Scientific Writing Groceries

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• Uds Thesis whole process guidelines
• https://www.uni-saarland.de/fileadmin/upload/lehrstuhl/morana/Downloads/Thesis_Guidelines.pdf

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• Uds Thesis Word Template

• https://www.uni-saarland.de/lehrstuhl/morana/lehre/abschlussarbeiten/templates.html

• Thesis Requirements

• Your thesis must be 14.000 words (ca. 56 pages) (Master) long (+/- 10%).

• These page counts refer to net pages (i.e., pages with text, tables, and figures) and do not include a table of contents, lists of tables and figures, appendices, and the bibliography.

• Your thesis should be formatted according to the chair template (available on the chair website7 or from your supervisor).

• The citation style is APA 7th edition and can be automatically set by all major reference management software (e.g., Mendeley, Zotero, Citavi, etc.).

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- Useful links from Uds Study Coordinator:

• Resources to improve your technical writing skills

This is followed by the writing phase. Academic writing is usually not an easy process. Here you can find some resources that could help you to understand the principles of scientific writing and produce a better thesis.

• [x] How to write an abstract: https://users.ece.cmu.edu/~koopman/essays/abstract.html

• [x] Scientific writing: https://sites.duke.edu/scientificwriting/

• [x] "How to write a thesis": https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCB9D9763E3FA22BB

• [x] English communication for scientists: https://www.nature.com/scitable/ebooks/english-communication-for-scientists-14053993/contents/

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Scientific writing is required not only in thesis but also in the CV and the P email we'll be sending this Thursday

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We start with :

- Scientific writing:

• https://sites.duke.edu/scientificwriting/

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• What's important: Communicating what you intend to the reader
• The goal of writing is communication.

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• Smart Revising:
• Don't think too much while writing.
• When you write, just write. Just spit out what comes to your mind.
• Then go back and revise through several drafts.

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• Revise Manuscript in 7 steps

• noun --> verbs if possible

• For each sentence: What's this sentence about？

• For each sentence: Find the linking part to the previous sentence

• For each paragraph: summarize the main point of the paragraph

  • each sentence should support main point
  • first sentence and last sentence should discuss the same topic

• Check the losing point of paper by reading aloud or text-to-voice

• Check manuscript by outside reader

• Search for words that add little to content(very, it should be noted, the fact, framework, mechanism, utilize, usage, methodology, methodologies)

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Lesson 1: Subjects and Actions:

Ref

• The two important components in the sentences are

  • who (subject主语)` is the sentence about?
  • what(verb动词) did they do?

• Put the important information in the correct structural place in the sentence - Principles

  • Put actions in verbs
  • Put characters in subjects
  • Keep subjects near verbs

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Principle 1: Put actions in verbs

• No nouns, why?
  • Nouns create disconnection between structure and meaning.
  • Nouns don't convey the intended action as verbs do.
  • Most readers expect the main action of a clause to be found in a verb

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Example Noun vs Verb

• In the first sentence, our intended action is to analyse but we put performed in the verb position

• We don't want to overusenoun, disguise our main actions and cost reader extra energy

• However, when a noun summarized the action of previous sentence, this is a good case to create a backwards link to something already familiar to the reader

We analyzed the data. This analysis demonstrated the need for additional experiments.

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Principle 2 Important Who in subjects

• Readers expect the main character in a clause to be found in the subject.

• Example bad vs good:

• The important Who, main character of this sentence is Bacteria, so it should be in the Subject position

• The important Action is move, so it should be a verb

• Ask What's this about and Who is important? when deciding grammatical structure

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How to compose a paragraph

**- Paragraph units are most effective** when they either 
- 1) discuss a single topic; or 
- 2) discuss a series of related topics that build on one another.

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How to deal with subject shifting

• The subjects in one paragraph could change but should reflect the same topic in a logical story-telling order

• Only highlight the subject in each sentence

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• Subject Shifting in one topic

• If we only extract the subject strings:

• We'll notice that the first examples' subjects are consistent and familiar throughout the paragraph.

