Scientific Writing and Communication: Papers, Proposals, and Presentations, Second Edition, covers all the areas of scientific communication that a scientist needs to know and to master in order to successfully promote his or her research and career. This unique "all-in-one" handbook begins with a discussion of the basics of scientific writing style and composition and then applies these principles to writing research papers, review articles, grant proposals, research statements, and resumes and to preparing academic presentations and posters. It is ideal for a wide range of readers - from upper-level undergraduates and graduate students to postdoctoral fellows, faculty, and professional researchers in the life sciences, medicine, psychology, chemistry, physics, and engineering. Preface: Preface 1. Prelude 1.1 Importance of Writing in Science 1.2 About Readers 1.3 About Writers 1.4 About This Book 1.5 Design of This Book PART I. SCIENTIFIC WRITING PRINCIPLES: Style and Composition 2. Individual Words 2.1 The Central Principle 2.2 Word Choice 2.3 Word Choice--Special Cases 2.4 Redundancies and Jargon 2.5 Abbreviations 2.6 Nomenclature and Terminology 2.7 Dictionaries 3. Word Location 3.1 Readers' Expectations 3.2 Competition for Emphasis 3.3 Placement of Words 4. Technical Sentences 4.1 Grammar and Technical Style 4.2 Person 4.3 Voice 4.4 Tense 4.5 Sentence Length 4.6 Verbs and Action 4.7 Noun Clusters 4.8 Pronouns 4.9 Lists and Comparisons 4.10 Faulty Comparisons 4.11 Common Errors 5. Special ESL Grammar Problems 5.1 Prepositions 5.2 Articles 5.3 Verbs 5.4 Adjectives and Adverbs 5.5 Nouns and Pronouns 5.6 Grammar References 6. From Sentences to Paragraphs 6.1 Paragraph Structure 6.2 Paragraph Organization 6.3 Paragraph Coherence 6.4 Condensing PART II. PLANNING AND LAYING THE FOUNDATION 7. The First Draft 7.1 The Writing Process 7.2 Prewriting 7.3 Authorship 7.4 Drafting a Manuscript 7.5 Outlining and Composing a Manuscript 7.6 Writer's Block? 7.7 For ESL Authors 7.8 Outside Help 8. References and Plagiarism 8.1 About References 8.2 Selecting References 8.3 Managing References 8.4 Text Citations 8.5 Plagiarism 8.6 Paraphrasing 8.7 References Within a Scientific Paper 8.8 The Reference List 8.9 Common Reference Styles 8.10 Citing the Internet 8.11 Footnotes and Endnotes 8.12 Acknowledgments 9. Figures and Tables 9.1 General Guidelines 9.2 Importance of Formatting and Placement of Information 9.3 Figure or Table? 9.4 General Information on Figures 9.5 Types of Figures 9.6 Formatting Graphs 9.7 Examples of Graphs 9.8 Figure Legends 9.9 General Information on Tables 9.10 Formatting Tables * 9.11 Basics of Statistical Analysis * 9.12 Useful Resources for Statistical Analysis 9.13 Other Kinds of Supplementary Information: Formulas, Equations, Proofs, and Algorithms PART III. MANUSCRIPTS: Research Papers and Review Articles A. Research Papers 10. The Introduction 10.1 Overall 10.2 Content and Organization 10.3 Elements of the Introduction 10.4 Special Case: Introductions for Descriptive Papers 10.5 Important Writing Principles for the Introduction 10.6 Signals for the Reader 10.7 Common Problems of Introductions 10.8 Sample Introductions 10.9 Revising the Introduction 11. Materials and Methods Section 11.1 Overall 11.2 Content 11.3 Organization 11.4 Important Writing Principles for Materials and Methods 11.5 Ethical Conduct 11.6 Common Problems of Materials and Methods Section 11.7 Sample Materials and Methods Sections 11.8 Revising the Materials and Methods Section 12. Results 12.1 Overall 12.2 Content 12.3 Organization 12.4 Important Writing Principles for the Results 12.5 Signals for the Reader 12.6 Common Problems of the Results Section 12.7 Sample Results Sections 12.8 Revising the Results Section 13. Discussion 13.1 Overall 13.2 Content 13.3 Organization 13.4 First Paragraph 13.5 Middle Paragraphs 13.6 Last Paragraph 13.7 Important Writing Principles for the Discussion 13.8 Signals for the Reader 13.9 An Alternative: Results and Discussion 13.10 Common Problems of the Discussion 13.11 Sample Discussions 13.12 Revising the Discussion 14. Abstract 14.1 Overall 14.2 Content 14.3 Organization 14.4 Applying Basic Writing Principles 14.5 Signals for the Reader 14.6 Common Problems of the Abstract 14.7 Reasons for Rejection 14.8 Revising the Abstract 15. Titles, Title Pages, and Key Words 15.1 Overall 15.2 Strong Titles 15.3 The Title Page 15.4 Running Title 15.5 Key Words 15.6 Revising the Title 16. Revising and Reviewing