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Improving scientific writingInglês para escrita acadêmica
13 de Outubro de 2015
Neriamara M. Dias
Estudante de Engenharia Agrícola e
Ambiental - UFV.
Integrante do PET.EAA.
Graduação sanduíche na University of
Illinois at Urbana Champaign - EUA, pelo
Ciência sem Fronteiras.
Thuane K. M. Barbosa
Estudante de Engenharia Agrícola e
Ambiental - UFV.
Bolsista de iniciação científica institucional
- EPAMIG.
Graduação sanduíche na Harper Adams
University - Inglaterra, pelo Ciência Sem
Fronteiras.
Introduction
“Pressionados a produzir conhecimento e a publicá-lo em revistas
especializadas, os pesquisadores brasileiros são continuamente
desafiados a demonstrar uma habilidade que vai além do talento
científico: a capacidade de escrever de forma lógica e correta – e em
inglês, que é a língua da ciência.”
Marques (2011)
Introduction“A beleza do inglês moderno está na substância, na simplicidade, na clareza,
na riqueza de detalhes e na integridade lógica.” Schütz (2015)
- Fluência no idioma x domínio da escrita
- Escrita científica & Peculiaridades do inglês acadêmico
Diagnostic ➢115 abstracts from students enrolled in five graduate scientific writing
courses at several universities in Brazil, beginning in 2004.
➢ 23 error categories in each abstract were tagged.
➢The errors were organized into three groups:
○ (1) mechanical, capitalization, and spelling;
○ (2) lexical;
○ (3) syntactic.
Tip #1 Avoid beginning sentences with ‘‘It is…’’, “There is…” and “There are…”
Example: ‘Existem muitos projetos desenvolvidos por essa universidade.”
Weak English: “There are many projects developed by this university.”
Strong English: “The university develops many projects.”
(Marlow, 2014)
Tip #2Learn when to use ‘‘the’’; try to remove it from the beginning of thesentence and to only include it when referring to specific events/objects/ people.
Example 1: As células foram plaqueadas…
Direct translation: ‘‘The cells were plated…’’
Scientific writing: ‘‘Cells were plated…’’
Tip #2Exemplo 2:
“…que ocasionou grande fluxo de populações humanas para a região.’’
Direct translation ‘‘…which caused large influx of human populations to the
region.’’
Scientific writing: ‘‘…which caused the large influx of human populations to
the region.’’
Tip #3Only capitalize subjects if they refer to the formal name of a
place/department/title.
Exemplo:
‘‘O estudo foi realizado no Hospital Universitário da Universidade Federal do
Rio de Janeiro no Estado do Rio de Janeiro. O Hospital da Universidade atende
mais de 100 pacientes por dia.’’
‘‘The study was conducted at the University Hospital of the Federal
University of Rio de Janeiro (FORMAL) in Rio de Janeiro State. The hospital
(INFORMAL) of the university (INFORMAL) attends more than 100 patients
per day.’’
Tip #4Attempt to place adjectives, including possessive adjectives, in front of
nouns when possible (adjective-noun rather than noun-‘‘of’’-adjective).
Example: ‘‘Em 2010, houve 8.8 milhões de casos novos dessa doença no
mundo.’’
Incorrect: ‘‘In 2010, there were 8.8 millions of new cases of this disease
around the world.’’
Incorrect: ‘‘In 2010, there were 8.8 millions new cases of this disease around
the world.’’
Correct: ‘‘In 2010, there were 8.8 million new cases of this disease around the
world.’’
Tip #5In Portuguese, it is common to use an ‘‘assumed’’ subject if you have already
mentioned the topic in the previous sentence; however, in English, you need
to continue to explain what you are referring to throughout the phrase.
Example: ‘‘Neste estudo, 74 pacientes foram incluídos. Destes, 7 (9.5%) foram
do sexo masculino.’’
Direct translation: ‘‘In this study, 74 patients were included. Of these, 7
(9.5%) were male.’’
Good English: ‘‘In this study, 74 patients were included. Of these, 7 (9.5%)
patients were male.’’
Tip #6Try to use the first person (‘‘I’’ and ‘‘we’’) as little as possible and
exchange it with passive voice.
Example: ‘‘Encontramos vários tipos de mosquitos.’’
Direct translation: ‘‘We found various types of mosquitos.’’
Scientific writing: ‘‘Various types of mosquitos were found.’’ (passive voice)
Tip #7Prepositional phrases, transitions and adverbs in the beginning of
sentences should be followed by a comma:
Example: ‘‘Neste estudo encontramos este resultado.’’
‘‘In this study, this result was found.’’
Other common phrases:
In Brazil, Of these, However, Therefore, Currently, As previously reported,
Tip #8If it is poorly written in Portuguese, then it will be poorly written in
English.
➢Make sure that you consult a Portuguese professional, or simply have a
colleague, friend or other professor read your work critically, specifically
for the Portuguese.
➢Always make sure you are sending the absolute final draft for translation.
Substitutions
Instead of Use
It is crucial that
It is necessary that
It is important that
Must/ should
Has the opportunity to
Is able to
Has the capacity for
Can
It is possible that
There is a chance that
The possibility exists for
May/ might/ can/ could
At the same time as
Prior to
Simultaneously with
Before/ after/ as
Instead of Use
Are indications Indicate
Considering the fact that
For the reason that
This is why
Because/ since/ why
Despite the fact that Although
In the event that If
Under the circumstances in which When
Substitutions
NEVER use...➢Big, huge, small
➢A research
➢Pretty much
➢Nowadays
➢Thing
➢Investigate
NEVER use...➢Contractions
➢Get
➢A number of ‘informations’
➢Really, very
➢A lot
➢So
Avoid...➢Negative statements
➢Phrasal verbs
➢Vague words: Area, factor, aspect, situation, consideration, degree, case
➢Verbs in the future
Take care!➢But x however
Exs.: "I like oranges, but I do not like tangerines."
