Guidelines for Writing Scientific Papers in English

1
Guidelines for Writing Scientific Papers in
English

• Paul T. Robinson
• Department of Earth Sciences
• Dalhousie University, Canada

2
Preparation

• A good paper starts long before you sit down in
  front of your computer to begin writing.

3
Planning the Project

• Decide on the problem to be investigated
• Choose the appropriate region
• Collect samples carefully
• Prepare samples for analysis
• Check analytical results carefully
• Precision and reporting data
• Loss on ignition and alteration
• Are the results reasonable based on available
  information?

4
Preparation

• For students the problem and the region are
  usually selected by the Professor
• When you are planning your own projects, first
  select the problem and then the region.

5
Preparation

• Collecting and preparing samples
• Extremely important step
• Must know the stratigraphic and structural
  relationships of the samples collected

6
Reporting data

• Precision reproducibility. Average of many
  analyses of the same sample
• Accuracy degree to which the results are
  correct average of many analyses of a known
  standard
• True precision and accuracy involves repeated
  sample preparation, not just repeated
  measurements.

7
Reporting of Data

• X-ray fluorescence
• Major oxides 1-2 error
• data given at 2 decimal points e.g. 12.45
  wt. 2 of 15 wt 0.3
• Trace elements 5-10
• REE given at 2 decimal points 1.45 ppm
  Other elements at 1 or 0 decimal points
• e.g., 6.1 ppm or 36 ppm
• 36.3 ppm _at_ 5 error 1.8 ppm so 36.3 is
  meaningless

8
An example
Cr 31.2 40.7 46.7 57.6 53.9 56.0 38.4
Ni 22.0 16.2 17.2 23.6 20.2 22.9 24.8
Rb 68.1 140.0 129.0 107.0 107.0 92.6 81.6
Sr 565.0 767.0 830.0 984.0 994.0 1100.0 1830.0
Y 19.6 19.1 16.9 16.7 16.4 16.8 19.8
Zr 163.0 170.0 145.0 154.0 154.0 155.0 187.0
Nb 10.1 13.4 10.7 10.4 10.5 10.4 16.6
Ba 2140 1620 1860 1970 1970 2310 2600
La 37.8 33.9 31.9 32.0 31.3 32.4 46.1
Ce 68.4 62.8 58.7 57.7 58.6 62.5 82.9
Pr 8.0 7.2 6.7 6.7 6.7 7.1 9.3
Nd 29.7 26.4 25.7 24.9 25.4 27.0 35.2
Sm 5.19 5.28 4.97 4.85 4.91 5.30 6.53
9
Reporting of Data

• The same applies to age dates e.g.
• 189.56Ma 189 Ma
• Also remember that a rock with an age of 1896Ma
  means as age between 183 and 195 Ma. So, another
  rock dated at 1759 Ma is statistically the same
  age, within the stated error.

Check all numerical data to make sure it is
reported within the appropriate error range.
10
Evaluate the Data

• Machines are black boxes. Do not simply accept
  the numbers you are given.
• Do the geochemical analyses total 100 wt -
  99.5-100.5 is usually considered acceptable. If
  analytical totals are lower than 99 wt,
  something may be missing e.g. H2O, SO2, BaO,
  etc. Microprobe data.
• Do the age dates agree with what is known for the
  region?

11
Evaluate the data
Here is what appears to be a good analysis. Good
total low LOI

• SiO2 54.25
• TiO2 1.62
• Al2O3 15.76
• Fe2O3 10.13
• MnO 0.15
• CaO 10.12
• Na2O 7.26
• K2O 0.24
• LOI 2.13 Total 99.53 wt

What is wrong with this analysis?
The Na2O/K2O ratio is gt 30
This is a spilite an altered basalt in which
the plagioclase is replaced by albite
12
Evaluate the data

• Use appropriate diagrams to plot your data and
  think about what it means.
• Harker diagrams for major and trace elements
• Chondrite-normalized diagrams for REE
• Mantle-normalized spider diagrams for trace
  elements
• Bi-variant diagrams for elements and ratios

13
Variation Diagrams
14
Select Journal for Publication

• Each Journal is different, although Elsevier
  journals mostly follow a common format.
• Read some articles in the journal that you choose
  and check the style of writing and how the
  references are given.
• Some journals are flexible about length and style
  other are very rigid.

