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The Craft of Scientific Writing
Designed to help both professional and student scientists and engineers write clearly and effectively, this text approaches the subject in a fresh way. Using scores of examples from a wide variety of authors and disciplines, the author - himself a writer and physicist -- demonstrates the difference between strong and weak scientific writing, and how to convey ideas to the intended audience. In addition, he gives advice on how to start writing, and how to revise drafts, including many suggestions about approaching a wide variety of tasks - from laboratory reports to grant proposals, from internal communications to press releases - as well as a concise guide to appropriate style and usage.
282 pages, Paperback
First published December 31, 1986
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
July 19, 2013
I read the reviews for this book and would like to respond to some.
The book was not necessarily intended as a read-once-through-and-get-everything-there-is-to-know kind of book, but rather as a reference. I pull both of Alley's books off the shelf frequently to reread examples and get a refresher course. So, those who tried to read it through at one go were looking for a different type of book.
Others said there was more to learn from reading scientific journals. As Alley points out, sometimes we can learn some really bad habits from reading papers in scientific journals. How much editing was done between submission and publication? What were the articles like that didn't get published? If we could see the misses as well as the hits, we could learn from journal articles.
Alley stresses writing that is simple, clear and concise. The examples he gives and the exercises available on his website (http://www.writing.engr.psu.edu/exerc...) are intended to help scientific writers improve their writing to meet those goals. It is a false assumption that the writing found in current journals is good writing, and I recommend we all heed Alley's advice.
The book was not necessarily intended as a read-once-through-and-get-everything-there-is-to-know kind of book, but rather as a reference. I pull both of Alley's books off the shelf frequently to reread examples and get a refresher course. So, those who tried to read it through at one go were looking for a different type of book.
Others said there was more to learn from reading scientific journals. As Alley points out, sometimes we can learn some really bad habits from reading papers in scientific journals. How much editing was done between submission and publication? What were the articles like that didn't get published? If we could see the misses as well as the hits, we could learn from journal articles.
Alley stresses writing that is simple, clear and concise. The examples he gives and the exercises available on his website (http://www.writing.engr.psu.edu/exerc...) are intended to help scientific writers improve their writing to meet those goals. It is a false assumption that the writing found in current journals is good writing, and I recommend we all heed Alley's advice.
July 2, 2012
This book is absolutely a must read for a person who is in science and engineering disciplines.
I discussed about the main ingredient of a presentation, i.e., organization, delivery, audience, and presence of the speaker.
It gives abundant examples of famous scientists and engineers and explains why they succeeded or failed.
I found that most of the mistakes that is pointed out by the author exist in the presentations I heard every year. And as the author pointed out, those presentations are neither effective nor memorable.
I particularly like what the author says at the end:
For your audience, purpose, and occasion, you should strive to craft a presentation that is truly worth your audience’s time, a presentation that your audience will not forget.
I discussed about the main ingredient of a presentation, i.e., organization, delivery, audience, and presence of the speaker.
It gives abundant examples of famous scientists and engineers and explains why they succeeded or failed.
I found that most of the mistakes that is pointed out by the author exist in the presentations I heard every year. And as the author pointed out, those presentations are neither effective nor memorable.
I particularly like what the author says at the end:
For your audience, purpose, and occasion, you should strive to craft a presentation that is truly worth your audience’s time, a presentation that your audience will not forget.
August 31, 2025
highkey helpful lowkey
July 10, 2021
I have recently re-visited parts of this book and since I again realised how amazing it is, I decided that I needed to review this, although it's been a while since I've read it.
This book was truly amazing and it deeply changed the way I do presentations - in concern to talking but most of all in concern to the slides. It does not only help you avoid the so-called "Death by PowerPoint", but it also led to me having more fun preparing talks and finding more meaning in them, even if it's topics I am not entirely passionate about.
And I must warn you that once you've read the books, you will never listen to talks and PowerPoint presentations in the same way as before. ;)
If you want to improve your presentation skills, I cannot recommend this enough!
This book was truly amazing and it deeply changed the way I do presentations - in concern to talking but most of all in concern to the slides. It does not only help you avoid the so-called "Death by PowerPoint", but it also led to me having more fun preparing talks and finding more meaning in them, even if it's topics I am not entirely passionate about.
And I must warn you that once you've read the books, you will never listen to talks and PowerPoint presentations in the same way as before. ;)
If you want to improve your presentation skills, I cannot recommend this enough!
