Pedoman Umum
Penulisan Abstract
(Scientific Writing)
General rules
1. Verb tense
In scientific writing, three tenses are normally used: 1) present tense
2)past tense
3) present perfect tense
1) Use present tense when a fact has been published.
Streptomycin stops the growth of tuberculosis (Smith, 1980).
Several reports describe similar findings (Jones et al. 2005).
2) Use the past tense for unpublished results.
Fish larvae grew best at 21oC.
But if you are citing the results of a previous study, use present tense:
3) Use present perfect tense for repeated events
Nesting behavior has been studied under many environmental conditions.
4) Use present tense to refer readers to your figures and tables
Figure 1 shows that … Table 1 shows that …
Summary
1) Established knowledge – present tense 2) Results of your paper – past tense
This means that you will use both past and present tense in your paper
1) Abstract – past tense
2) Introduction – present tense 3) Methods – past tense
4) Results – past tense
2. Agreement of subject and verb.
A.The number of the verb must agree with the number of the subject.
INCORRECT :An evaluation of the
experimental results, as well as the clinical findings, are described.
CORRECT : An evaluation of the
2) Agreement of subject and verb.
B. Irregular plurals.
A common mistake is to use a singular verb with
data, formulae and radii, which are plural nouns.
INCORRECT: This data is significant.
3) Voice
English has two voices:
• active • passive
Active: Salmon eat copepods.
#1: Salmon eat copepods.
#2: Copepods are eaten by salmon.
#1 tells us something about salmon #2 tells us something about copepods Do they mean the same thing?
1. Use passive voice to avoid mentioning the performer of the action when the performer is already known (e.g., in the Methods section)
ACTIVE: We collected samples in the Gulf of
Thailand. We removed scales on board the ship. We
conducted age analysis of these samples in Bangkok.
PASSIVE: Samples were collected in the Gulf of
2. Use passive voice if it will help you move smoothly from one sentence to the next.
Each sentence should begin with information familiar to your reader, and new and complex information should come last.
. Short, simple, familiar
OLD INFORMATION
Long, complex, new
ADVICE:
1) Look at the structure of the sentence to
decide whether active or passive voice is
appropriate.
Numbers
Use figures for numbers 10 and above
Use words for numbers below 10 (one, two, ... nine)
examples: We towed 13 nets through the water. We sampled at 22 stations.
Exceptions
1) Do not begin a sentence with a figure.
WRONG: 13 students went to the lecture.
CORRECT: Thirteen students went to the lecture.
CORRECT : A total of 13 students went to the lecture.
WRONG : 48 petri dishes were used.
CORRECT : Forty-eight petri dishes were used.
Exceptions
2) Use figures whenever numbers are followed by units of measure.
WRONG: I added three ml of distilled water.
CORRECT: I added 3 ml of distilled water.
3) When several numbers appear in the same sentence, express them all the same way.
WRONG: We conducted four experiments in May,
five in June and 11 in July.
CORRECT: We conducted 4 experiments in May, 5 in June
Generally, figures are used when you have three or
more numbers in a series, even if each of the numbers is below 10.
CORRECT : The analysis revealed 5 cases of
Definite and indefinite articles.
This is probably one of the most difficult points of the English language for most foreigners.
Luckily, it does not usually cause serious confusion if you get it wrong.
There are three articles in English:
• a
• an
• the
indefinite articles
Using definite and indefinite articles is one of the hardest things for speakers of other languages to
master, because the usage is often entirely arbitrary. Example: I am in town.
Also, British and American usage sometimes differs: Britain -She is in hospital.
USA - She is in the hospital.
Usually you have to go with what sounds right, which can be frustrating for a learner.
I. Indefinite articles - a and an
A and an are indefinite articles. They are used before nouns that introduce something or someone you have not
mentioned before:
"We observed an albatross near the islands." "A dolphin was caught on the longline."
A and an are also used when talking about your profession:
II. Definite article – the
Use the when you have already mentioned the thing you are writing about.
"We caught an albatross and a shearwater. The
II. Definite article – the
Use the to talk about geographical points on the globe: the North Pole, the equator
Use the to talk about rivers, oceans and seas the Chao Phraya River, the Pacific Ocean
Use the before certain nouns when we know there is only one of a particular thing.
III. No article
We usually use no article to talk about things in general - the does not mean “all”.
"Squids are delicious." = (All squids are delicious.) "The squids are delicious." = (Not all squids are delicious, just the ones I am writing about.)
III. No article
Do not use an article before the names of countries except where they indicate multiple areas or contain the words state(s)
kingdom, republic, or union.
No article: Thailand Japan
Use the: the Kingdom of Thailand
the United Kingdom
the United States of America
the Netherlands
The most important thing when writing:
To be clear
The simplest writing style is usually the best.