15
Using English

• English is one of the easiest language to learn
  for speaking, although pronunciation may be
  difficult. The grammar is simple
• Nouns are not case sensitive
• Most verbs are regular
• Sentence structure is very flexible

Most native English speakers are not very
proficient, so if you make a mistake, they wont
even know it!!
16
Writing in English

• Writing English is much more difficult, and most
  university graduates in North America do not
  write well.
• Students are no longer taught basic grammar
• English has very few rigid rules so it is
  difficult to teach people how to write. Whether
  something is right or wrong often depends on how
  it sounds when you read it.

17
Helpful resources

• Purdue OWL http//owl.english.purdue.edu/
• An excellent source for English grammar and
  writing guidelines.
• Get a good on-line dictionary
• Get an English dictionary for MS-Word and use it
  to check spelling in your manuscript.
• The grammar checker in MS-Word can be useful, but
  it can also be wrong, so dont rely on it.

18
Writing Scientific Manuscripts

• Scientific writing should be simple and direct,
  quite unlike that in novels or essays. What is
  called declarative writing, without many
  independent or dependent clauses.

19
Writing a clear sentence

• A sentence must have at least one noun, one verb,
  and various adjectives, adverbs, articles and
  prepositions. However, these can be arranged in
  many different ways, so you have a great deal of
  flexibility.

20
Writing a clear sentence

• Rule 1. NEVER write a sentence more than 3
  lines long, and preferably no more than 2. If
  you have a long sentence, look at it carefully
  it can always be rewritten into two or more short
  sentences.

21
An bad example

• Although the role of slab melts in mineralization
  is argued (e.g. Oyarzun et al., 2001 Richards
  and Kerrich, 2007 Richards, 2009), the magmatism
  associated with many porphyry and epithermal
  copper deposits in the world (Andes, southwest
  Pacific, and China, etc.) bears adakitic
  signatures (e.g. Bourdon et al., 2002b Mungall,
  2002 Gonzalez-Partida et al., 2003 Reich et
  al., 2003 Hollings et al., 2005 Wang et al.,
  2006a, 2006b), which indicates a genetic link
  between adakitic magmatism and porphyry copper
  deposits.

22
Lets take out the references

• Although the role of slab melts in mineralization
  is argued, the magmatism associated with many
  porphyry and epithermal copper deposits in the
  world (Andes, southwest Pacific, and China, etc.)
  bears adakitic signatures, which indicates a
  genetic link between adakitic magmatism and
  porphyry copper deposits.
• Still too long and complex

23
Revised sentence

• The role of slab melts in mineralization is not
  well established. However, the common
  association between adakitic magmatism and many
  porphyry and epithermal copper deposits (e.g.,
  Andes, southwest Pacific, and China) suggests a
  genetic link.

Too many references can make a sentence
unreadable
24
Writing sentences

• On the other hand, if you have many short
  sentences, look for ways to combine them.
• Basalts are abundant in the Chinese Altai. Most
  are light gray, vesicular rocks with a tholeiitc
  composition.
• Light gray, vesicular basalts with a tholeiitic
  composition are abundant in the Chinese Altai.

25
Writing a paragraph

• A paragraph is a group of sentences related to
  the same major topic basically a paragraph
  should have one major idea
• Each paragraph should start with a
• Topic Sentence
• This sentence identifies the major subject of
  the paragraph and all following sentences should
  be related in some way

26
Writing a paragraph

• A good paragraph has the following features
• Topic sentence one basic idea
• Unity each paragraph has a single focus
• Coherence all elements are related
• Adequate development discussion of the basic
  idea.

27
A reasonably good paragraph

• The Yidun terrane, which lies between the
  Qiangtang block and Songpan-Ganzi terrane (Fig.
  1), has been commonly considered to be a Triassic
  volcanic arc produced by subduction of the
  Ganzi-Litang oceanic lithosphere. Numerous
  arc-related granitic intrusions in this terrane
  form a north-south-trending belt about 500 km
  long (Fig. 1). Several small, porphyritic
  intrusions in the southern segment of the terrane
  contain important porphyry copper deposits (Zeng
  et al., 1999, 2003, 2004), but large batholiths
  elsewhere in the Yidan terrane are barren. The
  differences in mineralization within this belt
  are poorly understood, however, the existence of
  porphyry copper deposits in Shangri-La suggests a
  link between the magmatic and tectonic history of
  this region.

