“Keep a Close Relationship with your Audience”
Summary report of the workshop presentation
by Margery Watson:
How to Write a Scientific Article
GreenFacts-VUB workshop – Brussels, 15 November 2004
See the event press release
On 15 November 2004, Margery Watson, president of INTECOM, gave a workshop to around 80 scientists, researchers and students on how to write a scientific article. The event, hosted by GreenFacts and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), took place on the VUB campus in Brussels.
Speak directly to your audience.
One of the main themes that kept recurring was the need to know your audience – analyze their information needs and keep a close relationship to them. This involves speaking directly to your readers and using a clear, concise, unambiguous language. There was much participation from the audience on sharing experiences and constraints on writing clear scientific texts.
Writing Science on the Web
One of the interesting evolutions from traditional scientific writing practices is the changes the Internet has brought about. “People do not read in a linear manner on the web,” Margery noted, “so the information must be topic centred.” On the Internet, people have a shorter retention span (only up to three items per page viewed), so information needs to be sharper and to the point. Scientific writing techniques are changing with the developments of the web publication media (GreenFacts.org being one important case in point).
Structural short-cuts
One of the points of interest for discussion was the tools available to write more effectively. After discussing various options, at the end of the event, Margery gave a short tutorial on how to properly design and use templates and add-ins within the Word software. The audience was very receptive to technical issues, with questions on using graphics, heading and bibliography management programs.
About Margery Watson
Margery Watson, president of INTECOM, founded the Technical Communicators Association of New Zealand. She has been a technical communicator since 1986, working mainly in software documentation, and is the director of Documentation Online Consultancy Services Ltd. INTECOM is the International Council for Technical Communication, representing around 30,000 communicators worldwide. For more information, see www.intecom.org.
 See the workshop Presentation.
 See Margery Watson’s example of a Word Template.
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