Homophones: Words That Sound Alike but Mean Different Things
In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Juliet says, “that which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet.” She means that since her family and Romeo’s family are enemies,…
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Reporting Research
How to Get Your Point Across Using Repetition and Variation
As a scientist, you are writing because you have a non-subjective message to convey. That message should be crystal clear. State it, rather than imply it; repeat it to drive it…
Five Cover Letter Tips That Can Get Your Manuscript Accepted Faster
A manuscript is generally accompanied by a cover letter when submitted to a journal. A killer cover letter can get your manuscript a review ahead of a rejection. Yet, what a…
Comma, Dashes, Parentheses: Effectively Using Punctuations in Research Writing
Poor punctuation can camouflage, or even entirely deface brilliant ideas. This article addresses three of the most troublesome marks in English.
Comma
Dash
Parentheses…
The Merits of Quantitative Research
A Scientific Approach
Quantitative research methods are considered to be the preferred approach to academic research, with infrequent allowances for qualitative methodologies to…
What Is Parallelism? How Should You Use It in Research Writing?
Successful writing is a matter of clear structure, conventional grammar, and good style. While the rules of structure and grammar are fairly straightforward, the anatomy of style…
Why Would I Need Copyediting If I am a Native English Speaker?
Non-native speakers of English have a particular need for a scientific editor, since mastering the nuances of another language take half a lifetime. But native English speakers…
Storytelling in Academia: How to Reduce Its Risks in Research Narrative
Rigorous academia narrative and high-impact storytelling are poles apart. Translating complex data into attention-grabbing and accessible stories is not something that many can do…
How to Structure Your Dissertation
Pulling together years of research into a dissertation may seem a daunting task. But it needn’t be. If you can organize a scientific article, you can structure a dissertation.…
Is Data Citation and Sharing Good or Bad?
Knowledge should be free to all! Such is the scientific ideal. Free dissemination of information for the benefit of all. The commercial ideal is quite different, of course, more…
How Sentence Connectivity and Signaling Can Improve Your Writing Skills
You can use a technique called "signaling" to eliminate choppiness in your writing. Every sentence of every paragraph should end in such a way that what follows seems natural to…
What Is Translational Research?
Defining Translational Research (TR)
The National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health defines Translational Research (TR) as: “A term used to describe the…