"I like oranges; however, I do not like tangerines."
➢Prepositions
➢Passive voice: Humanities x Sciences
Noun phrases: use it!Determiner + premodifier + head + postmodifier
Determiner: articles
Premodifier: adjective, ed-participle, ing-participle, noun
Postmodifier: relative clause, to-clause, ing-clause, ed-clause, prepositional
phrase, adverb and adjective.
“The number of Brazilian researchers publishing in prestigious international
journals has increased substantially in recent decades along with the pressure
to publish or perish.”
American Or British English?Some examples:
➢Tires x tyres
➢Analyse x Analyse
➢Metre x meter
➢Litre x liter
ExampleGoogle Translate x Good English
“O NDVI (Índice de Vegetação da Diferença Normalizada) é utilizado a partir de estudos dos parâmetros
biofísicos da vegetação. O oeste da Bahia tem sido bem explorado ao nível da agricultura, portanto,
estudos numa das bacias hidrográficas (sub bacia Grande) mais importantes da região são
indispensáveis. Foram utilizadas quatro imagens do satélite Landsat 5 e 7, nos anos de 1987, 2001,
2008 e 2013. Utilizou-se os mapas de declividade e mapa de uso e cobertura de solo da região como
ferramenta auxilio. Observou-se um aumento de 80% na abertura de novas fronteiras agrícolas com
grande riscos de erosão baseados em baixos valores de NDVI, indicando características de solos
expostos. Aumentou-se o uso de áreas de altas declividades, assim praticas indevidas de manejo e
conservação do solo podem levar a baixas produções devido as perdas de nutrientes por lixiviação. O
avanço da agricultura na região pode levar à perda de áreas agricultáveis e aumento de impactos
ambientais (assoreamento dos rios e erosão em nascentes) na região da bacia.”
ExampleGoogle Translate x Good English
“The NDVI (Vegetation Index of Normalized Difference) is used from studies of biophysical parameters of
vegetation. The west of Bahia has been well explored in terms of agriculture, so studies in watershed
(sub Great Basin) most important of the region are indispensable. Four images from Landsat 5 and 7
were used in 1987, 2001, 2008 and 2013. We used the slope maps and map use and land cover in the
region as an aid tool. There was a 80% increase in the opening of new frontiers with great agricultural
erosion risks based on low NDVI values, indicating exposed soil characteristics. Increased the use of
high slope areas and improper handling practices and soil conservation can lead to lower yields due to
the loss of nutrients by leaching. The advancement of agriculture in the region can lead to loss of arable
land and increased environmental impacts (silting of rivers and erosion in springs) in the area of the
basin.”
ExampleGoogle Translate x Good English
The NDVI (Vegetation Index of Normalized Difference) is used from studies of biophysical parameters of
vegetation. The west of Bahia has been greatly explored in terms of agriculture, therefore studies of the
subbasin Grande, one of the most important regional watersheds, are indispensable. This methodology
was developed with four images from the Landsat satellite 5 and 7 in 1987, 2001, 2008 and 2013.
Regional maps of slope, land use and land cover were utilized as an aid tool. The agricultural areas
increased 80%, what could indicate greater erosion risks based on low NDVI values, since this is a
characteristic of exposed soil. The use of high slope areas also increased, what can lead to lower yields
due to the loss of nutrients by leaching, if associated with improper soil conservation and handling
practices. The expansion of agriculture activities in the region can lead to loss of arable land and
increase environmental impacts in the basin area, such as silting of rivers and erosion in springs.
Extra material
ReferencesMarlow, M. A. Writing scientific articles like a native English speaker: top ten tips for Portuguese speakers. Clinics.2014. Disponível em: <http://www.ufrgs.br/ppgpneumo/images/clube-revista/2015/08-28.pdf> Acesso em 09 deoutubro de 2015.
Marques, F. Escreva bem ou pereça.Rev Bras Cir Cardiovasc. 2011. Disponível em:<http://www.scielo.br/pdf/rbccv/v26n2/v26n2a26.pdf> Acesso em 08 de outrubro de 2015.
Schütz, R. Como Redigir Corretamente em Inglês: English Made in Brazil. 2015. Disponível em:<http://www.sk.com.br/sk-write.htm> Acesso em 02 de outubro de 2015.
Schuster E. , Lizotte R., Aluísio S. M., Dayrell, C. Approaches for Helping Brazilian Students Improve their ScientificWritings. 9th Brazilian Symposium in Information and Human Language Technology. 2013. Disponível em:<https://www.aclweb.org/anthology/W/W13/W13-4822.pdf>. Acesso em: 08 de outubro de 2015.
Uefap (Using English for Academic Purposes). Features of academic writing. 2015. Disponível em:<http://www.uefap.com/writing/feature/complex_noun.htm> Acesso em 07 de outubro de 2015.
Williams, J. Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace. 3rd ed. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman, 1989. Disponível em:<http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/ClearConciseSentences.html> Acesso em 10 de outubro de 2015.
