Building Healthy Writing Habits for Plant Scientists
Effective writing is an essential skill for plant scientists, playing a crucial role in various aspects of their professional lives. The skill of scientific writing is first developed during an undergraduate’s degree – where they face the challenges of writing a first protocol or thesis – this journey in writing continues throughout a plant scientist’s whole career! From publishing research papers and crafting grant proposals to communicating complex findings to diverse audiences, the ability to convey ideas clearly and persuasively is crucial. However, the unique nature of plant science research, which often involves intricate fieldwork, complex data analysis, and interdisciplinary collaboration, presents distinct challenges for researchers striving to maintain productive writing habits. In this article, we will explore the importance of effective writing for plant scientists, delve into the specific hurdles they face, and offer practical strategies to develop and sustain healthy writing habits.
Understanding Writing Habits
Writing habits are regular practices that facilitate the writing process. They are vital for reducing procrastination, fostering consistency, and streamlining workflow. For scientists, well-established writing habits ensure that research is communicated effectively, publication deadlines are met and critical thinking is enhanced. Good writing habits lead to both qualitative and quantitative improvements in scientific output. Regular writing helps identify research gaps, refine arguments, and produce clearer manuscripts. It also leads to more frequent submissions and publications, enhancing researchers’ reputations and opening up more opportunities.
Here are some tips for setting up a writing schedule:
- Identify peak productivity times: Determine when you are most productive.
- Block out writing time: Set aside specific daily writing blocks and keep them free of other (lab)tasks.
- Consistency is key: Write at the same time each day to build a routine. Starting off even with small blocks of 15-30 minutes is enough to begin developing a longer writing habit.
- Minimize distractions: Find a quiet, comfortable place to write. Separating yourself physically from the lab can be helpful to keep focused.
- Setting realistic goals: Find short and long-term goals and a way to track them and remember to celebrate milestones and rewards. A daily word count or timed writing goal can help keep you motivated and feel accomplished!
By setting a regular writing schedule and clear, achievable goals, plant scientists can develop healthy writing habits, leading to more productive and fulfilling research careers. Writing can become an integral and rewarding part of the scientific journey with the right habits.
Dealing with writer’s block
Writer’s block is common for plant scientists, but there are effective techniques to overcome it. Free writing, where you write without concern for grammar or coherence, can ease the pressure and allow ideas to flow freely. Changing your environment, such as working in a park or café, can offer fresh perspectives. Incorporating relaxation and breaks into your routine is also crucial. Short breaks, like taking a walk or practicing mindfulness, can reset your mind and maintain productivity. By combining these strategies, you can effectively navigate and overcome writer’s block, ensuring continuous progress in your scientific writing.
Balancing Writing with Research
For many of us balancing writing with all our other research tasks can seem daunting and almost impossible. Especially for those of us who don’t enjoy writing, it seems we can always find more experiments in the lab to occupy our time.
Communicating our research is just as important as conducting it! By valuing writing as equally important to research we can motivate ourselves to dedicate time to completing this task. Treat your writing time just as you would a scheduled experiment or a time-booked session with a piece of lab equipment. If you find yourself productive in the morning, try scheduling your writing before you get to the lab, this way you can avoid the temptation to get started on an experiment. On the flip side, if you want to write after a day’s work in the lab, consider that the act of writing is just as demanding as your research. Try leaving the lab early or make sure to allocate enough time to rest and recover mentally from your lab work so you can best focus on your writing task. If you find yourself distracted writing close to the lab, try to write in a dedicated separate location such as a library or a café.
Another helpful way to balance writing with your research is to have an accountability partner. Identifying another researcher, such as a fellow student or postdoctoral researcher, who may have similar writing tasks can help both of you reach your writing goals. You and your writing partner can start by creating a set meeting time to write together, this could be in person or online via conference call. You might start each session off by setting some defined goals and you can end the session by discussing your completed work and your writing targets for the upcoming week. By outlining these goals with another person or a group and having these shared writing sessions together, each person can help keep the other on task.
Continuous learning in writing
Writing doesn’t necessarily come naturally to many people, just like any skill it can take a lot of practice and effort to improve and hone your writing skills. Making time investments to improve your writing skills will not only make your communication clearer but will eventually make the task of writing easier for you!
It is essential to first solidify the basics behind writing composition and style. This can be difficult for many of us, especially if we are writing outside of our native language. Take time to get comfortable with the basics of spelling and grammar. Reading some guides on writing style and grammar usage such as “The Elements of Style” can help solidify some basic writing principles we may have never formally learned in school. It might also be helpful to make use of AI to help you check these basics in your writing.
When you read papers or scientific writing that you enjoy, take the time to understand which elements of the writing appeal to you. Just as you would have done in school, take time to dissect others’ writing. Identify elements such as phrasing or vocabulary that make the writing interesting or clear. You can try to emulate writing you admire and see how it can influence your own style.
Allocate plenty of time to edit your writing. When you have finished a first pass try taking some time away from your writing before editing, this way you can edit with a clear mind. Critique your own writing to refine and polish it, don’t be afraid to remove extraneous words or rewrite unclear phrasing. Find a peer or mentor to edit your writing and take the time to analyze their edits and understand why they may have suggested changing certain aspects of your writing. You may even find it helpful to take your writing to a workshop or writing group and have others comment on it. Having more eyes on your writing can help you finalize a high-quality piece that will be clear to the largest audience.
References
Struggling with your academic writing? Try these experiments to get the words flowing. Van Bravel, J.J. and Gruber, J. (2019) https://www.science.org/content/article/struggling-your-academic-writing-try-these-experiments-get-words-flowing
Improving Your Scientific Writing. Bushman, F.D. (2017) https://www.med.upenn.edu/bushmanlab/assets/user-content/documents/scientificwritingv67.pdf
Better Writing in Scientific Publications Builds Reader Confidence and Understanding. Ryba, R., Doubleday, Z.A., Dry, M.J., Semmler, C., and Connell, S.D. (2021) Frontiers in Psychology.
Promoting your research. From the Plants People Planet Section from New Phytologist https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/25722611/promoting-your-research
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About the Authors
Ann-Kathrin Rößling is a PhD student at the University of Freiburg in Germany, and a 2024 Plantae Fellow. She is researching intracellular mechanisms using confocal microscopy in Arabidopsis roots to gain a better understanding of vacuolar morphology. In addition to her scientific pursuits, she enjoys reading, both fiction and non-fiction, and is passionate about illustrations and artwork. You can find her on X: @AK_Roessling.
Tamar V. Av-Shalom is a PhD candidate in the department of Cell and Systems Biology at the University of Toronto, and a 2024 Plantae Fellow. Her research focuses on understanding the virulence factors required for plant pathogens to invade their hosts and how plants defend against these same factors. You can find her on X: @TamarAvShalom.
