Scientific Writing 3/3

How to prepare a scientific CV?
1. Don’t start with a heading “Curriculum Vitae”
– it’s obvious, redundant, and takes up
needed space.
2. Begin with your name and surname instead.
3. If the readers may not be able to surmise
your gender from your name, consider
putting “Ms” or “Mr” in parentheses before
your name.

Typical information
• Address and contact information
(don’t forget to include your e-mail address!)
• Education
• (Honours and Awards)
• Research
• (Teaching Experience)
• (Extracurricular Activities)
• Publications

1. Make sure to list your publications and major
presentations, e.g. papers given at national
conferences.
2. Use a standard format for references
(already discussed).
3. If a paper has been accepted, but not yet
published, list it as “in press”.
4. If it has been submitted, but not yet
accepted, don’t list it under Publications,
but mention it in the Research section.

5. A scientific CV should not contain personal
information, such as date of birth, marital
status, health, or hobbies.
6. It is considered tacky to include a picture of
yourself in your CV.
7. If there is nothing to list under given category,
simply omit the category.
8. CVs are structured in reverse chronological
order, i.e. within each category, items are listed
from the most recent to the least recent.

9. Students: Include some contact information
that is unlikely to change, not the address
of your dorm or of a flat you’re currently
renting.
10.Consider having different versions of your
CV for different uses.
11.Remember to keep your CV up to date.
12.Proofread your CV very carefully, or better
yet ask someone else to do so.

Preparing a Cover Letter
A manuscript should always be accompanied
by a cover letter.

What to write in a cover letter?
 To which journal is the manuscript being
submitted?
 Is it a new manuscript, a revision requested by
an editor (which one?), or a manuscript being
returned by a reviewer?
 If there are several authors, which one is the
submitting author (include his/her e-mail,
address, telephone number)?

What to write in a cover letter?
 Suggest the appropriate editor and possible
reviewers.
 If not obvious, state the section of the journal
that the article is intended for.

The Review Process
Who is who? What happens to your paper?
1. An editor decides whether to accept or reject a
manuscript and designates the peer reviewers.
2. The editor of a scientific journal is an unpaid
volunteer scientist, often of preeminent
standing.
3. Whenever you object the quality of the reviews
of your article, your complaint should be
directed to the editor.

The Review Process
4. The managing editor is a full-time paid
professional, whose role is to relieve the editor
of all clerical and administrative duties in the
review process.
5. When problems occur at the proof and
publication stages, you should contact the
managing editor.

The Review Process
The editor is ready to consider the manuscript for
publication only after two preconditions have
been met:
a) the manuscript is concerned with a subject area
covered by the scope of the journal,
b) the form of the manuscript is suitable (e.g. two
double-spaced copies with no page, tables, or
figures missing; the editorial style of the journal
is retained).
Only then will the editor decide who should review
the paper.

The Review Process
6. In the case of most journals, two reviewers
are selected for each manuscript.
7. The reviewers must be the peers of the
author, otherwise their recommendations
will be valueless.
8. Most journals use anonymous reviewers.

The Review Process
9. The reviewers can advise the editor to accept
the paper with no or only slight revision,
suggest thorough changes to the manuscript, or
advise to reject the paper.
10.Sometimes the opinions of the reviewers are
contradictory and the decision must be made
by the editor. If the editor is not familiar with
the field, the paper may be sent to an additional
reviewer.

The Review Process
11.The final word always belongs to the editor, who
decides whether or not to accept the paper and
notifies the author of the final decision.
12.The editor’s decision can be either “accept”,
“reject”, or “modify”.
13.Normally, the decision is reached within 4 to 6
weeks. If you haven’t heard from the editor
within 8 weeks, don’t be afraid to call or write
them.

The Review Process
14.The accept letter is a relative rarity (and you
definitely deserve a glass of wine if you
should get it!).
15.More likely, you will receive the modify
letter, which consists of the reviewers’
comments and the covering letter from the
editor.

