A Guide to Scientific Writing

Neal Lerner
Marilee Ogren-Balkama
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Introductions
Whats an Introduction?
An introduction is a method to familiarize and orient your readers.
The content of an introduction depends on its purpose and the audience.
All models share a direct approach. Dont hide your main point or save it until the end of
the paper.
Whats the Purpose of an Introduction in Scientific Writing?
Provide the context of your work (create your research space, define gap in knowledge, set
up the direction youll take in your discussion section).
State your focus (hypothesis, question).
Provide justification for your work (how your work can answer the question).
What are Some Common Pitfalls of an Introduction Section?
Including unnecessary background or being repetitive.
Exaggerating (or understating) the importance of your work.
Using lackluster openers and weak follow-through in the body of your introduction.
Not grounding the work in a context that will be important to your reader.
Not focusing on a clear and compelling research question or hypothesis.
Guidelines for Introductions from Two Scientific Organizations
From the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors:
State the purpose of the article and summarize the rationale for the study or observation. Give
only strictly pertinent references and do not include data or conclusions from the work being
reported.
From the American Society for Microbiology:
The introduction should supply sufficient background information to allow the reader to
understand and evaluate the results of the present study without referring to previous
publications on the topic. The introduction should also provide the hypothesis that was addressed
or the rationale for the present study. Use only those references required to provide the most
salient background rather than an exhaustive review of the topic.

Methods
What are Some Goals of a Methods Section?
Present the experimental design.
Provide enough detail to allow readers to interpret your results.
Cite as: Angela Belcher, Drew Endy, Natalie Kuldell and Agi Stachowiak. Course materials for 20.109 Laboratory
Fundamentals in Biological Engineering, Fall 2007. MIT OpenCourseWare (http://ocw.mit.edu),
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Downloaded on [DD Month YYYY].

Lerner & Ogren, A Guide to Scientific Writing

p. 2

Give enough detail for readers to replicate your work.

The key to a successful Methods section is to include the right amount of detail--too
much, and it begins to sound like a laboratory manual; too little, and no one can repeat
what was done.
Successful Scientific Writing, 2nd ed.

What are Some Pitfalls of a Methods Section?

Providing too little or too much information.
Reiterating published methods rather than citing them.
Writing strictly in chronological order (alternatives: most important first, most fundamental
first, etc.).
Methods and results dont correspond (you have to provide methods for all the experiments
you report).
Forgetting to use visual organizers that direct readers to specific aspects of the methods
section, e.g., subheads.
Using a dangling modifier because of an over-reliance on passive voice:
After scraping the desired plate in four swipes, the bacteria were placed in 8ml of media
with no antibodies.
Failing to provide a context for the methods themselves:
In order to . . . , we . . . context for the particular method is provided.
Writing a Protocol rather than a Methods section.
A Protocol is . . .
A series of steps to be carried out.

Written in sequential or temporal order.

Intended for the reader to achieve a final result.

A Methods Section is . .
A series of steps already completed and is written in past tense.

Written in logical order.

Intended for the reader to replicate the experiment.

Results
What is the Purpose of the Results Section?
Objectivity: Make the data, just the data, easy to find.
Some readers want to interpret your data themselves rather than accepting the
interpretation presented in the discussion.
Description: Describe the data presented in figures and tables.
What Differentiates Results from the Methods?
Methods = How the data were accumulated.
Results = What data were accumulated.
What Differentiates Results from the Discussion?
Results = Data presentation (Experiments showed that . . . .)
Discussion = Data interpretation (Experiments suggest that . . . .)

Cite as: Angela Belcher, Drew Endy, Natalie Kuldell and Agi Stachowiak. Course materials for 20.109 Laboratory
Fundamentals in Biological Engineering, Fall 2007. MIT OpenCourseWare (http://ocw.mit.edu),
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Downloaded on [DD Month YYYY].

Lerner & Ogren, A Guide to Scientific Writing

p. 3

What are the Contents of a Results Section?

A brief description of the experiment or rationale at the beginning of each subsection (In
order to . . . . As a result, we found that . . . .).
The data (in past tense).
Descriptive text for FEW determinations.
Tables or graphs for REPETITIVE determinations.
The data that your methods indicated you would produce (and answering the questions you
established in your introduction).
What are Some Qualities of a Well-Written Results Section?
Methods and Results Correspond.
i.e., no experimental results for which there are no methods, and vice versa.
Results are presented in a logical order.
e.g., most important first, most fundamental first, etc.
Results focus on the question(s) or hypothesis introduced earlier in the paper.
What are Some Pitfalls of a Results Section?
Overstating the results (e.g., Figure 1 clearly shows)
Reporting irrelevant results: Although it is sometimes useful to report experiments that
didnt work.
Omitting visual organizers, such as subheads.
Including inappropriate illustrations.
Including methods and/or discussion: Overlap is acceptable in some circumstances.

