the Indonesian culture is the
topic of a recent movie I saw.
Every semester after final exams are over, I'm faced
with the problem of what to do with books of lecture
notes
(new information)
. They
(old)
might be useful
some day, but they just keep piling up on my
bookcase
(new)
. Someday, it
(old)
will collapse under
the weight of information I might never need.
Lately, most movies I've seen have been merely
second-rate entertainment, but occasionally there are
some with worthwhile themes. The rapid
disappearance of the Indonesian culture
(new)
is the
topic of a recent movie
(old)
I saw.
Develop Your Paraphrasing
Skills
!
Go over the source and restate the idea in your own words.
!
Focus on one idea. Paraphrase is different from a summary.
!
When using someone’s EXACT words or phrases from the
source, use accurate citation, including author’s name, year
of publication, page number, and quotation marks opening
and closing the words/phrases.
Quoting
Summarizing
Paraphrasing
match the source
word for word
yes
no
no
be attributed to
the original source
yes
yes
yes
create your own
words
no
yes
yes
special condition
quotation
marks
include only the
main points
change the words or
phrasing of a passage, but
retains & fully communicates
meaning
length
a brief
segment of
the text
much shorter
than the origina
text
may not be shorter than the
original text
content
exactly the
same as
original text
presents a
broad overview
presents another way of
stating the original text
In a nutshell
Exact
Reproduction
of the text
An Overview of
the text
Original sentence:
The airport is closed because of the bad
weather conditions.
Inappropriate paraphrase:
The airport is closed because of the bad
weather.
Appropriate paraphrase:
The office of Physics & Energy Department (PED)
at the University of Indonesia (UI) is located in
Main Hall.
The UI Main Hall hosts the PED office.
The student requested that the professor excuses
her absence, but the professor refused.
The professor denied the student’s request for an
excused absence.
There will be a seminar on scientific writing in
Depok. Would you like to go?
Dr. Benjamin Spock said, "it's generally accepted that
on-screen violence is harmful to children.”
In a tornadic storm, property is destroyed.
According to Dr. Benjamin Spock, most people
believe that TV and movie violence affects children
adversely.
A tornado causes destruction of property.
Situations that create stress are as unique as you are. Your
personality, genes, and experiences influence how you deal
with stress.
Stressful situations affect people differently. How
you manage stress is determined by your
Of the more than 1000
bicycling deaths each year,
three-fourths are caused by
head injuries. Half of those
killed are school-age children.
One study concluded that
wearing a bike helmet can
reduce the risk of head injury
by 85 percent. In an accident,
a bike helmet absorbs the
shock and cushions the head.
From "Bike Helmets: Unused
Lifesavers," Consumer
Reports (May 1990): 348.
The use of a helmet is the
key to reducing bicycling
fatalities, which are due to
head injuries 75% of the
time. By cushioning the
head upon impact, a
helmet can reduce
accidental injury by as
much as 85%, saving the
lives of hundreds of victims
annually, half of whom are
school children ("Bike
Some Pointers: How to Develop
Your Language
instead of
Articulate the action of every
clause or sentence in its verb.
Action Verb
State Verb
clarify
have
assert
like
develop
need
Some Pointers: How to Develop
Your Language
Count Nouns
cars
Noncount Nouns
Important!
!
Fair Use of Copyrighted Materials.
To be safe: use
quotation marks
.
!
Protection of Human Subjects
!
Academic Misconduct: be
honest
,
Conclusion
The author is responsible for:
making sure that the reader see the
important points in the text.
helping the reader get the correct
interpretation of the research.
Readers interpret text more easily if information
References
Academic Skills at The University of South Wales. Retrieved on Aug 19, 2016 from https://student.unsw.edu.au/
paraphrasing-summarising-and-quoting
American Medical Association (brochure). (2008).Personalized Health Care Report 2008: Warfarin and Genetic Testing. Retrieved from
http://www.ama-assn.org/resources/doc/genetics/warfarin-brochure.pdf on May 12, 2012
Anson, C. M. et al. (2003). The Longman Pocket Writer’s Companion. New York: Longman.
Gopen, J. & Swan, J. (n.d.). The science of scientific writing. American Scientist.
Grounds for Argument. http://www.groundsforargument.org/drupal/style/stress/basic-principle
Hacker, D. (2000). A Pocket Style Manual. Third Edition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s.
Leonhard, B. H. (2002). Discoveries in Academic Writing. Boston: Heinle & Heinle.
Maimon, E. P. et al. (2003). A Writer’s Resource: A Handbook for Writing and Research. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Purdue Online Writing Lab. Retrieved on July 18, 2016 from https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/600/01/
Smalley, R. et al. (2001). Refining Composition Skills: Rhetoric and Grammar 5th Edition. Boston: Heinle & Heinle.
