By Hannah Butler

So, you have a paper
due. And not just any paper, but a scientific
essay.
Just thinking about it is enough to be at least a little bit
intimidated. But, if you know your material and you’re good at
writing, it doesn’t have to be a stressful assignment. By the way,
you can ask someone to help with writing a paper. In any case, all
you need are a few tips and guidelines and you’ll be well on your
way to a paper that is not just informative, but interesting and
relatively easy too.

What Is a Good Scientific Essay?

Essay writing can be
a daunting task for even those that enjoy it. It obviously takes some
writing skills, and many of the elements that make a quality essay
work are exactly the same in this case. But the scientific essay must
also detail an actual study, so you will not have the same sort of
leeway as within a standard essay or a piece of creative writing.
Remember, the goal here is to inform the reader about your subject
matter, not to persuade them to see things your way. There are no
sides to argue, only facts to organize and detail. You have to
understand this key difference, and approach the entire process with
that in mind or you will miss the mark. Here are a few things you
should consider to help you write a strong scientific essay.

Definite Purpose

First off, make sure
you are clear about the purpose of your essay. If you received a
specific assignment from your professor, make sure you understand it
top to bottom, and ask questions if you do not. If you came up with
the subject matter on your own, the purpose must be made doubly
clear. In a proper scientific essay, that purpose is to explain
findings drawn from a lab experiment, to detail research that others
have conducted, or to answer a scientific question that has been
posed. Clarity behind this purpose will make or break your essay.

Proper Citation

A good scientific
essay is well researched and properly cited. While you can attempt to
write a position paper off the cuff with your own opinions leading
the way, this essay will not work going that route. Whatever the
purpose, you must spend a proper amount of time in research. Make
sure you understand the science behind the facts you are presenting,
which will then allow you to effectively communicate them to others.
And every scientific essay should include a properly cited list of
all its sources. Make sure you follow the formal rules so that you
cite the points within the essay correctly and include all of the
details as well. There is a chance your professor or a reader will
check these sources, so do not cut corners.

Appropriate Structure

You must also follow
the appropriate structure for a good scientific essay. There is a
simple formula to follow that will adjust in length for the
complexity of the essay, but will also remain structurally the same.
You must start with an abstract, or summary of the paper’s
contents, continue with a description of the study or research, state
the findings from that research in a completely objective manner,
interpret those findings through a discussion or your own thoughts
and opinions, and then finish with a proper conclusion. Do not mix
these sections, and make sure they are each covered and you’ll be
in good shape.

Correct Tone

Finally, your
scientific essay must be written with the correct tone. Again, you
aren’t writing a short story or even a series of arguments. The
goal of this essay is only to inform, so keep the language
straightforward. That means short, concise sentences without too many
flowery descriptions. Do not use slang or contractions, and be
diligent in the proper use of grammar and spelling. The writing style
is in place to support science, not to sell yourself as a
journalist or an author. As long as the essay flows, effectively
presents the purpose and follows the proper style, you will have done
your job.

Writing a Scientific Essay: Tips to Follow

Do your research

OK, this is not
referring to the data as it relates to your scientific project (we’ll
get to that in a minute). No, this is in reference to looking at
previously published science papers and essays from other students,
so that you can get a feel for the format and style that is required
when it comes to writing your own paper.

Check (and double check) your
data

Customarily, science
essays are papers written about an experiment that was performed and
the data that has been collected in order to support it. That said,
it would be really hard to pen this kind of paper if you’re not
even sure if the experiment works or not. Do the experiment and then
collect the statistical information that’s relevant to it. You want
to be sure that your paper is not filled with a lot of guesswork, but
as many factual details as possible.

Present your paper in a formal
order

Scientific papers
are unique from other essays because not only do they need to be
well-written, but in a certain order as well. In a scientific paper,
there needs to be the following: abstract, introduction, methods,
results, discussion and literature cited. An abstract is basically a
condensed version of the entire paper. The methods section should
explain how you conducted your experiment and the results section
should include the data that you collected for the experiment. The
literature cited is the publications and books that you used as a
form of research for your paper.

Be thorough

There are several
things that fall under this particular tip. You should proofread
your work. You should double-check your resources as it relates to
your research. You should use Copyscape (or a similar kind of
website) to make sure you are not plagiarizing someone else’s
paper. You should make sure that your paper includes examples,
diagrams, flow charts and any other kinds of visuals that will
further illustrate the data that you are presenting as it relates to
the experiment and your findings. In other words, if you’re not
someone who usually writes a draft (or two), when it comes to turning
in a good science essay, this would be the time to start.

Lighten up

Sometimes, when we
think of subjects like science, we associate it with being sober and
boring. Plus, if you’re someone who is, for instance, trying to get
your master GIS, that adds all the more pressure to presenting
your paper in a way where it’s taken seriously. Science doesn’t
have to be something that isn’t fun, nor does it have to be
something that was presented in a way that isn’t entertaining and
enjoyable. In other words, let the facts be your foundation, but use
a bit of your personality in your writing style. Just like you want
to make the most out of writing the paper, your teacher wants to make
the most out of reading it as well. S/he won’t oppose a “light
approach” so long as it’s an accurate one too.

About the author:
Hannah Butler works as an English teacher. Besides, she likes sharing
her experience in the form of articles. In this case, she has her own
section on WriteMyPaper4Me.co
website. In the future she is going to start writing a blog in order
to describe her working methods to others.