Books on Scientific Writing

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Grant Writers' Seminars and Workshops workbooks by Stephen W. Russell and David C. Morrison

• A go-to reference! 

• Great breakdown of components that go in an R01 proposal and how to address/meet reviewer criteria.

• Helpful for grant writing (especially if using the relevant version -- NIH, NSF, etc.).

 

What Editors Want: An Author's Guide to Scientific Journal Publishing by Philippa Benson and Susan Silver

• A book about scientific writing from the editors' perspectives. 

• Gives inside scoop as to what editors are looking for.

 

Essentials of Writing Biomedical Research Papers by Mimi Zeigler

• An excellent guide to how a scientific paper should be structured and written. It includes helpful exercises.

 

Writing Science: How to Write Papers that Get Cited and Proposals that Get Funded by Joshua Schimel

• The book provides a good framework for crafting a story from the science.

 

Academic Writing for Graduate Students by Swales and Feak

• Provides great descriptions of paper elements.

 

Scientific English: A Guide for Scientists and Other Professionals by Day and Sakaduski

• Instructions/guidance for scientific writing/editing. Encourages authors to be clear, concise, and effective.

 

Successful Scientific Writing: A Step by Step Guide for the Biological & Medical Sciences by Janice R. Matthews

• Instructions/guidance for scientific writing/editing. Encourages authors to be clear, concise, and effective.

 

Modern American Usage by Bryan Garner

• It's difficult to talk about language in a way that isn't dusty, and he accomplishes this.

 

A Field Guide for Science Writers by Deborah Blum

• Science writing is translating technical information for a general audience, and hence is relevant to scientific editing, too, as the audience is never identical in background or perspective as the researcher proposing the grant or writing the manuscript.