Scientific Writing Tips for Non-Native Speakers of English

Non-native speakers of English sometimes struggle to write scientific papers in English and are at a disadvantage when competing for space in journals. There may be a variety of reasons for this difficulty, but in this video I focus on syntax and suggest seven ways that an author can ensure their writing meets the expectations of an English-speaking reader. You may need to pause the video to read examples. If you want to jump to a specific point, see the time stamps below.

00:00 Intro
02:04 Subject-verb separation
03:54 Topic of the sentence
04:29 Old vs. new information
05:18 Paragraph structure
05:48 Passive vs. active voice
07:10 Transitions
07:34 Verb choice

Some links to additional information:

How to Write Clearly: Cohesion and Coherence:    • How to Write Clearly: Cohesion & Cohe...  

Writing Effective Transitions in a Scientific Paper:    • Writing Effective Transitions in a Sc...  

Improving Narrative Flow in a Scientific Paper:    • Improving Narrative Flow in a Scienti...  

Active Versus Passive Voice in Scientific Writing:    • Active Versus Passive Voice in Scient...  

If you use video in your research or would like to make a video about your research, check out my other YouTube channel, The Scientist Videographer:    / sciencevideography  

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