Journal Article•
The Science of Scientific Writing
TL;DR: The authors argue that complexity of thought need not lead to impenetrability of expression, and demonstrate a number of rhetorical principles that can produce clarity in communication without oversimplifying scientific issues.
Abstract: Science is often hard to read Most people assume that its difficulties are born out of necessity, out of the extreme complexity of scientific concepts, data and analysis We argue here that complexity of thought need not lead to impenetrability of expression; we demonstrate a number of rhetorical principles that can produce clarity in communication without oversimplifying scientific issues The results are substantive, not merely cosmetic: Improving the quality of writing actually improves the quality of thought
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors propose a good model description practice composed of guidelines for the organization of publications, a checklist for model descriptions, templates for tables presenting model structure, and guidelines for diagrams of networks.
Abstract: Progress in science depends on the effective exchange of ideas among scientists. New ideas can be assessed and criticized in a meaningful manner only if they are formulated precisely. This applies to simulation studies as well as to experiments and theories. But after more than 50 years of neuronal network simulations, we still lack a clear and common understanding of the role of computational models in neuroscience as well as established practices for describing network models in publications. This hinders the critical evaluation of network models as well as their re-use.
We analyze here 14 research papers proposing neuronal network models of different complexity and find widely varying approaches to model descriptions, with regard to both the means of description and the ordering and placement of material. We further observe great variation in the graphical representation of networks and the notation used in equations. Based on our observations, we propose a good model description practice, composed of guidelines for the organization of publications, a checklist for model descriptions, templates for tables presenting model structure, and guidelines for diagrams of networks. The main purpose of this good practice is to trigger a debate about the communication of neuronal network models in a manner comprehensible to humans, as opposed to machine-readable model description languages.
We believe that the good model description practice proposed here, together with a number of other recent initiatives on data-, model-, and software-sharing, may lead to a deeper and more fruitful exchange of ideas among computational neuroscientists in years to come. We further hope that work on standardized ways of describing—and thinking about—complex neuronal networks will lead the scientific community to a clearer understanding of high-level concepts in network dynamics, and will thus lead to deeper insights into the function of the brain.
184 citations
TL;DR: The experiences of a group of novice researchers engaged in the writing process are evaluated, to elucidate the main difficulties and sources of encouragement they encountered and provide some insight into the challenges faced by novice researchers in their early attempts at scientific writing.
Abstract: PurposeWriting scientific articles is a daunting task for novice researchers. In this qualitative study carried out in 2007, the authors evaluated the experiences of a group of novice researchers engaged in the writing process, to elucidate the main difficulties and sources of encouragement
93 citations
TL;DR: An approach to summary generation that opportunistically folds information from multiple facts into a single sentence using concise linguistic constructions, which allows the construction of concise summaries, containing complex sentences that pack in information.
Abstract: Summaries typically convey maximal information in minimal space. In this paper, we describe an approach to summary generation that opportunistically folds information from multiple facts into a single sentence using concise linguistic constructions. Unlike previous work in generation, how information gets added into a summary depends in part on constraints from how the text is worded so far. This approach allows the construction of concise summaries, containing complex sentences that pack in information. The resulting summary sentences are, in fact, longer than sentences generated by previous systems. We describe two applications we have developed using this approach, one of which produces summaries of basketball games (STREAK) while the other (PLANDOC) produces summaries of telephone network planning activity; both systems summarize input data as opposed to full text. The applications implement opportunistic summary generation using complementary approaches. STREAK uses revision, creating a draft of essential facts and then using revision rules constrained by the draft wording to add in additional facts as the text allows. PLANDOC uses discourse planning, looking ahead in its text plan to group together facts which can be expressed concisely using conjunction and deleting repetitions. In this paper, we describe the problems for summary generation, the two domains, the linguistic constructions that the systems use to convey information concisely and the textual constraints that determine what information gets included.
81 citations
TL;DR: It's not surprising that some academic papers seem to swim before the authors' eyes — the scientific literature has become steadily less accessible over the past half-century, asks Jonathan Knight.
Abstract: It's not surprising that some academic papers seem to swim before our eyes — the scientific literature has become steadily less accessible over the past half-century. Can we stop this trend, asks Jonathan Knight.
79 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present the specifics of designing oral presentations for university students, and make students aware of basic points, types, characteristics and styles of scientific and technical communication, in an attempt to make them expand and perfect their oral presentation skills.
Abstract: This paper aims at presenting the specifics of designing oral presentations for university students. Oral presentations are becoming an important part of language teaching, especially in the university environment. Teaching students to design effective oral presentations presupposes two goals, namely, enabling students to function successfully in the future professional surrounding, and preparing them for their possible further academic career. For both directions, the author of this text, an ESP lecturer and syllabus designer, concludes from her own teaching experience that teaching presentations is a necessity if students are to perform well both in professional and academic settings. Since oral presentations involve multi-skills, a carefully planned and constructed guideline will help develop students' receptiveness to oral presentations. By making students aware of basic points, types, characteristics and styles of scientific and technical communication, the paper is to serve as a starting point in an attempt to make them expand and perfect their oral presentation skills. In a pilot study a conceptual framework has been used to illustrate our starting point. It has been examined the importance of designing an effective oral presentations at the university level. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n19p468
75 citations
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Book•
07 Aug 2002TL;DR: The Style: Ten Lessons in clarity and grace as mentioned in this paperocusing on the single most serious problem that mature writers face: a wordy, tangled, too-complex prose style, is a useful resource for any mature writer.
Abstract: In his preface, Joseph M. Williams says that Style: ten lessons in clarity and grace focuses on “the single most serious problem that mature writers face: a wordy, tangled, too-complex prose style.” His book deals with that problem admirably. Indeed, the advice and examples furnished by Williams are varied and sophisticated enough to make it a useful resource for any mature writer — even the mature writer whose prose is clear and concise.
381 citations