• The second example shifts the subject twice, disconnecting if from the topic of the paragraph

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• Subject Shifting in multiple topics

• In Multiple topics case, it’s necessary to write explanatory paragraphs that build from one thing to the next.

• Topics should be shifted in an intended, logical flow that builds up to the final point of the paragraph.

• Each subject connects to the previous subject (or is the object of the previous sentence)

• We should link the topics as if there are hinge(铰链) between one another

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Principle 3: Keep subjects close to verbs

• We should put the subjects close to verbs, then add the rest adj,and sub clauses.

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• Long List situation

• If we put the long list at the beginning of a sentence without context

• The user needs to re-read the sentence to understand it:

• We should first provide context, then start the list:

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Common problems of not applying the principles

1. Meaningless verb has been subject to as a verb in the sentence conveys no information

• we could say:
• Or more clear:

• 

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2. Begin with non-context long list

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3. Noun --> verb

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4. Faaaaaaaar away verbs

• we can solve this problem by highlight the subject and verb, then put them closer

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Lesson 2: Cohesion, Coherence, and Emphasis

Ref

• Cohesion is the degree to which sentences “glue.”
• Coherence is the logical division of the writing into internally consistent units (usually paragraph units).

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Principle 1: Put new information last

• Ideas or characters that have not yet appeared in your manuscript are called New information.
• Most readers will find your writing more clear if you consistently begin sentences with familiar (old) information and conclude sentences with unfamiliar (new) information.

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• When beginning the sentence with new information, there's no context provided for the reader

• In the revised version, the sentences with new and old information are glued together, the writing is said to be cohesive

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Principle 2: use Passive voice wisely

• What's a passive voice?:

• 

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Cons when relying on passive voice:

1. Ambiguous Actor

• The Actor could be omitted in the passive voice.
• This omit left with multiple possibilities of interpretation to the reader and might lead to confusion

2. Dangling modifiers

3. Wordiness冗长

• All else being equal, shorter writing is better
• Whatever else is true of passive voice, it is a fact that passive voice tends to increase length.

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Advantages of passive voice

• When applying Principle 1 : Put new information last, we can use passive voice to move the familiar information to the front.
• Only use passive voice for a reason

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Principle 3: Make sure the first and last sentences of a paragraph match

• Also called Coherence.
• Coherence means that readers can feel the flow of writing.
• The writing stays on one topic in expected units.
• A single paragraph corresponds to a single thought.

• Each sentence in the paragraph should support that main point.

• An example of with cohesion(glue) without coherence (same topic):

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Example

1. Use wise passive voice to manipulate the emphasis

2. Unnecessary passive voice

3. Ambiguous given subject

4. Dangling modifier + passive voice

• Just emilinate the passive in the main clause:

5. Should put New Information last

• The Subject of the second sentence is too long

• We

  • simplify the subject
  • bring old information closer to verb
  • put new information at last

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Lesson 3: Concision and Simplicity

Ref - Long, complex writing doesn’t imply good science.

Principles

1. Omit needless words (excessive hedging, ineffectual phrases)
2. Prefer simple words
3. Use simple subjects
4. Use adjectives/adverbs frugally

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Principle 1: Omit needless words

• 1. Ineffectual Phrases

• These phrases mean nothing

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• 2. Wordy Phrases

• choose concise expressions over wordy ones:

• permanently remove these phrases from the manuscript

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Principle 2: Prefer simple words

• Only consider complex words when you intend to convey the complex meaning
• Unnecessary inflation that doesn’t improve understanding.

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Principle 3: Cut the complex subject into simpler subjects

• When we want to convey too much information in one sentence, we put everything into the subject
• Instead, it is usually more clear to split these tasks into multiple sentences, some to define the subject and others to describe what it does.

• After the revision, readers don't need to read the long list and wait for verb:

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• We can always check if our subject is too complex, by finding the subject and verb in each sentence. If the distance between subject and verb is too far apart, divide the sentence.

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Principle 4 too many very

• The word “very” here is only meaningful if the sentence is making a distinction between high-energy and very-high-energy. The word high implicitly connotes a relative comparison to low.

