what is the meaning of scientific essay

Write Like a Scientist

A Guide to Scientific Communication

What is scientific writing ?

Scientific writing is a technical form of writing that is designed to communicate scientific information to other scientists. Depending on the specific scientific genre—a journal article, a scientific poster, or a research proposal, for example—some aspects of the writing may change, such as its  purpose , audience , or organization . Many aspects of scientific writing, however, vary little across these writing genres. Important hallmarks of all scientific writing are summarized below. Genre-specific information is located  here  and under the “By Genre” tab at the top of the page.

What are some important hallmarks of professional scientific writing?

1. Its primary audience is other scientists. Because of its intended audience, student-oriented or general-audience details, definitions, and explanations — which are often necessary in lab manuals or reports — are not terribly useful. Explaining general-knowledge concepts or how routine procedures were performed actually tends to obstruct clarity, make the writing wordy, and detract from its professional tone.

2. It is concise and precise . A goal of scientific writing is to communicate scientific information clearly and concisely. Flowery, ambiguous, wordy, and redundant language run counter to the purpose of the writing.

3. It must be set within the context of other published work. Because science builds on and corrects itself over time, scientific writing must be situated in and  reference the findings of previous work . This context serves variously as motivation for new work being proposed or the paper being written, as points of departure or congruence for new findings and interpretations, and as evidence of the authors’ knowledge and expertise in the field.

All of the information under “The Essentials” tab is intended to help you to build your knowledge and skills as a scientific writer regardless of the scientific discipline you are studying or the specific assignment you might be working on. In addition to discussions of audience and purpose , professional conventions like conciseness and specificity, and how to find and use literature references appropriately, we also provide guidelines for how to organize your writing and how to avoid some common mechanical errors .

If you’re new to this site or to professional scientific writing, we recommend navigating the sub-sections under “The Essentials” tab in the order they’re provided. Once you’ve covered these essentials, you might find information on  genre-  or discipline-specific writing useful.

• For Authors
• Collaboration
• Privacy Policy

• Conferences & Symposiums

Tools & Methods

How to successfully write a scientific essay.

Posted by Cody Rhodes

If you are undertaking a course which relates to science, you are more or less apt to write an essay on science. You need to know how to write a science essay irrespective of whether your professor gives you a topic or you come up with one. Additionally, you need to have an end objective in mind. Writing a science essay necessitates that you produce an article which has all the details and facts about the subject matter and it ought to be to the point. Also, you need to know and understand that science essays are more or less different from other types of essays. They require you to be analytical and precise when answering questions. Hence, this can be quite challenging and tiresome. However, that should not deter you from learning how to write your paper. You can always inquire for pre-written research papers for sale from writing services like EssayZoo.

Also, you can read other people’s articles and find out how they produce and develop unique and high-quality papers. Moreover, this will help you understand how to approach your essays in different ways. Nonetheless, if you want to learn how to write a scientific paper in a successful manner, consider the following tips.

Select a topic for your article Like any other type of essay, you need to have a topic before you start the actual writing process. Your professor or instructor may give you a science essay topic to write about or ask you to come up with yours. When selecting a topic for your paper, ensure that you choose one you can write about. Do not pick a complex topic which can make the writing process boring and infuriating for you. Instead, choose one that you are familiar with. Select a topic you will not struggle gathering information about. Also, you need to have an interest in it. If you are unable to come up with a good topic, trying reading other people’s articles. This will help you develop a topic with ease.

Draft a plan After selecting a topic, the next step is drafting a plan or an outline. An outline is fundamental in writing a scientific essay as it is the foundation on which your paper is built. Additionally, it acts as a road map for your article. Hence, you need to incorporate all the thoughts and ideas you will include in your essay in the outline. You need to know what you will include in the introduction, the body, and the conclusion. Drafting a plan helps you save a lot of time when writing your paper. Also, it helps you to keep track of the primary objective of your article.

Start writing the article After drafting a plan, you can begin the writing process. Writing your paper will be smooth and easier as you have an outline which helps simplify the writing process. When writing your article, begin with a strong hook for your introduction. Dictate the direction your paper will take. Provide some background information and state the issue you will discuss as well as the solutions you have come up with. Arrange the body of your article according to the essay structure you will use to guide you. Also, ensure that you use transitory sentences to show the relationship between the paragraphs of your article. Conclude your essay by summarizing all the key points. Also, highlight the practical potential of our findings and their impacts.

Proofread and check for errors in the paper Before submitting or forwarding your article, it is fundamental that you proofread and correct all the errors that you come across. Delivering a paper that is full of mistakes can affect your overall performance in a negative manner. Thus, it is essential you revise your paper and check for errors. Correct all of them. Ask a friend to proofread your paper. He or she may spot some of the mistakes you did not come across.

In conclusion, writing a scientific essay differs from writing other types of papers. A scientific essay requires you to produce an article which has all the information and facts about the subject matter and it ought to be to the point. Nonetheless, the scientific essay formats similar to the format of any other essay: introduction, body, and conclusion. You need to use your outline to guide you through the writing process. To learn how to write a scientific essay in a successful manner, consider the tips above.

Related Articles:

2 Responses to How to successfully write a scientific essay

Hai…you have posted great article, it really helpful to us.. I will refer this page to my friends; I hope you will like to read – scientific research paper writing service

Nice concentration on education blogs. Such a great work regarding education and online study to gain knowledge and time.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Top Keywords

Diabetes | Alzheimer’s disease Cancer | Breast cancer | Tumor Blood pressure | Heart Brain | Kidney | Liver | Lung Stress | Pain | Therapy Infection | Inflammation | Injury DNA | RNA | Receptor | Nanoparticles Bacteria | Virus | Plant

See more …

Proofread or Perish: Editing your scientific writing for successful publication

Lab Leader makes software applications for experiment design in life science

Cyagen Biosciences – Helping you choose the right animal model for your research

Labcollector lims and eln for improving productivity in the lab.

Image Cytometer – NucleoCounter® NC-3000™

Recent posts.

• Unlocking new treatments for bone diseases: using PEPITEM to strengthen bones and prevent loss
• The Manikin Challenge: manikin-based simulation in the psychiatry clerkship
• Does UV-B radiation modify gene expression?
• Ferrate technology: an innovative solution for sustainable sewer and wastewater management
• Sleep abnormalities in different clinical stages of psychosis

Writing the Scientific Paper

When you write about scientific topics to specialists in a particular scientific field, we call that scientific writing. (When you write to non-specialists about scientific topics, we call that science writing.)

The scientific paper has developed over the past three centuries into a tool to communicate the results of scientific inquiry. The main audience for scientific papers is extremely specialized. The purpose of these papers is twofold: to present information so that it is easy to retrieve, and to present enough information that the reader can duplicate the scientific study. A standard format with six main part helps readers to find expected information and analysis:

• Title--subject and what aspect of the subject was studied.
• Abstract--summary of paper: The main reason for the study, the primary results, the main conclusions
• Introduction-- why the study was undertaken
• Methods and Materials-- how the study was undertaken
• Results-- what was found
• Discussion-- why these results could be significant (what the reasons might be for the patterns found or not found)

There are many ways to approach the writing of a scientific paper, and no one way is right. Many people, however, find that drafting chunks in this order works best: Results, Discussion, Introduction, Materials & Methods, Abstract, and, finally, Title.

The title should be very limited and specific. Really, it should be a pithy summary of the article's main focus.

• "Renal disease susceptibility and hypertension are under independent genetic control in the fawn hooded rat"
• "Territory size in Lincoln's Sparrows ( Melospiza lincolnii )"
• "Replacement of deciduous first premolars and dental eruption in archaeocete whales"
• "The Radio-Frequency Single-Electron Transistor (RF-SET): A Fast and Ultrasensitive Electrometer"

This is a summary of your article. Generally between 50-100 words, it should state the goals, results, and the main conclusions of your study. You should list the parameters of your study (when and where was it conducted, if applicable; your sample size; the specific species, proteins, genes, etc., studied). Think of the process of writing the abstract as taking one or two sentences from each of your sections (an introductory sentence, a sentence stating the specific question addressed, a sentence listing your main techniques or procedures, two or three sentences describing your results, and one sentence describing your main conclusion).

Example One

Hypertension, diabetes and hyperlipidemia are risk factors for life-threatening complications such as end-stage renal disease, coronary artery disease and stroke. Why some patients develop complications is unclear, but only susceptibility genes may be involved. To test this notion, we studied crosses involving the fawn-hooded rat, an animal model of hypertension that develops chronic renal failure. Here, we report the localization of two genes, Rf-1 and Rf-2 , responsible for about half of the genetic variation in key indices of renal impairment. In addition, we localize a gene, Bpfh-1 , responsible for about 26% of the genetic variation in blood pressure. Rf-1 strongly affects the risk of renal impairment, but has no significant effect on blood pressure. Our results show that susceptibility to a complication of hypertension is under at least partially independent genetic control from susceptibility to hypertension itself.

Brown, Donna M, A.P. Provoost, M.J. Daly, E.S. Lander, & H.J. Jacob. 1996. "Renal disease susceptibility and hypertension are under indpendent genetic control in the faun-hooded rat." Nature Genetics , 12(1):44-51.

Example Two

We studied survival of 220 calves of radiocollared moose ( Alces alces ) from parturition to the end of July in southcentral Alaska from 1994 to 1997. Prior studies established that predation by brown bears ( Ursus arctos ) was the primary cause of mortality of moose calves in the region. Our objectives were to characterize vulnerability of moose calves to predation as influenced by age, date, snow depths, and previous reproductive success of the mother. We also tested the hypothesis that survival of twin moose calves was independent and identical to that of single calves. Survival of moose calves from parturition through July was 0.27 ± 0.03 SE, and their daily rate of mortality declined at a near constant rate with age in that period. Mean annual survival was 0.22 ± 0.03 SE. Previous winter's snow depths or survival of the mother's previous calf was not related to neonatal survival. Selection for early parturition was evidenced in the 4 years of study by a 6.3% increase in the hazard of death with each daily increase in parturition date. Although there was no significant difference in survival of twin and single moose calves, most twins that died disappeared together during the first 15 days after birth and independently thereafter, suggesting that predators usually killed both when encountered up to that age.

Key words: Alaska, Alces alces , calf survival, moose, Nelchina, parturition synchrony, predation

Testa, J.W., E.F. Becker, & G.R. Lee. 2000. "Temporal patterns in the survival of twin and single moose ( alces alces ) calves in southcentral Alaska." Journal of Mammalogy , 81(1):162-168.

Example Three

We monitored breeding phenology and population levels of Rana yavapaiensis by use of repeated egg mass censuses and visual encounter surveys at Agua Caliente Canyon near Tucson, Arizona, from 1994 to 1996. Adult counts fluctuated erratically within each year of the study but annual means remained similar. Juvenile counts peaked during the fall recruitment season and fell to near zero by early spring. Rana yavapaiensis deposited eggs in two distinct annual episodes, one in spring (March-May) and a much smaller one in fall (September-October). Larvae from the spring deposition period completed metamorphosis in earlv summer. Over the two years of study, 96.6% of egg masses successfully produced larvae. Egg masses were deposited during periods of predictable, moderate stream flow, but not during seasonal periods when flash flooding or drought were likely to affect eggs or larvae. Breeding phenology of Rana yavapaiensis is particularly well suited for life in desert streams with natural flow regimes which include frequent flash flooding and drought at predictable times. The exotic predators of R. yavapaiensis are less able to cope with fluctuating conditions. Unaltered stream flow regimes that allow natural fluctuations in stream discharge may provide refugia for this declining ranid frog from exotic predators by excluding those exotic species that are unable to cope with brief flash flooding and habitat drying.

Sartorius, Shawn S., and Philip C. Rosen. 2000. "Breeding phenology of the lowland leopard frog ( Rana yavepaiensis )." Southwestern Naturalist , 45(3): 267-273.

Introduction

The introduction is where you sketch out the background of your study, including why you have investigated the question that you have and how it relates to earlier research that has been done in the field. It may help to think of an introduction as a telescoping focus, where you begin with the broader context and gradually narrow to the specific problem addressed by the report. A typical (and very useful) construction of an introduction proceeds as follows:

"Echimyid rodents of the genus Proechimys (spiny rats) often are the most abundant and widespread lowland forest rodents throughout much of their range in the Neotropics (Eisenberg 1989). Recent studies suggested that these rodents play an important role in forest dynamics through their activities as seed predators and dispersers of seeds (Adler and Kestrell 1998; Asquith et al 1997; Forget 1991; Hoch and Adler 1997)." (Lambert and Adler, p. 70)

"Our laboratory has been involved in the analysis of the HLA class II genes and their association with autoimmune disorders such as insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. As part of this work, the laboratory handles a large number of blood samples. In an effort to minimize the expense and urgency of transportation of frozen or liquid blood samples, we have designed a protocol that will preserve the integrity of lymphocyte DNA and enable the transport and storage of samples at ambient temperatures." (Torrance, MacLeod & Hache, p. 64)

"Despite the ubiquity and abundance of P. semispinosus , only two previous studies have assessed habitat use, with both showing a generalized habitat use. [brief summary of these studies]." (Lambert and Adler, p. 70)

"Although very good results have been obtained using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of DNA extracted from dried blood spots on filter paper (1,4,5,8,9), this preservation method yields limited amounts of DNA and is susceptible to contamination." (Torrance, MacLeod & Hache, p. 64)

"No attempt has been made to quantitatively describe microhabitat characteristics with which this species may be associated. Thus, specific structural features of secondary forests that may promote abundance of spiny rats remains unknown. Such information is essential to understand the role of spiny rats in Neotropical forests, particularly with regard to forest regeneration via interactions with seeds." (Lambert and Adler, p. 71)

"As an alternative, we have been investigating the use of lyophilization ("freeze-drying") of whole blood as a method to preserve sufficient amounts of genomic DNA to perform PCR and Southern Blot analysis." (Torrance, MacLeod & Hache, p. 64)

"We present an analysis of microhabitat use by P. semispinosus in tropical moist forests in central Panama." (Lambert and Adler, p. 71)

"In this report, we summarize our analysis of genomic DNA extracted from lyophilized whole blood." (Torrance, MacLeod & Hache, p. 64)

Methods and Materials

In this section you describe how you performed your study. You need to provide enough information here for the reader to duplicate your experiment. However, be reasonable about who the reader is. Assume that he or she is someone familiar with the basic practices of your field.

It's helpful to both writer and reader to organize this section chronologically: that is, describe each procedure in the order it was performed. For example, DNA-extraction, purification, amplification, assay, detection. Or, study area, study population, sampling technique, variables studied, analysis method.

Include in this section:

• study design: procedures should be listed and described, or the reader should be referred to papers that have already described the used procedure
• particular techniques used and why, if relevant
• modifications of any techniques; be sure to describe the modification
• specialized equipment, including brand-names
• temporal, spatial, and historical description of study area and studied population
• assumptions underlying the study
• statistical methods, including software programs

Example description of activity

Chromosomal DNA was denatured for the first cycle by incubating the slides in 70% deionized formamide; 2x standard saline citrate (SSC) at 70ºC for 2 min, followed by 70% ethanol at -20ºC and then 90% and 100% ethanol at room temperature, followed by air drying. (Rouwendal et al ., p. 79)

Example description of assumptions

We considered seeds left in the petri dish to be unharvested and those scattered singly on the surface of a tile to be scattered and also unharvested. We considered seeds in cheek pouches to be harvested but not cached, those stored in the nestbox to be larderhoarded, and those buried in caching sites within the arena to be scatterhoarded. (Krupa and Geluso, p. 99)

Examples of use of specialized equipment

• Oligonucleotide primers were prepared using the Applied Biosystems Model 318A (Foster City, CA) DNA Synthesizer according to the manufacturers' instructions. (Rouwendal et al ., p.78)
• We first visually reviewed the complete song sample of an individual using spectrograms produced on a Princeton Applied Research Real Time Spectrum Analyzer (model 4512). (Peters et al ., p. 937)

Example of use of a certain technique

Frogs were monitored using visual encounter transects (Crump and Scott, 1994). (Sartorius and Rosen, p. 269)

Example description of statistical analysis

We used Wilcox rank-sum tests for all comparisons of pre-experimental scores and for all comparisons of hue, saturation, and brightness scores between various groups of birds ... All P -values are two-tailed unless otherwise noted. (Brawner et al ., p. 955)

This section presents the facts--what was found in the course of this investigation. Detailed data--measurements, counts, percentages, patterns--usually appear in tables, figures, and graphs, and the text of the section draws attention to the key data and relationships among data. Three rules of thumb will help you with this section:

• present results clearly and logically
• avoid excess verbiage
• consider providing a one-sentence summary at the beginning of each paragraph if you think it will help your reader understand your data

Remember to use table and figures effectively. But don't expect these to stand alone.

Some examples of well-organized and easy-to-follow results:

• Size of the aquatic habitat at Agua Caliente Canyon varied dramatically throughout the year. The site contained three rockbound tinajas (bedrock pools) that did not dry during this study. During periods of high stream discharge seven more seasonal pools and intermittent stretches of riffle became available. Perennial and seasonal pool levels remained stable from late February through early May. Between mid-May and mid-July seasonal pools dried until they disappeared. Perennial pools shrank in surface area from a range of 30-60 m² to 3-5- M². (Sartorius and Rosen, Sept. 2000: 269)

Notice how the second sample points out what is important in the accompanying figure. It makes us aware of relationships that we may not have noticed quickly otherwise and that will be important to the discussion.

A similar test result is obtained with a primer derived from the human ß-satellite... This primer (AGTGCAGAGATATGTCACAATG-CCCC: Oligo 435) labels 6 sites in the PRINS reaction: the chromosomes 1, one pair of acrocentrics and, more weakly, the chromosomes 9 (Fig. 2a). After 10 cycles of PCR-IS, the number of sites labeled has doubled (Fig. 2b); after 20 cycles, the number of sites labeled is the same but the signals are stronger (Fig. 2c) (Rouwendal et al ., July 93:80).

Related Information: Use Tables and Figures Effectively

Do not repeat all of the information in the text that appears in a table, but do summarize it. For example, if you present a table of temperature measurements taken at various times, describe the general pattern of temperature change and refer to the table.

"The temperature of the solution increased rapidly at first, going from 50º to 80º in the first three minutes (Table 1)."

You don't want to list every single measurement in the text ("After one minute, the temperature had risen to 55º. After two minutes, it had risen to 58º," etc.). There is no hard and fast rule about when to report all measurements in the text and when to put the measurements in a table and refer to them, but use your common sense. Remember that readers have all that data in the accompanying tables and figures, so your task in this section is to highlight key data, changes, or relationships.

In this section you discuss your results. What aspect you choose to focus on depends on your results and on the main questions addressed by them. For example, if you were testing a new technique, you will want to discuss how useful this technique is: how well did it work, what are the benefits and drawbacks, etc. If you are presenting data that appear to refute or support earlier research, you will want to analyze both your own data and the earlier data--what conditions are different? how much difference is due to a change in the study design, and how much to a new property in the study subject? You may discuss the implication of your research--particularly if it has a direct bearing on a practical issue, such as conservation or public health.

This section centers on speculation . However, this does not free you to present wild and haphazard guesses. Focus your discussion around a particular question or hypothesis. Use subheadings to organize your thoughts, if necessary.

This section depends on a logical organization so readers can see the connection between your study question and your results. One typical approach is to make a list of all the ideas that you will discuss and to work out the logical relationships between them--what idea is most important? or, what point is most clearly made by your data? what ideas are subordinate to the main idea? what are the connections between ideas?

Achieving the Scientific Voice

Eight tips will help you match your style for most scientific publications.

• Develop a precise vocabulary: read the literature to become fluent, or at least familiar with, the sort of language that is standard to describe what you're trying to describe.
• Once you've labeled an activity, a condition, or a period of time, use that label consistently throughout the paper. Consistency is more important than creativity.
• Define your terms and your assumptions.
• Include all the information the reader needs to interpret your data.
• Remember, the key to all scientific discourse is that it be reproducible . Have you presented enough information clearly enough that the reader could reproduce your experiment, your research, or your investigation?
• When describing an activity, break it down into elements that can be described and labeled, and then present them in the order they occurred.
• When you use numbers, use them effectively. Don't present them so that they cause more work for the reader.
• Include details before conclusions, but only include those details you have been able to observe by the methods you have described. Do not include your feelings, attitudes, impressions, or opinions.
• Research your format and citations: do these match what have been used in current relevant journals?
• Run a spellcheck and proofread carefully. Read your paper out loud, and/ or have a friend look over it for misspelled words, missing words, etc.

Applying the Principles, Example 1

The following example needs more precise information. Look at the original and revised paragraphs to see how revising with these guidelines in mind can make the text clearer and more informative:

Before: Each male sang a definite number of songs while singing. They start with a whistle and then go from there. Each new song is always different, but made up an overall repertoire that was completed before starting over again. In 16 cases (84%), no new songs were sung after the first 20, even though we counted about 44 songs for each bird.

