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    Marianna Taffi said:

    “Write to express not to impress”
    It is something that we often forget about, science is already impressive!

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      Meenakshi Prabhune said:

      Absolutely true Marianna! Good science only needs effective broadcasting.

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    Peter Haug said:

    It’s been said, perhaps not often enough: “If you can’t write clearly, it’s likely you can’t think clearly.”

    Thanks for the post.

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      Meenakshi Prabhune said:

      You are welcome Peter. Glad you like the post.

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    Anurag Chaurasia said:

    I really appreciate the article, but also feels that problems come when one is not expert of the language s/he is expressing in, i have come across many good students from India’s rural area doing excellent science, but once writing, fail to express in the global language English.

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      Meenakshi Prabhune said:

      That is a good point, Anurag. Language barrier certainly adds to the difficulties in science communication. Unfortunately, general tips can only help in structuring and polishing an article. Perhaps, including language lessons in the scientific syllabus might help address the issue that you mentioned.

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    tim skern said:

    “The first draft is never the last” is my motto when teaching students. Editing is also a skill which has to be learned as editing one’s own work is never easy. I suggest that students practise by editing each other’s work first. It is easier to edit something to which you are not so personally attached!

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      Meenakshi Prabhune said:

      I absolutely agree, Tim. Its indeed difficult to edit your own work; I really like the idea of teaching students by editing each other’s work!

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    Amir Raza said:

    Sometimes people use thesaurus and select really weird words — which totally changes the meaning of entire sentence — and they don’t even realize.

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      Meenakshi Prabhune said:

      Very true. I think its part of the pressure of ‘sounding smart’. Young researchers especially need to know that science communication cannot be achieved by creating confusion.

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    Ram Prakash Raman said:

    I have read your article published in Naturejobs. This is indeed an excellent piece of writing. Congrats…. R.P. Raman

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      Meenakshi Prabhune said:

      Thank you for your compliments!