June 5, 2022
Even though this book was written in 2003, it is a good resource to improve your presentations. I am a weak presenter and one of my goals is to become an excellent one, I think this book will help. I have read how to give good presentations, now I need to apply it.
One thing I learned is for PowerPoint presentations is that the slide headline is better is if it's a sentence than a phrase. Also, the font should be sans serif typeface aka Arial.
There was one chapter I found out dated, but everything else is good.
Once Mark Twain told a nervous presenter back stage "Don't worry - they (the audience) don't expect much". Our mindset should be "They think that I am going to bore them. Well, I'll show them."
One thing I learned is for PowerPoint presentations is that the slide headline is better is if it's a sentence than a phrase. Also, the font should be sans serif typeface aka Arial.
There was one chapter I found out dated, but everything else is good.
Once Mark Twain told a nervous presenter back stage "Don't worry - they (the audience) don't expect much". Our mindset should be "They think that I am going to bore them. Well, I'll show them."
April 8, 2013
This book is highly recommended! It goes beyond "tell them what you're going to tell them; tell them; tell them what you told them. This book teaches you the secrets of presentations and how to present scientific presentations more effectively. It has real life examples from experts experiences. It also helps you overcome most common errors. Read it, learn from it and implement it in your future presentations.
October 25, 2007
Excellent book on how to give a great presentation. And surprisingly, it was a fun book to read. Dare I say a page turner? Completely changed the way that I use powerpoint.
May 19, 2008
This book was an integral part of the course I taught on Scientific Presentations this past winter.
September 4, 2023
Many scientists and engineers first learn to present by watching others present and mimicking these teachers. This technique helps to convey the basics, but how do collective bad habits get rooted out? Indeed, many weaknesses get passed on from mentor to mentee and from lab to lab. Instead of just floating aimlessly with the masses, those who aspire to greatness can benefit from reading critical commentary from scientific communicators like Michael Alley. This book, first published in 2002 but updated in 2013, seeks to improve technical presentations across the board. By using real examples from science and engineering, it hits a needed sweet spot to expand readers’ reach.
Communication transmits knowledge; it advances careers and wins recognition. However, many scientists do not spend much time on this vital piece in their training beyond a baseline competency. Alley lays a thorough layer of theory on the practices of presentations. Most critically, he tries to ensure that the reader’s presentations are not “just another presentation” in hearers’ ears. Instead, he seeks to maximize their effectiveness and impact.
Alley spends over 100 pages focusing on slide presentations, rightfully so considering how fundamental they are to modern communications. He criticizes Microsoft PowerPoint for using a topic/sub-topic organization instead of an assertion/evidence model. He advocates that an assertion/evidence model makes helps an audience naturally retain knowledge long-term. Some say that these adages are dated, being ten years old. However, I can share that as a regular presenter, I identified several specific ways I can change my slides in the future.
Anyone who presents science or engineering topics – which includes most scientists, engineers, and even data scientists – can raise their game by looking at this book. I found it one of the most comprehensive approaches about communicating data. Many other books on presentations are indeed trendier, but the added panache often comes with less thought, reason, and evidence. Alley’s book outpaces those books with a deeper theoretical basis honed by decades of research. If you’re a STEM presenter and want one book to improve from, you have found a winner here.
Communication transmits knowledge; it advances careers and wins recognition. However, many scientists do not spend much time on this vital piece in their training beyond a baseline competency. Alley lays a thorough layer of theory on the practices of presentations. Most critically, he tries to ensure that the reader’s presentations are not “just another presentation” in hearers’ ears. Instead, he seeks to maximize their effectiveness and impact.
Alley spends over 100 pages focusing on slide presentations, rightfully so considering how fundamental they are to modern communications. He criticizes Microsoft PowerPoint for using a topic/sub-topic organization instead of an assertion/evidence model. He advocates that an assertion/evidence model makes helps an audience naturally retain knowledge long-term. Some say that these adages are dated, being ten years old. However, I can share that as a regular presenter, I identified several specific ways I can change my slides in the future.
Anyone who presents science or engineering topics – which includes most scientists, engineers, and even data scientists – can raise their game by looking at this book. I found it one of the most comprehensive approaches about communicating data. Many other books on presentations are indeed trendier, but the added panache often comes with less thought, reason, and evidence. Alley’s book outpaces those books with a deeper theoretical basis honed by decades of research. If you’re a STEM presenter and want one book to improve from, you have found a winner here.
