academic writing plain english research
Plain language (also known as plain English) is a way of writing or presenting information so that readers can understand it quickly and easily. Journalists could read these summaries and not have to wade through technical terms, and have a higher probability of getting the message right.
Your email address will not be published. ( Log Out / Here’s a list of easy tips to help you write plain language, from the US National Archives: Plain language is clear, concise, organized, and appropriate for the intended audience. And not just in plain summary abstracts, but also in all papers, grants and reports. The type of writing used for all these many, many pages is known as academic writing.. How fantastic! Your email address will not be published. Write for your reader, not yourself. Get started with these resources. Use headings such as “. I’m sure there are other and probably even better ways to reword the original sentence, but hopefully, this gives you an idea of how plain language might work in academia. That post generated terrific discussions, new collaborations and many ideas, and I am now trying to write plain language summaries of my own research as it gets published. It’s not about “dumbing down” your writing; it’s about tailoring it to your audience in a way that they can understand what you are saying.
Abstract are typically aimed at the audience that will read a specialized journal, but often contain technical terms, and typically jump into a specialized topic quickly and concisely. Both credit Stuart Chase as an original plain language proponent in the U.S.—in The power of words (1953), Chase complained about “gobbledygook” in texts. It’s CLEAN (and Plain) Language. I included it at the top when I posted a list of my favorite “books for scientists” on our lab web page (www.thegrewallab.com). Error: Twitter did not respond. Learn how your comment data is processed. How to write a plain language summary: The first, and perhaps most essential step, is to explain ‘why’ the research was done. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Clear & simple scholarly English for multi-language authors. Too much detail will be overwhelming and confusing, too little will not allow the reader to envision how things were done. Please wait a few minutes and refresh this page. For two years, I worked as a college writing center tutor while enrolled in a graduate professional writing program. To revisit, what are plain language summaries? Most scientists who publish in the peer-reviewed literature are familiar with Abstracts – which are a short synthesis of the research, and which typically highlight the research objectives, method and main findings. July 26, 2017 . The last step is to go through the plain-language summary with a keen eye for meaning and jargon. ), Clear, concise writing is ESSENTIAL for all scientists. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Here are some to get you started–and the rest is practice . Required fields are marked *. The overarching reason and rational for the research must be explicitly stated in general terms. Colleagues can better understand the work that all scientists do, even when disciplines are quite far apart. Use the passive voice only in rare cases. ASAE: The Center for Association Leadership, Join the Center and Save on Registration for the Access for All Virtual Conference, ClearMark Award winners announced at the Access for All virtual conference October 13-15, 2020, Center Announces New Board Member Appointment, A brief interview with two Center volunteers: Casey Mank and Grace Foster, Learn About WTF Awards – Wait! Or No? Two good resources for the history of plain language are Redish (1985) and Schriver (1997).
Plain language is a beautiful goal and its concepts are useful for all writers, including academics. I am interested in linking to any other repositories of clear language writing. A research objective could be phrased as a question, or goal, and may have several sub-questions. The goal of this current post is to provide some guidance about how to write plain language summaries. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window). Proofread your work, and have a colleague proof it as well. Plain English is a style of writing that enables the reader to understand the message the first time they read it.
A Plain English Summary is in keeping with the NIHR Journals Library’s commitment to accessibility Follow the same principles and procedures as in writing the Plain English Summary that accompanied your funding submission If possible involve a public member of your research team to ensure the language is appropriate for non-academics. The Benefits of Plain Language in Academia, Why Simple Language Isn’t so Simple: The Struggle to Create Plain Language in Documentation, Monash University: Writing Clearly, Concisely and Precisely, TIP: Find & replace extra carriage returns (newlines) in Google Docs, What do you need? International research, for example from the UK and New Zealand indicates that by being aware of literacy issues, organisations can be more effective in meeting the needs of those who use their services.
The first, and perhaps most essential step, is to explain ‘why’ the research was done. What Is Plain Language? As usual, your ideas, opinions, and comments are always welcome! Research on plain English.
Plain-language summaries are a way to communicate a scientific research papers to a broad audience, in a jargon-free and clear manner. One resource I always turn to (and HIGHLY recommend) when I am writing is “On Writing Well” by William Zinsser. Without attention to meaning, at all levels, a plain-language summary will be a re-packaged Abstract, which is to be avoided.
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Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. There are great resources out there to help you write in plain language. The third step is to explain ‘what’ you did to answer the research objective. For now, however, it’s timely to provide some idea about how to write plain language summaries.
As I say in the post, I always bore students to death with how good I think the book is. Thanks for the guide.
However, this is not adequate for a plain language summary – ‘something’ is surely known on the topic, it’s just a matter of defining that ‘something’ and explaining how the work is expanding beyond, perhaps to a new research direction, or in a different model system. Plain Language has a clear place in academic writing.
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