After: Each male used a discrete number of song types in his singing. Each song began with an introductory whistle, followed by a distinctive, complex series of fluty warbles (Fig. 1). Successive songs were always different, and five of the 19 males presented their entire song repertoire before repeating any of their song types (i.e., the first IO recorded songs revealed the entire repertoire of 10 song types). Each song type recurred in long sequences of singing, so that we could be confident that we had recorded the entire repertoire of commonly used songs by each male. For 16 of the 19 males, no new song types were encountered after the first 20 songs, even though we analyzed and average of 44 songs/male (range 30-59).

Applying the Principles, Example 2

In this set of examples, even a few changes in wording result in a more precise second version. Look at the original and revised paragraphs to see how revising with these guidelines in mind can make the text clearer and more informative:

Before: The study area was on Mt. Cain and Maquilla Peak in British Columbia, Canada. The study area is about 12,000 ha of coastal montane forest. The area is both managed and unmanaged and ranges from 600-1650m. The most common trees present are mountain hemlock ( Tsuga mertensiana ), western hemlock ( Tsuga heterophylla ), yellow cedar ( Chamaecyparis nootkatensis ), and amabilis fir ( Abies amabilis ).

After: The study took place on Mt. Cain and Maquilla Peak (50'1 3'N, 126'1 8'W), Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The study area encompassed 11,800 ha of coastal montane forest. The landscape consisted of managed and unmanaged stands of coastal montane forest, 600-1650 m in elevation. The dominant tree species included mountain hemlock ( Tsuga mertensiana ), western hemlock ( Tsuga heterophylla ), yellow cedar ( Chamaecyparis nootkatensis ), and amabilis fir ( Abies amabilis ).

Two Tips for Sentence Clarity

Although you will want to consider more detailed stylistic revisions as you become more comfortable with scientific writing, two tips can get you started:

First, the verb should follow the subject as soon as possible.

Really Hard to Read : "The smallest of the URF's (URFA6L), a 207-nucleotide (nt) reading frame overlapping out of phase the NH2- terminal portion of the adenosinetriphosphatase (ATPase) subunit 6 gene has been identified as the animal equivalent of the recently discovered yeast H+-ATPase subunit gene."

Less Hard to Read : "The smallest of the UR-F's is URFA6L, a 207-nucleotide (nt) reading frame overlapping out of phase the NH2-terminal portion of the adenosinetriphosphatase (ATPase) subunit 6 gene; it has been identified as the animal equivalent of the recently discovered yeast H+-ATPase subunit 8 gene."

Second, place familiar information first in a clause, a sentence, or a paragraph, and put the new and unfamiliar information later.

More confusing : The epidermis, the dermis, and the subcutaneous layer are the three layers of the skin. A layer of dead skin cells makes up the epidermis, which forms the body's shield against the world. Blood vessels, carrying nourishment, and nerve endings, which relay information about the outside world, are found in the dermis. Sweat glands and fat cells make up the third layer, the subcutaneous layer.

Less confusing : The skin consists of three layers: the epidermis, the dermis, and the subcutaneous layer. The epidermis is made up of dead skin cells, and forms a protective shield between the body and the world. The dermis contains the blood vessels and nerve endings that nourish the skin and make it receptive to outside stimuli. The subcutaneous layer contains the sweat glands and fat cells which perform other functions of the skin.

Bibliography

• Scientific Writing for Graduate Students . F. P. Woodford. Bethesda, MD: Council of Biology Editors, 1968. [A manual on the teaching of writing to graduate students--very clear and direct.]
• Scientific Style and Format . Council of Biology Editors. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994.
• "The science of scientific writing." George Gopen and Judith Swann. The American Scientist , Vol. 78, Nov.-Dec. 1990. Pp 550-558.
• "What's right about scientific writing." Alan Gross and Joseph Harmon. The Scientist , Dec. 6 1999. Pp. 20-21.
• "A Quick Fix for Figure Legends and Table Headings." Donald Kroodsma. The Auk , 117 (4): 1081-1083, 2000.

Wortman-Wunder, Emily, & Kate Kiefer. (1998). Writing the Scientific Paper. Writing@CSU . Colorado State University. https://writing.colostate.edu/resources/writing/guides/.

What this handout is about

Nearly every element of style that is accepted and encouraged in general academic writing is also considered good practice in scientific writing. The major difference between science writing and writing in other academic fields is the relative importance placed on certain stylistic elements. This handout details the most critical aspects of scientific writing and provides some strategies for evaluating and improving your scientific prose. Readers of this handout may also find our handout on scientific reports useful.

What is scientific writing?

There are several different kinds of writing that fall under the umbrella of scientific writing. Scientific writing can include:

• Peer-reviewed journal articles (presenting primary research)
• Grant proposals (you can’t do science without funding)
• Literature review articles (summarizing and synthesizing research that has already been carried out)

As a student in the sciences, you are likely to spend some time writing lab reports, which often follow the format of peer-reviewed articles and literature reviews. Regardless of the genre, though, all scientific writing has the same goal: to present data and/or ideas with a level of detail that allows a reader to evaluate the validity of the results and conclusions based only on the facts presented. The reader should be able to easily follow both the methods used to generate the data (if it’s a primary research paper) and the chain of logic used to draw conclusions from the data. Several key elements allow scientific writers to achieve these goals:

• Precision: ambiguities in writing cause confusion and may prevent a reader from grasping crucial aspects of the methodology and synthesis
• Clarity: concepts and methods in the sciences can often be complex; writing that is difficult to follow greatly amplifies any confusion on the part of the reader
• Objectivity: any claims that you make need to be based on facts, not intuition or emotion

How can I make my writing more precise?

Theories in the sciences are based upon precise mathematical models, specific empirical (primary) data sets, or some combination of the two. Therefore, scientists must use precise, concrete language to evaluate and explain such theories, whether mathematical or conceptual. There are a few strategies for avoiding ambiguous, imprecise writing.

Word and phrasing choice

Often several words may convey similar meaning, but usually only one word is most appropriate in a given context. Here’s an example:

• Word choice 1: “population density is positively correlated with disease transmission rate”
• Word choice 2: “population density is positively related to disease transmission rate”

In some contexts, “correlated” and “related” have similar meanings. But in scientific writing, “correlated” conveys a precise statistical relationship between two variables. In scientific writing, it is typically not enough to simply point out that two variables are related: the reader will expect you to explain the precise nature of the relationship (note: when using “correlation,” you must explain somewhere in the paper how the correlation was estimated). If you mean “correlated,” then use the word “correlated”; avoid substituting a less precise term when a more precise term is available.

This same idea also applies to choice of phrasing. For example, the phrase “writing of an investigative nature” could refer to writing in the sciences, but might also refer to a police report. When presented with a choice, a more specific and less ambiguous phraseology is always preferable. This applies even when you must be repetitive to maintain precision: repetition is preferable to ambiguity. Although repetition of words or phrases often happens out of necessity, it can actually be beneficial by placing special emphasis on key concepts.

Figurative language

Figurative language can make for interesting and engaging casual reading but is by definition imprecise. Writing “experimental subjects were assaulted with a wall of sound” does not convey the precise meaning of “experimental subjects were presented with 20 second pulses of conspecific mating calls.” It’s difficult for a reader to objectively evaluate your research if details are left to the imagination, so exclude similes and metaphors from your scientific writing.

Level of detail

Include as much detail as is necessary, but exclude extraneous information. The reader should be able to easily follow your methodology, results, and logic without being distracted by irrelevant facts and descriptions. Ask yourself the following questions when you evaluate the level of detail in a paper:

• Is the rationale for performing the experiment clear (i.e., have you shown that the question you are addressing is important and interesting)?
• Are the materials and procedures used to generate the results described at a level of detail that would allow the experiment to be repeated?
• Is the rationale behind the choice of experimental methods clear? Will the reader understand why those particular methods are appropriate for answering the question your research is addressing?
• Will the reader be able to follow the chain of logic used to draw conclusions from the data?

Any information that enhances the reader’s understanding of the rationale, methodology, and logic should be included, but information in excess of this (or information that is redundant) will only confuse and distract the reader.

Whenever possible, use quantitative rather than qualitative descriptions. A phrase that uses definite quantities such as “development rate in the 30°C temperature treatment was ten percent faster than development rate in the 20°C temperature treatment” is much more precise than the more qualitative phrase “development rate was fastest in the higher temperature treatment.”

How can I make my writing clearer?

When you’re writing about complex ideas and concepts, it’s easy to get sucked into complex writing. Distilling complicated ideas into simple explanations is challenging, but you’ll need to acquire this valuable skill to be an effective communicator in the sciences. Complexities in language use and sentence structure are perhaps the most common issues specific to writing in the sciences.

Language use

When given a choice between a familiar and a technical or obscure term, the more familiar term is preferable if it doesn’t reduce precision. Here are a just a few examples of complex words and their simple alternatives:

In these examples, the term on the right conveys the same meaning as the word on the left but is more familiar and straightforward, and is often shorter as well.

There are some situations where the use of a technical or obscure term is justified. For example, in a paper comparing two different viral strains, the author might repeatedly use the word “enveloped” rather than the phrase “surrounded by a membrane.” The key word here is “repeatedly”: only choose the less familiar term if you’ll be using it more than once. If you choose to go with the technical term, however, make sure you clearly define it, as early in the paper as possible. You can use this same strategy to determine whether or not to use abbreviations, but again you must be careful to define the abbreviation early on.

Sentence structure

Science writing must be precise, and precision often requires a fine level of detail. Careful description of objects, forces, organisms, methodology, etc., can easily lead to complex sentences that express too many ideas without a break point. Here’s an example:

The osmoregulatory organ, which is located at the base of the third dorsal spine on the outer margin of the terminal papillae and functions by expelling excess sodium ions, activates only under hypertonic conditions.

Several things make this sentence complex. First, the action of the sentence (activates) is far removed from the subject (the osmoregulatory organ) so that the reader has to wait a long time to get the main idea of the sentence. Second, the verbs “functions,” “activates,” and “expelling” are somewhat redundant. Consider this revision:

Located on the outer margin of the terminal papillae at the base of the third dorsal spine, the osmoregulatory organ expels excess sodium ions under hypertonic conditions.

This sentence is slightly shorter, conveys the same information, and is much easier to follow. The subject and the action are now close together, and the redundant verbs have been eliminated. You may have noticed that even the simpler version of this sentence contains two prepositional phrases strung together (“on the outer margin of…” and “at the base of…”). Prepositional phrases themselves are not a problem; in fact, they are usually required to achieve an adequate level of detail in science writing. However, long strings of prepositional phrases can cause sentences to wander. Here’s an example of what not to do from Alley (1996):

“…to confirm the nature of electrical breakdown of nitrogen in uniform fields at relatively high pressures and interelectrode gaps that approach those obtained in engineering practice, prior to the determination of the processes that set the criterion for breakdown in the above-mentioned gases and mixtures in uniform and non-uniform fields of engineering significance.”

The use of eleven (yes, eleven!) prepositional phrases in this sentence is excessive, and renders the sentence nearly unintelligible. Judging when a string of prepositional phrases is too long is somewhat subjective, but as a general rule of thumb, a single prepositional phrase is always preferable, and anything more than two strung together can be problematic.

Nearly every form of scientific communication is space-limited. Grant proposals, journal articles, and abstracts all have word or page limits, so there’s a premium on concise writing. Furthermore, adding unnecessary words or phrases distracts rather than engages the reader. Avoid generic phrases that contribute no novel information. Common phrases such as “the fact that,” “it should be noted that,” and “it is interesting that” are cumbersome and unnecessary. Your reader will decide whether or not your paper is interesting based on the content. In any case, if information is not interesting or noteworthy it should probably be excluded.

How can I make my writing more objective?

The objective tone used in conventional scientific writing reflects the philosophy of the scientific method: if results are not repeatable, then they are not valid. In other words, your results will only be considered valid if any researcher performing the same experimental tests and analyses that you describe would be able to produce the same results. Thus, scientific writers try to adopt a tone that removes the focus from the researcher and puts it only on the research itself. Here are several stylistic conventions that enhance objectivity:

Passive voice

You may have been told at some point in your academic career that the use of the passive voice is almost always bad, except in the sciences. The passive voice is a sentence structure where the subject who performs the action is ambiguous (e.g., “you may have been told,” as seen in the first sentence of this paragraph; see our handout on passive voice and this 2-minute video on passive voice for a more complete discussion).

The rationale behind using the passive voice in scientific writing is that it enhances objectivity, taking the actor (i.e., the researcher) out of the action (i.e., the research). Unfortunately, the passive voice can also lead to awkward and confusing sentence structures and is generally considered less engaging (i.e., more boring) than the active voice. This is why most general style guides recommend only sparing use of the passive voice.

Currently, the active voice is preferred in most scientific fields, even when it necessitates the use of “I” or “we.” It’s perfectly reasonable (and more simple) to say “We performed a two-tailed t-test” rather than to say “a two-tailed t-test was performed,” or “in this paper we present results” rather than “results are presented in this paper.” Nearly every current edition of scientific style guides recommends the active voice, but different instructors (or journal editors) may have different opinions on this topic. If you are unsure, check with the instructor or editor who will review your paper to see whether or not to use the passive voice. If you choose to use the active voice with “I” or “we,” there are a few guidelines to follow:

• Avoid starting sentences with “I” or “we”: this pulls focus away from the scientific topic at hand.
• Avoid using “I” or “we” when you’re making a conjecture, whether it’s substantiated or not. Everything you say should follow from logic, not from personal bias or subjectivity. Never use any emotive words in conjunction with “I” or “we” (e.g., “I believe,” “we feel,” etc.).
• Never use “we” in a way that includes the reader (e.g., “here we see trait evolution in action”); the use of “we” in this context sets a condescending tone.

Acknowledging your limitations

Your conclusions should be directly supported by the data that you present. Avoid making sweeping conclusions that rest on assumptions that have not been substantiated by your or others’ research. For example, if you discover a correlation between fur thickness and basal metabolic rate in rats and mice you would not necessarily conclude that fur thickness and basal metabolic rate are correlated in all mammals. You might draw this conclusion, however, if you cited evidence that correlations between fur thickness and basal metabolic rate are also found in twenty other mammalian species. Assess the generality of the available data before you commit to an overly general conclusion.

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Alley, Michael. 1996. The Craft of Scientific Writing , 3rd ed. New York: Springer.

Council of Science Editors. 2014. Scientific Style and Format: The CSE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers , 8th ed. Chicago & London: University of Chicago Press.

Day, Robert A. 1994. How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper , 4th ed. Phoenix: Oryx Press.

Day, Robert, and Nancy Sakaduski. 2011. Scientific English: A Guide for Scientists and Other Professionals , 3rd ed. Santa Barbara: Greenwood.

Gartland, John J. 1993. Medical Writing and Communicating . Frederick, MD: University Publishing Group.

Williams, Joseph M., and Joseph Bizup. 2016. Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace , 12th ed. New York: Pearson.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Make a Gift

How to Write a Scientific Essay

When writing any essay it’s important to always keep the end goal in mind. You want to produce a document that is detailed, factual, about the subject matter and most importantly to the point.

Writing scientific essays will always be slightly different to when you write an essay for say English Literature . You need to be more analytical and precise when answering your questions. To help achieve this, you need to keep three golden rules in mind.

• Analysing the question, so that you know exactly what you have to do

Planning your answer

• Writing the essay

Now, let’s look at these steps in more detail to help you fully understand how to apply the three golden rules.

Analysing the question

• Start by looking at the instruction. Essays need to be written out in continuous prose. You shouldn’t be using bullet points or writing in note form.
• If it helps to make a particular point, however, you can use a diagram providing it is relevant and adequately explained.
• Look at the topic you are required to write about. The wording of the essay title tells you what you should confine your answer to – there is no place for interesting facts about other areas.

The next step is to plan your answer. What we are going to try to do is show you how to produce an effective plan in a very short time. You need a framework to show your knowledge otherwise it is too easy to concentrate on only a few aspects.

For example, when writing an essay on biology we can divide the topic up in a number of different ways. So, if you have to answer a question like ‘Outline the main properties of life and system reproduction’

The steps for planning are simple. Firstly, define the main terms within the question that need to be addressed. Then list the properties asked for and lastly, roughly assess how many words of your word count you are going to allocate to each term.

Writing the Essay

The final step (you’re almost there), now you have your plan in place for the essay, it’s time to get it all down in black and white. Follow your plan for answering the question, making sure you stick to the word count, check your spelling and grammar and give credit where credit’s (always reference your sources).

How Tutors Breakdown Essays

An exceptional essay

• reflects the detail that could be expected from a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of relevant parts of the specification
• is free from fundamental errors
• maintains appropriate depth and accuracy throughout
• includes two or more paragraphs of material that indicates greater depth or breadth of study

A good essay

An average essay

• contains a significant amount of material that reflects the detail that could be expected from a knowledge and understanding of relevant parts of the specification.

In practice this will amount to about half the essay.

• is likely to reflect limited knowledge of some areas and to be patchy in quality
• demonstrates a good understanding of basic principles with some errors and evidence of misunderstanding

A poor essay

• contains much material which is below the level expected of a candidate who has completed the course
• Contains fundamental errors reflecting a poor grasp of basic principles and concepts

Privacy Overview

Writers' Center

Eastern Washington University

Scientific Writing

Thinking and writing like a scientist, writing clearly, citation help.

[ Back to resource home ]

[email protected] 509.359.2779

Cheney Campus   JFK Library Learning Commons

Stay Connected!

inside.ewu.edu/writerscenter Instagram  Facebook

Helpful Links

For more information on writing your scientific papers, here are some good resources:

http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/scientific-reports/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1559667/

The Scientific Method

When writing or reading about science, it is useful to keep the scientific method in mind. The scientific method is used as a model to construct writing that can be shared with others in a logical and informative way. Any piece of scientific writing is informative and persuasive: informative because the author is telling the audience how he or she conducted their research and what new information they learned, and persuasive because science papers demonstrate how that new information was obtained and what conclusions can be drawn from the data collected. The format of most journal articles follows the steps of the scientific method, with Introduction, Methods, and Results sections at a minimum. 

Evidence and Argumentation

Science writing has a persuasive element to it. Researchers need to convince others that they have done their experiments properly and that they have answered their central research questions. Therefore, all science papers, even theoretical ones, make use of evidence to support their points. Remember that statistical measures, while extremely useful, are not the only source of evidence. Observations of even a single event can be useful in the right context. Remember to use logic to link your evidence and claims together!

Relating evidence and ideas:  http://undsci.berkeley.edu/article/coreofscience_01

Clarity and Reader Expectations

Many people complain that scientific literature is difficult to understand because of the complicated language and the use of jargon. However, scientific literature can be difficult to understand even if one is familiar with the concepts being discussed.

To avoid confusing the reader, writers should focus on writing clearly and keeping the reader’s expectations in mind. In a scientific paper, it is important that most readers will agree with the information being presented. Writing in a clear and concise way helps the writer accomplish this. Use the paper as a story-telling medium. Concentrate on showing the reader that your experiments show definite conclusion, and how this contribution changes the state of knowledge in the field.

Gopen and Swan (1990) offer the following seven easy ways to make your writing more clear and to say what you want the reader to hear.

• Follow a grammatical subject as soon as possible with its verb.
• Place in the stress position the "new information" you want the reader to emphasize. 
• Place the person or thing whose "story" a sentence is telling at the beginning of the sentence, in the topic position. 
• Place appropriate "old information" (material already stated in the discourse) in the topic position for linkage backward and contextualization forward. 
• Articulate the action of every clause or sentence in its verb. 
• In general, provide context for your reader before asking that reader to consider anything new. 
• In general, try to ensure that the relative emphases of the substance coincide with the relative expectations for emphasis raised by the structure.

[Gopen, G. and Swan, J. 1990. The Science of Scientific Writing. American Scientist. Available here: https://www.americanscientist.org/blog/the-long-view/the-science-of-scientific-writing  ]

One major problem many students have when they start writing papers is using so called “running jumps.” This is the placement of unnecessary words at the beginning of a sentence. For example:

RUNNING JUMP: According to the researchers, the control group showed more change in chlorophyll production (Smith et. al., 2014).

NO RUNNING JUMP: The control group showed more change in chlorophyll production (Smith et. al., 2014).

We’ve already cited a study, so it’s clear that we are referring to researchers and their findings. So the first part of the sentence is unnecessary. 

Try to limit the number of ideas expressed in a single sentence. If a sentence seems like it is trying to say more than two things at once, split it into two sentences.  If a sentence is long and tangled and just doesn't make sense, don't try to perform "surgery" to fix the sentence. Instead, "kill" the sentence and start over, using short, direct sentences to express what you mean.

If you can make a noun phrase into a verb, do it! For example, made note of = noted, provided a similar opinion = agreed with, conducted an experiment = experimented, etc.

Avoid the Passive Voice Where You Can

If a sentence is written in the passive voice, the subject of the sentence (person/thing doing the action) does not come first; rather, the object of the sentence (person/thing not doing the action) is the first noun in the sentence. 

PASSIVE: Radiation was the mechanism by which the samples were sterilized.