December 9, 2018
This book is helpful and well-written, though peppered with advice easily found elsewhere. I had just finished reading The Elements of Style before this, so it felt less helpful that it might be for others. Some aspects are outdated; this was written in the nascent days of the computer age, so some technological discussions might seem odd. Its advice on style, organization, and actually sitting down to write, however, are still pertinent.
September 29, 2019
The book was incredibly helpful to improve my written english. The author explains how to sustain energy, such that the reader does not get stuck or distracted. Furthermore, a wide range of possibilities to connect ideas are presented. Also, clear guidelines for providing emphasis on important results or statements are given. Those were just examples of many topics the author explains brilliantly.
September 17, 2019
Useful book on the CRAFT of writing scientific papers etc. Actually valuable for a lot more than just scientific. Lots of useful tips and examples, though many of the tips are obvious or common sense.
December 5, 2018
Informative, easy to read, and plenty of excellent advice for technical writers. Definitely wished I had read this while in college.
May 5, 2019
Focused on language aspects, grammar etc. Less on structure.
Can be read more as a reference book
Can be read more as a reference book
December 27, 2022
A must read for grant writers.
April 5, 2016
I've followed the tips presented in the book, and confirmed they were very helpful: my conference talk was highly acclaimed by colleagues and impressed a manager who later offered me a research position!
The book discusses strategies to make good scientific presentations: how to prepare the talk and slides, where to pay attention during the presentation and what to do in unexpected circumstances. In particular, the author advocates the "assertion-evidence" approach in presenting ideas on slides, which has been proven to be very effective in conveying complex concepts. The book also lists a few suggestions on font types and sizes, colors, texts and images when designing slides. Those were based on critical research on human visual perception.
There are also some advices on how to deal with difficult situations: stage fright, challenging questions, antagonistic audience, etc. Examples are given by (somewhat) anecdotal stories from great scientists, including A. Einstein, R. Feymann, W. Pauli and so on, especially those who had been bad presenters but later made their way to be excellent.
The contents of the book are presented in an "assertion-evidence" style, clear and persuasive manner with illustrations. The book is well organised and carefully written.
Scientists are notorious of not paying enough effort on presentations. That makes scientific conference quite a painful event in which we often lose our attention after the first couple of minutes of each talk. This book should be read and followed seriously by any scientist, for the sake of the whole scientific community.
The book discusses strategies to make good scientific presentations: how to prepare the talk and slides, where to pay attention during the presentation and what to do in unexpected circumstances. In particular, the author advocates the "assertion-evidence" approach in presenting ideas on slides, which has been proven to be very effective in conveying complex concepts. The book also lists a few suggestions on font types and sizes, colors, texts and images when designing slides. Those were based on critical research on human visual perception.
There are also some advices on how to deal with difficult situations: stage fright, challenging questions, antagonistic audience, etc. Examples are given by (somewhat) anecdotal stories from great scientists, including A. Einstein, R. Feymann, W. Pauli and so on, especially those who had been bad presenters but later made their way to be excellent.
The contents of the book are presented in an "assertion-evidence" style, clear and persuasive manner with illustrations. The book is well organised and carefully written.
Scientists are notorious of not paying enough effort on presentations. That makes scientific conference quite a painful event in which we often lose our attention after the first couple of minutes of each talk. This book should be read and followed seriously by any scientist, for the sake of the whole scientific community.
January 11, 2020
Disappointing.
The author tells a lot of anecdotes about presentations that were particularly good or bad, and uses them them to justify a set of 10 more or less vague rules. There often seems to be little hard evidence behind these rules. Might as well make up your own rules and find some fitting tales.
Many of the pitfalls mentioned are well known but hard to avoid. There is little emphasis on practical, measurable techniques to avoid them. He stresses the importance of repetition in presentation, and apparently he also thinks repetition is a good idea in books. Personally I prefer conciseness in books. The book could have been a quarter of the size and much better organized if he didn't repeat the same tales and points over and over again. A particularly low point was when he suggested using the MS Comic Sans font in presentations due to their clarity right after having stressed the importance of having a professional appearance on your slides.
On the upside, his writing is clear to read, and moreover, reading such a book - regardless of whether it is good or not - does force you to reflect about how you present stuff.