28
A not-so-good paragraph

• After detailed field geological surveys and
  indoor studies, we discovered that medium-fine
  grained syenogranite, the second period, is
  two-mica granite, presenting as lenses in the
  pluton mostly. Its zircon U-Pb age is 188032Ma
  (unpublished data), which represent it is the
  product of Paleoproterozoic magmatizm. As the
  main compositions of Jingju intrusive pluton, the
  zircon U-Pb age of quartz monzonite is
  233.71.8Ma (unpublished data) and that of
  syenogranite is 214.92.1Ma. And the ages are
  consistent with field relations.

29
Revised version

• After detailed field and petrographic study, we
  discovered that the so-called medium- to
  fine-grained syenogranite of unit 2 is actually a
  two-mica granite, with a zircon U-Pb age of
  188032Ma (unpublished data). This is clearly an
  older unit, unrelated to the main body of the
  pluton, as represented by the quartz monzonite
  (233.71.8Ma, unpublished data) and the
  syenogranite (214.92.1Ma).

30
The use of articles in English

• This is a problem common for most Chinese writers
  I am told that the Chinese language doesnt
  have articles, which makes it difficult to use
  them in English.
• Definite Article the,
• Indefinite Articles a, an

31
The use of articles

• Definite Article. This is used when referring to
  a specific thing or specific feature.
• Examples
• The tree next door turns red every autumn.
• Trees in Canada turn red every autumn

32
The use of articles

• South China block is composed of Yangtze block
  and Cathysian block
• The South China block is composed of the Yangtze
  and Cathysian blocks
• Several blocks make up the North China Craton

33
The Use of Articles

• Indefinite Articles A and An
• Use A if the following word starts with a
  consonant and An if it starts with a vowel
• A rock crops out next to the road.
• Can we have an egg for breakfast?
• Exceptions
• He made an honest error
• He fell off a high cliff
• He found a used boat.
• She joined an uprising

34
The Use of Articles

• A tree grows in my yard
• The tree in my neighbors yard is large
• Trees are very common in Beijing
• An oak tree grows in my yard
• I saw an owl in the tree.
• Exception
• Yesterday, I read an history of China

35
The use of verbs

• Most scientific writing uses active verbs, so you
  dont have to worry much about verb tenses.
• Make sure that the verb matches the noun. Most
  people know this rule, but they may not properly
  identify the noun to which the verb refers.

36
The use of verbs

• Use direct verbs whenever possible.
• Based on our analyses, the age of the rock is
  demonstrated to be Jurassic
• Our analyses demonstrate that the rock is
  Jurassic in age.
• This makes the sentence clearer and easier to
  read.

37
The use of verbs

• Irregular verbs these are a pain in every
  language you just have to learn them. In
  English many irregular verbs have the same form
  for past and for past participle.
• e.g., Find, Found, Found
• Read, Read, Read
• Lead, Led, Led

38
Use of Adjectives

• Adjectives modify nouns and normally precede
  them.
• In using adjectives, one must remember that there
  are two types of nouns those that are countable
  and those that are not countable
• Countable nouns can be either singular or plural,
  car/cars tree/trees
• Uncountable nouns have no plural form, air,
  water, smog, food, money

39
Use of Adjectives

• Normally an adjective can be applied to either
  type of noun, but there are exceptions
• Uncountable Nouns Countable Nouns
• Little Few
• Much Many
• Some/any Some/any
• Enough Enough
• A lot of/lots of

40
The use of Adverbs

• Adverbs normally modify verbs but can also modify
  adjectives and other adverbs.
• Normally not a big problem in scientific writing.
  Most adverbs end in ly
• He speaks very rapidly - adverb
• He is a rapid speaker adjective
• Well versus Good
• She is a good player. She played well.

41
The use of prepositions

• Total chaos exist in the use of prepositions
• At, on, of, over, under, above, below, beneath,
  underneath, near, between, opposite, upon, in,
  within, among, since, for, by, to, from, during,
  about, etc.

42
Use of prepositions - time

• On is used with days. I leave on Monday.
• At is used for time of day. At 6 PM, At noon
• In is used for other times.
• I am tired in the morning, This book was
  published in 2010. The trees turn green in spring

43
Use of prepositions extended time

• Since - I havent seen him since yesterday
• For I am going to Beijing for two weeks
• During I like to ski during the winter
• From to He worked like a dog from morning to
  night trying to learn English.