MORE ACTIVE: The samples were sterilized using radiation.

ACTIVE: We sterilized the samples using radiation.

Professors (and scientific journals) have differing opinions on the use of passive voice. Some consider it unacceptable, but many are more lenient. And in fact, often it will make more sense to write in the passive voice in certain sections (i.e. Methods) and when you can't use first-person pronouns like "I." In any case, reducing overuse of passive voice in your writing makes it more concise and easier to understand.

Here's a useful link for clear scientific writing style: http://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/effective-writing-13815989

Posters are often used as an accompaniment to a talk or presentation, or as a substitute. You’ve probably seen posters hanging up around campus, showcasing students' research. The idea of a poster is to simplify a study and present it in a visual way, so it can be understood by a wide audience. The most important thing to remember when designing a poster (or completing any kind of published work) is to follow the guidelines given. If your instructor, or the conference you’re presenting at, wants a certain format, adhere to that format. These three rules are especially important to follow:

• Shorter is better: make sure that your poster does not contain too much text! Packing text onto the poster makes it difficult to read and understand.
• Bigger is better. No, this is not a contradiction of rule 1! Make sure your text is large enough to read, and readable against the background of the poster.
• Use images. The key aspect of a poster is that it is a visual medium. Include graphs, photos, and illustrations of your work.

Here are some excellent tips and templates for research posters: 

1.  http://colinpurrington.com/tips/academic/posterdesign

2. https://ph.byu.edu/resources

3.  https://pop.psu.edu/sites/pri/files/Poster%20Design%20Tips.pdf : Poster tips from Penn State

Most scientific citation styles are based on APA format. It’s totally okay to use a resource to look up how to format a paper in APA style! As you become more familiar with the format, you will become less reliant on these resources, but for now, here are some sites that may be useful .

Our APA guide

APA Style Official Website

• Last Updated: Apr 25, 2024 2:50 PM
• URL: https://research.ewu.edu/writers_center_sci_writing

Definition and Examples of Science Writing

Glossary of Grammatical and Rhetorical Terms

 Serge Kozak/Getty Images

• An Introduction to Punctuation
• Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia
• M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester
• B.A., English, State University of New York

The term science writing refers to  writing about a scientific subject matter, often in a non-technical manner for an audience of non-scientists (a form of journalism or creative nonfiction ). Also called popular science writing . (Definition No. 1)

Science writing may also refer to writing that reports scientific observations and results in a manner governed by specific conventions (a form of technical writing ). More commonly known as scientific writing . (Definition No. 2)

Examples and Observations

• "Because science writing is intended to be entertaining enough to capture the continued interest of potential readers, its style is much less somber than the usual scientific writing [i.e., definition No. 2, above]. The use of slang , puns , and other word plays on the English language  are accepted and even encouraged. . . . "Distinguishing between science writing and scientific writing is reasonable—they have different purposes and a different audience . However, one would be ill-advised to use the term 'science writing' or 'popular writing' in a disparaging way. Writing (or providing consultation for others who are writing) popularized accounts based on scientific research should be an important part of every scientists' outreach activities. The wider community is essential to adequate support for scientific endeavors."
• An Example of Science Writing: "Stripped for Parts":  "Sustaining a dead body until its organs can be harvested is a tricky process requiring the latest in medical technology. But it's also a distinct anachronism in an era when medicine is becoming less and less invasive. Fixing blocked coronary arteries, which not long ago required prying a patient's chest open with a saw and spreader, can now be accomplished with a tiny stent delivered to the heart on a slender wire threaded up the leg. Exploratory surgery has given way to robot cameras and high-resolution imaging. Already, we are eyeing the tantalizing summit of gene therapy, where diseases are cured even before they do damage. Compared with such microscale cures, transplants—which consist of salvaging entire organs from a heart-beating cadaver and sewing them into a different body—seem crudely mechanical, even medieval."

On Explaining Science

"The question is not "should" you explain a concept or process, but "how" can you do so in a way that is clear and so readable that it is simply part of the story?

"Use explanatory strategies such as ...

- "People who study what makes an explanation successful have found that while giving examples is helpful, giving nonexamples is even better. "Nonexamples are examples of what something is not . Often, that kind of example will help clarify what the thing is . If you were trying to explain groundwater, for instance, you might say that, while the term seems to suggest an actual body of water, such as a lake or an underground river, that would be an inaccurate image. Groundwater is not a body of water in the traditional sense; rather, as Katherine Rowan, communications professor, points out, it is water moving slowly but relentlessly through cracks and crevices in the ground below us... "Be acutely aware of your readers' beliefs. You might write that chance is the best explanation of a disease cluster; but this could be counterproductive if your readers reject chance as an explanation for anything. If you are aware that readers' beliefs may collide with an explanation you give, you may be able to write in a way that doesn't cause these readers to block their minds to the science you explain."

The Lighter Side of Science Writing

"In this paragraph I will state the main claim that the research makes, making appropriate use of ' scare quotes ' to ensure that it's clear that I have no opinion about this research whatsoever.

"In this paragraph, I will briefly (because no paragraph should be more than one line) state which existing scientific ideas this new research 'challenges.'

"If the research is about a potential cure or a solution to a problem, this paragraph will describe how it will raise hopes for a group of sufferers or victims.

"This paragraph elaborates on the claim, adding weasel-words like 'the scientists say' to shift responsibility for establishing the likely truth or accuracy of the research findings on to absolutely anybody else but me, the journalist. ..."

(Janice R. Matthews and Robert W. Matthews,  Successful Scientific Writing: A Step-by-Step Guide for the Biological and Medical Sciences , 4th ed. Cambridge University Press, 2014)

(Jennifer Kahn, "Stripped for Parts." Wired.   March 2003. Reprinted in The Best American Science Writing 2004 , edited by Dava Sobel. HarperCollins, 2004)

(Sharon Dunwoody, "On Explaining Science." A Field Guide for Science Writers , 2nd ed., ed. by Deborah Blum, Mary Knudson, and Robin Marantz Henig. Oxford University Press, 2006)

(Martin Robbins, "This Is a News Website Article About a Scientific Paper." The Guardian , September 27, 2010)

• Premise Definition and Examples in Arguments
• Learn How to Use Extended Definitions in Essays and Speeches
• Rhetorical Move
• A Guide to All Types of Narration, With Examples
• Definition and Examples of Pseudowords
• What Does It Mean to Be a Writer?
• Definition and Examples of Lexicography
• Bombast in Speech and Writing
• lexicographer
• Letter Writing - Definition and Examples
• Collaborative Writing
• Definition and Examples of Theme-Writing
• Definition and Examples of Metanoia
• Advanced Composition
• Sexist Language
• How to Use English Grammar for Writing Instructions

What Is A Research (Scientific) Hypothesis? A plain-language explainer + examples

By:  Derek Jansen (MBA)  | Reviewed By: Dr Eunice Rautenbach | June 2020

If you’re new to the world of research, or it’s your first time writing a dissertation or thesis, you’re probably noticing that the words “research hypothesis” and “scientific hypothesis” are used quite a bit, and you’re wondering what they mean in a research context .

“Hypothesis” is one of those words that people use loosely, thinking they understand what it means. However, it has a very specific meaning within academic research. So, it’s important to understand the exact meaning before you start hypothesizing. 

Research Hypothesis 101

• What is a hypothesis ?
• What is a research hypothesis (scientific hypothesis)?
• Requirements for a research hypothesis
• Definition of a research hypothesis
• The null hypothesis

What is a hypothesis?

Let’s start with the general definition of a hypothesis (not a research hypothesis or scientific hypothesis), according to the Cambridge Dictionary:

Hypothesis: an idea or explanation for something that is based on known facts but has not yet been proved.

In other words, it’s a statement that provides an explanation for why or how something works, based on facts (or some reasonable assumptions), but that has not yet been specifically tested . For example, a hypothesis might look something like this:

Hypothesis: sleep impacts academic performance.

This statement predicts that academic performance will be influenced by the amount and/or quality of sleep a student engages in – sounds reasonable, right? It’s based on reasonable assumptions , underpinned by what we currently know about sleep and health (from the existing literature). So, loosely speaking, we could call it a hypothesis, at least by the dictionary definition.

But that’s not good enough…

Unfortunately, that’s not quite sophisticated enough to describe a research hypothesis (also sometimes called a scientific hypothesis), and it wouldn’t be acceptable in a dissertation, thesis or research paper . In the world of academic research, a statement needs a few more criteria to constitute a true research hypothesis .

What is a research hypothesis?

A research hypothesis (also called a scientific hypothesis) is a statement about the expected outcome of a study (for example, a dissertation or thesis). To constitute a quality hypothesis, the statement needs to have three attributes – specificity , clarity and testability .

Let’s take a look at these more closely.

Need a helping hand?

Hypothesis Essential #1: Specificity & Clarity

A good research hypothesis needs to be extremely clear and articulate about both what’ s being assessed (who or what variables are involved ) and the expected outcome (for example, a difference between groups, a relationship between variables, etc.).

Let’s stick with our sleepy students example and look at how this statement could be more specific and clear.

Hypothesis: Students who sleep at least 8 hours per night will, on average, achieve higher grades in standardised tests than students who sleep less than 8 hours a night.

As you can see, the statement is very specific as it identifies the variables involved (sleep hours and test grades), the parties involved (two groups of students), as well as the predicted relationship type (a positive relationship). There’s no ambiguity or uncertainty about who or what is involved in the statement, and the expected outcome is clear.

Contrast that to the original hypothesis we looked at – “Sleep impacts academic performance” – and you can see the difference. “Sleep” and “academic performance” are both comparatively vague , and there’s no indication of what the expected relationship direction is (more sleep or less sleep). As you can see, specificity and clarity are key.

Hypothesis Essential #2: Testability (Provability)

A statement must be testable to qualify as a research hypothesis. In other words, there needs to be a way to prove (or disprove) the statement. If it’s not testable, it’s not a hypothesis – simple as that.

For example, consider the hypothesis we mentioned earlier:

Hypothesis: Students who sleep at least 8 hours per night will, on average, achieve higher grades in standardised tests than students who sleep less than 8 hours a night.  

We could test this statement by undertaking a quantitative study involving two groups of students, one that gets 8 or more hours of sleep per night for a fixed period, and one that gets less. We could then compare the standardised test results for both groups to see if there’s a statistically significant difference. 

Again, if you compare this to the original hypothesis we looked at – “Sleep impacts academic performance” – you can see that it would be quite difficult to test that statement, primarily because it isn’t specific enough. How much sleep? By who? What type of academic performance?

So, remember the mantra – if you can’t test it, it’s not a hypothesis 🙂

Defining A Research Hypothesis

You’re still with us? Great! Let’s recap and pin down a clear definition of a hypothesis.

A research hypothesis (or scientific hypothesis) is a statement about an expected relationship between variables, or explanation of an occurrence, that is clear, specific and testable.

So, when you write up hypotheses for your dissertation or thesis, make sure that they meet all these criteria. If you do, you’ll not only have rock-solid hypotheses but you’ll also ensure a clear focus for your entire research project.

What about the null hypothesis?

You may have also heard the terms null hypothesis , alternative hypothesis, or H-zero thrown around. At a simple level, the null hypothesis is the counter-proposal to the original hypothesis.

For example, if the hypothesis predicts that there is a relationship between two variables (for example, sleep and academic performance), the null hypothesis would predict that there is no relationship between those variables.

At a more technical level, the null hypothesis proposes that no statistical significance exists in a set of given observations and that any differences are due to chance alone.

And there you have it – hypotheses in a nutshell. 

If you have any questions, be sure to leave a comment below and we’ll do our best to help you. If you need hands-on help developing and testing your hypotheses, consider our private coaching service , where we hold your hand through the research journey.

Psst... there’s more!

This post was based on one of our popular Research Bootcamps . If you're working on a research project, you'll definitely want to check this out ...

17 Comments

Very useful information. I benefit more from getting more information in this regard.

Very great insight,educative and informative. Please give meet deep critics on many research data of public international Law like human rights, environment, natural resources, law of the sea etc

In a book I read a distinction is made between null, research, and alternative hypothesis. As far as I understand, alternative and research hypotheses are the same. Can you please elaborate? Best Afshin

This is a self explanatory, easy going site. I will recommend this to my friends and colleagues.

Very good definition. How can I cite your definition in my thesis? Thank you. Is nul hypothesis compulsory in a research?

It’s a counter-proposal to be proven as a rejection

Please what is the difference between alternate hypothesis and research hypothesis?

It is a very good explanation. However, it limits hypotheses to statistically tasteable ideas. What about for qualitative researches or other researches that involve quantitative data that don’t need statistical tests?

In qualitative research, one typically uses propositions, not hypotheses.

could you please elaborate it more

I’ve benefited greatly from these notes, thank you.

This is very helpful

well articulated ideas are presented here, thank you for being reliable sources of information

Excellent. Thanks for being clear and sound about the research methodology and hypothesis (quantitative research)

I have only a simple question regarding the null hypothesis. – Is the null hypothesis (Ho) known as the reversible hypothesis of the alternative hypothesis (H1? – How to test it in academic research?

this is very important note help me much more

Hi” best wishes to you and your very nice blog” 

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

• What Is Research Methodology? Simple Definition (With Examples) - Grad Coach - […] Contrasted to this, a quantitative methodology is typically used when the research aims and objectives are confirmatory in nature. For example,…

Submit a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

• Print Friendly

• How to Order

Science Essay

Learn How to Write an A+ Science Essay

11 min read

People also read

150+ Engaging Science Essay Topics To Hook Your Readers

Read 13 Impressive Science Essay Examples And Get Inspired

Science Fiction Essay: Examples & Easy Steps Guide

Essay About Science and Technology| Tips & Examples

Essay About Science in Everyday Life - Samples & Writing Tips

Check Out 5 Impressive Essay About Science Fair Examples

Did you ever imagine that essay writing was just for students in the Humanities? Well, think again! 

For science students, tackling a science essay might seem challenging, as it not only demands a deep understanding of the subject but also strong writing skills. 

However, fret not because we've got your back!

With the right steps and tips, you can write an engaging and informative science essay easily!

This blog will take you through all the important steps of writing a science essay, from choosing a topic to presenting the final work.

So, let's get into it!

• 1. What Is a Science Essay?
• 2. How To Write a Science Essay?
• 3. How to Structure a Science Essay?
• 4. Science Essay Examples
• 5. How to Choose the Right Science Essay Topic
• 6. Science Essay Topics
• 7. Science Essay Writing Tips

What Is a Science Essay?

A science essay is an academic paper focusing on a scientific topic from physics, chemistry, biology, or any other scientific field.

Science essays are mostly expository. That is, they require you to explain your chosen topic in detail. However, they can also be descriptive and exploratory.

A descriptive science essay aims to describe a certain scientific phenomenon according to established knowledge.

On the other hand, the exploratory science essay requires you to go beyond the current theories and explore new interpretations.

So before you set out to write your essay, always check out the instructions given by your instructor. Whether a science essay is expository or exploratory must be clear from the start. Or, if you face any difficulty, you can take help from a science essay writer as well. 

Moreover, check out this video to understand scientific writing in detail.

Now that you know what it is, let's look at the steps you need to take to write a science essay. 

Paper Due? Why Suffer? That's our Job!

How To Write a Science Essay?

Writing a science essay is not as complex as it may seem. All you need to do is follow the right steps to create an impressive piece of work that meets the assigned criteria.

Here's what you need to do:

Choose Your Topic

A good topic forms the foundation for an engaging and well-written essay. Therefore, you should ensure that you pick something interesting or relevant to your field of study. 

To choose a good topic, you can brainstorm ideas relating to the subject matter. You may also find inspiration from other science essays or articles about the same topic.

Conduct Research

Once you have chosen your topic, start researching it thoroughly to develop a strong argument or discussion in your essay. 

Make sure you use reliable sources and cite them properly . You should also make notes while conducting your research so that you can reference them easily when writing the essay. Or, you can get expert assistance from an essay writing service to manage your citations. 

Create an Outline

A good essay outline helps to organize the ideas in your paper. It serves as a guide throughout the writing process and ensures you don’t miss out on important points.

An outline makes it easier to write a well-structured paper that flows logically. It should be detailed enough to guide you through the entire writing process.

However, your outline should be flexible, and it's sometimes better to change it along the way to improve your structure.

Start Writing

Once you have a good outline, start writing the essay by following your plan.

The first step in writing any essay is to draft it. This means putting your thoughts down on paper in a rough form without worrying about grammar or spelling mistakes.

So begin your essay by introducing the topic, then carefully explain it using evidence and examples to support your argument.

Don't worry if your first draft isn't perfect - it's just the starting point!

Proofread & Edit

After finishing your first draft, take time to proofread and edit it for grammar and spelling mistakes.

Proofreading is the process of checking for grammatical mistakes. It should be done after you have finished writing your essay.

Editing, on the other hand, involves reviewing the structure and organization of your essay and its content. It should be done before you submit your final work.

Both proofreading and editing are essential for producing a high-quality essay. Make sure to give yourself enough time to do them properly!

After revising the essay, you should format it according to the guidelines given by your instructor. This could involve using a specific font size, page margins, or citation style.

Most science essays are written in Times New Roman font with 12-point size and double spacing. The margins should be 1 inch on all sides, and the text should be justified.

In addition, you must cite your sources properly using a recognized citation style such as APA , Chicago , or Harvard . Make sure to follow the guidelines closely so that your essay looks professional.

Following these steps will help you create an informative and well-structured science essay that meets the given criteria.

Tough Essay Due? Hire Tough Writers!

How to Structure a Science Essay?

A basic science essay structure includes an introduction, body, and conclusion. 

Let's look at each of these briefly.

• Introduction

Your essay introduction should introduce your topic and provide a brief overview of what you will discuss in the essay. It should also state your thesis or main argument.

For instance, a thesis statement for a science essay could be, 

"The human body is capable of incredible feats, as evidenced by the many athletes who have competed in the Olympic games."

The body of your essay will contain the bulk of your argument or discussion. It should be divided into paragraphs, each discussing a different point.

For instance, imagine you were writing about sports and the human body. 

Your first paragraph can discuss the physical capabilities of the human body. 

The second paragraph may be about the physical benefits of competing in sports. 

Similarly, in the third paragraph, you can present one or two case studies of specific athletes to support your point. 

Once you have explained all your points in the body, it’s time to conclude the essay.

Your essay conclusion should summarize the main points of your essay and leave the reader with a sense of closure.

In the conclusion, you reiterate your thesis and sum up your arguments. You can also suggest implications or potential applications of the ideas discussed in the essay. 

By following this structure, you will create a well-organized essay.

Check out a few example essays to see this structure in practice.

Science Essay Examples

A great way to get inspired when writing a science essay is to look at other examples of successful essays written by others. 

Here are some examples that will give you an idea of how to write your essay.

Science Essay About Genetics - Science Essay Example

Environmental Science Essay Example | PDF Sample

The Science of Nanotechnology

Science, Non-Science, and Pseudo-Science

The Science Of Science Education

Science in our Daily Lives

Short Science Essay Example

Let’s take a look at a short science essay: 

Want to read more essay examples? Here, you can find more science essay examples to learn from.

How to Choose the Right Science Essay Topic

Choosing the right science essay topic is a critical first step in crafting a compelling and engaging essay. Here's a concise guide on how to make this decision wisely:

• Consider Your Interests: Start by reflecting on your personal interests within the realm of science. Selecting a topic that genuinely fascinates you will make the research and writing process more enjoyable and motivated.
• Relevance to the Course: Ensure that your chosen topic aligns with your course or assignment requirements. Read the assignment guidelines carefully to understand the scope and focus expected by your instructor.
• Current Trends and Issues: Stay updated with the latest scientific developments and trends. Opting for a topic that addresses contemporary issues not only makes your essay relevant but also demonstrates your awareness of current events in the field.
• Narrow Down the Scope: Science is vast, so narrow your topic to a manageable scope. Instead of a broad subject like "Climate Change," consider a more specific angle like "The Impact of Melting Arctic Ice on Global Sea Levels."
• Available Resources: Ensure that there are sufficient credible sources and research materials available for your chosen topic. A lack of resources can hinder your research efforts.
• Discuss with Your Instructor: If you're uncertain about your topic choice, don't hesitate to consult your instructor or professor. They can provide valuable guidance and may even suggest specific topics based on your academic goals.

Science Essay Topics

Choosing an appropriate topic for a science essay is one of the first steps in writing a successful paper.

Here are a few science essay topics to get you started:

• How space exploration affects our daily lives?
• How has technology changed our understanding of medicine?
• Are there ethical considerations to consider when conducting scientific research?
• How does climate change affect the biodiversity of different parts of the world?
• How can artificial intelligence be used in medicine?
• What impact have vaccines had on global health?
• What is the future of renewable energy?
• How do we ensure that genetically modified organisms are safe for humans and the environment?
• The influence of social media on human behavior: A social science perspective
• What are the potential risks and benefits of stem cell therapy?

Important science topics can cover anything from space exploration to chemistry and biology. So you can choose any topic according to your interests!