The Review Process
What to do with the modify letter?
a) examine the comments carefully and decide
whether you’re willing to modify the
manuscript,
b) if both reviewers point to the same problem,
almost certainly it is a problem,
c) if two referees misunderstood the manuscript,
find out why and correct the problem before
resubmitting,
d) if the requested changes are few and slight, go
ahead and make them,

The Review Process
What to do with the modify letter?
e) if the paper is flawed and you know it, rewrite it
according to the reviewers’ comments and
resubmit along with a letter indicating how you
dealt with the problems,
f) if one or both reviewers and the editor misread
the paper, try another journal or resubmit the
manuscript along with a letter, in which you
give a point-by-point rebuttal of the reviewers’
comments. Be extremely matter-of-fact, polite
and dispassionate.

The Review Process
16.The reject letter points out what is wrong with
the paper and how to correct it, before
resubmitting or submitting it to another journal.
17.Make sure to read it very carefully.
18.If the reviewers and the editor found major
defects in your article, try to correct them, but
resubmit the paper to another journal.

The Proofing Process
1. The manuscript goes through a copyediting
process, during which spelling and grammatical
errors are corrected.
2. The copyeditor will standardize all
abbreviations, units of measure, punctuation
and spelling according to the style of the
journal.
3. S/he may direct questions to the author, if any
part of the paper is unclear or needs further
clarification.

The Proofing Process
4. You will be sent the proofs – make sure to
examine them carefully, because they may
contain errors; check the accuracy of the
typesetting.
5. Do not make substantial and/or significant
changes in the proofs, this is not the time for
revision, rewriting, rephrasing, etc.

Conference Communications
How to present a paper orally?
1. The best way is to organize a paper for oral
presentation in the same way as for publication
(IMRAD approach).
2. There are certain differences. As opposed to a
paper, oral presentation should not contain:
 all the experimental detail,
 extensive citation of the literature.

How to present a paper orally?
3. Most oral presentations are short (up to
10-15 minutes) and thus the theoretical
content of the paper must be trimmed down.
4. Try not to present too many ideas too quickly,
stick to your most important points or results.
5. Regardless of the amount of time allotted for
your presentation, if you proceed too fast, the
audience is bound to lose the thread.

Visual Aids
How to prepare effective slides?
1. Use a sans serif typeface such as Helvetica,
Arial or Calibri (for increased readability).
Figure source: Wikipedia

Visual Aids
2. Contrast is important – most readable slides
have black (dark) text on a white (light)
background.
3. Slides should not be crowded – each slide
should illustrate a particular point, with a
bulleted text listing no more than 6 related
subtopics.

Visual Aids
4. Avoid using clip art and too many fancy effects,
as this is considered tacky.

Visual Aids
5. The main heading should be at least 20 to 24
points, with subtopics (preferably) no smaller
than 16 points.
6. To conclude your presentation, add a black
slide – it’s what the pros do.

Visual Aids
 Get to the hall ahead of the audience in order
to check the equipment and the lights.
 Slides should supplement what you’re saying
and not simply repeat it!
 The audience for an oral presentation is usually
diverse, thus avoid technical detail; define
terms, and explain difficult concepts.
 Rehearse a paper before the members of your
department or group.
 Be prepared to answer the questions from the
audience (question-and-answer section).

How to prepare a poster?
1. If due to a large number of participants your
abstract is not accepted for an oral
presentation, you may still have a chance to
present your results at a poster session.
2. Don’t start preparing the poster until you
know the requirements specified by the
conference organizers.

3. You must know the height and width of the
stand and the approved methods of fixing
exhibit materials to the stand.
4. The organizers may also specify (in the
conference programme) the minimum sizes
of type and the sequence of presentation
(usually from left to right).

5. The poster should be organized according to
the IMRAD format, but keep in mind the
need for simplicity.
A well-designed poster contains little text,
using most of the space for illustrations.
 Introduction: present the problem succinctly;
clearly state your purpose.
 Methods: use a sentence or two to briefly
describe the type of approach used.

 Results: the major part of a well-designed
poster; use illustrations to present your
outcomes.
 Discussion: use the heading “Conclusions”
instead; present your conclusions in the
form of numbered short sentences.
 Keep literature citations to a minimum.

Name (e-mail), Institution, Address

6. Number your poster to agree with the
programme.
7. The title should be short, readable out to a
distance of 3 metres, and should catch
attention.
8. Use black (dark) and bold typeface and
white (light) background.

Poster
9. Type size:
Title – 30 mm (85 pts)
Names of the authors – 20 mm (56 pts)
Text – 4 mm (12 pts)

10.A poster should be self-explanatory.
11.The author should spend time responding
to specific scientific questions, rather than
explaining the poster.
12.Allow lots of white space throughout the
poster.

