Skip to Main Content
Santa Clara UniversityUniversity Library

ENGL 26: Intro to Writing in STEM

STEM Writing Tips

Many people are confused by whether they are using the active or passive voice when writing, and in which scenario each is preferred. Thankfully, there is a simple way of identifying the two styles; the key to understanding the difference between them is to spot the subject and the object in each sentence, and then selectively order the way you introduce them.

In an active voice sentence, the subject is the element that is doing the action, whereas the object is the element that is receiving the action described by the verb. In contrast, in a passive sentence, the element targeted by the action is promoted to the subject position. This can sound confusing, but a good way to learn this concept is to realize that a passive sentence will result in the subject effectively doing nothing, because whatever is happening is being done to it.

Example:

ACTIVE VOICE: Professor Roberts kept the mice in their cages for three weeks. He then released them into the wild and recaptured them three weeks later.

PASSIVE VOICE: The mice used in this experiment were kept in their cages for three weeks before they were released and then recaptured after they had spent three weeks in the wild.

Note firstly that the active voice version features 24 words in comparison to the 30 in the passive one, yet, importantly, the active version explains exactly what happened and who did what, whereas the passive one leaves these specific details out.

But, sometimes you should use the passive voice…

You might be developing the impression that using the active voice is always preferable, but this is not the case. Using the active voice is generally preferable because it tends to help you write more concise sentences and makes use of stronger verb forms. However, using the passive voice is acceptable in many situations, and is actually preferable when:

1) You want to be purposefully vague.

For example: ‘The study was compromised due to a methodological error,’ rather than ‘Mike made an error, which compromised the study.’

2) You don’t know the identity of the ‘doer’.

For example: ‘The cave paintings were made over 5,000 years ago,’ rather than ‘Someone made the cave paintings over 5,000 years ago.’

3) The ‘doer’ is not important.

For example: ‘An experimental traffic system will be trialled in British Columbia,’ rather than ‘RoadCorps will trial an experimental traffic system in British Columbia.’

4) You are referring to a general truth.

For example: ‘Rules were made to be broken,’ rather than ‘The person who made these rules made them to be broken.’

References
Anderson, Maureen. “Passive, Active, or Both? Which voice to use when writing science reports.” Teaching Science: The Journal of the Australian Science Teachers Association 6, no. 1 (2015): 50-51. https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.081858773153004

Inzunza, Ernesto Ruelas. “Reconsidering the Use of the Passive Voice in Scientific Writing.” The American Biology Teacher 82, no. 8 (February 2021): 563-565. https://doi.org/10.1525/abt.2020.82.8.563

Even the most well-researched piece of science writing will fail to make an impact if it is not easy to read and interpret. The trick to organizing your writing is to develop a writing outline before you put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard). 

There are three key things that you can focus on to make sure that your writing is well organized. Firstly, you can split it into paragraphs based on content. Secondly, you can write effective topic sentences to kick off each paragraph with, and thirdly, you can ensure each sentence flows smoothly into the next by making sure your transitions are well chosen.

Paragraphs

Paragraphs are extremely important components of an effectively structured piece of writing because they organize material in a way that makes it easier to follow for your readers. Structuring your writing into clear, effective paragraphs that address individual ideas will help you organize your work, which in turn gives your readers the best possible chance of understanding the points you are trying to make.

Here are some strategies for writing clear paragraphs:

  • Have a clear topic sentence. Make sure that the first sentence of your paragraph clearly captures the main point of your paragraph. This establishes the topic of the paragraph and sets up the readers expectations.
  • Provide evidence to fully support the main point. Each sentence in the paragraph should expand upon or support the topic sentence.
  • The relationship between the topic sentence and the concluding sentence should be clear. If not, it is possible that the purpose of the paragraph may have changed midway through. If this happens, consider rewriting the topic sentence to reflect what the paragraph actually does, or breaking the paragraph into smaller parts.

Transitions

a) Have a clear topic sentence. Make sure that the first sentence of your paragraph clearly captures the main point of your paragraph. This establishes the topic of the paragraph and sets up the reader's expectations.

  • In the example excerpted from Garber (2012) below, the first sentence of the paragraph is the topic sentence. This sentence clearly introduces the topic and establishes what is going to be discussed throughout the paragraph (i.e., how human development impacts various aspects of the environment that “urban vertebrates” use.)

b) Provide evidence to fully support the main point. Each sentence in the paragraph should expand upon or support the topic sentence.

  • In the excerpt below, the author uses an example to provide concrete evidence to support the main point of the paragraph.

c) The relationship between the topic sentence and the concluding sentence should be clear. If not, it is possible that the purpose of the paragraph may have changed midway through. If this happens, consider rewriting the topic sentence to reflect what the paragraph actually does, or breaking the paragraph into smaller parts

References

Garber, Philipp. 2012. “Urban Vertebrate Ecology of the Pacific Northwest, with Recommendations for Wildlife Stewardship at UBC Vancouver.” R. UBC Social Ecological Economic Development Studies (SEEDS) Student Reports (Undergraduate). December 18. doi:https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0108522.

Basic Punctuation

Mechanics are the small parts of your writing that stick everything together to ensure that everything makes sense and that emphasis is placed where you want it to be. Basic punctuation mechanics include commas (,), colons (:) and semicolons (;), apostrophes (‘) and hyphens (-).

When used properly, these mechanics give your sentences the meaning they should have. However, when used incorrectly, they can transform the meaning of the most basic sentence and leave your readers completely baffled as to what you are trying to tell them.

Table 1 contains some basic punctuation mechanics practices that you should consider when writing. This table is not extensive, but provides the most important ‘do’s and don’t's.

 

As a science communicator, you will often have to include highly specific information in your written materials. For example, you might be writing a lab report in which you provide numerical details about the method you used in your experiment. Within STEM fields, there are some common practices that will allow you to effectively convey your message, especially when working with numbers.