Need more topics? We have gathered 100+ science essay topics to help you find a great topic!

Continue reading to find some tips to help you write a successful science essay. 

Science Essay Writing Tips

Once you have chosen a topic and looked at examples, it's time to start writing the science essay.

Here are some key tips for a successful essay:

• Research thoroughly

Make sure you do extensive research before you begin writing your paper. This will ensure that the facts and figures you include are accurate and supported by reliable sources.

• Use clear language

Avoid using jargon or overly technical language when writing your essay. Plain language is easier to understand and more engaging for readers.

• Referencing

Always provide references for any information you include in your essay. This will demonstrate that you acknowledge other people's work and show that the evidence you use is credible.

Make sure to follow the basic structure of an essay and organize your thoughts into clear sections. This will improve the flow and make your essay easier to read.

• Ask someone to proofread

It’s also a good idea to get someone else to proofread your work as they may spot mistakes that you have missed.

These few tips will help ensure that your science essay is well-written and informative!

You've learned the steps to writing a successful science essay and looked at some examples and topics to get you started. 

Make sure you thoroughly research, use clear language, structure your thoughts, and proofread your essay. With these tips, you’re sure to write a great science essay! 

Do you still need expert help writing a science essay? Our science essay writing service is here to help. With our team of professional writers, you can rest assured that your essay will be written to the highest standards.

Contact our essay service now to get started!

Also, do not forget to try our essay typer tool for quick and cost-free aid with your essays!

Write Essay Within 60 Seconds!

Betty is a freelance writer and researcher. She has a Masters in literature and enjoys providing writing services to her clients. Betty is an avid reader and loves learning new things. She has provided writing services to clients from all academic levels and related academic fields.

Paper Due? Why Suffer? That’s our Job!

Keep reading

Scientific Essay | How To Write It, Parts And Characteristics

We explain what a scientific essay is, its characteristics and the parts that make it up. Also, how to write a scientific essay?

What is a scientific essay?

A scientific essay is  a type of prose writing in  which the author gives his opinion or position on a particular topic based on certain objective information that comes from laws or scientifically reliable evidence.

The scientific essay  uses formal language  , although not necessarily elaborate or sophisticated, to convey an idea or present a thought of the author. It is made up of two fundamental parts: an objective part, in which the thesis or scientific theory is exposed, and another subjective part in which the writer of the essay presents conclusions or hypotheses on the issue raised.

The type of content that a scientific essay addresses is varied, but always  revolves around science-related topics  . In addition, the essays vary among themselves in length, objective and audience to which they are directed.

Characteristics of a scientific essay

Some of the main characteristics of a scientific essay are:

• It must be original and unpublished  . An essay must present an opinion or point of view drawn up by the author himself, so subjective information from other authors cannot be copied or replicated.
• You can use a free theme  . There is no specific area or topic for the development of a scientific essay, but the author can choose the subject that is of interest to him.
• It should only address one topic  . A scientific essay does not address multiple topics at once, but rather focuses on expressing a single, central idea. Then you can address related or secondary topics, but always in relation to the main topic.
• Use a scientific theory or law as a basis . The starting point of any scientific essay is to investigate a topic and then develop the conclusions or hypotheses.
• It must be synthetic  . All scientific essays must be brief but must always include relevant data. In general terms, although it depends on the topic addressed, scientific essays do not usually exceed four or five A4 pages.
• It has stages  . A scientific essay is carried out by following certain steps that guide the author and allow him to do a good job.
• It is written in simple and formal language  . For the writing of a scientific essay, a formal and objective language must be used, although it does not have to be strictly scientific.
• It must have order and coherence  . For the organization of an essay, it is advisable to follow certain guidelines or order when organizing and capturing the information.
• Bibliography must be included  . Any scientific essay must include the sources from which the scientific data is obtained. This is extremely important to give seriousness and confidence in the essay and to give credit to the authors of the scientific theories or laws.

How to do a scientific essay?

There are certain steps or stages that can be carried out when doing a scientific essay. These are:

• Selection of the research area  . The author of the essay chooses the field or discipline on which he wants to investigate.
• Research  . We proceed to the reading of different topics of interest that allow reducing the field of action and result in the topic on which it will be investigated.
• Delimitation of the subject  . After defining the theme, the author recognizes something that he does not understand or is interesting about a theory and discovers the axis of his essay.
• Information search  . The author investigates everything that is published on that particular topic and collects the data and information he needs to later refute or affirm his own hypotheses or conclusions.
• Organization and selection of information  . The author uses all the information previously collected and chooses which is the essential information, which will be discarded and which will be complementary data.
• Elaboration of an outline  . From the information collected, the most important concepts are extracted and the primary and secondary ideas are recognized. The data of interest and the conclusions drawn from the research are turned over on a sheet.
• Preparation of a draft  . The order that the information will have within the essay is defined and the writing begins.
• Writing the essay  . The final version of the essay is written and contents of the draft can be added or deleted. In this instance, attention must be paid to the correction and editing of the writing, since it is important that the essay does not have errors in style or in spelling and grammar.

Parts of a scientific essay

A scientific essay consists of the following elements:

• Title  . It is the name that the scientific essay will bear. It is important that it is original and refers to the content of the writing.
• Introduction  . The topic that the essay will address is raised and the hypotheses or what explains the reason for the choice of that topic are formulated.
• Development  . The ideas or data that support the author's position are presented and developed and the bases on which the author starts for the investigation are raised and made known . Information and data from certified sources are used in the development of the essay and opinions and points of view of the author may be included (although always duly justified). The essay must be a personal and original analysis and, in the event that extracts or content from other authors are cited, the source must be specified.
• Conclusions  . The conclusions reached by the author after the investigation and analysis of information are detailed.
• Bibliography.  The sources of information used throughout the research and writing process are listed.

Kalum Talbot

MA student of the TransAtlantic Masters program at UNC-Chapel Hill. Political Science with a focus on European Studies. Expressed ideas are open to revision. He not only covers Technical articles but also has skills in the fields of SEO, graphics, web development and coding. .

Leave a reply

Social media, entertainment, recent post.

Sport: What Is It, Types, Risks, Features, Characteristics and Examples

Dogs: Emergence, Features, Characteristics, Feeding and Breeds

Story: Definition, Elements, Structure, Features and Characteristics

Essay: Definition, Structure, Features, Characteristics, How to Do It

Narrative Text: What It Is, Structure, Features, Characteristics and Examples

• Langson Library
• Science Library
• Grunigen Medical Library
• Law Library
• Connect From Off-Campus
• Accessibility
• Gateway Study Center

Email this link

Writing a scientific paper.

• Writing a lab report

What is a "good" title?

"title checklist" from: how to write a good scientific paper. chris a. mack. spie. 2018., other hints for writing a title.

• INTRODUCTION
• LITERATURE CITED
• Bibliography of guides to scientific writing and presenting
• Peer Review
• Presentations
• Lab Report Writing Guides on the Web

The title will be read by many people. Only a few will read the entire paper, therefore all words in the title should be chosen with care. Too short a title is not helpful to the potential reader. However too long a title can sometimes be even less meaningful. Remember a title is not an abstract. Also a title is not a sentence.

Goals: • Fewest possible words that describe the contents of the paper. • Avoid waste words like "Studies on", or "Investigations on" • Use specific terms rather than general • Watch your word order and syntax • Avoid abbreviations and jargon

 The title should be clear and informative, and should reflect the aim and approach of the work.

 The title should be as specific as possible while still describing the full range of the work. Does the title, seen in isolation, give a full yet concise and specific indication of the work reported?

 Do not mention results or conclusions in the title.

 Avoid: overly clever or punny titles that will not fare well with search engines or international audiences; titles that are too short to be descriptive or too long to be read; jargon, acronyms, or trademarked terms. 

• Whenever possible, use a declarative rather than a neutral title
• Don't end your title with a question mark?
• Begin with the keywords
• Use verbs instead of abstract nouns
• Avoid abbrev. in the title

From: How to Write and Illustrate a Scientific Paper (2008)

• << Previous: Writing a lab report
• Next: ABSTRACT >>
• Last Updated: Aug 4, 2023 9:33 AM
• URL: https://guides.lib.uci.edu/scientificwriting

Off-campus? Please use the Software VPN and choose the group UCIFull to access licensed content. For more information, please Click here

Software VPN is not available for guests, so they may not have access to some content when connecting from off-campus.

Have a language expert improve your writing

Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, generate accurate citations for free.

• Knowledge Base
• The four main types of essay | Quick guide with examples

The Four Main Types of Essay | Quick Guide with Examples

Published on September 4, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on July 23, 2023.

An essay is a focused piece of writing designed to inform or persuade. There are many different types of essay, but they are often defined in four categories: argumentative, expository, narrative, and descriptive essays.

Argumentative and expository essays are focused on conveying information and making clear points, while narrative and descriptive essays are about exercising creativity and writing in an interesting way. At university level, argumentative essays are the most common type. 

In high school and college, you will also often have to write textual analysis essays, which test your skills in close reading and interpretation.

Instantly correct all language mistakes in your text

Upload your document to correct all your mistakes in minutes

Table of contents

Argumentative essays, expository essays, narrative essays, descriptive essays, textual analysis essays, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about types of essays.

An argumentative essay presents an extended, evidence-based argument. It requires a strong thesis statement —a clearly defined stance on your topic. Your aim is to convince the reader of your thesis using evidence (such as quotations ) and analysis.

Argumentative essays test your ability to research and present your own position on a topic. This is the most common type of essay at college level—most papers you write will involve some kind of argumentation.

The essay is divided into an introduction, body, and conclusion:

• The introduction provides your topic and thesis statement
• The body presents your evidence and arguments
• The conclusion summarizes your argument and emphasizes its importance

The example below is a paragraph from the body of an argumentative essay about the effects of the internet on education. Mouse over it to learn more.

A common frustration for teachers is students’ use of Wikipedia as a source in their writing. Its prevalence among students is not exaggerated; a survey found that the vast majority of the students surveyed used Wikipedia (Head & Eisenberg, 2010). An article in The Guardian stresses a common objection to its use: “a reliance on Wikipedia can discourage students from engaging with genuine academic writing” (Coomer, 2013). Teachers are clearly not mistaken in viewing Wikipedia usage as ubiquitous among their students; but the claim that it discourages engagement with academic sources requires further investigation. This point is treated as self-evident by many teachers, but Wikipedia itself explicitly encourages students to look into other sources. Its articles often provide references to academic publications and include warning notes where citations are missing; the site’s own guidelines for research make clear that it should be used as a starting point, emphasizing that users should always “read the references and check whether they really do support what the article says” (“Wikipedia:Researching with Wikipedia,” 2020). Indeed, for many students, Wikipedia is their first encounter with the concepts of citation and referencing. The use of Wikipedia therefore has a positive side that merits deeper consideration than it often receives.

Here's why students love Scribbr's proofreading services

Discover proofreading & editing

An expository essay provides a clear, focused explanation of a topic. It doesn’t require an original argument, just a balanced and well-organized view of the topic.

Expository essays test your familiarity with a topic and your ability to organize and convey information. They are commonly assigned at high school or in exam questions at college level.

The introduction of an expository essay states your topic and provides some general background, the body presents the details, and the conclusion summarizes the information presented.

A typical body paragraph from an expository essay about the invention of the printing press is shown below. Mouse over it to learn more.

The invention of the printing press in 1440 changed this situation dramatically. Johannes Gutenberg, who had worked as a goldsmith, used his knowledge of metals in the design of the press. He made his type from an alloy of lead, tin, and antimony, whose durability allowed for the reliable production of high-quality books. This new technology allowed texts to be reproduced and disseminated on a much larger scale than was previously possible. The Gutenberg Bible appeared in the 1450s, and a large number of printing presses sprang up across the continent in the following decades. Gutenberg’s invention rapidly transformed cultural production in Europe; among other things, it would lead to the Protestant Reformation.

A narrative essay is one that tells a story. This is usually a story about a personal experience you had, but it may also be an imaginative exploration of something you have not experienced.

Narrative essays test your ability to build up a narrative in an engaging, well-structured way. They are much more personal and creative than other kinds of academic writing . Writing a personal statement for an application requires the same skills as a narrative essay.

A narrative essay isn’t strictly divided into introduction, body, and conclusion, but it should still begin by setting up the narrative and finish by expressing the point of the story—what you learned from your experience, or why it made an impression on you.

Mouse over the example below, a short narrative essay responding to the prompt “Write about an experience where you learned something about yourself,” to explore its structure.

Since elementary school, I have always favored subjects like science and math over the humanities. My instinct was always to think of these subjects as more solid and serious than classes like English. If there was no right answer, I thought, why bother? But recently I had an experience that taught me my academic interests are more flexible than I had thought: I took my first philosophy class.

Before I entered the classroom, I was skeptical. I waited outside with the other students and wondered what exactly philosophy would involve—I really had no idea. I imagined something pretty abstract: long, stilted conversations pondering the meaning of life. But what I got was something quite different.

A young man in jeans, Mr. Jones—“but you can call me Rob”—was far from the white-haired, buttoned-up old man I had half-expected. And rather than pulling us into pedantic arguments about obscure philosophical points, Rob engaged us on our level. To talk free will, we looked at our own choices. To talk ethics, we looked at dilemmas we had faced ourselves. By the end of class, I’d discovered that questions with no right answer can turn out to be the most interesting ones.

The experience has taught me to look at things a little more “philosophically”—and not just because it was a philosophy class! I learned that if I let go of my preconceptions, I can actually get a lot out of subjects I was previously dismissive of. The class taught me—in more ways than one—to look at things with an open mind.

A descriptive essay provides a detailed sensory description of something. Like narrative essays, they allow you to be more creative than most academic writing, but they are more tightly focused than narrative essays. You might describe a specific place or object, rather than telling a whole story.

Descriptive essays test your ability to use language creatively, making striking word choices to convey a memorable picture of what you’re describing.

A descriptive essay can be quite loosely structured, though it should usually begin by introducing the object of your description and end by drawing an overall picture of it. The important thing is to use careful word choices and figurative language to create an original description of your object.

Mouse over the example below, a response to the prompt “Describe a place you love to spend time in,” to learn more about descriptive essays.

On Sunday afternoons I like to spend my time in the garden behind my house. The garden is narrow but long, a corridor of green extending from the back of the house, and I sit on a lawn chair at the far end to read and relax. I am in my small peaceful paradise: the shade of the tree, the feel of the grass on my feet, the gentle activity of the fish in the pond beside me.

My cat crosses the garden nimbly and leaps onto the fence to survey it from above. From his perch he can watch over his little kingdom and keep an eye on the neighbours. He does this until the barking of next door’s dog scares him from his post and he bolts for the cat flap to govern from the safety of the kitchen.

With that, I am left alone with the fish, whose whole world is the pond by my feet. The fish explore the pond every day as if for the first time, prodding and inspecting every stone. I sometimes feel the same about sitting here in the garden; I know the place better than anyone, but whenever I return I still feel compelled to pay attention to all its details and novelties—a new bird perched in the tree, the growth of the grass, and the movement of the insects it shelters…

Sitting out in the garden, I feel serene. I feel at home. And yet I always feel there is more to discover. The bounds of my garden may be small, but there is a whole world contained within it, and it is one I will never get tired of inhabiting.

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

Though every essay type tests your writing skills, some essays also test your ability to read carefully and critically. In a textual analysis essay, you don’t just present information on a topic, but closely analyze a text to explain how it achieves certain effects.

Rhetorical analysis

A rhetorical analysis looks at a persuasive text (e.g. a speech, an essay, a political cartoon) in terms of the rhetorical devices it uses, and evaluates their effectiveness.

The goal is not to state whether you agree with the author’s argument but to look at how they have constructed it.

The introduction of a rhetorical analysis presents the text, some background information, and your thesis statement; the body comprises the analysis itself; and the conclusion wraps up your analysis of the text, emphasizing its relevance to broader concerns.

The example below is from a rhetorical analysis of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech . Mouse over it to learn more.

King’s speech is infused with prophetic language throughout. Even before the famous “dream” part of the speech, King’s language consistently strikes a prophetic tone. He refers to the Lincoln Memorial as a “hallowed spot” and speaks of rising “from the dark and desolate valley of segregation” to “make justice a reality for all of God’s children.” The assumption of this prophetic voice constitutes the text’s strongest ethical appeal; after linking himself with political figures like Lincoln and the Founding Fathers, King’s ethos adopts a distinctly religious tone, recalling Biblical prophets and preachers of change from across history. This adds significant force to his words; standing before an audience of hundreds of thousands, he states not just what the future should be, but what it will be: “The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.” This warning is almost apocalyptic in tone, though it concludes with the positive image of the “bright day of justice.” The power of King’s rhetoric thus stems not only from the pathos of his vision of a brighter future, but from the ethos of the prophetic voice he adopts in expressing this vision.

Literary analysis

A literary analysis essay presents a close reading of a work of literature—e.g. a poem or novel—to explore the choices made by the author and how they help to convey the text’s theme. It is not simply a book report or a review, but an in-depth interpretation of the text.

Literary analysis looks at things like setting, characters, themes, and figurative language. The goal is to closely analyze what the author conveys and how.

The introduction of a literary analysis essay presents the text and background, and provides your thesis statement; the body consists of close readings of the text with quotations and analysis in support of your argument; and the conclusion emphasizes what your approach tells us about the text.

Mouse over the example below, the introduction to a literary analysis essay on Frankenstein , to learn more.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is often read as a crude cautionary tale about the dangers of scientific advancement unrestrained by ethical considerations. In this reading, protagonist Victor Frankenstein is a stable representation of the callous ambition of modern science throughout the novel. This essay, however, argues that far from providing a stable image of the character, Shelley uses shifting narrative perspectives to portray Frankenstein in an increasingly negative light as the novel goes on. While he initially appears to be a naive but sympathetic idealist, after the creature’s narrative Frankenstein begins to resemble—even in his own telling—the thoughtlessly cruel figure the creature represents him as. This essay begins by exploring the positive portrayal of Frankenstein in the first volume, then moves on to the creature’s perception of him, and finally discusses the third volume’s narrative shift toward viewing Frankenstein as the creature views him.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

• Ad hominem fallacy
• Post hoc fallacy
• Appeal to authority fallacy
• False cause fallacy
• Sunk cost fallacy

College essays

• Choosing Essay Topic
• Write a College Essay
• Write a Diversity Essay
• College Essay Format & Structure
• Comparing and Contrasting in an Essay

 (AI) Tools

• Grammar Checker
• Paraphrasing Tool
• Text Summarizer
• AI Detector
• Plagiarism Checker
• Citation Generator

At high school and in composition classes at university, you’ll often be told to write a specific type of essay , but you might also just be given prompts.

Look for keywords in these prompts that suggest a certain approach: The word “explain” suggests you should write an expository essay , while the word “describe” implies a descriptive essay . An argumentative essay might be prompted with the word “assess” or “argue.”

The vast majority of essays written at university are some sort of argumentative essay . Almost all academic writing involves building up an argument, though other types of essay might be assigned in composition classes.

Essays can present arguments about all kinds of different topics. For example:

• In a literary analysis essay, you might make an argument for a specific interpretation of a text
• In a history essay, you might present an argument for the importance of a particular event
• In a politics essay, you might argue for the validity of a certain political theory

An argumentative essay tends to be a longer essay involving independent research, and aims to make an original argument about a topic. Its thesis statement makes a contentious claim that must be supported in an objective, evidence-based way.

An expository essay also aims to be objective, but it doesn’t have to make an original argument. Rather, it aims to explain something (e.g., a process or idea) in a clear, concise way. Expository essays are often shorter assignments and rely less on research.

The key difference is that a narrative essay is designed to tell a complete story, while a descriptive essay is meant to convey an intense description of a particular place, object, or concept.

Narrative and descriptive essays both allow you to write more personally and creatively than other kinds of essays , and similar writing skills can apply to both.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Caulfield, J. (2023, July 23). The Four Main Types of Essay | Quick Guide with Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved August 15, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/academic-essay/essay-types/

Is this article helpful?

Jack Caulfield

Other students also liked, how to write an argumentative essay | examples & tips, how to write an expository essay, how to write an essay outline | guidelines & examples, get unlimited documents corrected.

✔ Free APA citation check included ✔ Unlimited document corrections ✔ Specialized in correcting academic texts

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

• Publications
• Account settings

Preview improvements coming to the PMC website in October 2024. Learn More or Try it out now .

• Advanced Search
• Journal List
• Turk J Anaesthesiol Reanim
• v.44(4); 2016 Aug

What is Scientific Research and How Can it be Done?

Scientific researches are studies that should be systematically planned before performing them. In this review, classification and description of scientific studies, planning stage randomisation and bias are explained.

Research conducted for the purpose of contributing towards science by the systematic collection, interpretation and evaluation of data and that, too, in a planned manner is called scientific research: a researcher is the one who conducts this research. The results obtained from a small group through scientific studies are socialised, and new information is revealed with respect to diagnosis, treatment and reliability of applications. The purpose of this review is to provide information about the definition, classification and methodology of scientific research.

