Write Like a Chemist

Book excerpt: "Write Like a Chemist (2nd ed.) is a one-of-a-kind volume, written to serve as a textbook and resource for chemistry students, post-docs, faculty, and other chemistry professionals. The book focuses on four types of chemistry writing: the journal article, conference abstract, scientific poster, and research proposal. The book includes numerous excerpts from American Chemical Society (ACS) journal articles, ACS conference abstracts, and successful NSF proposals, all serving as excellent models of scientific writing. A model poster is also included. Write Like a Chemist's read-analyze-write approach underscores the importance of reading authentic texts, analyzing them, and using them as models for disciplinary writing. Analyses focus on conciseness, level of detail, and formality; organization; writing conventions; grammar and punctuation; and content expressed in prose and graphics. Exercises are included in each chapter. Together, these features turn the complex process of writing into graduated, achievable tasks. Additional features of the book include the formatting of figures, tables, citations, and references. ACS chemistry writing conventions, as advocated in the ACS Guide to Scholarly Communication (Banik et al., 2020), are modelled throughout. The final chapter provides language tips for "troublesome" aspects of writing. Separate companion websites include materials for students and faculty. For students, "writing on your own" guidance, a downloadable poster template, self-study exercises (with answer keys), and proofreading tips are included. For chemistry faculty, answer keys for book exercises, sample grading rubrics, and teaching tips are provided"--