a Manuscript 16.1 Revising the First Draft 16.2 Subsequent Drafts 16.3 Reviewing a Manuscript 17. Final Version, Submission, and Peer Review 17.1 General Advice on the Final Version 17.2 Submitting the Manuscript 17.3 Writing a Cover Letter 17.4 The Review Process 17.5 Letter from the Editor 17.6 Resubmission 17.7 Paper Accepted B. Review Articles 18. Review Articles 18.1 Overall 18.2 Content 18.3 Organization 18.4 Abstract of a Review Article 18.5 Introduction of a Review Article 18.6 Main Analysis Section of a Review Article 18.7 Conclusion of a Review Article 18.8 References 18.9 Signals for the Reader 18.10 Coherence 18.11 Common Problems of Review Articles 18.12 Revising the Review Article PART IV. GRANT PROPOSALS 19. Proposal Writing 19.1 General 19.2 Types of Proposals 19.3 Choosing a Sponsoring Agency 19.4 Federal Agencies 19.5 Private Foundations 19.6 Corporations and Other Funders 19.7 Preliminary Steps to Writing a Proposal 19.8 Online Resources 19.9 Starting to Write a Grant 19.10 Interacting With the Funder 20. Letters of Inquiry and Preproposals 20.1 General 20.2 Content and Organization 20.3 Abstract/Overview 20.4 Introduction/Background 20.5 Statement of Need 20.6 Objective and Specific Aims 20.7 Strategy and Goals 20.8 Leadership and Organization 20.9 Budget 20.10 Impact and Significance 20.11 Cover Letter 20.12 Verbal Proposals 20.13 LOI Outlines 20.14 Revising an LOI/Preproposal 21. Abstract and Specific Aims 21.1 Overall 21.2 Abstract 21.3 Specific Aims 21.4 Significance and Impact 21.5 Applying Basic Writing Principles 21.6 Signals for the Reader 21.7 Common Problems 21.8 Reasons for Rejection 21.9 Revising the Abstract and Specific Aims 22. Background and Significance 22.1 Overall 22.2 Emphasis, Organization, and Length 22.3 References 22.4 Elements of the Section * 22.5 Sample Significance Section for Federal Grants 22.6 Signals for the Reader 22.7 Coherence 22.8 Common Problems 22.9 Revising the Background and Significance Section 23. * Innovation 23.1 Content 23.2 Organization 23.3 Signals for the Reader 23.4 Common Problems 23.5 Revising the Innovation Section 24. Preliminary Results 24.1 General Content 24.2 Organization 24.3 Important Writing Principles 24.4 Signals for Preliminary Results 24.5 Common Problems of Preliminary Results 24.6 Revising the Preliminary Results 25. Approach/Research Design 25.1 Overall 25.2 Content 25.3 Organization 25.4 Closing Paragraph 25.5 Signals for the Reader 25.6 Common Problems 25.7 Revising the Research Design and Methods Section 26. Budget and Other Special Proposal Sections 26.1 Budget 26.2 Other Special Proposal Sections 27. Revising and Submitting a Proposal 27.1 General 27.2 Before Sending Out the Proposal 27.3 Revising the Proposal 27.4 Submitting the Proposal 27.5 Being Reviewed 27.6 Site Visits *27.7 Reasons for Rejection 27.8 If Your Proposal Is Rejected 27.9 Resubmission of a Proposal 27.10 If Your Proposal Is Funded PART V. POSTERS AND PRESENTATIONS 28. Posters and Conference Abstracts 28.1 Function and General Overview 28.2 Content 28.3 Organization 28.4 Sections of a Poster 28.5 Photos, Figures, and Tables 28.6 Resources for Preparing and Presenting a Poster *28.7 Revising a Poster 28.8 Presenting the Poster 28.9 Sample Posters 28.10 Checklist for a Poster 28.11 Conference Abstracts 29. Oral Presentations 29.1 Before the Talk 29.2 Content and Organization of a Scientific Talk 29.3 Visual Aids 29.4 Preparing for a Talk 29.5 Giving the Talk 29.6 Voice and Delivery 29.7 Vocabulary and Style 29.8 Body Actions and Motions 29.9 At the End of the Presentation 29.10 Questions and Answers 29.11 Other Speech Forms *29.12 Resources 29.13 Checklist for an Oral Presentation PART VI. JOB APPLICATIONS 30. Writing for Job Applications 30.1 Overall 30.2 Curricula Vitae (CVs) and Resumes 30.3 Cover Letters 30.4 Accompanying Documents 30.5 Research Statements 30.6 Teaching Statements 30.7 Resources 30.8 Letters of Recommendation 30.9 Checklist for the Job Application Appendix A: Commonly Confused and Misused Words * Appendix B: Tips on MS Word * Appendix C: Tips on MS Excel * Appendix D: Tips on MS PowerPoint * Appendix E: MS Office Cheat Sheet Answer Key Glossary Bibliography Credits Index Angelika H. Hofmann is Instructor for Scientific Writing and Communication at Yale University. Renowned in the world of scientific writing, she is the founder of "Bioscience-Writing," a venture that provides editing services and workshops at universities around the world.