Before beginning the scientific research, the researcher should determine the subject, do planning and specify the methodology. In the Declaration of Helsinki, it is stated that ‘the primary purpose of medical researches on volunteers is to understand the reasons, development and effects of diseases and develop protective, diagnostic and therapeutic interventions (method, operation and therapies). Even the best proven interventions should be evaluated continuously by investigations with regard to reliability, effectiveness, efficiency, accessibility and quality’ ( 1 ).

The questions, methods of response to questions and difficulties in scientific research may vary, but the design and structure are generally the same ( 2 ).

Classification of Scientific Research

Scientific research can be classified in several ways. Classification can be made according to the data collection techniques based on causality, relationship with time and the medium through which they are applied.

• Observational
• Experimental
• Descriptive
• Retrospective
• Prospective
• Cross-sectional
• Social descriptive research ( 3 )

Another method is to classify the research according to its descriptive or analytical features. This review is written according to this classification method.

I. Descriptive research

• Case series
• Surveillance studies

II. Analytical research

• Observational studies: cohort, case control and cross- sectional research
• Interventional research: quasi-experimental and clinical research
• Case Report: it is the most common type of descriptive study. It is the examination of a single case having a different quality in the society, e.g. conducting general anaesthesia in a pregnant patient with mucopolysaccharidosis.
• Case Series: it is the description of repetitive cases having common features. For instance; case series involving interscapular pain related to neuraxial labour analgesia. Interestingly, malignant hyperthermia cases are not accepted as case series since they are rarely seen during historical development.
• Surveillance Studies: these are the results obtained from the databases that follow and record a health problem for a certain time, e.g. the surveillance of cross-infections during anaesthesia in the intensive care unit.

Moreover, some studies may be experimental. After the researcher intervenes, the researcher waits for the result, observes and obtains data. Experimental studies are, more often, in the form of clinical trials or laboratory animal trials ( 2 ).

Analytical observational research can be classified as cohort, case-control and cross-sectional studies.

Firstly, the participants are controlled with regard to the disease under investigation. Patients are excluded from the study. Healthy participants are evaluated with regard to the exposure to the effect. Then, the group (cohort) is followed-up for a sufficient period of time with respect to the occurrence of disease, and the progress of disease is studied. The risk of the healthy participants getting sick is considered an incident. In cohort studies, the risk of disease between the groups exposed and not exposed to the effect is calculated and rated. This rate is called relative risk. Relative risk indicates the strength of exposure to the effect on the disease.

Cohort research may be observational and experimental. The follow-up of patients prospectively is called a prospective cohort study . The results are obtained after the research starts. The researcher’s following-up of cohort subjects from a certain point towards the past is called a retrospective cohort study . Prospective cohort studies are more valuable than retrospective cohort studies: this is because in the former, the researcher observes and records the data. The researcher plans the study before the research and determines what data will be used. On the other hand, in retrospective studies, the research is made on recorded data: no new data can be added.

In fact, retrospective and prospective studies are not observational. They determine the relationship between the date on which the researcher has begun the study and the disease development period. The most critical disadvantage of this type of research is that if the follow-up period is long, participants may leave the study at their own behest or due to physical conditions. Cohort studies that begin after exposure and before disease development are called ambidirectional studies . Public healthcare studies generally fall within this group, e.g. lung cancer development in smokers.

• Case-Control Studies: these studies are retrospective cohort studies. They examine the cause and effect relationship from the effect to the cause. The detection or determination of data depends on the information recorded in the past. The researcher has no control over the data ( 2 ).

Cross-sectional studies are advantageous since they can be concluded relatively quickly. It may be difficult to obtain a reliable result from such studies for rare diseases ( 2 ).

Cross-sectional studies are characterised by timing. In such studies, the exposure and result are simultaneously evaluated. While cross-sectional studies are restrictedly used in studies involving anaesthesia (since the process of exposure is limited), they can be used in studies conducted in intensive care units.

• Quasi-Experimental Research: they are conducted in cases in which a quick result is requested and the participants or research areas cannot be randomised, e.g. giving hand-wash training and comparing the frequency of nosocomial infections before and after hand wash.
• Clinical Research: they are prospective studies carried out with a control group for the purpose of comparing the effect and value of an intervention in a clinical case. Clinical study and research have the same meaning. Drugs, invasive interventions, medical devices and operations, diets, physical therapy and diagnostic tools are relevant in this context ( 6 ).

Clinical studies are conducted by a responsible researcher, generally a physician. In the research team, there may be other healthcare staff besides physicians. Clinical studies may be financed by healthcare institutes, drug companies, academic medical centres, volunteer groups, physicians, healthcare service providers and other individuals. They may be conducted in several places including hospitals, universities, physicians’ offices and community clinics based on the researcher’s requirements. The participants are made aware of the duration of the study before their inclusion. Clinical studies should include the evaluation of recommendations (drug, device and surgical) for the treatment of a disease, syndrome or a comparison of one or more applications; finding different ways for recognition of a disease or case and prevention of their recurrence ( 7 ).

Clinical Research

In this review, clinical research is explained in more detail since it is the most valuable study in scientific research.

Clinical research starts with forming a hypothesis. A hypothesis can be defined as a claim put forward about the value of a population parameter based on sampling. There are two types of hypotheses in statistics.

• H 0 hypothesis is called a control or null hypothesis. It is the hypothesis put forward in research, which implies that there is no difference between the groups under consideration. If this hypothesis is rejected at the end of the study, it indicates that a difference exists between the two treatments under consideration.
• H 1 hypothesis is called an alternative hypothesis. It is hypothesised against a null hypothesis, which implies that a difference exists between the groups under consideration. For example, consider the following hypothesis: drug A has an analgesic effect. Control or null hypothesis (H 0 ): there is no difference between drug A and placebo with regard to the analgesic effect. The alternative hypothesis (H 1 ) is applicable if a difference exists between drug A and placebo with regard to the analgesic effect.

The planning phase comes after the determination of a hypothesis. A clinical research plan is called a protocol . In a protocol, the reasons for research, number and qualities of participants, tests to be applied, study duration and what information to be gathered from the participants should be found and conformity criteria should be developed.

The selection of participant groups to be included in the study is important. Inclusion and exclusion criteria of the study for the participants should be determined. Inclusion criteria should be defined in the form of demographic characteristics (age, gender, etc.) of the participant group and the exclusion criteria as the diseases that may influence the study, age ranges, cases involving pregnancy and lactation, continuously used drugs and participants’ cooperation.

The next stage is methodology. Methodology can be grouped under subheadings, namely, the calculation of number of subjects, blinding (masking), randomisation, selection of operation to be applied, use of placebo and criteria for stopping and changing the treatment.

I. Calculation of the Number of Subjects

The entire source from which the data are obtained is called a universe or population . A small group selected from a certain universe based on certain rules and which is accepted to highly represent the universe from which it is selected is called a sample and the characteristics of the population from which the data are collected are called variables. If data is collected from the entire population, such an instance is called a parameter . Conducting a study on the sample rather than the entire population is easier and less costly. Many factors influence the determination of the sample size. Firstly, the type of variable should be determined. Variables are classified as categorical (qualitative, non-numerical) or numerical (quantitative). Individuals in categorical variables are classified according to their characteristics. Categorical variables are indicated as nominal and ordinal (ordered). In nominal variables, the application of a category depends on the researcher’s preference. For instance, a female participant can be considered first and then the male participant, or vice versa. An ordinal (ordered) variable is ordered from small to large or vice versa (e.g. ordering obese patients based on their weights-from the lightest to the heaviest or vice versa). A categorical variable may have more than one characteristic: such variables are called binary or dichotomous (e.g. a participant may be both female and obese).

If the variable has numerical (quantitative) characteristics and these characteristics cannot be categorised, then it is called a numerical variable. Numerical variables are either discrete or continuous. For example, the number of operations with spinal anaesthesia represents a discrete variable. The haemoglobin value or height represents a continuous variable.

Statistical analyses that need to be employed depend on the type of variable. The determination of variables is necessary for selecting the statistical method as well as software in SPSS. While categorical variables are presented as numbers and percentages, numerical variables are represented using measures such as mean and standard deviation. It may be necessary to use mean in categorising some cases such as the following: even though the variable is categorical (qualitative, non-numerical) when Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) is used (since a numerical value is obtained), it is classified as a numerical variable: such variables are averaged.

Clinical research is carried out on the sample and generalised to the population. Accordingly, the number of samples should be correctly determined. Different sample size formulas are used on the basis of the statistical method to be used. When the sample size increases, error probability decreases. The sample size is calculated based on the primary hypothesis. The determination of a sample size before beginning the research specifies the power of the study. Power analysis enables the acquisition of realistic results in the research, and it is used for comparing two or more clinical research methods.

Because of the difference in the formulas used in calculating power analysis and number of samples for clinical research, it facilitates the use of computer programs for making calculations.

It is necessary to know certain parameters in order to calculate the number of samples by power analysis.

• Type-I (α) and type-II (β) error levels
• Difference between groups (d-difference) and effect size (ES)
• Distribution ratio of groups
• Direction of research hypothesis (H1)

a. Type-I (α) and Type-II (β) Error (β) Levels

Two types of errors can be made while accepting or rejecting H 0 hypothesis in a hypothesis test. Type-I error (α) level is the probability of finding a difference at the end of the research when there is no difference between the two applications. In other words, it is the rejection of the hypothesis when H 0 is actually correct and it is known as α error or p value. For instance, when the size is determined, type-I error level is accepted as 0.05 or 0.01.

Another error that can be made during a hypothesis test is a type-II error. It is the acceptance of a wrongly hypothesised H 0 hypothesis. In fact, it is the probability of failing to find a difference when there is a difference between the two applications. The power of a test is the ability of that test to find a difference that actually exists. Therefore, it is related to the type-II error level.

Since the type-II error risk is expressed as β, the power of the test is defined as 1–β. When a type-II error is 0.20, the power of the test is 0.80. Type-I (α) and type-II (β) errors can be intentional. The reason to intentionally make such an error is the necessity to look at the events from the opposite perspective.

b. Difference between Groups and ES

ES is defined as the state in which statistical difference also has clinically significance: ES≥0.5 is desirable. The difference between groups is the absolute difference between the groups compared in clinical research.

c. Allocation Ratio of Groups

The allocation ratio of groups is effective in determining the number of samples. If the number of samples is desired to be determined at the lowest level, the rate should be kept as 1/1.

d. Direction of Hypothesis (H1)

The direction of hypothesis in clinical research may be one-sided or two-sided. While one-sided hypotheses hypothesis test differences in the direction of size, two-sided hypotheses hypothesis test differences without direction. The power of the test in two-sided hypotheses is lower than one-sided hypotheses.

After these four variables are determined, they are entered in the appropriate computer program and the number of samples is calculated. Statistical packaged software programs such as Statistica, NCSS and G-Power may be used for power analysis and calculating the number of samples. When the samples size is calculated, if there is a decrease in α, difference between groups, ES and number of samples, then the standard deviation increases and power decreases. The power in two-sided hypothesis is lower. It is ethically appropriate to consider the determination of sample size, particularly in animal experiments, at the beginning of the study. The phase of the study is also important in the determination of number of subjects to be included in drug studies. Usually, phase-I studies are used to determine the safety profile of a drug or product, and they are generally conducted on a few healthy volunteers. If no unacceptable toxicity is detected during phase-I studies, phase-II studies may be carried out. Phase-II studies are proof-of-concept studies conducted on a larger number (100–500) of volunteer patients. When the effectiveness of the drug or product is evident in phase-II studies, phase-III studies can be initiated. These are randomised, double-blinded, placebo or standard treatment-controlled studies. Volunteer patients are periodically followed-up with respect to the effectiveness and side effects of the drug. It can generally last 1–4 years and is valuable during licensing and releasing the drug to the general market. Then, phase-IV studies begin in which long-term safety is investigated (indication, dose, mode of application, safety, effectiveness, etc.) on thousands of volunteer patients.

II. Blinding (Masking) and Randomisation Methods

When the methodology of clinical research is prepared, precautions should be taken to prevent taking sides. For this reason, techniques such as randomisation and blinding (masking) are used. Comparative studies are the most ideal ones in clinical research.

Blinding Method

A case in which the treatments applied to participants of clinical research should be kept unknown is called the blinding method . If the participant does not know what it receives, it is called a single-blind study; if even the researcher does not know, it is called a double-blind study. When there is a probability of knowing which drug is given in the order of application, when uninformed staff administers the drug, it is called in-house blinding. In case the study drug is known in its pharmaceutical form, a double-dummy blinding test is conducted. Intravenous drug is given to one group and a placebo tablet is given to the comparison group; then, the placebo tablet is given to the group that received the intravenous drug and intravenous drug in addition to placebo tablet is given to the comparison group. In this manner, each group receives both the intravenous and tablet forms of the drug. In case a third party interested in the study is involved and it also does not know about the drug (along with the statistician), it is called third-party blinding.

Randomisation Method

The selection of patients for the study groups should be random. Randomisation methods are used for such selection, which prevent conscious or unconscious manipulations in the selection of patients ( 8 ).

No factor pertaining to the patient should provide preference of one treatment to the other during randomisation. This characteristic is the most important difference separating randomised clinical studies from prospective and synchronous studies with experimental groups. Randomisation strengthens the study design and enables the determination of reliable scientific knowledge ( 2 ).

The easiest method is simple randomisation, e.g. determination of the type of anaesthesia to be administered to a patient by tossing a coin. In this method, when the number of samples is kept high, a balanced distribution is created. When the number of samples is low, there will be an imbalance between the groups. In this case, stratification and blocking have to be added to randomisation. Stratification is the classification of patients one or more times according to prognostic features determined by the researcher and blocking is the selection of a certain number of patients for each stratification process. The number of stratification processes should be determined at the beginning of the study.

As the number of stratification processes increases, performing the study and balancing the groups become difficult. For this reason, stratification characteristics and limitations should be effectively determined at the beginning of the study. It is not mandatory for the stratifications to have equal intervals. Despite all the precautions, an imbalance might occur between the groups before beginning the research. In such circumstances, post-stratification or restandardisation may be conducted according to the prognostic factors.

The main characteristic of applying blinding (masking) and randomisation is the prevention of bias. Therefore, it is worthwhile to comprehensively examine bias at this stage.

Bias and Chicanery

While conducting clinical research, errors can be introduced voluntarily or involuntarily at a number of stages, such as design, population selection, calculating the number of samples, non-compliance with study protocol, data entry and selection of statistical method. Bias is taking sides of individuals in line with their own decisions, views and ideological preferences ( 9 ). In order for an error to lead to bias, it has to be a systematic error. Systematic errors in controlled studies generally cause the results of one group to move in a different direction as compared to the other. It has to be understood that scientific research is generally prone to errors. However, random errors (or, in other words, ‘the luck factor’-in which bias is unintended-do not lead to bias ( 10 ).

Another issue, which is different from bias, is chicanery. It is defined as voluntarily changing the interventions, results and data of patients in an unethical manner or copying data from other studies. Comparatively, bias may not be done consciously.

In case unexpected results or outliers are found while the study is analysed, if possible, such data should be re-included into the study since the complete exclusion of data from a study endangers its reliability. In such a case, evaluation needs to be made with and without outliers. It is insignificant if no difference is found. However, if there is a difference, the results with outliers are re-evaluated. If there is no error, then the outlier is included in the study (as the outlier may be a result). It should be noted that re-evaluation of data in anaesthesiology is not possible.

Statistical evaluation methods should be determined at the design stage so as not to encounter unexpected results in clinical research. The data should be evaluated before the end of the study and without entering into details in research that are time-consuming and involve several samples. This is called an interim analysis . The date of interim analysis should be determined at the beginning of the study. The purpose of making interim analysis is to prevent unnecessary cost and effort since it may be necessary to conclude the research after the interim analysis, e.g. studies in which there is no possibility to validate the hypothesis at the end or the occurrence of different side effects of the drug to be used. The accuracy of the hypothesis and number of samples are compared. Statistical significance levels in interim analysis are very important. If the data level is significant, the hypothesis is validated even if the result turns out to be insignificant after the date of the analysis.

Another important point to be considered is the necessity to conclude the participants’ treatment within the period specified in the study protocol. When the result of the study is achieved earlier and unexpected situations develop, the treatment is concluded earlier. Moreover, the participant may quit the study at its own behest, may die or unpredictable situations (e.g. pregnancy) may develop. The participant can also quit the study whenever it wants, even if the study has not ended ( 7 ).

In case the results of a study are contrary to already known or expected results, the expected quality level of the study suggesting the contradiction may be higher than the studies supporting what is known in that subject. This type of bias is called confirmation bias. The presence of well-known mechanisms and logical inference from them may create problems in the evaluation of data. This is called plausibility bias.

Another type of bias is expectation bias. If a result different from the known results has been achieved and it is against the editor’s will, it can be challenged. Bias may be introduced during the publication of studies, such as publishing only positive results, selection of study results in a way to support a view or prevention of their publication. Some editors may only publish research that extols only the positive results or results that they desire.

Bias may be introduced for advertisement or economic reasons. Economic pressure may be applied on the editor, particularly in the cases of studies involving drugs and new medical devices. This is called commercial bias.

In recent years, before beginning a study, it has been recommended to record it on the Web site www.clinicaltrials.gov for the purpose of facilitating systematic interpretation and analysis in scientific research, informing other researchers, preventing bias, provision of writing in a standard format, enhancing contribution of research results to the general literature and enabling early intervention of an institution for support. This Web site is a service of the US National Institutes of Health.

The last stage in the methodology of clinical studies is the selection of intervention to be conducted. Placebo use assumes an important place in interventions. In Latin, placebo means ‘I will be fine’. In medical literature, it refers to substances that are not curative, do not have active ingredients and have various pharmaceutical forms. Although placebos do not have active drug characteristic, they have shown effective analgesic characteristics, particularly in algology applications; further, its use prevents bias in comparative studies. If a placebo has a positive impact on a participant, it is called the placebo effect ; on the contrary, if it has a negative impact, it is called the nocebo effect . Another type of therapy that can be used in clinical research is sham application. Although a researcher does not cure the patient, the researcher may compare those who receive therapy and undergo sham. It has been seen that sham therapies also exhibit a placebo effect. In particular, sham therapies are used in acupuncture applications ( 11 ). While placebo is a substance, sham is a type of clinical application.

Ethically, the patient has to receive appropriate therapy. For this reason, if its use prevents effective treatment, it causes great problem with regard to patient health and legalities.

Before medical research is conducted with human subjects, predictable risks, drawbacks and benefits must be evaluated for individuals or groups participating in the study. Precautions must be taken for reducing the risk to a minimum level. The risks during the study should be followed, evaluated and recorded by the researcher ( 1 ).

After the methodology for a clinical study is determined, dealing with the ‘Ethics Committee’ forms the next stage. The purpose of the ethics committee is to protect the rights, safety and well-being of volunteers taking part in the clinical research, considering the scientific method and concerns of society. The ethics committee examines the studies presented in time, comprehensively and independently, with regard to ethics and science; in line with the Declaration of Helsinki and following national and international standards concerning ‘Good Clinical Practice’. The method to be followed in the formation of the ethics committee should be developed without any kind of prejudice and to examine the applications with regard to ethics and science within the framework of the ethics committee, Regulation on Clinical Trials and Good Clinical Practice ( www.iku.com ). The necessary documents to be presented to the ethics committee are research protocol, volunteer consent form, budget contract, Declaration of Helsinki, curriculum vitae of researchers, similar or explanatory literature samples, supporting institution approval certificate and patient follow-up form.

Only one sister/brother, mother, father, son/daughter and wife/husband can take charge in the same ethics committee. A rector, vice rector, dean, deputy dean, provincial healthcare director and chief physician cannot be members of the ethics committee.

Members of the ethics committee can work as researchers or coordinators in clinical research. However, during research meetings in which members of the ethics committee are researchers or coordinators, they must leave the session and they cannot sign-off on decisions. If the number of members in the ethics committee for a particular research is so high that it is impossible to take a decision, the clinical research is presented to another ethics committee in the same province. If there is no ethics committee in the same province, an ethics committee in the closest settlement is found.

Thereafter, researchers need to inform the participants using an informed consent form. This form should explain the content of clinical study, potential benefits of the study, alternatives and risks (if any). It should be easy, comprehensible, conforming to spelling rules and written in plain language understandable by the participant.

This form assists the participants in taking a decision regarding participation in the study. It should aim to protect the participants. The participant should be included in the study only after it signs the informed consent form; the participant can quit the study whenever required, even when the study has not ended ( 7 ).

Peer-review: Externally peer-reviewed.

Author Contributions: Concept - C.Ö.Ç., A.D.; Design - C.Ö.Ç.; Supervision - A.D.; Resource - C.Ö.Ç., A.D.; Materials - C.Ö.Ç., A.D.; Analysis and/or Interpretation - C.Ö.Ç., A.D.; Literature Search - C.Ö.Ç.; Writing Manuscript - C.Ö.Ç.; Critical Review - A.D.; Other - C.Ö.Ç., A.D.