13.A poster should contain highlights, so that
passersby can easily discern whether the
poster is of interest to them.
14.It is a good idea to prepare handouts
containing more detailed information.
15.Crowds usually gather around the simple,
well-illustrated posters, while ignoring the
cluttered, wordy ones.

How to write a conference report?
1. When you are invited to a conference, the
proceedings of which will be published, you
might be asked to prepare a conference
report.
2. The most important question is whether the
proceedings volume will qualify as primary
literature (valid publication).

3. The trend is to define conference reports as
not validly published primary data, because:
 most conference proceedings are one-off
publications with limited circulation and
availability;
 most conference reports are review papers
or they are preliminary reports on
inconclusive concepts;
 conference reports are usually not subjected
to peer review and proper editing.

4. If the proceedings volume qualifies as primary,
prepare your manuscript in journal style. If not:
 the requirement of reproducibility may be
ignored,
 the Materials and Methods section is not
required,
 there is no need for a detailed description of
the experiment,
 it is not necessary to provide the usual literature
review,
 the results can be presented briefly (highlights).

How to write a conference report?
5. A conference report is often limited to one
or two printed pages (1000 to 2000 words).
6. As a preliminary report, such a paper
should present and encourage speculation,
alternative theories and suggestions for
future research.

7. The usual IMRAD approach can be abbreviated
or altered:
 the problem is stated,
 the methodology is stated (not described in
detail),
 the results are presented briefly,
 1-3 tables or figures are included,
 the meaning of the results is speculated about
(at length),
 the literature review describes a few related or
planned experiments.

Conference reports are seldom rejected
by the editor.
However, if the editor has distributed
Instructions to Authors, make sure you
follow them.
In this way the volume is likely to exhibit
consistency and be deemed estimable.

Useful phrases
for conference participants

Opening a conference
 Ladies and gentlemen it is a pleasure to
welcome you to the 5th Conference on...
 I am pleased to extend greetings to all of the
participants in this meeting.
 It gives me great pleasure to declare the session
open.
 At the beginning of this meeting allow me to
inform you...
 I would like to remind you that after this
meeting...

Chairman
 As chairman of this session, I have had the
opportunity to preview all the papers to be
presented.
 I will now ask Ms Smith to be good enough to
give us a brief introduction.
 Thank you, your report has been an excellent
introduction to our discussion.
 This afternoon we are going to discuss...
 The following papers will be discussed...

Chairman
 In our discussion we should concentrate on the
main topic.
 I believe that this problem could be discussed in
considerable detail.
 I suggest that we now begin the general
discussion by hearing the following comment. I
will first call upon...
 Thank you, Mr Morris. Your remarks were most
interesting.
 I think you have started a very interesting
discussion.

Chairman
 I am a bit confused here, I must admit.
Could you explain that a little bit?
 Do you have any other comments to make?
 Has anyone else anything to say?
 In the interest of saving time, I suggest...
 We can therefore consider the point closed,
and I will call upon Ms Bradford...

Participants
 I appreciate the opportunity to present my...
 It is the purpose of this report to describe...
 It is now my task to begin dealing with
question...
 I would like to introduce another factor into
our discussion.
 I fully agree with the views expressed by you,
Mr Chairman.

Participants
 I am sure that it is quite true, (however...)
 Our experience has been different.
 It is well known that...
 Allow me to place strong emphasis on...
 I would like to clarify what I mean by...
 Shown in the next slide is...
 In Fig. 1 is displayed...
 As may be seen from the diagram...

Participants
 There was reason to believe that...
 From this fact it follows/is quite evident...
 Further it was assumed that...
 We have succeeded in calculating and
explaining...
 As an example let us consider the following
case.
 To cite a single example of application...
 This result suggests that...

Participants
 This opinion is supported by...
 Although the research is still in progress, the
experimental results appear to be sufficiently
significant to be presented immediately.
 Our experiments revealed that...
 Further interesting information regarding this
problem may be found in...
 In addition I would stress that...

Participants
 In conclusion, I would just like to say...
 I am afraid, my time has expired.
 To answer your question, let me...
 It only remains for me to say...
 Madam Chairman, ladies and gentlemen,
thank you for your attention.

