{"id":6621,"date":"2026-07-14T10:58:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T15:58:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eastcentral.edu\/learning-center\/?page_id=6621"},"modified":"2026-07-14T10:58:48","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T15:58:48","slug":"a-brief-introduction-to-scientific-writing","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.eastcentral.edu\/learning-center\/a-brief-introduction-to-scientific-writing\/","title":{"rendered":"A Brief Introduction to Scientific Writing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>You&#8217;ve worked hard in your English classes, mastering MLA formatting and rhetorical strategies. Suddenly, you find yourself in a science class and discover the writing rules seem to have changed. How do you adapt your writing to fit this new discipline? Effective writing hinges on three main qualities: structure, clarity, and tone.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">I. Structure\u00a0<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Most forms of scientific writing are organized in a &#8220;bowtie&#8221; structure.<\/li>\n<li>Each element must remain in its specific place.\n<ul>\n<li>For example, data cannot appear in the conclusion.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Do not spend too much time on errors or inconsistencies.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eastcentral.edu\/learning-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/27\/2026\/07\/Science-writing-bowtie-method.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"700\" src=\"https:\/\/www.eastcentral.edu\/learning-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/27\/2026\/07\/Science-writing-bowtie-method-1024x700.png\" alt=\"The image depicts a structured outline for a research paper, organized into three main sections represented by colored triangles. The top triangle is blue and contains the title &quot;I. Introduction&quot; alongside four bullet points: &quot;Big picture\/relevant knowledge,&quot; &quot;Previous research,&quot; &quot;Research question,&quot; and &quot;Hypothesis.&quot; The next triangle, in yellow, is labeled &quot;II. Methods\/Results,&quot; which includes two bullet points: &quot;Bare bones explanation of experiment &amp; accuracy&quot; and &quot;Raw data &amp; statistical analysis in textual and visual forms.&quot; The largest triangle is green and denotes &quot;III. Discussion,&quot; containing five bullet points: &quot;Review of hypothesis,&quot; &quot;Note trends in experiment data,&quot; &quot;Connect data trends with research findings,&quot; &quot;Address any errors or inconsistencies,&quot; and &quot;Conclusion: disprove or support hypothesis.&quot; Each section has connecting lines leading to the relevant triangle, creating a clear, hierarchical flow of information.\" class=\"wp-image-6622\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.eastcentral.edu\/learning-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/27\/2026\/07\/Science-writing-bowtie-method-1024x700.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.eastcentral.edu\/learning-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/27\/2026\/07\/Science-writing-bowtie-method-300x205.png 300w, https:\/\/www.eastcentral.edu\/learning-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/27\/2026\/07\/Science-writing-bowtie-method-768x525.png 768w, https:\/\/www.eastcentral.edu\/learning-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/27\/2026\/07\/Science-writing-bowtie-method.png 1517w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>In some science classes, you will be required to use passive voice exclusively. In others, both active and passive voice are permitted, with clarity being the determining factor. But can you tell which is which?\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Active voice(<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">subject <\/span><span style=\"border-bottom: 3px double;\">performs<\/span> action):\u00a0<\/strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Subject&#8217;s <\/span><span style=\"border-bottom: 3px double;\">self-reported<\/span> pulse rates.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Passive voice (<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">subject<\/span><span style=\"text-decoration: underline dashed;\"> receives <\/span> action):<\/strong> Pulse <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">rates<\/span><span style=\"text-decoration: underline dashed;\"> were measured and recorded. <\/span>\u00a0\n<ul>\n<li>How can you tell if a sentence is in passive voice? Try the <strong>&#8220;by zombies&#8221;<\/strong> test. If you can add the words <strong>&#8220;by zombies&#8221;<\/strong> to a sentence and it makes sense, it is in passive voice.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li><strong>EXAMPLE:\u00a0<\/strong>Heart rates were measured (by zombies).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>When using active voice, some instructors may still want you to avoid personal pronouns (I, we, you). Instead, use words like &#8220;researchers&#8221; and &#8220;subjects.&#8221;\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: red;\">\u2718<\/span> We analyzed the data.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: green;\">\u2714<\/span> Researchers analyzed the data.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you stay focused on structure, clarity, and tone, you will be able to navigate the transition to scientific writing.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">References\u00a0<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-left: 40px; text-indent: -40px; line-height: 2;\">Sheffield, N. (n.d.). <i>Duke graduate school scientific writing resource<\/i>. Retrieved March 10, 2020, from https:\/\/cgi.duke.edu\/web\/sciwriting\/<\/div>\n<div>\u00a0<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding-left: 40px; text-indent: -40px; line-height: 2;\">Shome, A. (2019). Closing the gap: A practical guide to science in the writing center. <i>Praxis: A Writing Center Journal, 17<\/i>(1). Retrieved March 10, 2020, from http:\/\/www.praxisuwc.com\/171-shome<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eastcentral.edu\/learning-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/27\/2025\/05\/image.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"602\" height=\"455\" src=\"https:\/\/www.eastcentral.edu\/learning-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/27\/2025\/05\/image.jpeg\" alt=\"91ԭƬ Learning Center Logo\" class=\"wp-image-4893\" style=\"width:200px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.eastcentral.edu\/learning-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/27\/2025\/05\/image.jpeg 602w, https:\/\/www.eastcentral.edu\/learning-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/27\/2025\/05\/image-300x227.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 602px) 100vw, 602px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">For more help, contact The Learning Center<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You&#8217;ve worked hard in your English classes, mastering MLA formatting and rhetorical strategies. Suddenly, you find yourself in a science class and discover the writing rules seem to have changed. How do you adapt your writing to fit this new discipline? Effective writing hinges on three main qualities: structure, clarity, and tone.\u00a0 I. Structure\u00a0 Most [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-6621","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eastcentral.edu\/learning-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eastcentral.edu\/learning-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eastcentral.edu\/learning-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eastcentral.edu\/learning-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eastcentral.edu\/learning-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6621"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.eastcentral.edu\/learning-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6621\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6627,"href":"https:\/\/www.eastcentral.edu\/learning-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6621\/revisions\/6627"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eastcentral.edu\/learning-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eastcentral.edu\/learning-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=6621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}