Illustrations
Whats the Purpose of Illustrations?
Condense large amounts of information
Convince readers of your findings (by showing data quality).
Focus attention on certain findings (e.g., relationship between values).
Simplify complex findings.
Promote thinking and discussion.
Illustration Caveat: The most beautiful illustration cannot hide lousy content--content is key.
What are Some Pitfalls of Figures and Titles/Captions?
Figures
Not mentioned in text.
Textual data inconsistent with figures.
Mislabeling.
Symbols, data points, unreadable or cluttered.
Ugliness (failure to get help from graphic designer).
Captions
Reiterate results section
Written in shorthand, abbreviated form rather than whole sentences.

Cite as: Angela Belcher, Drew Endy, Natalie Kuldell and Agi Stachowiak. Course materials for 20.109 Laboratory
Fundamentals in Biological Engineering, Fall 2007. MIT OpenCourseWare (http://ocw.mit.edu),
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Downloaded on [DD Month YYYY].

Lerner & Ogren, A Guide to Scientific Writing

p. 4

Choose the Most Effective Type

(from Successful Scientific Writing, 2nd ed.)
To accomplish this:
To present exact values, raw data, or data
which do not fit into any simple pattern.
To summarize trends, show interactions
between two or more variables, relate data
to constants, or emphasize an overall
pattern rather than specific measurements.
To dramatize differences or draw
comparisons.

of Illustration for a Given Goal

Choose one of these:
Table, list
Line graph

Bar graph

To illustrate complex relationships, spatial

configurations, pathways, processes, or
interactions.

Diagram

To compare or contrast.

Pictograph, pie chart, bar graph

Choose the Most Effective Type of Illustration (cont.)

To accomplish this:
Choose one of these:
To show sequential processes
---------
Flowchart
To classify information
---------
Table, list, pictograph
To describe parts or circuits.
---------
Schematic
To describe a process, organization, or model.
Pictograph, flowchart, block diagram
To describe a change of state.
---------
Line graph, bar graph
To describe proportions.
---------
Pie chart, bar graph
To describe relationships.
---------
Table, line graph, block diagram
To describe causation.
---------
Flowchart, pictograph
To describe an entire object.
---------
Schematic, drawing, photograph
To show the vertical or horizontal ---------
Flowchart, drawing tree, block diagram.
hierarchy within an object, idea, or
organization.
Provide Textual Context for Your Illustrations
In the body of your article:
Refer explicitly to the illustration (e.g., see Table 1, refer to Figure 3.)
Tell the reader:
How the graphic advances, supports, clarifies, or summarizes your discussion.
Why it is important.
What it means.
How it supports your argument.

Cite as: Angela Belcher, Drew Endy, Natalie Kuldell and Agi Stachowiak. Course materials for 20.109 Laboratory
Fundamentals in Biological Engineering, Fall 2007. MIT OpenCourseWare (http://ocw.mit.edu),
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Downloaded on [DD Month YYYY].

Lerner & Ogren, A Guide to Scientific Writing

p. 5

Examples of Effective Titles/Legends

Figure 1. Initial velocity vs. ONPG substrate concentration for His461. ONPG was added to
-galactosidase extracted from E. coli His461. The initial rates were measured using
spectrophotometer A420 readings.
Table 1. Increase of Initial Velocity with Increase of Enzyme Concentration. As the
concentration of the enzymes His461 and CSH36 are increased, the rate of A420 reading
increases, as does the initial velocity (in nmol ONP/ml/min).
Figure 1. Optical density readings at 595nm at four known concentrations. The best-fit line
is drawn to determine the protein concentration of samples with known optical densities.

Discussion/Conclusion
What is the Purpose of a Discussion Section?
Summarize findings presented in the results section
Cite supporting literature.
Explain discrepancies between your findings and previous reports.
Point out shortcomings of your work and define unsettled points.
Discuss theoretical and practical implications of your work.
End with a short summary or conclusion about the works importance.
Questions You Will Address in a Discussion Section
What did you expect to find, and why?
How did your results compare with those expected?
How might you explain any unexpected results?
How might you test these potential explanations?
Tips for Writing a Discussion Section
This is the place to interpret your results against a background of existing knowledge. Explain
what is new in your work, and why it matters. Discuss both the limitations and the implications
of your results, and relate observations to other relevant studies. State new hypotheses when
warranted, clearly labeled as such. Include recommendations, when appropriate.
Eight Common Components of a Discussion Section (Swales)
Background information
Statement of results
(Un)expected outcome
Reference to previous research
Explanation
Exemplification
Deduction and Hypothesis
Recommendation
What is the Purpose of a Conclusion?
Besides presenting an analysis of the key results in the conclusion sections, you also give a
future perspective on the work. In some documents that future perspective might be
Cite as: Angela Belcher, Drew Endy, Natalie Kuldell and Agi Stachowiak. Course materials for 20.109 Laboratory
Fundamentals in Biological Engineering, Fall 2007. MIT OpenCourseWare (http://ocw.mit.edu),
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Downloaded on [DD Month YYYY].

