THE MANUSCRIPT 225 



The job of writing 



Some persons can sit down with only a headful of ideas and write a 

 paper from beginning to end, but most of us need to follow a fairly 

 detailed outline. 



I suspect everyone develops his own system for writing a scientific 

 paper. The purist insists that the writing start at the beginning, but 

 this may not always be the easiest way. It often is easiest to wnrite the 

 section on materials and methods first because this section will be 

 changed relatively little later. Probably the section on results can logi- 

 cally follow next. The introductory statement and the discussion of inter- 

 pretations must cover the same subject matter, so it is best to write them 

 together. Unless there is a careful correlation of these two sections, it is 

 too easy to write conclusions to some problem other than the one investi- 

 gated. The order in which the sections are written is a personal matter, 

 and each writer learns by experience which order works best for him. 



Literary Style: The main purpose of all writing is to communicate 

 ideas. A paper is prepared, not to prove that the writer is a great scholar, 

 but to convey facts and ideas to a reader. Clarity of presentation is just 

 as important as accurate information and logical arguments. If I could 

 give only one rule to a prospective writer, that rule would be, "Remember 

 your reader!" Your subject has been foremost in your mind, and you may 

 forget that what has become obvious to you is not obvious to everyone. 

 The English language is expressive because of its built-in ambiguities, 

 but in scientific exposition the intention of the author should be abso- 

 lutely clear. 



Scientific writing must be grammatically correct. 



Within the scope of correct English grammar there is plenty of room 

 for an individual writing style. Simple, straightforward writing is the 

 only kind suitable for science. The ideas of science are sufficiently com- 

 plex without the distractions of overly dramatic or obscure expressions. 

 Much bad wnriting has been included in the scientific literature, but prog- 

 ress is being made toward improvement. Unfortunately many begin- 

 ning writers imitate what they read and so, commonly, learn bad 

 habits. 



One gains the impression from reading the literature that all verbs 

 must be expressed in the passive voice to avoid saying "I," but this con- 