Expressing opinion
 In my opinion,
 As far as I know/am concerned,
 If you ask me,
 To tell the truth...
 I rather think that...
 I should/must say that...
 As a matter of fact,
 I suppose that...
Don’t forget to support your opinion with
evidence!

Closing a conference
 I will now give a brief resume of the main
problems dealt with at this session.
 In conclusion of this discussion, it should be
said that...
 I think we can end the discussion on this point,
if you agree.
 If no one else wishes to say anything, I think
I can close this general discussion.
 Thank you very much for all contributions,
your attention and comments.
 Meanwhile, enjoy the rest of your stay here.

Hotel
 I have a reservation for a single/
double room.
 I’d like a room with a bathroom/
air-conditioning/balcony.
 Is this a non-smoking floor?
 What is the charge per night?
 Is tax included in the price?
 Can I get a receipt?

Hotel
 Can I leave my luggage here for a little
while?
 Could you order me a taxi?
 Do you accept credit cards?
 What time do you serve breakfast?
 Where is the dining hall?

Eating out
 A table for [number of people], please.
 May I see the menu?
 Is there a set menu?
 I’d like/I’ll have...
 May I have one of those?
 I am a vegetarian.
 What would you recommend?
 May we have the check please?
 The meal was very good, thank you.

Communication essentials
 I don’t understand. Could you repeat?
 I can’t speak [language].
 Could you please speak more slowly?
 Could you help me please?
 Thank you very much indeed.
 My name is...
 How do you do, pleased to meet you.
 How are you (today)?
 Take care.

Communication essentials
 Keep well.
 Where can I get...?
 What time is...? What time is it (now)?
 How much is it? How much does this cost?
 Cheers! Here’s to [person’s name]! (toast)
 Where is the restroom/toilet?
 Here’s my business card.
 It was nice talking to you. It was nice
meeting you.

Getting around
 How do I get to...? Is it far?
 What is the fare to...?
 When does the train/bus for... leave?
 Where is the train/metro/bus station?
 How long does it take to get to...?

Getting around
 A ticket to..., please.
 I’d like to reserve a seat, please.
 Do I have to change?
 Which platform for the train to...?
 Is this the right train/bus for...?

Transliteration
1. It is a form of translation, which consists in
converting a text from one script into
another, e.g. from the Russian alphabet
(Cyrillic) into the Latin alphabet.
2. Why is it even important?
As scientists, you are bound to encounter
foreign names, titles of scientific articles,
names of institutions, etc.
It is good to know how to deal with and what
to make of these mysterious characters.

Transliteration
3. The good news is that you don’t need to
know Russian to do this. What you need is a
set of transliteration tables.
4. Many systems have been used to
transliterate from the Cyrillic into Latin
alphabet, the most famous system is known
as scientific transliteration.
However, this system is most often used by
linguists and/or in linguistic publications on
Slavic languages and therefore it tends to be
a bit complicated.

Transliteration
5. For our purposes, a far more intuitive and
simple system would suffice.
It is known as the BGN/PCGN system and is
easy for Anglophones to read and
pronounce.
More importantly, it uses only the basic
letters and punctuation that can be found on
English-language keyboards.

Transliteration tables
Source: Wikipedia

How to pronounce
mathematical notation

How to pronounce mathematical notation
This portion of the lecture is based on
www.math.helsinki.fi/engl.pdf
and
s22318.tsbvi.edu/mathproject/appB-sec1.asp#main.
Visit the second link for a comprehensive guide
and more examples.

How to pronounce mathematical notation

Bibliography
1. Robert A. Day, How to write and publish a scientific paper
(5th-7th Edition);
2. M. Piska, C. Cihlarova, B. Hill, LESSON 16
Useful Phrases and Sentences for Conference Participants,
cnc.fme.vutbr.cz/cncmach/tisk/t_lesson16.pdf;
3. H. Väliaho, Pronunciation of mathematical expressions,
www.math.helsinki.fi/engl.pdf;
4. Lawrence Chang, Handbook for Spoken Mathematics,
s22318.tsbvi.edu/mathproject/appB-sec1.asp#main;
5. For more information on transliteration visit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanization_of_Russian
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BGN/PCGN_romanization_of_Russian

THE END
Thank you for your attention!

Scientific Writing 3/3

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