I was somewhat surprised to learn that my instructor thinks I have poor writing skills. Shocked, actually. When he mentioned his surprise in class last week at the lacking in some of our writing, I assumed he was talking about someone else. Well, he was, but he was also talking about me. All through high school and college I had always thought of myself as a proficient writer.
Some clarity came from the instructor’s comments though, as I realized it wasn’t my writing overall that sucked, just my scientific writing. Well of course it sucks, nearly all the writing I did in high school and college was creative and I was trained never to use personal pronouns. Then, add nearly 4 years of uncritical, unedited, and mostly artless blogging… I’ve developed a style that’s not compatible with scientific writing.
So now, armed with Strunk & White, I’ll see what I can do to remedy the situation. Look for more conciseness. Look for less passive sentences. Look for me getting to the point sooner and citing things correctly. Staring tomorrow.
It’s all about the five paragraph essay. Just stick to that format and you can’t go wrong.
Although my skills are starting to go down the crapper, I’m always willing to give a look over any papers you might want proofed. Heck, I actually enjoy it. Also, I owe as much since I drank so much of you’re imperial stout last time I was there. Tip of the day: Don’t listen to Matt.
What’s a Strunk and White? Is that a magical beer that makes you write awesome scientific papers? That would be almost as cool as Romulan Ale.
Don’t you mean “fewer” passive sentences?
Probably Al. I also forgot to mention my tendency to use hyperbole.
Tom – google for Strunk & White.
its all about a good thesis…Or just knowing how to make it look like you know what you are talking about.
This should totally help.
http://radioworldwide.gospelcom.net/essaygenerator/