44
Use of prepositions - place

• In the room, in the countryside
• Inside the box, inside the cave
• On the table, on the top of the mountain
• At the margin of the Yangtze block.

45
Some common problems

• Repeating the same thing over and over
• Misusing some common words
• Misusing symbols and abbreviations

46
Repeating Words or Phrases

• Geochemical analyses of major elements, trace
  elements and rare earth elements of Jingju
  syenogranites are listed in Table 2. The results
  show that the SiO2 contents in Jingju
  syenogranite, except for a lower figure of sample
  SY56 (62.05), concentrate between 69.2371.49.
  The rocks are alkali-rich, with contents of
  Na2OK2O up to 9.0912.36, which is obviously
  higher than the total alkali contents of
  Indosinian granites (240204Ma) reported in South
  China. In the TAS (alkali-silica) classification
  diagram of igneous rocks, Jingju syenogranite
  fall into the fields of syenite, quartz monzonite
  and granite (Fig. 4). Jingju syenogranites are
  K-rich, with the K2O contents (6.787.94) much
  higher than that of other Indosinian granites in
  South China, most of which are lower than 6.42.
  While a sample of biotite granite in Fucheng,
  South Jiangxi, has a K2O content of 7.55 69.
  In the SiO2-K2O diagram, Jingju syenogranites
  fall into the range of Shoshonitic series
  (Fig.5). The rock is rich in aluminum, with an
  Al2O3 contents between 13.2016.81,
  A/CNK0.881.10 and A/NK1.061.27. In the
  A/CNK-A/NK plot, Jingju syenogranites fall into
  the range of meta-aluminous and peraluminous.
  There is an obvious negative correlation between
  the contents of K2O, MgO and P2O5 vs. the content
  of SiO2, while there is lack of correlation for
  other major elements.

47
Revised paragraph

• Geochemical analyses of major elements, trace
  elements and rare earth elements of the Jingju
  syenogranites are listed in Table 2. Three of the
  four analysed samples are uniform in composition
  with SiO2 contents between 69.23-71.49 wt one
  sample has a lower value of 62.05 wt. All of
  the rocks are alkali-rich, with Na2OK2O ranging
  from 9.09-12.36 wt, and K2O from 6.78-7.94
  wt). They are considerably more alkaline and
  K-rich than Indosinian granites in South China,
  most of which have K2O lt6.4 wt, although one
  sample of biotite granite in South Jiangxi, has a
  K2O content of 7.55. In the TAS (alkali-silica)
  classification diagram, the samples plot in the
  fields of syenite, quartz monzonite and granite
  whereas in the SiO2-K2O diagram, they plot in the
  shoshonitic field. All of the rocks are rich in
  aluminum, with Al2O3 contents between 13.20-16.81
  wt. Their A/CNK values range from 0.88-1.10 and
  A/NK values from 1.06-1.27. In the A/CNK-A/NK
  diagram, the rocks plot in the meta-aluminous to
  peraluminous fields. There is a clear negative
  correlation between K2O, MgO and P2O5 contents
  and SiO2, but no obvious trends are observed for
  the other oxides

48
Misuse of certain words

• While the rocks generally crop out high on the
  mountain, some are exposed in road cuts.
• While is a time term e.g. while I was waiting,
  I saw my friend.
• In this case, you should use although

49
Misuse of words

• The rocks of the Jinin Formation crop out in the
  valley, while those of the Jinbo Formation crop
  out in the mountains.
• While is still the wrong word in this case, one
  should use whereas

50
Misuse of words

• As the rocks of the Jinin Formation are covered
  with vegetation, they are difficult to examine.
• As is another time term as I was watching the
  movie
• Here you should use Because

51
Misuse of words

• Outcrop is a noun the outcrop is red
• Crop out is a verb the rocks crop out along the
  river
• Data is a plural noun, datum is the singular.
  One should say Data are available, not is
  available

52
Use of approximations

• The Sierra Nevada batholith has an age of
  approximately (about) 100 Ma.
• The age of the Sierra Nevada batholith is about
  100 Ma ca. 100 Ma 100 Ma
• The age of the Sierra Nevada batholith ranges
  from 95-100 Ma (not 95100 Ma)

53
Use of abbreviations

• ca. about or approximately
• e.g. for example
• i.e. that is
• approximately

54
Meaning of Ma

• Ma millions of years before the present
• Do not say the batholith is 100 Ma old
• The batholith has an age of 100 Ma
• m.y. million years
• The batholith is 100 m.y. old
• These two rocks are separated in age by 100 m.y.

