Is writing important in chemistry? Don’t chemists spend their time turning knobs, mixing reagents, and collecting data? They still get to do those things, but professional scientists also make presentations, prepare reports, publish results, and submit proposals. Each of these activities involves writing. If you remain skeptical about the need for writing skills, then ask your favorite professor, or any other scientist, to track the fraction of one workday spent using their word processing program. You (and they) may be surprised at the answer

Although the exchange of information in science usually focuses on content rather than writing style, it is important that work be presented using accepted conventions and in an appropriate syle. Whether your audience consists of readers, reviewers, seminar attendees, or the boss, a clear, concise writing style can help to gain their confidence, maintain their interest, and convince them of your work’s value. In a competitive environment, this can be an important part of having your manuscript accepted, getting your grants funded, or even getting your well-deserved promotion.

This guide is meant to give a short introduction to writing for chemistry students at Oregon State. It is not a comprehensive writing reference, and most likely will not address specific questions that arise. It will introduce some major issues in writing about chemistry, and point you to some excellent resources. Since chemistry students will spend most writing time producing lab reports, that will be one focus of this guide.

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