The first step towards being clear:
Sentence Structure
Two tips to help make your sentences
clearer:
1)The verb should follow the subject as
soon as possible.
2. The hawksbill turtle returns to the sea
after it lays eggs at the Similan Islands.
2. Scientists, using satellite tags, track sea turtles. 1. Scientists track sea turtles using satellite tags.
2. The
hawksbill turtle
returns
to the sea
after it lays eggs at the Similan Islands.
1. The
hawksbill turtle
, after it lays eggs at
the Similan Islands,
returns
to the sea.
Subject - Verb
2. Scientists, using satellite tags, track sea turtles. Subject Verb
1. Scientists track sea turtles using satellite tags.
Object
3. Using satellite tags, scientists track sea turtles.
But what is the difference between #1 and #3?
Sentence Structure – Tip #2
Paragraph A:The Bay of Bangkok was my study area. Seven species of fishes were collected in the bay. Three types of zooplankton were fed on by the fishes. Copepods were the most abundant zooplankton prey.
Paragraph B:
My study area was the Bay of Bangkok . In the bay, I collected seven species of fishes. The fishes fed on three types of
Sentence Structure Tip #2
Readers naturally emphasize the material that arrives at the end of a sentence.
We refer to this location as the “stress position”. Thus, the writer should put new information at
Sentence Structure Tip #2
1. Begin sentences with information familiar to your readers.
2. End sentences with new/complicated information you want the reader to emphasize.
. Short, simple, familiar
OLD INFORMATION
Long, complex, new
NEW INFORMATION
Where is the new information in each sentence?
PARAGRAPH A
The Bay of Bangkok was my study area.
Seven species of fishes were collected in the bay.
Three types of zooplankton were fed on by the fishes.
Where is the new information in each sentence?
PARAGRAPH A
The Bay of Bangkok was my study area.
Seven species of fishes were collected in the lake.
Three types of zooplankton were fed on by the fishes.
Copepods were the most abundant zooplankton prey. PARAGRAPH B
My study area was the Bay of Bangkok .
In the bay, we collected seven species of fishes. The fishes fed on three types of zooplankton.
PARAGRAPH B
My study area was the Bay of Bangkok .
In the bay, we collected seven species of fishes.
The fishes fed on three types of zooplankton.
“Scientists track sea turtles using satellite tags.”
“Using satellite tags, scientists track sea turtles.”
Example 1:
Scientists use electronic tags to study animal migration. One type of tag now used is called a “satellite tag”. A or B.
A. Scientists track sea turtles using satellite tags.
B. Using satellite tags, scientists track sea turtles.
Example 1:
Scientists use electronic tags to study animal migration. One type of tag now used is called a “satellite tag”. A or B.
A. Scientists track sea turtles using satellite tags.
Example 1: Where is the new information?
Scientists use electronic tags to study animal migration.
One type of tag now used is called an “satellite tag”.
A. Scientists track sea turtles using satellite tags.
Example 2:
Some sea turtles migrate long distances. These
migrations are being tracked by scientists around the world. A or B.
A. The scientists track sea turtles using satellite tags.
B. Using satellite tags, the scientists track sea turtles.
Example 2:
Some sea turtles migrate long distances. These
migrations are being tracked by scientists around the world. A or B.
A. The scientists track sea turtles using satellite tags.
Example 2: Where is the new information?
Some sea turtles migrate long distances.
These migrations are being tracked by scientists around the world.
A. The scientists track sea turtles using satellite tags.
• The paragraph is an essential way of organizing
ideas in English.
• If a paper is not well structured with paragraphs,
it can be very hard for the reader to follow the flow of ideas.
Paragraphs
Paragraph comprises two parts:
The Issue is analogous to the topic.
• It is usually 1-3 sentences long.
The Discussion explains or supports what the
writer stated in the issue.
Readers will feel that a paragraph is coherent if they can read a sentence that specifically articulates its
point.
• topic sentence
• In scientific writing, this sentence should come
at the beginning of the paragraph
Here is a paragraph about fisheries management (Pikitch et al., 2004). Note how the topic sentence summarizes the paragraph:
Fisheries management to date has often been ineffective; it focuses on maximizing the catch of a single target species and
often ignores habitat, predators, and prey of the target species and other ecosystem components and interactions. The indirect social and economic costs of the focus on single species can be
substantial. For example, over 90% of the annual mortality of white marlin, a species petitioned for listing under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, occurs through incidental catch in
How long should a paragraph be?
• it can be as short as one sentence or as long as
it has to be.
Just remember that each paragraph should contain only one developed idea.
One paragraph = One idea/topic.
Scientific writing differs from other types of writing in two main ways:
1) its main purpose is to inform,
so it should be clear and simple
2) organization
Scientific writing is very organized: 1) Introduction
2) Methods 3) Results and 4) Discussion