The author tells a lot of anecdotes about presentations that were particularly good or bad, and uses them them to justify a set of 10 more or less vague rules. There often seems to be little hard evidence behind these rules. Might as well make up your own rules and find some fitting tales.
Many of the pitfalls mentioned are well known but hard to avoid. There is little emphasis on practical, measurable techniques to avoid them. He stresses the importance of repetition in presentation, and apparently he also thinks repetition is a good idea in books. Personally I prefer conciseness in books. The book could have been a quarter of the size and much better organized if he didn't repeat the same tales and points over and over again. A particularly low point was when he suggested using the MS Comic Sans font in presentations due to their clarity right after having stressed the importance of having a professional appearance on your slides.
On the upside, his writing is clear to read, and moreover, reading such a book - regardless of whether it is good or not - does force you to reflect about how you present stuff.
July 4, 2015
Mostly common sense, but still valid as a sort of "checklist" to go through before an important presentation.
The key takeaway for me was the idea of changing slide titles to be sentences instead of phrases.
Some of the stories are amusing, while quite a bit of the book seemed to serve little purpose.
Oh, and it seems very outdated, from the view of the modern world (does anyone really use transparent projection slides anymore?). However, the key ideas are, of course, timeless, and I do realise that there was a second edition.
Overall it's worthwhile, as one can easily go through within a few hours.
The key takeaway for me was the idea of changing slide titles to be sentences instead of phrases.
Some of the stories are amusing, while quite a bit of the book seemed to serve little purpose.
Oh, and it seems very outdated, from the view of the modern world (does anyone really use transparent projection slides anymore?). However, the key ideas are, of course, timeless, and I do realise that there was a second edition.
Overall it's worthwhile, as one can easily go through within a few hours.
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November 10, 2014A must read for any and all scientists, practicing or aspiring. Explains the dos and the definite don'ts of presenting scientific material. The use of significant incidents such as the Challenger explosion paint a strong images and reinforce the seriousness of giving properly delivered and constructed presentations. Also, the use of well respected and noted scientists as examples, both positive and negative (poor Niels Bohr), shows the reader that everyone, even those greater than the average, still struggle with presenting their studies.
December 23, 2015
As someone preparing to go into the world of scientific research, I was very happy to read this book! It was recommended by a TA, so I never expected to be disappointed. Sadly, the book is nothing special. Although some of the principles are valid, there are even logical errors in the book, the style is far from special, and the general pleasure of reading was far lower than I expected.
September 18, 2016
It suffices to just check out the webpages: http://www.craftofscientificpresentat... . The approach is useful and implicitly used by many presenters. Here we have the theoretical framework and more thorough discussion (but not necessary from a practical point of view).
December 29, 2021
A nice book primarily outlining mistakes made by researchers in scientific talks while providing tips for improvement in various aspects. However, this book could have been more succinct and an easier read at around 100 pages. The author stretches and repeats a lot of points to boredom making it 300 pages long.
July 8, 2007
This book is great for those who find difficulties on writing Dissertation, Final Assignment...It really helps!!!!!!
Buku ini sangat membantu untuk menulis TA, Disertasi, Paper, Makalah, Laporan, dan sejenisnya!!!...Thank God buku ini akhirnya ada!!!!
Buku ini sangat membantu untuk menulis TA, Disertasi, Paper, Makalah, Laporan, dan sejenisnya!!!...Thank God buku ini akhirnya ada!!!!
January 18, 2008
So I'm a scientist struggling (like we all are) to write clearly and succinctly. This books tackles everything that one needs to write well and gives examples how to do so. Not one-liners that should fit all but good advice. Written with humor.
March 27, 2008
Given my chosen desire for punishment, I will be giving lots of presentations. This is a good book on how to put together a talk that will not bore the audience. But, the author uses too many lengthy examples for my tastes.
April 22, 2012
Didn't finish this, I abandoned ship about 2/3 into the book. It's not a bad book, but I think there's more to learn from reading scientific articles than from reading this book. Most of the advice was pretty obvious stuff.
May 28, 2021
The book serves as a manual on presentation. Aiming to be the complement of "The Craft of Research" by Wayne Booth, it touches most problems a scientific presenter will face. However, there is a lack of principle or model that made the quality of Booth's book.
December 25, 2009
Probably my favorite reference work on how to give scientific presentations. His website has useful downloadables.
November 9, 2010
Nice stories about presentations.
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April 21, 2014501.4 A435 2013
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews