Author: Ana Pérez-Escoda Translation: Erika-Lucia Gonzalez-Carrion
Facing the challenge of publishing a scientific article implies the knowledge of the aspects regarding its formal presentation, given that, being author suggests the domain of the technics that help to the reading and comprehension. As Griffies, Perrie & Hull (Elements of Style for Writing Scientific Journal Articles) affirm, not all the researchers have training in the right writing style for scientific articles, even despite of the academic relevance within each study field. Therefore, getting to know the elements of style in the writing of an academic article is essential, because for brilliant that the researcher could be, not connecting correctly with the academic community through the publications could go in detriment of the impact and visibility.
Despite of the fact that each journal has specific guidelines- which should be read carefully before sending the manuscript (norms, norms, norms)-, there is not an explicit writing style of the selected journal, but there is an expected writing style, implicit and tacit when a scientific-academic article is sent.
The style of academic writing is a peculiar style that, despite of the fact that should be regulated by a greatest clarity (Writing to be read, 6 essential tips), imposes to have present 5 recommendations:
- Language is essential: as long as the vehicle of communication, it must be cared in a special way; it can never be poor in semantic and syntactic quality, and must always be grammatically correct. Remember that journals do not correct the language, which is completely responsibility of the authors.
- The application of basic norms in scientific writing: the language used should be correct- concise- clear- objective, without discordances in grammar tenses, grammar mistakes, poorly constructed sentences and unconnected paragraphs.
- Common mistakes should be avoided: as well as the linguistic vagueness that give place to confusion, the excessive juxtaposition, the expressions that mark chronologically our results, the adjectives that qualify unnecessarily what we present or the verbs that express our beliefs, feelings or perceptions.
- To have always present the potential reader: it’s about forcing the writing at a maximum level, taking into account the previous aspects, but assuming that who is getting closer to the manuscript wants to understand all what is given. In this sense, two moments mark the reading of an article: 1) Beginning of the reading: when the reader needs an initial idea of what is going to read: here is essential the abstract and introduction of the article. 2) End of the reading, when the reader tries to make him/herself an idea of what has just read, what contributes and why is so significant and what lines opens.
- Reinforcement of the text with references and appropriate figures, extensive of what is exposed, attractive, intelligent, close to what is argued, rich and clear. Otherwise, they exhaust the reader, disturb him or her from the reading and distract the motivation, provoking confusion and abandoning of the comprehensive effort.
Therefore, despite that the writing style is not something clear, stipulated and agreed, it supposes an expected fundamental aspect, both implicit and tacit that any author should leave apart in favor of his or her good name as academic.