• Otherwise, very adv. doesn't convey additional information, omit it.

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• Repetition problem
• When one adj/adv is enough, do not use two of them

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• Excessive Hedging(正面答复)

• No need to be too humble, one hedge is enough

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• Not so obvious

• Something that is obvious, clearly to you may not be obvious to the reader.

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• Sing your own praises(自吹自擂)
• Let the reader find how good it is rather than bragging

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Example

1. Choose Simple words

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2. Complex subject + long list + far away verb

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3. too many hedges

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4. Wordy words

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How to write an abstract

Ref

• CheckList for an abstract:
  • motivation
  • problem statement
  • approach
  • results
  • conclusion

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Abstracts have always served the function of "selling" your work. Executive summary is often the only piece of a report read by stakeholders

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Details for checklist

A brief abstract should do almost as much work as a computer architecture paper does

Each section is typically a single sentence

• 1. Motivation (Why)

  • Why do we care this problem and the results?
  • This section should include importance of our work, difficulty of the area, and the impact it has

• 2. Problem Statement(What)

  • What problem are we trying to solve?
  • What scope is our work? : a generalized approach or a specific situation
  • Put the problem statement before motivation if the problem is obviously interesting for most readers

• 3. Approach(How)

  • How did you solve the problem? (simulation, analytic models, prototype construction, )
  • The Extent of your work (we look at one application or hundreds of programs in twenty languages)
  • Important variables you (control,ignore,measure)

• 4.Results(Answer)

  • Most papers conclude the results by percentage of faster, cheaper,smaller, or better than something else
  • Avoid vague words such as very, small
  • Don't provide numbers that can be easily misinterpreted

• 5. Conclusion(Influence)

• What are the implications of the result?

• it is (a significant win, anice hack[trick], or a good sign that this way doesn't work)

• is the result general, potentially generalizable, or specific to a particular case

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Other hints about self-contained, result limitations, word limits, keywords

• 1. Self-contained description

  • Do not presume that the reader will try to find out the explanation of a vague statement by reading the whole paper
  • All sentences in the abstract should make sense by itself

• 2. State limitations of result

  • Use weasel words such as could, might to state your limitation of your results if it's not absolute.

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Example paragraph:

“In this study, we investigated the potential effects of Drug X on alleviating common cold symptoms. Our results suggest that participants who took Drug X may have experienced a reduction in symptom severity compared to the control group. However, these findings should be interpreted with caution as our sample size was relatively small and the study was limited to a short duration. Further research could provide more definitive evidence of Drug X’s effectiveness.”

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• 3. Keywords for searching

  • Think of six search phrases and keywords that people looking for your work might use.
  • Be sure these keywords appear in the abstract.

• 4.Word limits

  • An abstract word limit of 150 to 200 words is common.

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How to write a Thesis

Lesson 1: Why write a thesis:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTD7b6rU0I0&list=PLCB9D9763E3FA22BB&index=1

- Why do we need to write a thesis

1. We need to communicate our scientific work with others
2. We use this thesis to prove that we are able to communicate our scientific work
3. We achieve this part and gain pride from it

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How to write a Thesis

Lesson 2: Components of Thesis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3manPEYkpJ0&list=PLCB9D9763E3FA22BB&index=2

- Common components in the thesis

1. Title (What you found)

2. Abstract (Summarize why you did it, what you did,what you found as a result concisely)

3. Introduction (Describe the background and significance of the study, lead the reader to see the central question [at the end of introduction] that you want to address )

4. Materials and Methods (We tell the future reader how to repeat or reproduce our experiments here)

5. Results (we describe the experiments we've done and observations that we made, we normally use figures to show our observations, figures as results have to be valid so the reader can test based on it)

6. Discussion (we put the result in a more general perspective, we compare the result we found in the literature , comments on agreements and disagreements, and future studies )

7. References (list of literature)
8. Acknowledgements : (thank advisor, thank labmates, thank anyone who provides you with advice/method)

