Writing Science in Plain English - (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing) by Anne E Greene (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Scientific writing is often dry, wordy, and difficult to understand. But, as Anne E. Greene shows in Writing Science in Plain English, writers from all scientific disciplines can learn to produce clear, concise prose by mastering just a few simple principles.
This short, focused guide presents a dozen such principles based on what readers need in order to understand complex information, including concrete subjects, strong verbs, consistent terms, and organized paragraphs. The author, a biologist and an experienced teacher of scientific writing, illustrates each principle with real-life examples of both good and bad writing and shows how to revise bad writing to make it clearer and more concise. She ends each chapter with practice exercises so that readers can come away with new writing skills after just one sitting.
Writing Science in Plain English can help writers at all levels of their academic and professional careers--undergraduate students working on research reports, established scientists writing articles and grant proposals, or agency employees working to follow the Plain Writing Act. This essential resource is the perfect companion for all who seek to write science effectively.

Review Quotes

"As one might expect from the title, Writing Science in Plain English is clear, concise, and very easy to understand. In fact, it's one of the best books on writing I've come across. If you only read one book on science writing, make it this one."-- "Edge for Scholars"

"I feel like I have found a reference to keep on my shelf for the rest of my career. . . . In fact, after reading Writing Science in Plain English, I want to go back and edit every journal article I have ever written."-- "ESA.org's SciComm Lit Review"

"Writing in science has reached an all-time nadir and has become practically unintelligible to all but specialists in narrow fields. Professional articles on science are burdened by cumbersome expression, poor grammar, and a concomitant lack of precision and clarity. Accordingly, there is a great need for a primer of scientific writing. The brief book Writing Science in Plain English addresses that need."-- "Integrative and Comparative Biology"

"Written in a breezy, engaging style in plain English; the author practices what she preaches. Copious in-text examples are provided to explain the key points of each chapter. Readers can also test themselves with the practice exercises at the end of each chapter, and answers are helpfully provided with commentary in an appendix. . . . Who will benefit from this book? Anyone involved in science communication, including writers and translators."-- "Japan Association of Translators"

"Writing Science in Plain English should be required reading for both established scientists and undergraduates who might become scientists. Anne Greene uses plain English and instructive examples from the scientific literature to show student writers how to say what they need to say more concisely, more accessibly, and more effectively. Would that all writers followed her advice."--John Alcock, Arizona State University

"A great resource for anyone preparing to embark on scientific writing--whether a paper for class or a research article submitted for publication."-- "Choice"

"Greene's feet are placed firmly on the ground. Her recommendations are widely applicable, and the solid ideas presented in this book should influence good use of English in any situation. Scientists should treat Writing Science as a user manual to keep their writing on track."-- "Journal of Scholarly Publishing"

"In these 124 brisk pages, Greene manages to deliver a series of practical, hands-on lessons to make scientific prose more lucid, more direct, more immediately comprehensible, and, yes, more concise."-- "Science Editor"

"This guide echoes the advice I have given to students in scientific writing classes over my career. It rebuts the notion that science writing is different in kind and exempt from the rules that apply to other non-fiction writing: it requires strong narrative direction, active voice, strong verbs, short words where possible, and so on. This lucid, step-by-step book should be required reading for entering graduate students in the life sciences, and will be a welcome addition to the instructor's reference shelf."--Steven W. Buskirk, University of Wisconsin-Madison

"This is the best book of this sort I have read. Anne E. Greene practices what she preaches, writing clearly for a general scientific audience. She comes across as both highly knowledgeable and accessible. Greene makes achieving clarity look simple, and I found myself marveling at her wizardry. Readers will find the text empowering."--Gina Maranto, University of Miami

"Why must the scientific literature be as confusing and dull as an insurance contract or a manufacturer's warranty? It doesn't have to be like that! Writing Science in Plain English can teach any scientist how to write more compelling and lucid papers. Anne E. Greene deserves a round of applause from scientific editors, peer reviewers, and readers everywhere."--David S. Wilcove, Princeton University

About the Author

Anne E. Greene is a biologist by training and teaches scientific writing in the Wildlife Biology Program at The University of Montana.