Reading Materials Written for Broader Publics

This chapter covers how to read about data with a focus on narrative as an important first step to writing for other publics. Examples include press releases and blog posts as outlets for researchers to write for broader audiences. This chapter also provides tips for identifying elements (e.g., the five Ws) and mapping the organization (e.g., the inverted pyramid) of press releases and identifying the motivation of, and argument strategies used in, blog posts.

Crafting Words and Sentences

This chapter provides general advice for strengthening science writing. This advice includes how to trim phrases, write in a straightforward manner, and use an active voice and concrete nouns. Additionally, the chapter examines how to write from a higher level by, e.g., balancing between specific information and general statements, and smoothly transitioning between paragraphs and sections to improve the reading experience and provide a road map for the reader. Finally, also provided is a list of common grammatical errors to watch out for.

Writing the First Draft

This chapter describes the typical structure of a formal article and provides guidance about what should be included and emphasized in each section of a paper. The particular importance of placing work in the context of others’ work, while distinguishing what sets the work apart, is emphasized. Examples of report elements show the variety of structures that a formal report could take, depending on the venue and audience, and are based on the emergency-department visits from the previous chapter.

Communicating Through Statistical Graphs

This chapter addresses how to create statistical graphs that are effective in communicating findings. This includes how to select an appropriate type of plot to reveal underlying structure in the data, facilitate important comparisons, and create a context for interpreting the distributions and relationships observed. The chapter also covers how to read common univariate and bivariate plots, pay attention to the details in making and interpreting plots, and create plots that help make a convincing argument.

Reading Science Articles

This chapter covers how to read about data in a variety of journals and magazines and learn from how another author organizes and writes about their findings. This chapter also demonstrates how a reader can identify the main components of a data analysis and examine how an author brings these components together to form a logical and compelling argument. Examples include templates for use in organizing and writing about findings.

Taking Care with Statistical Terms

This chapter addresses writing challenges specific to summarizing a data analysis. The aim is to provide guidance on how to craft clear sentences, choose appropriate words, and convey findings in a compelling manner that is faithful to the data and avoids overstating any implications. This chapter offers advice on how to differentiate statistical terminology from everyday language, represent numbers in text, write mathematical expressions, and choose the correct quantitative nouns and adjectives (e.g., fewer or less, percent or percentage).

Revising: Drafts #2 Through…

This chapter discusses the revision process. Particular emphasis is placed on revision, with both the statistical argument and intended audience in mind. The chapter provides advice for revising effectively, including strategies for targeted revision. Example guideliness for both giving and receiving feedback during the peer-review process are included.

Organizing the Story

This chapter discusses how to map out results in a storyboard before starting to write about findings. In particular, the chapter discusses the process of choosing what material is most relevant to our argument, determining the order in which to present our findings, and finding the narrative that will be compelling to a reader. An example of the storyboard process is provided using hospital data on drug-related, emergency-department visits.

Building a Portfolio

This chapter includes 22 exercises and activities to help the new writer further practice their writing skills and build a portfolio of writing samples. The portfolio pieces include prompts for critiquing visualizations, editing Wikipedia entries, writing blog posts and book reports, translating scientific abstracts into everyday language, and describing effective analogies.

Describing Data

This chapter covers how to write about data analyzed for a technical article. Examples are provided for writing a data description, including how to reference the source of the data, describe methods used to collect the data, summarize how the data were cleaned and prepared, and provide information about the variables used in the analysis. This chapter also provides tips on how to present summary statistics.