Conflict of Interest: No conflict of interest was declared by the authors.

Financial Disclosure: The authors declared that this study has received no financial support.

Academic Editing and Proofreading

• Tips to Self-Edit Your Dissertation
• Guide to Essay Editing: Methods, Tips, & Examples
• Journal Article Proofreading: Process, Cost, & Checklist
• The A–Z of Dissertation Editing: Standard Rates & Involved Steps
• Research Paper Editing | Guide to a Perfect Research Paper
• Dissertation Proofreading | Definition & Standard Rates
• Thesis Proofreading | Definition, Importance & Standard Pricing
• Research Paper Proofreading | Definition, Significance & Standard Rates
• Essay Proofreading | Options, Cost & Checklist
• Top 10 Paper Editing Services of 2024 (Costs & Features)
• Top 10 Essay Checkers in 2024 (Free & Paid)
• Top 10 AI Proofreaders to Perfect Your Writing in 2024
• Top 10 English Correctors to Perfect Your Text in 2024
• Top 10 Essay Editing Services of 2024
• 10 Advanced AI Text Editors to Transform Writing in 2024

Academic Research

• Research Paper Outline: Templates & Examples
• How to Write a Research Paper: A Step-by-Step Guide
• How to Write a Lab Report: Examples from Academic Editors
• Research Methodology Guide: Writing Tips, Types, & Examples
• The 10 Best Essential Resources for Academic Research
• 100+ Useful ChatGPT Prompts for Thesis Writing in 2024
• Best ChatGPT Prompts for Academic Writing (100+ Prompts!)
• Sampling Methods Guide: Types, Strategies, and Examples
• Independent vs. Dependent Variables | Meaning & Examples

Academic Writing & Publishing

• Difference Between Paper Editing and Peer Review
• What are the different types of peer review?
• How to deal with rejection from a journal?
• Editing and Proofreading Academic Papers: A Short Guide
• How to Carry Out Secondary Research
• The Results Section of a Dissertation
• Checklist: Is my Article Ready for Submitting to Journals?
• Types of Research Articles to Boost Your Research Profile
• 8 Types of Peer Review Processes You Should Know
• The Ethics of Academic Research
• How does LaTeX based proofreading work?
• How to Improve Your Scientific Writing: A Short Guide
• Chicago Title, Cover Page & Body | Paper Format Guidelines
• How to Write a Thesis Statement: Examples & Tips
• Chicago Style Citation: Quick Guide & Examples
• The A-Z Of Publishing Your Article in A Journal
• What is Journal Article Editing? 3 Reasons You Need It
• 5 Powerful Personal Statement Examples (Template Included)
• Complete Guide to MLA Format (9th Edition)
• How to Cite a Book in APA Style | Format & Examples
• How to Start a Research Paper | Step-by-step Guide
• APA Citations Made Easy with Our Concise Guide for 2024
• A Step-by-Step Guide to APA Formatting Style (7th Edition)
• Top 10 Online Dissertation Editing Services of 2024
• Academic Writing in 2024: 5 Key Dos & Don’ts + Examples
• What Are the Standard Book Sizes for Publishing Your Book?
• MLA Works Cited Page: Quick Tips & Examples
• 2024’s Top 10 Thesis Statement Generators (Free Included!)
• Top 10 Title Page Generators for Students in 2024
• What Is an Open Access Journal? 10 Myths Busted!
• Primary vs. Secondary Sources: Definition, Types & Examples
• How To Write a College Admissions Essay That Stands Out
• How to Write a Dissertation & Thesis Conclusion (+ Examples)
• APA Journal Citation: 7 Types, In-Text Rules, & Examples
• What Is Predatory Publishing and How to Avoid It!
• What Is Plagiarism? Meaning, Types & Examples
• How to Write a Strong Dissertation & Thesis Introduction
• How to Cite a Book in MLA Format (9th Edition)
• How to Cite a Website in MLA Format | 9th Edition Rules
• 10 Best AI Conclusion Generators (Features & Pricing)
• Top 10 Academic Editing Services of 2024 [with Pricing]
• Additional Resources
• Plagiarism: How to avoid it in your thesis?
• Final Submission Checklist | Dissertation & Thesis
• 7 Useful MS Word Formatting Tips for Dissertation Writing
• How to Write a MEAL Paragraph: Writing Plan Explained in Detail
• Em Dash vs. En Dash vs. Hyphen: When to Use Which
• The 10 Best Citation Generators in 2024 | Free & Paid Plans!
• 2024’s Top 10 Self-Help Books for Better Living
• The 10 Best Free Character and Word Counters of 2024
• Citation and Referencing
• Citing References: APA, MLA, and Chicago
• How to Cite Sources in the MLA Format
• MLA Citation Examples: Cite Essays, Websites, Movies & More
• Citations and References: What Are They and Why They Matter
• APA Headings & Subheadings | Formatting Guidelines & Examples
• Formatting an APA Reference Page | Template & Examples
• Research Paper Format: APA, MLA, & Chicago Style
• How to Create an MLA Title Page | Format, Steps, & Examples
• How to Create an MLA Header | Format Guidelines & Examples
• MLA Annotated Bibliography | Guidelines and Examples
• APA Website Citation (7th Edition) Guide | Format & Examples
• APA Citation Examples: The Bible, TED Talk, PPT & More
• APA Header Format: 5 Steps & Running Head Examples
• APA Title Page Format Simplified | Examples + Free Template
• How to Write an Abstract in MLA Format: Tips & Examples
• 10 Best Free Plagiarism Checkers of 2024 [100% Free Tools]
• 5 Reasons to Cite Your Sources Properly | Avoid Plagiarism!
• Dissertation Writing Guide
• Writing a Dissertation Proposal
• The Acknowledgments Section of a Dissertation
• The Table of Contents Page of a Dissertation
• The Introduction Chapter of a Dissertation
• The Literature Review of a Dissertation
• The Only Dissertation Toolkit You’ll Ever Need!
• 5 Thesis Writing Tips for Master Procrastinators
• How to Write a Dissertation | 5 Tips from Academic Editors
• The 5 Things to Look for in a Dissertation Editing Service
• Top 10 Dissertation Editing & Proofreading Services
• Why is it important to add references to your thesis?
• Thesis Editing | Definition, Scope & Standard Rates
• Expert Formatting Tips on MS Word for Dissertations
• A 7-Step Guide on How to Choose a Dissertation Topic
• 350 Best Dissertation Topic Ideas for All Streams in 2024
• A Guide on How to Write an Abstract for a Research Paper
• Dissertation Defense: What to Expect and How to Prepare
• Creating a Dissertation Title Page (Examples & Templates)
• Essay Writing Guide
• Essential Research Tips for Essay Writing
• What Is a Mind Map? Free Mind Map Templates & Examples
• How to Write an Essay Outline: 5 Examples & Free Template
• How to Write an Essay Header: MLA and APA Essay Headers

What Is an Essay? Structure, Parts, and Types

• How to Write an Essay in 8 Simple Steps (Examples Included)
• 8 Types of Essays | Quick Summary with Examples
• Expository Essays | Step-by-Step Manual with Examples
• Narrative Essay | Step-by-Step Guide with Examples
• How to Write an Argumentative Essay (Examples Included)
• Guide to a Perfect Descriptive Essay [Examples & Outline Included]
• How to Start an Essay: 4 Introduction Paragraph Examples
• How to Write a Conclusion for an Essay (Examples Included!)
• How to Write an Impactful Personal Statement (Examples Included)
• Literary Analysis Essay: 5 Steps to a Perfect Assignment
• Compare and Contrast Essay | Quick Guide with Examples
• Top 10 Essay Writing Tools in 2024 | Plan, Write, Get Feedback
• Top AI Essay Writers in 2024: 10 Must-Haves
• 100 Best College Essay Topics & How to Pick the Perfect One!
• College Essay Format: Tips, Examples, and Free Template
• Structure of an Essay: 5 Tips to Write an Outstanding Essay

Still have questions? Leave a comment

Add Comment

Checklist: Dissertation Proposal

Enter your email id to get the downloadable right in your inbox!

Examples: Edited Papers

Need editing and proofreading services.

• Tags: Academic Writing , Essay , Essay Writing

Writing an effective and impactful essay is crucial to your academic or professional success. Whether it’s getting into the college of your dreams or scoring high on a major assignment, writing a well-structured essay will help you achieve it all. But before you learn how to write an essay , you need to know its basic components.

In this article, we will understand what an essay is, how long it should be, and its different parts and types. We will also take a detailed look at relevant examples to better understand the essay structure.

Get an A+ with our essay editing and proofreading services! Learn more

What is an essay?

An essay is a concise piece of nonfiction writing that aims to either inform the reader about a topic or argue a particular perspective. It can either be formal or informal in nature. Most academic essays are highly formal, whereas informal essays are commonly found in journal entries, social media, or even blog posts.

As we can see from this essay definition, the beauty of essays lies in their versatility. From the exploration of complex scientific concepts to the history and evolution of everyday objects, they can cover a vast range of topics.

How long is an essay?

The length of an essay can vary from a few hundred to several thousand words but typically falls between 500–5,000 words. However, there are exceptions to this norm, such as Joan Didion and David Sedaris who have written entire books of essays.

Let’s take a look at the different types of essays and their lengths with the help of the following table:

How many paragraphs are in an essay?

Typically, an essay has five paragraphs: an introduction, a conclusion, and three body paragraphs. However, there is no set rule about the number of paragraphs in an essay.

The number of paragraphs can vary depending on the type and scope of your essay. An expository or argumentative essay may require more body paragraphs to include all the necessary information, whereas a narrative essay may need fewer.

Structure of an essay

To enhance the coherence and readability of your essay, it’s important to follow certain rules regarding the structure. Take a look:

1. Arrange your information from the most simple to the most complex bits. You can start the body paragraph off with a general statement and then move on to specifics.

2. Provide the necessary background information at the beginning of your essay to give the reader the context behind your thesis statement.

3. Select topic statements that provide value, more information, or evidence for your thesis statement.

There are also various essay structures , such as the compare and contrast structure, chronological structure, problem method solution structure, and signposting structure that you can follow to create an organized and impactful essay.

Parts of an essay

An impactful, well-structured essay comes down to three important parts: the introduction, body, and conclusion.

1. The introduction sets the stage for your essay and is typically a paragraph long. It should grab the reader’s attention and give them a clear idea of what your essay will be about.

2. The body is where you dive deeper into your topic and present your arguments and evidence. It usually consists of two paragraphs, but this can vary depending on the type of essay you’re writing.

3. The conclusion brings your essay to a close and is typically one paragraph long. It should summarize the main points of the essay and leave the reader with something to think about.

The length of your paragraphs can vary depending on the type of essay you’re writing. So, make sure you take the time to plan out your essay structure so each section flows smoothly into the next.

Introduction

When it comes to writing an essay, the introduction is a critical component that sets the tone for the entire piece. A well-crafted introduction not only grabs the reader’s attention but also provides them with a clear understanding of what the essay is all about. An essay editor can help you achieve this, but it’s best to know the brief yourself!

Let’s take a look at how to write an attractive and informative introductory paragraph.

1. Construct an attractive hook

To grab the reader’s attention, an opening statement or hook is crucial. This can be achieved by incorporating a surprising statistic, a shocking fact, or an interesting anecdote into the beginning of your piece.

For example, if you’re writing an essay about water conservation you can begin your essay with, “Clean drinking water, a fundamental human need, remains out of reach for more than one billion people worldwide. It deprives them of a basic human right and jeopardizes their health and wellbeing.”

2. Provide sufficient context or background information

An effective introduction should begin with a brief description or background of your topic. This will help provide context and set the stage for your discussion.

For example, if you’re writing an essay about climate change, you start by describing the current state of the planet and the impact that human activity is having on it.

3. Construct a well-rounded and comprehensive thesis statement

A good introduction should also include the main message or thesis statement of your essay. This is the central argument that you’ll be making throughout the piece. It should be clear, concise, and ideally placed toward the end of the introduction.

By including these elements in your introduction, you’ll be setting yourself up for success in the rest of your essay.

Let’s take a look at an example.

Essay introduction example

• Background information
• Thesis statement

The Wright Brothers’ invention of the airplane in 1903 revolutionized the way humans travel and explore the world. Prior to this invention, transportation relied on trains, boats, and cars, which limited the distance and speed of travel. However, the airplane made air travel a reality, allowing people to reach far-off destinations in mere hours. This breakthrough paved the way for modern-day air travel, transforming the world into a smaller, more connected place. In this essay, we will explore the impact of the Wright Brothers’ invention on modern-day travel, including the growth of the aviation industry, increased accessibility of air travel to the general public, and the economic and cultural benefits of air travel.

Body paragraphs

You can persuade your readers and make your thesis statement compelling by providing evidence, examples, and logical reasoning. To write a fool-proof and authoritative essay, you need to provide multiple well-structured, substantial arguments.

Let’s take a look at how this can be done:

1. Write a topic sentence for each paragraph

The beginning of each of your body paragraphs should contain the main arguments that you’d like to address. They should provide ground for your thesis statement and make it well-rounded. You can arrange these arguments in several formats depending on the type of essay you’re writing.

2. Provide the supporting information

The next point of your body paragraph should provide supporting information to back up your main argument. Depending on the type of essay, you can elaborate on your main argument with the help of relevant statistics, key information, examples, or even personal anecdotes.

3. Analyze the supporting information

After providing relevant details and supporting information, it is important to analyze it and link it back to your main argument.

4. Create a smooth transition to the next paragraph

End one body paragraph with a smooth transition to the next. There are many ways in which this can be done, but the most common way is to give a gist of your main argument along with the supporting information with transitory words such as “however” “in addition to” “therefore”.

Here’s an example of a body paragraph.

Essay body paragraph example

• Topic sentence
• Supporting information
• Analysis of the information
• Smooth transition to the next paragraph

The Wright Brothers’ invention of the airplane revolutionized air travel. They achieved the first-ever successful powered flight with the Wright Flyer in 1903, after years of conducting experiments and studying flight principles. Despite their first flight lasting only 12 seconds, it was a significant milestone that paved the way for modern aviation. The Wright Brothers’ success can be attributed to their systematic approach to problem-solving, which included numerous experiments with gliders, the development of a wind tunnel to test their designs, and meticulous analysis and recording of their results. Their dedication and ingenuity forever changed the way we travel, making modern aviation possible.

A powerful concluding statement separates a good essay from a brilliant one. To create a powerful conclusion, you need to start with a strong foundation.

Let’s take a look at how to construct an impactful concluding statement.

1. Restructure your thesis statement

To conclude your essay effectively, don’t just restate your thesis statement. Instead, use what you’ve learned throughout your essay and modify your thesis statement accordingly. This will help you create a conclusion that ties together all of the arguments you’ve presented.

2. Summarize the main points of your essay

The next point of your conclusion consists of a summary of the main arguments of your essay. It is crucial to effectively summarize the gist of your essay into one, well-structured paragraph.

3. Create a lasting impression with your concluding statement

Conclude your essay by including a key takeaway, or a powerful statement that creates a lasting impression on the reader. This can include the broader implications or consequences of your essay topic.

Here’s an example of a concluding paragraph.

Essay conclusion example

• Restated thesis statement
• Summary of the main points
• Broader implications of the thesis statement

The Wright Brothers’ invention of the airplane forever changed history by paving the way for modern aviation and countless aerospace advancements. Their persistence, innovation, and dedication to problem-solving led to the first successful powered flight in 1903, sparking a revolution in transportation that transformed the world. Today, air travel remains an integral part of our globalized society, highlighting the undeniable impact of the Wright Brothers’ contribution to human civilization.

Types of essays

Most essays are derived from the combination or variation of these four main types of essays . let’s take a closer look at these types.

1. Narrative essay

A narrative essay is a type of writing that involves telling a story, often based on personal experiences. It is a form of creative nonfiction that allows you to use storytelling techniques to convey a message or a theme.

2. Descriptive essay

A descriptive essay aims to provide an immersive experience for the reader by using sensory descriptors. Unlike a narrative essay, which tells a story, a descriptive essay has a narrower scope and focuses on one particular aspect of a story.

3. Argumentative essays

An argumentative essay is a type of essay that aims to persuade the reader to adopt a particular stance based on factual evidence and is one of the most common forms of college essays.

4. Expository essays

An expository essay is a common format used in school and college exams to assess your understanding of a specific topic. The purpose of an expository essay is to present and explore a topic thoroughly without taking any particular stance or expressing personal opinions.

While this article demonstrates what is an essay and describes its types, you may also have other doubts. As experts who provide essay editing and proofreading services , we’re here to help. 

Our team has created a list of resources to clarify any doubts about writing essays. Keep reading to write engaging and well-organized essays!

• How to Write an Essay in 8 Simple Steps
• How to Write an Essay Header
• How to Write an Essay Outline

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between an argumentative and an expository essay, what is the difference between a narrative and a descriptive essay, what is an essay format, what is the meaning of essay, what is the purpose of writing an essay.

Found this article helpful?

Leave a Comment: Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

Your vs. You’re: When to Use Your and You’re

Your organization needs a technical editor: here’s why, your guide to the best ebook readers in 2024, writing for the web: 7 expert tips for web content writing.

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Get carefully curated resources about writing, editing, and publishing in the comfort of your inbox.

How to Copyright Your Book?

If you’ve thought about copyrighting your book, you’re on the right path.

© 2024 All rights reserved

• Terms of service
• Privacy policy
• Self Publishing Guide
• Pre-Publishing Steps
• Fiction Writing Tips
• Traditional Publishing
• Academic Writing and Publishing
• Partner with us
• Annual report
• Website content
• Marketing material
• Job Applicant
• Cover letter
• Resource Center
• Case studies

• History & Society
• Science & Tech
• Biographies
• Animals & Nature
• Geography & Travel
• Arts & Culture
• Games & Quizzes
• On This Day
• One Good Fact
• New Articles
• Lifestyles & Social Issues
• Philosophy & Religion
• Politics, Law & Government
• World History
• Health & Medicine
• Browse Biographies
• Birds, Reptiles & Other Vertebrates
• Bugs, Mollusks & Other Invertebrates
• Environment
• Fossils & Geologic Time
• Entertainment & Pop Culture
• Sports & Recreation
• Visual Arts
• Demystified
• Image Galleries
• Infographics
• Top Questions
• Britannica Kids
• Saving Earth
• Space Next 50
• Student Center

When did science begin?

Where was science invented.

• Who was Emanuel Swedenborg?
• Why did Emanuel Swedenborg study theology?
• What did Aristotle do?

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

• World History Encyclopedia - Science
• LiveScience - What Is Science?
• Digital Commons at Trinity University - Jagadish Chandra Bose and Vedantic Science
• Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy - Science and Ideology
• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy - Science and Pseudo-Science
• science - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
• science - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

Observing the natural world and paying attention to its patterns has been part of human history from the very beginning. However, studying nature to understand it purely for its own sake seems to have had its start among the pre-Socratic philosophers of the 6th century BCE, such as Thales and Anaximander .

How is science related to math?

Science uses mathematics extensively as a powerful tool in the further understanding of phenomena. Sometimes scientific discoveries have inspired mathematicians, and at other times scientists have realized that forms of mathematics that were developed without any regard for their usefulness could be applied to understanding the physical world.

All peoples have studied the natural world, but most ancient peoples studied it for practical purposes, such as paying attention to natural cycles to know when to plant crops. It does not seem to have been until the 6th century BCE that the pre-Socratic philosophers (who lived in what is now Turkey and Greece) began seeking to understand nature as an end in itself.

Recent News

science , any system of knowledge that is concerned with the physical world and its phenomena and that entails unbiased observations and systematic experimentation. In general, a science involves a pursuit of knowledge covering general truths or the operations of fundamental laws.

Science can be divided into different branches based on the subject of study. The physical sciences study the inorganic world and comprise the fields of astronomy , physics , chemistry , and the Earth sciences . The biological sciences such as biology and medicine study the organic world of life and its processes. Social sciences like anthropology and economics study the social and cultural aspects of human behaviour .

Science is further treated in a number of articles. For the history of Western and Eastern science, see science, history of . For the conceptualization of science and its interrelationships with culture , see science, philosophy of . For the basic aspects of the scientific approach, see physical science, principles of ; and scientific method .

Essays About Science: Top 12 Examples and Prompts

Science can explain almost every aspect of our lives; if you want to write essays about science, start by reading our guide.

The word “science” comes from the Latin word Scientia or “knowledge,” It does indeed leave us with no shortage of knowledge as it advances to extraordinary levels. It is present in almost every aspect of our lives, allowing us to live the way we do today and helping us improve society. 

In the 21st century, we see science everywhere. It has given us the technology we deem “essential” today, from our mobile phones to air conditioning units to lightbulbs and refrigerators. Yet, it has also allowed us to learn so much about the unknown, such as the endless vacuum of space and the ocean’s mysterious depths. It is, without a doubt, a vehicle for humanity to obtain knowledge and use this knowledge to flourish. 

To start writing essays about science, look at some of our featured essay examples below. 

