How to write and publish a scientific paper - Barbara Gastel, Robert A. Day 2022

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How to write science in english as a foreign language
Scientific style

Many online resources can help nonnative speakers write in English about science. One example is Academic Phrasebank (www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk), which lists phrases useful in various parts of a scientific paper. Another is Grammar Girl (www.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-girl), which provides advice on grammar, punctuation, word choice, and related topics. Websites for users of English as a foreign language—for example, UsingEnglish.com (www.usingenglish.com)—also can be helpful.

You can find many resources through the website of AuthorAID (www.authoraid.info/en/ and www.authoraid.info/es/), a project mainly to help researchers in low- and middle-income countries write about and publish their work. The resource library at this site includes links to many online resources. It also includes Microsoft PowerPoint presentations, articles, and other materials on scientific writing and related subjects. In addition, the AuthorAID site contains a blog on communicating research, and AuthorAID provides free online courses. Through the site, you can also seek a mentor to advise you in your writing and related work. Although primarily for researchers in less affluent countries, AuthorAID resources can also help researchers elsewhere with their writing. As a scientist from Japan said, “When it comes to scientific writing, every country is a developing country.”

A goal of AuthorAID, like that of this book, is to increase researchers’ knowledge, skill, and confidence regarding scientific writing and publication. If English is not your native language, do not feel discouraged. And when your paper is accepted by an international journal, consider celebrating twice: once in your native language and once in English.