It may require having the reader adopt new ways of thinking about a phenomenon. That acceptance may require dethroning widely held perspectives. We must convince readers to accept our findings and the conclusions we draw from them.
This means that when we write up our research findings, we need to be persuasive. In other words, everything we know is accepted for now but not forever. Our solutions are accepted by the community until another, better proposition offers a more compelling explanation. When these questions are answered, the solutions we propose are just that-propositions. Scientific research is a social activity centred on answering challenging questions. While asserting that scientific findings must be persuasively conveyed may seem contradictory, it is simply a consequence of how we conduct research. In other words, when I write a research manuscript, I must construct an argument to persuade the reader to accept my rationality.
But, as Burke reminds us, conveying the meaning of our research to others involves persuasion. Scientific research is, for many, the epitome of objectivity and rationality. We encourage readers to share comments on or suggestions for this section on Twitter, using the hashtag: #how’syourwriting? Each entry focuses on a key writing feature or strategy, illustrates how it commonly goes wrong, teaches the grammatical underpinnings necessary to understand it and offers suggestions to wield it effectively. In the Writer’s Craft section we offer simple tips to improve your writing in one of three areas: Energy, Clarity and Persuasiveness.
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