As William Zinsser says, "Few people realize how badly they write." This set of slides was developed for first-year science communication students to help them to recognize their shortcomings.
Beginners Guide to TikTok for Search - Rachel Pearson - We are Tilt __ Bright...
A Writing Review for Budding Science Communicators
1. …for budding science communicators
Use readable chat
txt in this msg box
as u would on a
real phone. Srch
the web 4 txt
messaging abbrev 2
learn how 2 write
in this style. :-)
…the problem in question!
3. What is “style”?
• “…what is correct, or
acceptable, in the use of
English.”
• Correct use of…
– Grammar
– Syntax
– Punctuation
– Word choice
COMM 1501 3
4. Writing has a purpose…
• To provide information
• To induce to action
• To entertain
COMM 1501 4
5. Avoiding Clutter (and
improving clarity)
• “In an effort to streamline the
booking of appointments in the
outpatient clinic, staff members are
to be advised that the prioritization
of patients will be completed prior
to providing the patient with the
appointment time. This will
necessitate telephoning patients
and advising them of their
appointment times rather than
being able to provide such an
appointment times during the initial
telephone encounter.”
COMM 1501 5
6. Let’s explore…
• Grammatical errors on signs
• American Eagle, you should
have known better!
• Five grammatical errors that
make you look dumb
• Grammar Girl
COMM 1501 6
If you think back to your high school or even college English teachers, they were always commenting on writing style. In these instances, they were usually referring to the voice carried by writers that you were studying from Hemmingway to Shakespeare. This kind of style is important because you need to consider your audience. Writing a piece to explain the current financial situation for your donors will require a different style than the one you might employ to write a speech for your peers at a conference of healthcare financial officers. Another way of defining style, however, is a bit more pragmatic: style in this instance is what Strunk and White, authors of the classic book The Elements of Style referred to as “what is correct, or acceptable, in the use of English.” Let’s take a writing test…
Provide information. Probably more often than any other purpose, we write to provide others with information. Exactly who we are directing that information toward is also an important part of determining the objectives of a piece since the style will vary with each.Induce to action. The second objective for any written work is to induce someone to take the action you want or need them to take.
Of course, translated into good writing this means: “When patients call to make appointments, put them in priority order and telephone them later with their appointment times.”
The truth is that writing is fundamental to our ability to communicate