Successful Scientific writing and presentation skills How to write in a proper way and how to make a good presentation

1. Successful
Scientific Writing
By:
Mohamed Samir El-Asaly
PT, CKTP
2016

2. Visual support for
the written word

3. Presenting the message
through visual aids
–Summarize the idea
–Emphasize the key points
–Simplify the information
–Enhance the understanding

5. Series 1
Series 2
Series 3
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1
2
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Category 1
Category 2
Category 3
Category 4
Series 1
Series 2
Series 3

6. CHOOSING AND
USING VISUAL AIDS

7. Illustrations
Figures
Anything that is not a
table
Graphs
Charts
Technical Drawing
Photographs/Maps
Tables
An illustrations in which
data are placed in
columns and rows

9. Planning your paper: When to
use tables and figures in
scientific papers
Producing effective tables and figures requires
careful planning that begins at the manuscript
writing stage itself. Here’s how to go about it:
• First, check out what your target journal has to
say on the issue. Some journals limit the number
of tables and figures and also have specific
guidelines on the design aspects of these display
items.
• Next, decide whether to use tables and figures or
text to put across key information

10. • After you’ve decided to use a display
item, choose the display item that
best fits your purpose based on what
you wish readers to focus on and
what you want to present
• Finally, ensure that your tables and
figures are well-designed.

11. How to choose between tables,
figures, and text to present data
Use a table Use a figure Use text
To show many and precise
numerical values and other
specific data in a small
space
To show trend, pattern,
relationships across and
between data sets when
the general pattern is more
important than the exact
data values
When you don’t have
extensive complicated data
to present
To compare and contrast
data values or
characteristics among
related items with several
shared characteristics or
variables
To summarize research
results
When putting your data
into a table mean creating
a table with 2 or fewer
columns
To show the presence or
absence of specific
characteristics
To present visual
explanation of a sequence
of events, procedures,
geographical features, or
physical characteristics
When data that you are
planning to present is
peripheral to study findings

12. General guidelines
1. Ensure that display items are self-
explanatory
2. Refer, but don’t repeat: Use the text to
draw the reader’s attention to the
significance and key points of the
table/figure, but don’t repeat details
3. Be consistent: Ensure consistency
between values or details in a table
4. Give clear, informative titles
5. Adhere to journal guidelines

13. Tables
• Scientist’s best choice for complex
data.
• The single most over-used form of
visual aid in scientific writing.
• Although it’s easy, but they are not
necessarily appropriate for every
paper.

14. Understand how tables are
constructed

15. Understand how tables are
constructed
• The column headings are known
collectively as the box heading
• The group of row headings is called the
stub
• A scientific table generally uses no
vertical lines.
• Lines: one beneath the title, a second
beneath the headings for the stub and
the field, and a third below the field
and before any footnotes

16. Help readers
make
comparisons by
organizing tables
logically

17. Guidelines for tables
1. Combine repetitive tables: Tables and
figures that present repetitive
information will impair communication
rather than enhance it.
2. Divide the data: When presenting
large amounts of information, divide
the data into clear and appropriate
categories and present them in
columns titled accurately and
descriptively
3. Watch the extent of data in your tables

18. Figures
• Evidence, efficiency, and
emphasis
• Meaningful
• Quality
• Size
• Scale

19. Guidelines for figures
1. Ensure image clarity: Make sure
that all the parts of the figure are
clear
2. Use legends to explain the key.
3. Label all important parts: Label the
key sections and parts of schematic
diagrams and photographs, and all
axes, curves, and data sets in
graphs and data plots

20. Graphs
• Tables present results; graphs
promote understanding of results
and suggest interpretations of their
meaning and relationships.
• Use it when you try to make the
reader understand the relationship
between two variables

21. Column graphs
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Category 1 Category 2 Category 3 Category 4
Chart Title
Series 1 Series 2 Series 3
Series 1
Series 3
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Chart Title
Series 1 Series 2 Series 3
Used to compare changes over the same
period of time for more than one group

