Self Reflection Guide for Science Writing
- Donna McDermott
- Dec 13, 2019
- 3 min read
I created this self-evaluation worksheet based on the activities I do when I edit my own writing. Since then, I've shared it with the folks who attended ComSciCon-Atl in 2019. I find it useful for writing popular press articles, grant applications, scientific writing, and more. Some tasks are more or less relevant for different types of writing. This is a guide, not a set of rules. Feel free to use and share with credit to Donna McDermott.
Whole Piece
Summarize the content of your piece in one sentence:
List the main supporting ideas your piece includes.
Why should someone read this piece, and what will they get out of reading it?
Copy and paste here the parts of your text which explain the purpose of the piece to your reader. Try to move these close to the beginning of the piece if they are not already there.
Who is the intended audience of your piece?
Where would you like to publish it?
What is the conclusion of your piece?
Why did you choose to end your narrative when you did?
Paragraphs
Sentence Outline: In the space below, write one sentence that summarizes the key idea of each paragraph.
Re-read the sentence-summaries. Is there a logical flow of thought from one sentence to the next? Rearrange, add, or delete sentences as you see fit. Next, go back to your piece and rearrange the paragraphs to reflect your changes here.
Underline the first sentence of each paragraph. Does this sentence accurately reflect the content covered by the paragraph? If not, adjust the first sentence (or the paragraph) to accurately fit the key ideas you wrote about in the sentence outline, above.
Sentences
Identify any sentences in your piece that are longer than 20 words. Challenge yourself to split them or at least vary the lengths of surrounding sentences.
Identify “hot spots” in your piece that were tricky to write or still seem unclear. Paste them here.
Try implementing one of the following strategies to increase clarity in a “hot spot”:
● Identify the actor (aka subject) of each sentence. This actor can be any noun. What is the actor doing? The actor + their action should be paired together. If the sentence is still unclear, start the sentence with the actor +action pairing. If the sentence introduces a second actor or action, make that second portion its own sentence.
Unclear: Industrial spying, because of the growing use of computers to store and process corporate information, is increasing rapidly.
Clear: Industrial spying is increasing rapidly because of the growing use of computers to store and process corporate information.
● Identify the sequence of ideas that you introduce in each sentence. A string of sentences can usually be made clearer by moving from an idea you’ve already brought up to the new idea, like a line of dominoes where matching parts of the dominoes are placed sequentially.
An example of topic sequencing:
Dr. Jai studies bees. Her bees usually live in underground nests. Bee nests are difficult to find but rewarding to study. Dr. Jai’s study of bee nesting habits is essential to conservation efforts.
Diagram your sequence of ideas with color, like in the passage above. Are there any big jumps from one idea to the next? Are any parts of the sequence out of order?
Words Ctrl+f for this, that, these, and those. Would a reader be able to easily identify what each of these pronouns is referencing? Make sure each pronoun is followed by the noun that it is referencing.
Ctrl+f for is, are, was, and were. Can you replace these to be verbs with a more descriptive verb?
Identify any series in your piece. Copy them here. Is the structure of each series parallel?
Search for clumps of nouns in your piece. Rephrase them to have fewer nouns.
Correct: Luis was interested in data processing.
Incorrect: Luis was interested in the data processing field.
Count all the terms and acronyms in your piece that someone outside your field is not likely to define correctly. Write the number of acronyms and terms you use here.
Are these terms all defined? Are you sure that all of those terms are necessary? Replace unnecessary terms and acronyms.
Ctrl+f for ‘and’ – are you doubling any nouns that don’t need it? Avoid things that would be repetitive to your reader. E.g. “Farms and gardens” , “construct and maintain”
Check your writing for gender bias! Are you describing women (including yourself) as *superlatively* as you would describe men? https://t.co/9AkEQfYCdt?amp=1
If you are writing about yourself for a grant or similar: Ctrl+f for “opportunity” – don’t talk about “things you had the opportunity to do” talk about those as “things you did” more detail: https://twitter.com/geneticexpns/status/1184939649585893381?s=20
Tweet thread about writing cover letters: https://twitter.com/MeanestTA/status/1179238131306041345?s=20
Resources for Self Editing
https://cgi.duke.edu/web/sciwriting/
Resources for Writing About People
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