55
Use of hyphens

• Again, a lot of confusion exists about hyphens
  and different journals have different practices.
  You can use a hyphen
• in place of a semi-colon
• to separate two words supra-subduction
• Combine adjectives into one adjective.
• The granite has an age of 83 Ma
• The 83-Ma granite A 2.7-km-thick layer of
  gabbro

56
Figures and Tables

• Do not put the figures and tables in the text.
  The printer will place these at the appropriate
  location.
• Create a separate list of figures, label at the
  bottom with the authors name and figure number.
• Make a list of the figure captions and place at
  the end of the text, after the references.

57
Figures and Tables

• Figures should be clear and easy to read. They
  should not include too much text and the text
  should a large enough font to be legible when the
  figure is reduce.

58
Figures and Tables

• All maps should have latitude and longitude with
  N,S and E,W as appropriate.
• All maps should have a north arrow and a scale.
• All geologic maps should have a legend,
  identifying the rock types.

59
Zhou et al., Fig. 1
60
Figures and Tables

• Tables should clear and easy to read. For
  geochemical data the elements should be listed
  vertically, not horizontally.
• Each table should have a caption above it not a
  separate list of captions as for figures.
• All abbreviations used should be listed below the
  table.

61
How to write a good Abstract

• Abstracts are very important
• It is what gets people to read your manuscript
• This is all that reviewers see before accepting a
  manuscript for review
• Most scientists put very limited effort into
  producing an abstract

62
A good abstract

• An abstract should summarize briefly the main
  findings of your work
• Usually limited to 200-300 words, so you must be
  brief
• Most abstracts do not include references (Nature
  is an exception)

63
Never start an abstract like this

• Carboniferous granodiorites and their mafic
  microgranular enclaves (MME) from the Chinese
  Altai, NW China
• Major and trace elements, whole-rock Sr-Nd
  isotopes, zircon U-Pb and Lu-Hf isotopic
  compositions are determined for the host
  granodoirites and their mafic microgranular
  enclaves (MME) from the Tuokesalei area in the
  northwestern Chinese Altai.

64
A much better abstract

• New textural and mineralogical constraints on the
  origin of the Hongge Fe-Ti-V oxide deposit, SW
  China

The Hongge magmatic Fe-Ti-V oxide deposit in the
Panxi region, SW China, is hosted in a layered
mafic-ultramafic intrusion. The 2.7-km-thick
intrusion is composed of Lower, Middle and Upper
zones. Fe-Ti oxide ore-rich layers are mainly
hosted in the Middle zone and the lower part of
the Upper zone.
65
References

• Each journal has its own style of reporting
  references. Check a recent copy of the journal
  you select and follow the reference format
  carefully.
• Fortunately, a number of journals have now
  adopted a common format, which makes things
  easier.

66
References

• You must check carefully to ensure that all the
  references cited in the text (including those in
  tables and figure captions) are included in the
  reference list and vice versa
• You must also check each reference in the list to
  make sure it is cited correctly. Sloppy
  reference lists do not impress reviewers or
  editors.

67
Editing and revision

• It is very difficult to revise your own writing.
  Much easier to spot errors in other peoples
  work.
• After writing a section, set it aside for a week.
  The problems are then easier to identify and
  correct.

68
An example

• In this paragraph is a demonstration of good
  style in the writing of a report.
• This sentence is grammatically correct but is
  very awkward.
• This paragraph demonstrates good style in
  report writing

69
Practice makes perfect

• The best way to learn good writing is to read
  well-written papers and compare them to your
  work.
• If you can get someone to revise your manuscript,
  studied the revised version carefully to see how
  it differs from the original.
• Also keep practicing. We are not born knowing
  how to write we must learn, and we learn by
  practice and repetition.

70
A final word

• In the modern age, huge amounts of data and text
  are available from journals and books, but even
  more are available on line.
• Some students have become careless about using
  others peoples writing and data without
  acknowledging the source.
• This is plagiarism one of the worst sins a
  scientist can commit. DONT DO IT