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Writing well: lowering the barriers to success

Nature Immunology volume 15, pages 695–697 (2014)Cite this article

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It is not enough to be a good scientist. One needs to be a good communicator. When publications are clear and a pleasure to read, they will advance both the field and the authors' reputation.

Communicating research is inherent to doing science. Researchers love to do research. They generally have less enthusiasm for writing about it. Too often, scientists view writing and publishing as a burden, an unwelcome add-on that slows their momentum and interferes with getting on to the next experiment. Why, then, do scientists write? There are two sets of reasons—content-related and career-related. Researchers disseminate findings to move their field forward, thus allowing others to add further knowledge. Without publications, the work would go unrecognized, and the field would not advance. Publications are also the currency of a career, valuable in acquiring visibility, demonstrating independence and advancing professionally. Like it or not, researchers are measured by what they write. They can have brilliant ideas, but if they do not communicate those ideas clearly, no one will know.

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Figure 1: The dramatic arc of the scientific story.

References

  1. Zeiger, M. Essentials of Writing Biomedical Research Papers 2nd edn. (McGraw-Hill; 2000).

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Author notes

  1. James C Gould, Rafael E Luna and Donna L Vogel: All authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. James C. Gould is at the Office for Postdoctoral Fellows, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,

    James C Gould

  2. Rafael E. Luna is at Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA and Luna Scientific Storytelling, LLC, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.,

    Rafael E Luna

  3. Donna L. Vogel is at the Professional Development Office, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.,

    Donna L Vogel

Authors
  1. James C Gould
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  2. Rafael E Luna
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  3. Donna L Vogel
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to James C Gould.

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Competing interests

R.E.L. is the CEO of Luna Scientific Storytelling, LLC, and author of The Art of Scientific Storytelling: Transform Your Research Manuscript using a Step-by-Step Formula.

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Gould, J., Luna, R. & Vogel, D. Writing well: lowering the barriers to success. Nat Immunol 15, 695–697 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/ni.2923

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