Overview

A fully updated and expanded third edition of the acclaimed writing guide for scientists. The Scientist's Guide to Writing explains the essential techniques that students, postdocs, and early-career scientists need to write more clearly, efficiently, and easily. Now in its third edition, this incisive primer offers practical advice on a host of topics, from maintaining writing momentum to structuring a scientific paper, revising a first draft, reading effectively, handling citations, responding to peer reviews, and choosing the right journal for your research. The ability to write clearly is critical to any scientific career. This book shows scientists how to become better writers so that their ideas have the greatest possible impact.

Full Product Details

Author:   Stephen B. Heard
Publisher:   Princeton University Press
Imprint:   Princeton University Press
ISBN:  

9780691281087

ISBN 10:   0691281084
Pages:   384
Publication Date:   04 August 2026
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  General/trade ,  Tertiary & Higher Education ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Not yet available, will be POD  
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Table of Contents

What’s New in the Third Edition? Preface A Note on the Exercises Part I. What Writing Is 1. On Bacon, Hobbes, and Newton, and the Selfishness of Writing Well 2. Genius, Craft, and What This Book Is About Part II. Writing Behavior 3. Writing and Reading 4. Managing Your Writing Behavior 5. Getting Started 6. Momentum Part III. Content and Structure 7. Finding and Telling Your Story 8. The Canonical Structure of the Scientific Paper 9. Front Matter and Abstract 10. The Introduction Section 11. The Methods Section 12. The Results Section 13. The Discussion Section 14. Back Matter 15. Citations 16. Beyond the IMRaD Canon Part IV. Style 17. Paragraphs 18. Sentences 19. Words 20. Brevity Part V. Revision 21. Self-Revision 22. “Friendly” Review 23. Formal Review 24. Revision and the “Response to Reviews” Part VI. Some Loose Threads 25. AI Writing Tools 26. Journals and Preprints 27. The Diversity of Writing Forms 28. Managing Coauthorships 29. Three Kinds of Reading: Reference, Survey, and Deep 30. Writing for Speakers of English as an Additional Language Part VII. Final Thoughts 31. On Whimsy, Jokes, and Beauty: Can Scientific Writing Be Enjoyed? Acknowledgments References Index

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Author Information

Stephen B. Heard is professor of biology at the University of New Brunswick in Canada. He is the author of Charles Darwin's Barnacle and David Bowie's Spider: How Scientific Names Celebrate Adventurers, Heroes, and Even a Few Scoundrels and (with Bethann Garramon Merkle) Teaching and Mentoring Writers in the Sciences: An Evidence-Based Approach.

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