1. The challenging environment for science in the 21st century by Nithaya Chetty 

2. disadvantages of science by ella gray, 3. reflections from a nobel winner: scientists need time to make discoveries by donna strickland.

• 4.  ​​The fact of cloning by Cesar Hill

5. T. Rex Like You Haven’t Seen Him: With Feathers by Jason Farago

6. common, cheap ingredients can break down some ‘forever chemicals’ by jude coleman, 1. what is science, 2. a noteworthy scientist, 3. why is it important to study science, 4. are robots a net positive for society, 5. types of sciences, 6. science’s role in warfare.

“Open-ended, unfettered science in its purest form has, over the centuries, been pursued in the interests of understanding nature in a fundamental way, and long may that continue. Scientific ideas and discoveries have often been very successfully exploited for commercial gain and societal improvements, and much of the science system today the world over is designed to push scientists in the direction of more relevance.”

For South Africa to prosper, Chetty encourages cooperation and innovation among scientists. He discusses several problems the country faces, including the politicization of research, a weak economy, and misuse of scientific discoveries. These challenges, he believes, can be overcome if the nation works as one and with the international community and if the education system is improved. 

“Technology can make people lazy. Many people are already dependent and embrace this technology. Like students playing computer games instead of going to school or study. Technology also brings us privacy issues. From cell phone signal interceptions to email hacking, people are now worried about their once private information becoming public knowledge and making profit out of video scandals.”

Gray discusses the adverse effects technology, a science product, has had on human life and society. These include pollution, the inability to communicate properly, and laziness. 

She also acknowledges that technology has made life easier for almost everyone but believes that technology, as it is used now, is detrimental; more responsible use of technology is ideal.

“We must give scientists the opportunity through funding and time to pursue curiosity-based, long-term, basic-science research. Work that does not have direct ramifications for industry or our economy is also worthy. There’s no telling what can come from supporting a curious mind trying to discover something new.”

Strickland, a Nobel Prize winner, explains that a great scientific discovery can only come with ample time for scientists to research, using her work as an example. She describes her work on chirped pulse amplification and its possible applications, including removing brain tumors. Her Nobel-awarded work was done over a long time, and scientists must be afforded ample time and funding to make breakthroughs like hers. 

4.  ​​ The fact of cloning by Cesar Hill

“Any research into human cloning would eventually need to be tested on humans. Cloning might be used to create a “perfect human”. Cloning might have a detrimental effect family relationship. However the debate over cloning has more pros out weighting the cons, giving us a over site of the many advantages cloning has and the effects of it as well. Cloning has many ups and downs nevertheless there are many different ways in which it can be used to adapt and analyse new ways of medicine.”

Hill details both the pros and cons of cloning. It can be used for medical purposes and help us understand genetics more, perhaps even allowing us to prevent genetic diseases in children. However, it is expensive, and many oppose it on religious grounds. Regardless, Hill believes that the process has more advantages than disadvantages and is a net good. 

“For the kids who will throng this new exhibition, and who will adore this show’s colorful animations and fossilized dino poop, T. rex may still appear to be a thrilling monster. But staring in the eyes of the feather-flecked annihilators here, adults may have a more uncanny feeling of identification with the beasts at the pinnacle of the food chain. You can be a killer of unprecedented savagery, but the climate always takes the coup de grâce.”

In his essay, Farago reviews an exhibition on the Tyrannosaurus Rex involving an important scientific discovery: it was a feathered dinosaur. He details the different displays in the exhibition, including models of other dinosaurs that helped scientists realize that the T-Rex had feathers. 

“Understanding this mechanism is just one step in undoing forever chemicals, Dichtel’s team said. And more research is needed: There are other classes of PFAS that require their own solutions. This process wouldn’t work to tackle PFAS out in the environment, because it requires a concentrated amount of the chemicals. But it could one day be used in wastewater treatment plants, where the pollutants could be filtered out of the water, concentrated and then broken down.”

Coleman explains a discovery by which scientists were able to break down a perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substance, a “forever chemical” dangerous to the environment. He explains how they could break the chemical bond and turn the “forever chemical” into something harmless. This is important because pollution can be reduced significantly, particularly in the water. 

Writing Prompts on Essays about Science

“Science” is quite a broad term and encompasses many concepts and definitions. Define science, explain what it involves and how we can use it, and give examples of how it is present in the world. If you want, you can also briefly discuss what science means to you personally. 

Many individuals have made remarkable scientific discoveries, contributing to the wealth of knowledge we have acquired through science. For your essay, choose one scientist you feel has made a noteworthy contribution to their field. Then, give a brief background on the scientists and explain the discovery or invention that makes them essential. 

Consider what it means to study science: how is it relevant now? What lessons can we learn from science? Then, examine the presence of science in today’s world and write about the importance of science in our day-to-day lives- be sure to give examples to support your points. Finally, in your essay, be sure to keep in mind the times we are living in today.

When we think of science, robots are often one of the first things that come to mind. However, there is much to discuss regarding safety, especially artificial intelligence. Discuss the pros and cons of robots and AI, then conclude whether or not the benefits outweigh the disadvantages. Finally, provide adequate evidence to reinforce your argument and explain it in detail. 

From biology to chemistry to physics, science has many branches, each dealing with different aspects of the world and universe. Choose one branch of science and then explain what it is, define basic concepts under this science, and give examples of how it is applied: Are any inventions requiring it? How about something we know today thanks to scientific discovery? Answer these questions in your own words for a compelling essay.

Undoubtedly, technology developed using science has had devastating effects, from nuclear weapons to self-flying fighter jets to deadly new guns and tanks. Examine scientific developments’ role in the war: Do they make it more brutal? Or do they reduce the casualties? Make sure to conduct ample research before writing your essay; this topic is debatable. 

For help with your essays, check out our round-up of the best essay checkers .

If you’re looking for inspiration, check out our round-up of essay topics about nature .

The Concept of Science: Definition and Components Essay

• To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
• As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
• As a template for you assignment

Definition of Science

Common misconceptions, essential components of science, science as a fundamental approach.

An exponentially increasing volume of information is one of the characteristics of the contemporary world. One of the downsides of such an influx is a growing amount of misinformation resulting from ignorance, misinterpretation of data, and deliberate manipulation. While it is possible to address the problem by applying a scientific approach, this is rarely done, mostly due to the unpopularity of the concept of science in the popular perception. The following paper argues that the concept of science is both relevant and useful in practical terms by analyzing popular misconceptions and identifying key characteristics attributable to the topic.

In order to analyze the concept of science, it is necessary to first consider its definition. While there is no single agreed-upon definition of science, several similarities can be identified. Most commonly, science is referred to as a certain body of knowledge that is organized and systematized to simplify its use whenever the necessity arises. Often (but not always) the definitions also specify the application of specific principles to the process of gaining new facts and systematizing the existing body of knowledge. Finally, some definitions clarify the nature of knowledge by suggesting that science explores the fundamental principles of existence.

These definitions also emphasize the involvement of the scientific method in the process, and this deserves a separate mention. As can be seen from the definitions, in most cases, science is treated as a database of knowledge. In some cases, it is seen as a process of expanding this database whereas only some clarify its nature and the purpose of engaging in scientific inquiry. Importantly, such an approach creates a distorted perception, leading to misconceptions about the concept of science.

One of the most widespread misconceptions is the perception of science as a rigid, immutable collection of rules and principles that inherently resists modification. The two most apparent takeaways in this instance are a reliance on historical data as the definitive authority and the alleged inability (or reluctance) of science to accept new findings and modify the worldview as a result. Both arguments are actively employed by the proponents of various scientific practices and the researchers of paranormal phenomena. The best example for this scenario can be taken from the domain of alternative medicine.

Many advocates of natural medications maintain that science does not approve the use of their remedy of choice because the healing properties involved lie beyond the scope of current scientific knowledge, and they readily point to “authority” as used to suppress any evidence in their favor. Another example is a similar argument used by believers in the paranormal who argue that “traditional science” is unable to accept fringe theories as the consequences would disrupt the established order.

While the latter assertion is certainly true, the remainder of the argument could not be further from the true concept of science. Essentially, these misconceptions treat science as a stagnating system of arbitrarily assigned authorities who are invested in the preservation of the status quo of prevailing knowledge. According to this perspective, all changes are unwelcome, and stability is the main goal of science.

This viewpoint brings up the second major misconception, which treats science as “close-minded” or unable to consider alternative explanations and hypotheses that disrupt the existing order. From this stance, science is often considered inferior to other, more “open-minded” approaches. This argument is commonly found among researchers of phenomena that allegedly cannot be explained in the light of currently available knowledge; they argue that accepting an alternative explanation would resolve the problem and provide useful data, but this outcome does not occur due to the active resistance of conservative scientists.

For instance, it is commonplace to find an online discussion of alien visitation or telepathy wherein one of the sides points to the lack of testable evidence, only to have the other side make accusations about the inability to be open-minded enough to consider something beyond the usual.

At this juncture, it is important to point out that the allegations under consideration are not entirely unsubstantiated. Science is conducted by people, and the human factor inevitably introduces an element of unreliability. It is natural for humans to lean in the direction of a preferred conclusion. To account for this flaw, people develop systems that minimize uncertainty and maximize reliability. Counterintuitively, the most perfected of those that are currently available are treated as an unfortunate barrier to ultimate knowledge.

In order to attain the core of the concept of science, it would be reasonable to identify its principal components. The first is the ability to approach the subject critically and without preconceived notions. Essentially, this is the quality of open-mindedness that science is often accused of lacking. The reason for such a discrepancy is the human factor mentioned earlier. All individuals tend to prefer answers that correlate with their existing beliefs and values, dismissing those that conflict with their already established notions.

In other words, an open-minded process requires its proponents to abandon all wrong assumptions, including those that may be less favorable, convenient, and exciting. To ensure this kind of integrity, science offers a range of strategies and tools that eliminate both conscious and subconscious misconduct. It should also be evident that such open-mindedness is expected to exclude emotion and intuition and rely only on evidence in the process of making inquiries.

The second component involves a falsifiable hypothesis. This component is best illustrated with an example known as the sharpshooter fallacy. If an individual decides to test his or her shooting skills, the most intuitive approach is to shoot at targets and observe the result. In an alternative scenario, it is also possible to hit an object and then claim that this was the intended target or, in a more glaring example, hit a wall with a projectile and paint a circle around the impact point, claiming that the bullet has hit the exact spot identified as a target by a shooter although unknown to the audience.

Certainly, in this case, there remains the possibility that this might be an accurate representation of happenings. However, the allegation cannot be proven unless the targets are set before the shooting takes place. A less apparent but far more common example would be the approach used by investigators of paranormal phenomena such as ghosts. Commonly, the researchers collect data without formulating their goals (shooting the wall) and, after selecting the findings that seem the most convincing—and discarding those that do not, announce their success (drawing a circle around the mark). Thus, their inquiry becomes unfalsifiable and cannot be disproven using the scientific method.

As can be seen from the information presented, the fundamental goal of science is to initiate and sustain the ongoing quest for knowledge. Since the process is known to be prone to errors, the scientific method acknowledges factors that compromise the relevance of any inquiry and constantly updates the instruments that allow researchers to avoid biases and arrive at valid conclusions. It is important to note that while it may seem that these instruments are only relevant in the academic arena, they can actually be applied in a variety of real-life scenarios. The easiest example of such use is the application of critical thinking skills to problems encountered on a daily basis. In addition to an apparent usefulness in a professional domain, a critical approach may be applicable in a variety of situations.

For example, maintaining a critical mindset toward news presented in the media can be helpful in avoiding misinformation and differentiating between speculation, assumptions, responsible reporting, misinterpreted information, and deliberate fraud. By the same token, individual well-being in highly developed societies depends to some extent on the ability to recognize fraudulent claims in communication. Simply put, when clearly understood and appropriately applied, the scientific approach is useful in practical terms both for the individual who uses it and society in general. In addition, contrary to popular belief, science does promote open-mindedness since it allows focusing on significant information and accounts for possible biases that may undermine the value of results.

The concept of science is grossly misinterpreted in the popular perception, possibly due to the lack of an understanding of its fundamentals. It is also apparent that despite a widespread opposite belief, the essential components of science align well with the idea of open-mindedness. Thus, once misconceptions are identified and addressed, it is possible to anticipate a rise in the credibility of the concept and its increasing adoption in a real-life setting.

• Observation Research Practice: Pedestrian Traffic in a Busy Shopping Center
• The Basis of Modern Scientific Knowledge
• The Fundamental Traits of a Philosopher
• Al Habtoor Motors: Internship Experience
• Critical Thinking: Level of Reasoning and Making Judgments
• Research Sampling: Analysis and Design
• The Aspects of Loss Realization: Theory and Evidence
• “Is Scientific Progress Inevitable?” by Irvine
• Credible Evidence in Organizational Behavior Study
• Stratified and Cluster Sampling in Research
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2020, October 27). The Concept of Science: Definition and Components. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-concept-of-science-definition-and-components/

"The Concept of Science: Definition and Components." IvyPanda , 27 Oct. 2020, ivypanda.com/essays/the-concept-of-science-definition-and-components/.

IvyPanda . (2020) 'The Concept of Science: Definition and Components'. 27 October.

IvyPanda . 2020. "The Concept of Science: Definition and Components." October 27, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-concept-of-science-definition-and-components/.

1. IvyPanda . "The Concept of Science: Definition and Components." October 27, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-concept-of-science-definition-and-components/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "The Concept of Science: Definition and Components." October 27, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-concept-of-science-definition-and-components/.

• BiologyDiscussion.com
• Follow Us On:
• Google Plus
• Publish Now

Essay on Science: Meaning, Scope, Nature, Technology and Society

ADVERTISEMENTS:

Essay on Science:- 1. Meaning and Definitions of Science 2. Scope of Science 3. Nature of Science 4. Physical Science 5. Science and Social Environment 6. Science and Technology 7. Science and Society 8. Scientific Method and Its Steps.

• Essay on Scientific Method and Its Steps

Essay # 1. Meaning and Definitions of Science :

Meaning of Science:

The English word Science is derived from a Latin Verb ‘Scire’, which means ‘to know’ and Latin Noun ‘Scientia’ which means ‘knowledge’. Meaning of Science is based on German word ‘ Wissenchaft’, which means systematic, organized knowledge. Thus, Science is a systematized knowledge.

The necessity and curiosity of man to know about himself and his surroundings has led him to investigate, find and to know about living beings and nature, which to verifiable knowledge of facts. But Science is not always about the collection of facts or development of new concepts or ideas. It is all about the passion for the discovery that drives one to explore the environment and the nature in every aspect.

Science is basically founded to investigate the nature and its processes. Although there are a number of other methods that can be utilized to acquire the knowledge about nature, but science is considered as the only one that results in the acquisition of reliable knowledge. Hence, Rene Descartes said, “Science is a method of investigating nature that discovers reliable knowledge about it.”

Science is the investigation of unknown phenomena and it also looks and compares with existing principles, theories and practices. Science is both a particular kind of activity and also the result of that activity. Science uses tools like observation, measurement and scientific experimentation and is entirely based on the observable facts.

Science is observation, identification, description, experimentation, investigation and theoretical explanation of the phenomenon that occur in nature.

Science could be described as the study, which attempts to perceive and understand the nature of the universe both living and non-living in its part and as a whole.

Definitions of Science :

During early times people perceived Science, as what the scientist does. There are many definitions available, though not a single definition could be universally accepted.

Some of the definitions are mentioned here to understand it from different angles:

1. According to Columbian Dictionary:

“Science is an accumulated and systematized learning in general usage restricted to natural phenomenon”.

2. Einstein (1879-1955):

“Science is an attempt to make the chaotic diversity of our sense experience corresponds to logically uniform system of thought”.

3. Fitzpatrick (1960):

“Science is a cumulative and endless series of empirical observations, which results in the formation of concepts and theories, with both concepts and theories being subject to modification in the light of further empirical observations. Science is both a body of knowledge and the process of acquiring it”.

4. Bronowski, J. (1956):

“Science as the organization of our knowledge in such a way that it commands or makes possible the explanation of more of the hidden potentialities found in the environment”.

5. Conant (1957):

“An interconnected series of concepts and conceptual schemes that have developed as a result of experimentation and observation and are fruitful of further experimentation and observation”.

6. Fisher (1975):

“Science is the body of Knowledge obtained by methods, based upon observation”.

The above definitions clearly reveal that Science is both a process and product. A comprehensive definition of Science would be “science is a systematized knowledge gained through human observation and experi­mentation of cause revealing the unknown phenomenon of nature and universe both living and non-living involving the process of critical, creative thinking and investigation including sometimes sudden insights too.”

Science = Process + Product

= Methods + Knowledge

= Scientific Method + Scientific Attitude + Scientific Knowledge

Essay #  2. Scope of Science :

Science is a body of knowledge obtained by methods based upon observation. Observation is authentic and that it is only through the senses of man that observations can be made. Thus, anything outside the limits of man’s senses is outside the limits of science. In other words, science deals with the universe and galaxies in the forms of matter and energy which is in the form of living and non-living.

Science employs a number of instruments to extend mail’s senses to the extremely minute to very vast, to the short-time duration or long-time duration, to dilute or to concentrate and so on and so forth which does not alter the conclusion that science is limited to that which is observable.

Thus, as in any other discipline contemporary experimental techniques set up some practical limitations but these are not to be confused with the intrinsic limitations inherent in the very nature of science. The knowledge of science is tested and retested and also reinvented.

Today the disciplines of Science and Social Sciences are drawing into each other. Behavioural zoologists study the sociology and psychology of animals. Archaeologists derive new insights from the rapid advances in chemical and physical analysis. Hence sciences should be understood with interdisciplinary approach within science as a whole. Biology draws on chemistry, physics and geology.

ADVERTISEMENTS: (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Essay # 3. Nature of Science:

Human by birth has quest for knowledge as they are curious of knowing about nature. They have a highly developed brain because of which they can observe precisely, correlate observations and predict future happenings on the basis of their observation. This ability helped humans to adjust to nature. The process of observing, describing, exploring and using the physical world is science.

Science has certain characteristics which distinguish it from other spheres of human endeavour.

These characteristics define the nature of science as discussed below:

Science is a Particular way of Looking at Nature :

1. Science is a way of learning about what the nature is, how the nature behaves and how the nature got to be the way it is.

2. Science focuses exclusively on the nature.

3. It is not simply a collection of facts; rather it is a path to understand the phenomenon underlying.

(i) Science is, just the nature existing around you.

(ii) Every day we look at the rising sun and pay great respect to it for bestowing the earth with its light in energy form.

(iii) The knowledge of all that is in the universe from the tiniest sub­atomic particles in an atom to universe and galaxies.

Science as a Rapidly Expanding Body of Knowledge :

1. Science is the dynamic, ever expanding knowledge, covering every new domain of experiences.

2. Knowledge refers to the product of science, such as the concepts and explanations.

3. Research being carried out in the field of science resulted in developing more knowledge at a faster pace sometimes by replacing old concepts, ideas or principles.

The technological developments that took place in recent times enhanced the acceleration of knowledge.

Science as an Interdisciplinary Area of Learning:

1. In the last two decades there have been studies claiming that science is becoming even more an interdisciplinary area of learning.

2. Science cannot be taught in isolation. All the branches of science are interdependent upon all other and there are a number of facts and principles which are common to various science subjects.

3. Knowledge started expanding day by day; scientists started specialising in certain areas. Hence the knowledge has been organized for convenience into different disciplines.

Environmental science is an interdisciplinary academic field that integrates physics, biological and information sciences (including ecology, biology, physics, chemistry, zoology, mineralogy, oceanology, limnology, soil science, geology of atomospheric science and geodesy).

Science as a Truly International Enterprise :

1. International collaboration in most of the projects is the order of the day.

2. In collaborative research, visibility among the peer and active exploitation of complementary capabilities increase.

3. Share the costs of the projects that are large in scale and scope.

4. Able to access expensive physical resources.

5. Exchange ideas in order to encourage greater creativity.

The large Hadron collides; at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) has been build up by scientists drawn from many countries including India. The experiment on this machine is being conducted by scientists from many countries including many Indian scientists. In this sense, science do not belong to any single country or a group of countries and it would be morally and ethically wrong to deny the fruits of scientific development to any country in the world.

Science as Always Tentative :

Scientific models are always being questioned. Up-and-coming scientists always find gaps or errors in existing scientific models and develop a new one in place of them. In scientific field models have been tested and refined to such an extent that errors are likely to be minor. The real evidences need to be scrutinized carefully.

Marine researchers have expressed concern about the effect of global warming on the future of coral reefs because increasing sea temperature cause coral bleaching. Bleaching happens; the corals expel the algae that live within their cells die, when temperature rises. Recent research have tentatively showed that some algae may be able to adapt to temperature rises, consequently improved the chances that corals can survive.

Tentative Nature of Scientific Theories :

1. Scientific theories took decades in their development.

2. When two competing theories explain their observations related to a certain phenomenon, Scientists prefer to accept a theory which explains larger number of observations with few assumptions.

