Nerdy Science Blog

It’s funny that in scientific writing, there’s as if a “template” or standard phrases that you’ll be sure to find when reading a journal article or that you’ll use yourself when writing your thesis. PHD comics has deciphered some of the phrases. 

They’re right, Academese seemed to be too “flowery” to the uninitiated, or probably just gobbledygook. When I was in high school, English was one of my favourite subjects and I enjoyed creative writing and I NEVER thought I could write an essay in ‘Academese’ or any essay with a formal tone. But now, it’s the opposite. Having read countless journal articles actively for more than 2 years, I can say that I have grasped Academese quite firmly. Let me try to translate an ordinary sentence into Academese. 

Plain-english: The mouse ate the cheese

Academese: These results show that coagulated milk can function as an attractant in mice by activating specific olfactory receptors.  

Ok, I just made up the facts, but you get my point. I believe scientists write in Academese because of course they need to explain their findings based on their results and what those results tell you in the bigger context, how do they compare to previous findings and etc. It’s not like we have a choice, do we? 

Anyway, the reason I write about this is that I’m (well, forced to be) in the mood of writing a literature review. I found a good blog by UniSA staff on scientific writing. Check this out, very useful for students:

in the Sciences

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