This web page was developed for our summer Research Experience for Undergraduates program at the Oklahoma Weather Center, but the links are applicable to many different types of writers. I have developed a 4-hour workshop on good scientific communication skills and have presented this material to a variety of different scientific organizations. I'd be happy to present this workshop in a number of different formats at your group. Email me to find out how.

ONLINE RESOURCES

• Elements of Style
  Now published as: William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White: The Elements of Style.
  Voted #21 of the 100 best works of 20th century nonfiction by the Modern Library.
• Chuck Doswell's "Didn't we tell you the rules have changed? A primer on how to be a graduate student"
• Joe Schall's Style for Students (Penn State)
• Information about colors (Good hints about how to avoid color schemes that don't work for colorblind people)
• How to get your paper rejected
• The Tongue and Quill (US Air Force) This is the classic writing and speaking manual for the Air Force. It's huge, but worth it.
• Field Guide to visitors you may receive at a poster presentation
• Short scientific talks for dummies
• Public Speaking Blog
• Journal of Young Investigators Resources page
• A Workshop on Referencing and Construction of Bibliographies
• Chuck Doswell's Communication Skills
• Instructor's Tips for Making Better VISITview Lessons (Applicable for Powerpoint presentations and Web Pages)
• Guidelines on Style for Scientific Writing (Sportscience)
• Plagiary and the Art of Skillful Citation
• Plagiary Exercises (Grinnell College)
• The Chicago Manual of Style FAQ
• Boxlight: Tips on better presentations (Recommended by Andy White)
• The Language Teacher: Four excellent points about writing sentences (http://www.jalt-publications.org/tlt/files/98/nov/sh_munilla.html).
• Dr. Koster's List of Scientific and Technical Writing Links
• Tips for Making Effective PowerPoint Presentations (Boise State Kinesiology)
• Avoiding Jargon (Ministry of Forests, British Columbia)
• Bruce V. Lewenstein's Science Communication on the Web: A Brief Introduction
• American Society for Training & Development
• Public Speaking (or how to enjoy presentations)
• Expanded guidelines for Giving a Poster Presentation (American Society for Primatologists)
• Effective Presentations (KU Medical Center)
• Designing Effective Poster Presentations (Univ. of Buffalo Libraries): Good clearinghouse of web sites
• Using Powerpoint to create a poster (University of Washington)
• Swarthmore College (Very good web page for undergraduates)

BOOKS

• The Mayfield Handbook of Technical & Scientific Writing Best all-around book I've found on scientific writing.
• Booth, Wayne C., Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams: The Craft of Research, 2nd edition (Another great all-around book on performing and communicating up research)
• Michael Alley, "The Craft of Scientific Presentations"
• Edward Tufte Books on Scientific Visualization
• The Science Editor's Soapbox, ISBN 0-9663011-0-2.
  Werner J. Lipton
  P.O. Box 16103
  Fresno, CA 93755-6103
  Phone: (209)229-8486
• A Ph.D. Is Not Enough! Peter J. Feibelman, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, ISBN 0-201-62663-2.
• How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper, Second ed., Robert A. Day, iSi Press, ISBN 0-89495-022-3.
• A Woman's Guide to the Language of Success: Communicating with Confidence and Power., Phyllis Mindell, Prentice Hall, ISBN 0-13-157215-6. (Recommended by Pam MacKeen.)
• Put Your Science to Work. Peter S. Fiske, AGU. http://www.agu.org/careerguide
• Handbook of Technical Writing Peter T. Brusaw, Gerald J. Alred, and Walter E. Oliu. St. Martin's. ISBN 0-312-16690-7. (Recommended by Chuck Doswell)
• The Elements of Graphing Data. William S. Cleveland. Hobart Press. (Recommended by Kim Elmore)
• Visual Revelations: Graphical Tales of Fate and Deception from Napolean Bonaparte to Ross Perot. Howard Wainer. Copernicus (Springer-Verlag). (Recommended by Kim Elmore)
• Communicating in Science. 2nd ed. Vernon Booth. Cambridge (Recommended by Kim Elmore)
• The Careful Writer: A Modern Guide to English Usage Theodore Bernstein. (Recommended by Luciano Fleischfresser)
• A Handbook for Scholars. Mary-Claire van Leunen. (Recommended by Luciano Fleischfresser)
• Writing the Doctoral Dissertation: A Systematic Approach. Gordon Davis and Clyde Parker. (Recommended by Luciano Fleischfresser)
• The Word: An Associated Press Guide to Good News Writing. Rene J. Cappon. (Recommended by Keli Tarp)

RESOURCES AND CLEARINGHOUSES FOR OTHER WEB SITES

• PhDs.org: One-stop shop for grad schools, career tips, and jobs. Indispensible site!
• Resources for Writers and Writing Instructors (Links to many cool web pages)

Return to the National Severe Storms Laboratory.
Return to David Schultz's homepage. david.schultz@noaa.gov
Last update: 5 July 2005