There was a time when both the geocentric and the heliocentric theories explained all the planetary observations. However geocentric theory had to introduce a new assumption every time. On the other hand, the heliocentric theory with just one assumption that all the planets revolve round the sun, it explained every available observation and eventually survived.

The fact remains that scientific theories are tentative and are always subject to change.

Science Promotes Skepticism :

“In science, keeping an open mind is a virtue just not so open that your brains fall out”-James Oberg.

1. Skepticism does not mean doubting the validity of everything, rather to judge the validity of a claim based on objective empirical evidences.

2. David Hume, the 18th century philosopher viewed that we should accept nothing as true unless the evidences available makes the non-existence of the thing more miraculous than its existence.

3. We examine the available evidences before reaching a decision until sufficient evidences are found.

Scientists are Highly Skeptic People :

‘Science is what scientists do’.

1. The scientists in different fields try to describe the phenomena in nature and establish their relationships.

2. After having described the phenomena, scientists attempt to find out the reason behind and make predictions.

3. Scientists use ideas of their own and of others as tools for testing and gaining knowledge. They use many resources to get valid answers to their questions and problems, by designing their own experiments and invent new tools with which they observe and check different phenomena. Hence, scientists are highly skeptic people.

For instances, if we look at Newton’s story the way he was inspired to formulate his theory of gravitation by watching the fall of an apple from a tree speaks his skeptic nature. Though many scientists and other common men were aware that all the objects descend perpendicularly to the ground, they never pondered upon it. This incident prompted Newton to explore the possibility of connecting gravity with the force that kept the moon on its orbit. This led him to the universal law of gravity.

Charles Goodyear (1800) a chemist and manufacturing engineer who developed vulcanized rubber. His discovery was accidental, where he explored the situation and after five years of searching for a more stable rubber and stumbling upon the effectiveness of heating.

Science Demands Perseverance from its Practitioners :

1. The important characteristic of science that brings development and progress is perseverance of scientists.

2. Scientists getting an inspirational idea or a creative thought have to persist with the idea to take it to its logical conclusions, based on facts or observations.

3. Scientists may work alone or join with others in developing the idea further to find out ways to discover or invention, While at other times the scientists can make only a beginning and then others join them in developing the idea further.

The discovery of the wonder drug pencillin by Alexander Fleming in 1929 is the result of an incident happened by a chance which led to serious observation followed by hard work paved the way for discovery of many other antibiotics like Streptomycin and Erythromycin.

Science as an Approach to Investigate and as a Process of Constructing Knowledge :

1. The investigations in science involve some form of scientific method.

2. Scientists for seeking solution to a problem use different methods like observation, prediction and sometimes experimentation to study the cause and effect relationship.

3. Whatever we observe through our senses (information) is sent to the brain and the brain processes the information by registering, classifying, generalising etc., and converts into knowledge. Sensory perception is primary in knowledge development.

4. Here, the individual constructs the knowledge on his own by applying their own mental abilities and intelligence to process the information received through senses.

5. The basic unit of knowledge is fact. In science any repeatedly verifiable observation becomes a fact.

6. Scientific approach always is based on cause and effect relation.

Examples of facts are:

i. Solids have definite shape and volume.

ii. The rainbow is seen in a direction opposite to that of the sun.

Essay #  4. Physical Science :

The child is interested to learn things which are related to his experiences. This could be possible only when the subjects are integrated and correlated rather than in isolation. The other physical sciences also have equally contributed a lot to the field of biological studies.

Obviously we can’t teach and understand each and every thing about a particular branch of science without the help of other sciences. The child on the other hand can’t appreciate and understand the branches of science in isolation from others. The study of interrelatedness helps the child to understand the concepts easily, more interesting and natural.

Science cannot be taught in isolation. All the branches of science are interdependent upon each other and there are a number of facts and principles which are common to various science subjects. This however does not mean that the teacher of one branch of science ought to know everything of other branches of science.

But it is very much essential that he should have sufficient knowledge of other sciences so as to bring about integration of subjects. He should also know where to depart from his own subject and how much should he venture into areas which are not his own.

The following example may be taken:

1. A teacher while teaching the sense organs says an eye should make a parallelism with a camera, which the student has learnt in physics. To understand the images, knowledge of image formation by the convex lens is essential.

E.g. (a) The rays which pass through the centre of the lens travel straight without any change in direction.

(b) The rays which run parallel to the principal axis pass through the focus of the lens after refraction from the lens.

Again when the teacher is teaching the same topic in the period of human physiology, the defects in the eye i.e., short sightedness (by the elongation of the eyeball and the image in formed a little in front of the retina and not exactly on the retina) he should know other factors also which cause the shifting of the image.

E.g. (a) By changing the distance between the lens and object.

(b) By changing the distance between the lens and the screen.

(c) By changing the total length of lens.

If the teacher possesses knowledge of physics he can most successfully correlate his topic with other branches of science and make the whole knowledge easily acceptable to the children.

2. Similarly while teaching digestive system the teacher should have adequate knowledge of chemistry without the help of which he cannot justify the topic.

The teacher must correlate it by telling about:

(a) Soluble and insoluble constituents of our diet.

(b) Chemistry of different digestive juices and their effect on the constituents of food that we take.

(c) The final products and the process of assimilation of products by the membranes of different organs. This will involve the reference of concepts of osmosis, density and the pressure etc.

Science is universal; it has no barrier of any kind as too has no barriers. The recent advances in the field of science and technology and its wide application as well as their use in daily life situation justify the utilitarian value of science. Taxonomy reveals the unity in diversity. Evolution and mutation theories help us understand the relation of living forms.

Motion, Mass and Energy related theories relate Universe, Sun, Earth and all other planets and their existence. Further their relation to life forms. Hence in nature everything is in relation and co-existence. This is what has to be understood by the student in the study of scientific theories and phenomenon.

Essay # 5. Science and Social Environment:

Relating science education with the environment of a child has been the prime concern of educationists. The environment of the child includes natural and social environment.

In science we learn about the nature’s phenomena. Human is a part of nature. Therefore, every effort should be made to integrate science with learning the environment. The science curriculum should address issues and concerns related to environment such as climate change, acid rain, growth of water, eutrophication and various types of pollutions etc. Further, it should be applied to society to understand social phenomenon in a scientific way and solve all social problems with all objectivity and universal application.

Science teachers should aim to enlighten the young minds with the wonders of science. They should be engaged to construct the knowledge through an interdisciplinary approach appreciating its relation and impact on the social and natural environment. They can recognize the competence of science by doing activities related to their everyday life.

Current issues and events in science like new technological innovations, scientific discoveries, can be examined through social, economic and ethical perspectives to help students in relating these issues with one another and explore their areas of interest.

The significance of chemistry to society can be highlighted by discussing the chemical components used in products that have altered agriculture, food, health, medicine, electronics, transportation, technology and the natural environments. To understand its relevance to home economics, one can think what happens to the electricity bill if solar cooker, solar heater, solar lanterns and CFL (compact fluorescent lamp) are used.

For Instances- Bhopal Tragedy Unforgettable Industrial Disaster :

Industries are the symbols of development, but other side of the coin is lack of safety measures and irresponsibility of emitting pollutants. On 2 nd December 1984 about 3000 human beings died and 5000 were effected seriously, thousands of cattle, birds, dogs, and cats died in just one night at Bhopal tragedy.

These mass deaths were due to the leakage of Methyle Isocyanate (MIC) into the air from an insecticide factory managed by union carbide. Thousands of lives helplessly crushed in this incident. This is unforgettable industrial disaster towards air pollution.

Essay # 6. Science and Technology :

Technology is often equated to applied sciences and its domain is generally thought to include mechanical, electrical, optical, electronic devices and instruments, the house hold and commercial gadgets, equipment used in physics, chemistry, biology, nuclear science etc. These various sub-domains of technology are interrelated. Modern technology is an applied science because the basic principles of sciences are applied to develop the technology.

Science and technology are linked to each other. Discoveries in science have paved the way for the evolution of new technologies. At the same time technology has been instrumental in the development of science.

Han’s Christian Oersted, one of the leading scientists of the 19 th century, played a crucial role in understanding electromagnetism. In 1820 he discovered that a compass needle got deflected when an electric current passed through a metallic wire placed nearby. Through this he showed that electricity and magnetism were related phenomena. His research later created technologies such as radio, television and fiber optics.

The development of microscope by Antony Van Leeuwenhock, where he interwined optical principles with astronomical and biological understanding which further led to the development of the telescope.

Thus, science influences technology by providing knowledge and methodology. But on the other hand technology also influences science by providing equipments to find out the unknown phenomenon of the nature. This shows interdependence of science and technology.

In science we inquire how a natural phenomenon occurs, while in technology we deal with how the scientific processes can also be used for human welfare. Technology as a discipline has its own autonomy and should not be regarded as a mere extension of science.

Basically science is an open ended exploration; its end results are not fixed in advance. Technology on the other hand, is also an exploration but usually with a definite goal in mind. Science is universal; technology is goal oriented and often local specific.

People today are faced with an increasingly fast-changing world where the most important skills are flexibility in adapting to new demands and creativity in taking advantages of new opportunities. These imperatives have to be kept in mind in shaping science education.

Essay # 7. Science and Society :

The applications of science and technology have led to the remarkable improvement in the quality of human life. It has given lot of comfort and leisure to the human kind on one side and equipped it with skills needed for problem solving and decision making on the other side. It has changed the outlook of the individual on different beliefs, myths, taboos and superstitions.

People started working with logical thinking, objectivity and open mindedness. Modern society believed in the co-existence of diversity in social and political thinking. Science always works for the welfare of our future generations by talking about sustainable development. Society is also showing its concern using the scientific knowledge for peace and prosperity of the society.

For instances, consuming tobacco (Gutkha, cigarettes, beedi, khaini) damages the internal organs of the body. The numbers of addicted people at the age of 15 or below are 57.57 lakhs (68%) both in Telengana and Andhra. When they reach 30 yrs. of age thin internal organs becomes damaged, this may lead to several problems and sometimes lead to death.

It is a dangerous trend in our country. So, we have to inculcate healthy habits in children by teaching science. Many youth are also addicted to alcohol which damages the liver and other body organs which in turn also affects human resource development.

Let Us Think It Over:

Do you know that our eyes can live even after our death? By donating our eyes after we die, we can give sight to a blind person.

About 35 million people in the developing world are blind and most of them can be cured. About 4.5 million people are with corneal blindness, can be cured by corneal transplantation of donated eyes. Out of these 4.5 million, 60% are children below the age of 12 yrs. So, if we got the gift of vision, let us pass it on to somebody who does not have it.

Essay # 8. Scientific Method and Its Steps:

1. The development of scientific attitude and training in scientific method are two cardinal aims for the teaching of science. In other words it is a method of solving a problem scientifically.

2. Scientific method involves reflective thinking, reasoning and results from the achievement of certain abilities, skills and attitudes.

Definition of Scientific Method :

Carl Pearson says, ‘The scientific method is marked by the following features:

1. Careful and accurate classification of facts.

2. Observation of their co-relation and sequence.

3. Discovery of scientific law by creative imagination, and self-criticism.

4. The final touch-stone of equal validity for all normally constituted needs.

Steps of Scientific Method:

Observation :

Observation is the base for science. It knows the phenomenon through senses. Without control of external or internal situations.

1. It is the way we perceive the nature and using the senses and processed through the faculty of brain.

2. It is a process of checking conclusions. After observation we try to explain what we have seen based on cause and effect relation. In science repeatedly verifiable observations becomes a fact.

Facts are specific verifiable information obtained through observation and measurement. They are verifiable with reference to time and place.

Some facts do not require the time and place to be mentioned. Ex- Iron is a greyish hard metal.

Some facts are specific like ‘water boils at 100°C at 760mm Hg of pressure.

A concept is an idea or a mental image of an object is generalised forms of specific relevant direct experiences interpreted in a language or word form for communication.

1. Concepts. Ex. plant, animal etc.

2. According to Bruner, every concept has five elements i.e. name, example (positive & negative), attributes (characteristics) attribute value and rule (definition).

3. Concepts formed without direct experiences may lead to misconceptions. Hence, care should be taken in provide direct experiences in learning process.

Principles :

Principles are based on several concepts. They are the representation of phenomena on which the activities or behaviour can be generalised to some extent.

A number of concepts combine in a way to convey meaning which can be tested and verified universally, becomes a principle.

Ex- Mytosis, Meiosis, Glycolysis, Photosynthe sis, Mutations, Evolution etc.

Scientific Inquiry :

It occupies a prominent place in science as it helps pupils to understand how scientific ideas are developed.

1. It is broadly defined as a search for truth or knowledge. Emphasis is placed on the aspects of search rather than on the mere acquisition of knowledge.

2. Empirical testing, reasoning and controlled experimenting are some of the methods of science inquiry.

The steps in scientific methods are illustrated with a specific example:

The teacher demonstrates an experiment to the students to show that water boils at low temperature under low pressure.

1. Sensing the Problem:

The teacher provides a situation in which the students feel the need of asking some questions. Teacher may also put questions which require reflective thinking and reasoning on the part of the students, this may become a problem to solve. The interest of the students, availability of the material and its utility should be considered.

A flask was taken and filled it half with water. Boil the water over a flame. Remove the flame. Cork the flask. Invert it and pour cold water on the flask. The students observe the process carefully and saw that water has begun to boil again when cold water is poured on the bottom of the inverted flask. They at once sense a problem for themselves finding out the reason and explanation of what they have seen.

2. Defining the Problem:

The student now defines the problem in a concise, definite and clear language. There should be some key-words in the statement of the problem, which may help in better understanding the problem.

The student can give different statements such as:

(i) Why is water boiling?

(ii) Why did the water boil first?

(iii) Why was the flask corked and then inverted?

(iv) Why was cold water poured over the bottom of the inverted flask?

(v) Why did the water boil in the flask when cold water is poured over the inverted flask?

Of all these statements, the last one is in fact the problem which should be solved.

3. Analysis of the Problem:

The student now fined the key words and phrases in the problem which provide clue to further study of the problem. At the same time, the students must have knowledge of every key word and the understanding of the whole problem. In our selected problem ‘water boil’ or the boiling of the water are the key words which gives us clue to find information regarding the boiling of water under different conditions.

Collection of Data :

After analysis of the problem the teacher suggests references on the problem. The student needs to plan the subsequent activities. They have to discuss, consult references, use audio-visual aids such as models, pictures, specimens, organise field trips and do the experimentation carefully. Unnecessary data should also be discarded.

Formulation of Tentative Solutions or Hypothesis :

After collection of data, the students are asked to formulate some tentative hypothesis. A hypothesis is the probable solution to the problem in hand, which should be free from bias and self-inclination.

The students can suggest the hypothesis like:

Water will also boil:

(i) When flask is not inverted.

(ii) When water is not boiled but only warmed.

(iii) When hot water is poured over the inverted flask containing cold water.

(iv) When hot water is poured over the inverted flask containing boiled water.

(v) When cold water is poured over the flask containing cold water.

(vi) When cold water is poured over the inverted flask containing boiled water.

These are some of the hypothesis the students can suggest.

Selecting and Testing the Most Appropriate Hypothesis :

The students can select the most tenable hypothesis by rejecting others through experimentation and discussion.

The students have found out that water begins to boil again in an inverted flask when cold water is poured over it. In no other condition this was possible and so all other hypothesis were rejected.

Drawing Conclusions and Making Generalisations :

In this step, conclusions are drawn from the experiments. The results should support the expected solution. Experiments can be repeated to verify the consistency and correctness of the conclusion drawn and should be properly reported. When some conclusions are drawn from different sets of experimentation under similar situations, they may go for generalisation of their conclusion.

The generalisation can be made by arranging a set of experiments which also show the same conclusion already reached at.

The effect of varying pressure on boiling point of water can be found out by conducting experiments. From these conditions, one can generalise that pressure has a direct effect on the boiling point of water i.e. the increase in pressure raises the boiling point of water and vice-versa.

Application of Generalization to New Situations :

The student should apply generalization under new situations in his daily life minimising the gap between classroom situation and real life situation.

The student will apply the generalization that increase in pressure increases the boiling point of water and vice-versa, to explain the reason of – ‘why’ is it difficult to cook meat and pulses at higher altitudes.

Why do the pulses take lesser time for cooking in pressure cooker.

In this way the student will apply the generalization to other life situations.

Scientific Method- A Critical View :

A few points about the scientific method need to be emphasized.

Scientific method is not a prescribed pathing for making discoveries in science. Very rarely the method has remained a key to discovery in science. It is the attitude of inquiry, investigation and experimentation rather than following set steps of a particular method that leads to discoveries and advancement in science.

Sometimes a theory may suggest a new experiment at other times an experiment may suggest a new theoretical model. Scientists do not always go through all the steps of the method and not necessarily in the order we have outlines above. Investigation in science often involves repeated action on any one or all steps of the scientific method in any order.

Many important and path breaking discoveries in science have been made by trial and error, experimentation and accidental observation. The Rontgen and Fleming both of them did not set out the following scientific steps to discover X-rays and penicillin, but they had qualities of healthy intuition and perseverance which took them to their goals. Besides intuition informed guesswork, creativity, an eye for an unusual occurrence, all played a significant role in developing new theories, and there by progress in science.

The validity of a hypothesis depends solely on the experimental test and not on any other attributes. There is no authority in science that tells you what you can criticize and what you cannot criticize. Thus, science is highly objective discipline.

A scientific method with its linear steps makes us feel that science is a ‘closed box approach’ of thinking. However in practice science is more about thinking ‘out of the box’. There is tremendous scope for creativity in science. Many times in science an idea or a solution to a vexing problem appears to arise out of creativity and imagination. Ex- The stories of Archimedes, Newton, Robert Hook, Fleming and Madam Curie etc.

People keep floating all kinds of theories; often they narrow their arguments in scientific terms. This may create lot of confusion among them, but we should remember that a theory is valid only if it passes the test of experimentation, otherwise it may just be a matter of faith.

The scientific method imposes operational limitation on science. It does not help us to make aesthetic or value judgment. For example, frequency of the colour of paintings may be determined but there is no scientific method to label the paintings of two artists as great or not so great. Scientific method does not prove or refute the ideas such as existence of God and existence of life after death.

Following scientific method does not ensure that a discovery can be made. However, the skills learnt in making observation, analysis, hypothesis, prediction from a hypothesis and it’s testing by experimentation help us in developing scientific attitude.

All of us will benefit immensely if we imbibe the spirit of scientific method in our personal lives. The scientific method tells us to be honest in reporting our observations or experimental results, keep an open mind and to be ready to accept other points of view. If our own view is proved wrong.

Scientific method is a logical approach to problem-solving.

Related Articles:

• Essay on Environmental Science
• Content-cum-Methodology in Teaching: Concept, Nature, Need and Steps

Science , Meaning , Meaning of Science

• Anybody can ask a question
• Anybody can answer
• The best answers are voted up and rise to the top

Forum Categories

• Animal Kingdom
• Biodiversity
• Biological Classification
• Biology An Introduction 11
• Biology An Introduction
• Biology in Human Welfare 175
• Biomolecules
• Biotechnology 43
• Body Fluids and Circulation
• Breathing and Exchange of Gases
• Cell- Structure and Function
• Chemical Coordination
• Digestion and Absorption
• Diversity in the Living World 125
• Environmental Issues
• Excretory System
• Flowering Plants
• Food Production
• Genetics and Evolution 110
• Human Health and Diseases
• Human Physiology 242
• Human Reproduction
• Immune System
• Living World
• Locomotion and Movement
• Microbes in Human Welfare
• Mineral Nutrition
• Molecualr Basis of Inheritance
• Neural Coordination
• Organisms and Population
• Photosynthesis
• Plant Growth and Development
• Plant Kingdom
• Plant Physiology 261
• Principles and Processes
• Principles of Inheritance and Variation
• Reproduction 245
• Reproduction in Animals
• Reproduction in Flowering Plants
• Reproduction in Organisms
• Reproductive Health
• Respiration
• Structural Organisation in Animals
• Transport in Plants
• Trending 14

Privacy Overview

Title Page Setup

A title page is required for all APA Style papers. There are both student and professional versions of the title page. Students should use the student version of the title page unless their instructor or institution has requested they use the professional version. APA provides a student title page guide (PDF, 199KB) to assist students in creating their title pages.

Student title page

The student title page includes the paper title, author names (the byline), author affiliation, course number and name for which the paper is being submitted, instructor name, assignment due date, and page number, as shown in this example.

Title page setup is covered in the seventh edition APA Style manuals in the Publication Manual Section 2.3 and the Concise Guide Section 1.6

Related handouts

• Student Title Page Guide (PDF, 263KB)
• Student Paper Setup Guide (PDF, 3MB)

Student papers do not include a running head unless requested by the instructor or institution.

Follow the guidelines described next to format each element of the student title page.

Professional title page

The professional title page includes the paper title, author names (the byline), author affiliation(s), author note, running head, and page number, as shown in the following example.

Follow the guidelines described next to format each element of the professional title page.