Writing in Science

It is important for you to develop your skills in oral and written communication in Science for three main reasons:

1. The audience for scientific writing today is made up of both scientists and non-scientists.
2. Employers expect graduates to be able to communicate effectively with both professional and non-professional audiences on science-related matters.
3. Scientific work is a cooperative venture in which current work depends on the previous work of others in the scientific community, and it is vital that the work which goes into research and writing is honestly and properly acknowledged.

Dishonest behaviours such as cheating, collusion and plagiarism are serious breaches of acceptable behaviour, and severe penalties including exclusion from Monash may be applied to students who are caught committing these offences.

The aims of this tutorial are:

• to help you with the writing of Science assignments
• to encourage you to adhere to the highest standards of academic honesty in all your work at Monash
• to provide you with information on plagiarism and how to avoid it.

Before you read any other sections of this document, have a good look at the section on Plagiarism.