Successful Scientific Writing: A Step-by-Step Guide for the Biological and Medical Sciences, Edition 3

I am not one for ‘How to’ books. They generally dispense more common sense than effective strategies. Successful Scientific Writing by Janice and Robert Matthews does not disappoint. It is everything a ‘How to’ book needs to be, stuffed with plain common sense and sprinkled with useful tips. However, as a desk reference it is handy in its layout and structure. It starts with the basics of information gathering and organisation and smoothly flows in to presentation skills. If you would like your book to systematically remind you of every single thing in the art of scientific writing, this one does the job quite well and it won’t take up too much space on your shelf either. Any author that can incorporate Shakespeare and Calvin and Hobbes in the same book, by rule will have some useful information for everyone. It could be an experienced author who is looking for some time saving ideas or a student who needs a step-by-step guidance on a presentation or publication or even a fiction writer who could very well learn from tips on Boolean logic of searching to cluster diagrams for organisational skills. This book need not replace your existing ‘scientific writing strategy’ book but if you intend to buy one Janice and Robert Mathews will not disappoint.