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How to write a Thesis

Lesson 3: How to start writing a thesis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c012UjXLWP8&list=PLCB9D9763E3FA22BB&index=3=1

----------------------Collecting information pieces-------------------

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1. Put Collections of Major findings in the paper ------> Abstract Results

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2. Points explaining background and significance to make this topic understandable for reader -------> Introduction

   • Why is important to raise the question that you are trying to address
   • Image you are explaining your thesis to your brother and sister
     • so you need to provide them some background information

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3. Agreements and controversies with previous literature ---> Discussions

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--------------- order of writing thesis -----------------------

--------------first draft of thesis [Information collection part]----------

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1. Preliminary(preparing) Abstract
   • we summarize the major points we want to make in the thesis
   • don't be nervous to make it perfect, we'll go back during the thesis process
   • this abstract is used to guide ourself

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2. Figures and Figure legends
   • we need to prepare the figures in the first place
   • because everything else in the thesis will be surrounding those figures
   • Figures are key points of thesis
   • We should know what should go inside the figure
   • And how we briefly describe the figure in the legends
   • And the order of figures

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3. Result

   • it would be easy for us to write result after we assembled the figures
   • because normally every chapter of result section will be describing one of the figures

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4. Methods

   • now that we already have the result
   • let's describe the method we use in a careful and non-creative way

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5. Introduction
   • once we know what kind of result we want to describe
   • now we need to provide the reader with necessary background information
   • and telling them why we did this experiment
   • what's the question behind our research
   • Writing the introduction after we write the result would help us focus on our result
   • Instead of writing it at first as a form of review

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6. Discussion
   • Keep result in mind
   • This part is to show your critical thinking rather than reiterating the result
   • We need to see our findings in a general background
     • why we agree and disagree with other literature
     • outline future research (creative)

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7. References
   • we'll do it throughout the process

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8. Acknowledgements

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9. Abstract Again!!!

   • Review the results, methods, introduction sections
   • Make sure these important contents are summarized concisely in the abstract

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The most likely to be read section in the thesis:

• I could be a genius haha , I already knew the answer when I ask myself this question

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Collections of Information pieces to thesis paper

--------------first draft of thesis [Information assemble part]----------

1. Start by writing Outlines

   • we start by only writing incomplete headlines in different chapters (major ones, minor ones)
   • we refine these headlines into sentences
   • We get a framework for a paragraph with a starting headline

2. Then we write Sentences

   • write sentences as if you are vomiting
   • keep writing with simple languages
   • when meeting a difficult part, just mark it and leave some questions there

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After first draft

• Only take care of the hard part and grammar after you have a first draft
• First, check if the scientific facts are correct, then the language
• Keep it clear and simple!!!!!
• Insert References correctly

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Citations:

• Copy paste no matter text or figures always with reference

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• Cite your colleagues for their findings and ideas , phrase (use "quotation marks")

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Title and Abstract

• This is the most important part
  1. We write a preliminary abstract at the beginning of writing a thesis as a guideline
  2. We check it after the first draft and see if it contains the most important information we want to communicate

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Thesis Title

• should be short and with general keywords
• So the employer would see what did you do in the thesis in your cv

Journal Title

• more specific
• one sentence summary for the article

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Abstract

• Summarize all key parts of the thesis in half a page or one page

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Figures and legends !!!!!!

• Figures will draw most of the attention!!
• We'll show logical order of the thesis by the figures

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- General Hints

• Pick the relevant images and diagrams
• Document raw data for the images
• Don't manipulate figures!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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- Figure Formats

• Sub Figures 1(a), and 1(b).. use these multiple panels in figure
  • only when they need logical comparison or closely-correlated
• Labeling should be intuitive, simple and self-explained
  • tells us what this figure is about
• Font : Use Arial with uniform(same) size for text in figures
• Complex images : add (arrows) for clarifications

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Figures - legends

• Legends tells

  • We did What to gain the displayed result
  • What's each column/ each panel
  • In legends, we can only describe what have been done to get this result
    • we leave the observation to the reader
  • Or we can just tell readers the observation result so they don't need to find out

• Figure title we use short statement