1.3 Elements of Scientific Texts
Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Identify the common elements of scientific texts.
- Understand the organization and structure of scientific texts.
- Name common types of texts used in the sciences.
Reading and writing play a fundamental role in what professional scientists do and are also essential tools for learning scientific concepts. Reading and writing for the sciences can be challenging because scientific texts are not written like literary texts, which tell a story. Instead, they are written in formats that are meant to transmit information effectively and concisely and, therefore, use clear and precise terms . This is helpful if you are familiar with the language and processes of science but can be intimidating if you are not, especially because many words have multiple definitions, so unless you know the science-specific definition of a word, it is easy to get confused. Science texts also use complex sentences to show the relationships and connections between ideas. Because of this, the large amount of academic content vocabulary, and the use of involved visuals, like graphs and charts, scientific texts can be quite dense. Learning the basic elements of scientific writing, learning scientific vocablulary, annotating, and reading relatively slowly will greatly support your comprehension.
Common Scientific Text Types
Use these links to learn more about eachtext type through the Universiy of Illinois Chicago’s Library guide:
- Infographics : graphic visual representations of information, data or knowledge intended to present complex information quickly and early
- Scientific Poster: a visual presentation of data that has been organized and consolidated into an easily-digestible format
- Literature Reviews: discusses published information in a particular subject area, and sometimes information in a particular subject area with a certain time period.
- Journal Article: A genre of journalism, which involves a summary of the conduct of scientific research and its results.
Text Organization for Scientific Articles
There is an explicit format that scientific papers follow, with relatively small variations in style among journals. Papers are broken down into the following sections: title, abstract, introduction, methods, results, and discussion. Every section, except the title, should be labeled as such. Generally the section name is centered and underlined (or bold-faced) over the text. Please note that scientific posters follow a similar format as scientific papers.
- Title: The title should give the reader a concise, informative description of the content and scope of the paper.
- Abstract: The abstract is a concise summary of the major findings of the study. It ia usually a short paragraph no longer than 9-10 sentences. It states the purposes of the study, and then briefly summarize the methods, results, and conclusions. The abstract should be able to stand-alone.
- Introd