Includes bibliographical references (pages 712-715) and index.

Part one: Scientific writing basics: style and composition -- 1. Science and communication -- The scientific method -- Science communication and ethics -- About readers -- About writers -- Scientific writing versus science writing -- Mastering scientific writing -- 2. Individual words -- The central principle -- Word choice -- Word choice: special cases -- Redundancies and jargon -- Abbreviations -- Nomenclature and terminology -- Dictionaries -- 3. Word location -- Readers' expectations -- Competition for emphasis -- Placement of words -- 4. Technical sentences -- Grammar and technical style -- Person -- Voice -- Tense -- Sentence length -- Verbs and action -- Clusters of nouns -- Pronouns -- Lists and comparisons -- Faulty comparisons -- Common errors -- 5. Common grammar concerns -- Prepositions -- Articles -- Verb -- Adjectives and adverbs -- Nouns and pronouns -- Grammar references -- 6. From sentences to paragraphs -- Paragraphs structure -- Paragraph organization -- Paragraph coherence -- Condensing -- Part two: Planning and laying the foundation -- 7. The first draft -- The writing process -- Prewriting -- Authorship -- Drafting a manuscript -- Outlining and composing a manuscript -- Writer's block? -- For ESL authors -- Outside help -- 8. references and plagiarism -- About references -- Source material -- Managing references -- Text citations -- Plagiarism -- Paraphrasing -- References within a scientific paper -- The reference list -- Common reference styles -- Citing the internet -- 9. Figures and tables -- General guidelines -- Importance of formatting and placement of information -- Figure or table? -- General information on figures -- types of figures -- Formatting graphs -- Examples of graphs -- Figure legends -- General information on tables -- Formatting tables -- Formulas, equations, proofs, and algorithms -- 10. Basics of statistical analysis -- General guidelines -- Basic statistical terminology -- Distribution curves -- Statistical analysis of data -- Reporting statistics -- Graphical representation -- Useful resources for statistical analysis -- Checklist -- Part three: Manuscripts: research papers and review articles -- A. research papers -- 11. The introduction -- Overall -- Components and format -- Elements of the introduction -- Special case: introductions for descriptive papers -- Important writing guidelines for the introduction -- Signals for the reader -- Common problems of introductions -- Sample introductions -- Revising the introduction -- 12. Materials and methods -- Overall -- Components -- Format -- Important writing guidelines for materials and methods -- Ethical conduct -- Common problems of the materials and methods section -- Sample materials and methods sections -- Revising the materials and methods section -- 13. Results -- Overall -- Components -- Format -- Important writing guidelines for the results -- Signals for the reader -- Common problems of the results section -- Sample results sections -- Revising the results section -- 14. Discussion -- Overall -- Components -- Format -- First paragraph -- Middle paragraphs -- Last paragraph -- Important writing guidelines for the discussion -- Signals for the reader -- An alternative: results and discussion -- Common problems of the discussion -- Sample discussions -- Revising the discussion -- 15. Abstract -- Overall -- Components -- Format -- Applying basic writing rules -- Signals for the reader -- Common problems of the abstract -- Reasons for rejection -- Revising the abstract -- 16. Titles, key words, footnotes, and acknowledgements -- Overall -- Strong titles -- The title page -- Running title -- Key words -- Footnotes and end notes -- Acknowledgements -- Revising the title -- 17. Revising and reviewing a manuscript -- Revising the first draft -- Subsequent drafts -- Reviewing a manuscript pre-submission -- 18. Final version, submission, and peer review -- General advice on the final version -- Submitting the manuscript -- Writing a cover letter -- the review process -- Informal peer review -- Formal peer review -- Checklist for peer review -- Letter from the editor -- Re-submission -- Paper accepted -- B. Review articles -- 19. Review articles -- Overall -- Types of reviews and general content -- Format -- Title -- Abstract of a review article -- Introduction of a review article -- Main analysis section of a review article -- Conclusion of a review article -- References -- Signals for the reader -- Coherence -- Common problems of review articles -- Revising the review article -- Part four: Grant proposals -- 20. Proposal writing -- General -- Types of proposals -- Choosing a sponsoring agency -- Federal agencies -- Private foundations -- Corporations and other funders -- Preliminary steps to writing a proposal -- Online resources -- Starting to write a grant -- Interacting with the funder -- 21. Letters of inquiry and preproposals -- General -- Components and format -- Abstract/overview -- Introduction/background -- Statement of need -- Objective and specific aims -- Strategy and goals -- Leadership and organization -- Budget -- Impact and significance -- Cover letter -- Verbal proposals -- LOI outlines -- Revising and LOI/preproposal -- 22. Proposal abstracts and specific aims -- Overall -- Proposal abstracts -- Specific aims -- Significance and impact -- Applying basic writing rules -- Signals for the reader -- Common problems -- Reasons for rejection -- Revising the abstract and specific aims-- 23. Background and significance -- Overall -- Emphasis, format, and length -- References -- Elements of the section -- Sample significance section for federal grants -- Signals for the reader -- Coherence -- Common problems -- Revising the background and significance section -- 24. Innovation -- General remarks on proposal sections -- Components -- Format -- Signals for the reader -- Common problems -- Revising the innovation section -- 25. Preliminary results -- Function -- Content -- Format -- Important writing rules -- Signals for preliminary results -- Common problems of preliminary results -- Revising the preliminary results -- 26. Approach/research design -- Overall -- Components -- Format -- Closing paragraph -- Signals for the reader -- Common problems -- Revising the research design and methods section -- 27. Budget and other special proposal sections -- Budget -- Other special proposal sections -- 28. Revision and submission of a proposal -- General -- Before sending out the proposal -- revising the proposal -- Submitting the proposal -- Being reviewed -- Site visits -- Reasons for rejection -- If your proposal is rejected -- Resubmission of a proposal -- If your proposal is funded -- Part five: Posters and presentations -- 29. Poster and conference abstracts -- Function and general overview -- Conference abstracts -- Poster components -- Poster format -- Sections of a poster -- Photos, figure, and tables for posters -- Resources for preparing and presenting a poster -- Revising a poster -- Presenting a poster -- Sample posters -- Checklist for a poster -- 30. Oral presentations -- Before the talk -- components and format of a scientific talk -- Visual aids -- Planning and preparing for a talk -- Giving the talk -- Voice and delivery -- Vocabulary and style -- Body actions and motions -- At the end of the presentation -- Questions and answers -- Other speech forms -- Resources -- Checklist for an oral presentation -- Part six: Job applications -- 31. Job applications and interviews -- Overall -- Curricula vitae (CVs) and resumes -- Cover letters -- Accompanying documents -- Research statements -- Teaching statements -- The hiring process and interview questions -- Resources -- Letters of recommendation -- Checklist for the job application -- Appendix A: commonly confused and misused words.