Lerner & Ogren, A Guide to Scientific Writing

p. 6

recommendations. In other documents that future perspective might be a nod to the direction in
which your research will head. A third kind of future perspective is to mirror the scope and
limitations that you presented in the beginning of the document.
What are the Pitfalls of a Discussion/Conclusion Section?
Including too much information (wordy arguments, not focused, meandering, etc.).
Failure to follow arguments set up in the introduction.
Failure to focus on the current results.
Speculating too much or not enough.
Improper tense (Discussion largely in present tense).
Hedging excessively.
Excessive Hedging
The cause of the degenerative changes is unknown but possibly one cause may be infection by a

presumed parasite.

Rule of thumb: One hedge word per sentence!

Titles/Abstracts
What is the purpose of an abstract?
A stand alone, mini-version of the paper (250 words or less).
Summarizes the main sections of the paper.
States the purpose, findings, and impact of the work.
Abstracts: The Goal is an Economy of Words
Provide an abstracted version of your paper in as few words as possible.
Choose each word carefully. Make them clear and significant.
Provide only the key points.
Language: Needless Words in parentheses
(already) existing
Mix (together

At (the) present (time)

Never (before)

(basic) fundamentals
None (at all)

(completely) eliminate
Now (at this time)

(continue to) remain

Period (of time)

(currently) being
(private) industry

(currently) underway
(separate) entities

(empty) space
Start (out)

Had done (previously)

Write (out)

Introduced (a new)
(still) persists

What are Some Pitfalls of Abstracts?

Contains extraneous detail or information or conclusions not stated in the paper.
Contains abbreviations, chemical formulas, jargon or references to the literature, tables, or
figures.
Cite as: Angela Belcher, Drew Endy, Natalie Kuldell and Agi Stachowiak. Course materials for 20.109 Laboratory
Fundamentals in Biological Engineering, Fall 2007. MIT OpenCourseWare (http://ocw.mit.edu),
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Downloaded on [DD Month YYYY].

Courtesy of Marilee Ogren-Balkama. Used with permission.

Lerner & Ogren, A Guide to Scientific Writing
p. 7

Failure to state the purpose of the work at the outset.

Failure to state the importance of the work and where it leads at the end.

What is the Purpose of a Title?

Indicate the subject of your research.
Distinguish your research from others of its kind.
Show continuity with preceding papers.
Provide key words for indexing.
The Importance of Titles
The title is the single most important phrase of a scientific document. The title tells readers
what the document is. If your title is inexact or unclear, many people for whom you wrote the
document will never read it.
What are Some Pitfalls of Titles?
Too general or too specific.
Too long or too short.
Incomprehensible (sometimes from the use of jargon).
Inaccurate (often a syntax problem).
Contains abbreviations, chemical formulas, jargon.
Some Bad Titles (from Science of Scientific Writing, 2nd ed.)
Plantars Wart Removal: Report of a Case of Recurrence of Verruca after Curative Excision
Characteristics of Columbine Flowers are Correlated with Their Pollinators
Panda Mating Fails: Veterinarian Takes Over
Gleanings on the Bionomics and Behavior of the East Asiatic Nonsocial Wasps. III. The
Subfamily Crabroninae with a Key to the Species of the tribe Crabronini Occurring in
Formosa and the Ryukyus, Contributions to the Knowledge of the Behavior of Crabronine
Fauna, and Changes in the Taxonomic Position of Three Species of Crabronini Occurring in
Japan
Report of New Health Data Results from the 1999 National ASAP-FYI-ERGO Health Study:
Lung Cancer in Women Mushrooms
Some Good Titles
Effect of Husbands Education on the Fatness of Wives
Retrotransposons as Engines of Human Bodily Transformation
Enhanced Recovery of Bitumen by Steam with Chemical Additives
Adaptive Nulling in the Hyperthermia Treatment of Cancer

Cite as: Angela Belcher, Drew Endy, Natalie Kuldell and Agi Stachowiak. Course materials for 20.109 Laboratory
Fundamentals in Biological Engineering, Fall 2007. MIT OpenCourseWare (http://ocw.mit.edu),
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Downloaded on [DD Month YYYY].