22. Line Graphs
0
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Category 1 Category 2 Category 3 Category 4
Chart Title
Series 1 Series 2 Series 3
Series 1
Series 2
Series 3
0
2
4
6
Category
1
Category
2
Category
3
Category
4
Chart Title
Series 1 Series 2 Series 3
Used to compare changes over the same
period of time for more than one group

23. Pie Graphs
Sales
1st Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr 4th Qtr
Sales
1st Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr 4th Qtr
Best to use when you are trying to compare
parts of a whole

24. Bar Graphs
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Category 1
Category 2
Category 3
Category 4
Chart Title
Series 3 Series 2 Series 1
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Category 1
Category 2
Category 3
Category 4
Chart Title
Series 1 Series 2 Series 3
Used to compare things between different
groups or to track changes over time.

25. Area Graphs
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
1/5/02 1/6/02 1/7/02 1/8/02 1/9/02
Chart Title
Series 1 Series 2
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
1/5/02
1/6/02
1/7/02
1/8/02
1/9/02
Chart Title
Series 1 Series 2
Evaluates contributions to a total over time

26. X Y Scatter graphs
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0 1 2 3 4
Y-Value 1
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1
2
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0 0.5 1 1.5 2
Y-Value 1
When trying to determine whether the two variables
are related

27. Stock graphs
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Chart Title
High Low Close
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70
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20
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60
80
100
120
140
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Chart Title
Volume Open High Low Close
Measures volume displays two vertical
(value) axe

28. Surface Graphs
Series 1
Series 2
Series 3
0
1
2
3
4
5
Category
1
Category
2
Category
3 Category
4
Chart Title
0-1 1-2 2-3 3-4 4-5
Series 1
Series 2
Series 3
Category 1 Category 2 Category 3 Category 4
Chart Title
0-1 1-2 2-3 3-4 4-5
Does not use colors to distinguish the data
series — colors are used to distinguish the
values instead

29. Radar graphs
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1/9/02
Chart Title
Series 1 Series 2
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30
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1/5/02
1/6/02
1/7/021/8/02
1/9/02
Chart Title
Series 1 Series 2
Method of displaying multivariate data in the form of a two-
dimensional chart of three or more quantitative variables
represented on axes starting from the same point

30. Photographs
• Take a number of photographs
• Provide a plain, uncluttered background
that does not draw attention away from
the object
• Colored pictures usually are preferred
for oral or poster presentations
• Most print journals still restrict
photographs to black and white images
unless color illustration is essential for
reasons of evidence, efficiency, or
emphasis.

31. Guidelines for photographs
• Crop the picture to a shape suitable for
the journal’s column dimensions
without reduction in size while retaining
the highest possible resolution
• In the legend, include a key to any
symbols used
• Consider grouping related figures into a
single plate to fill an entire printed
page, rather than scattering them
throughout the publication.

32. Low resolution High resolution

33. Explanatory artwork
• Self explanatory on its own
• It include both drawing and diagrams
• Doesn't need much explanation
• Anyone who sees the article can
logically understand what does it talk
about
• Use it when you try to deliver the
idea in a nut shell

36. Conclusion
• Figures and tables, or display items, are
powerful communication tools—they give
your manuscript a professional feel, attract
and sustain the interest of readers, and
efficiently present large amounts of complex
information.
• Moreover, as most journals editors and
reviewers will glance at these display items
before they begin a full reading of your
paper, their importance cannot be
overemphasized.

37. Visual
support for
the spoken
word

38. ORAL PRESENTATIONS
PowerPoint is both the most
professional and the most
boring means of giving a
presentation.
– M. Alley and K. A. Neeley

39. If visual aids are used well
they will enhance a
presentation by adding impact
and strengthening audience
involvement, yet if they are
managed badly they can ruin a
presentation.

40. Before you start, What is
the purpose of the visual
• To clarify a key point?
• To provide an illustrative
example?
• To clarify or simplify a model?
• To summarize?
• To entertain?

41. Common
visual
aids
Whitebords
and
interactive
whiteboards
Flip chart
Over-head
projector
SlidesVideo
PowerPoint or
other
presentation
software
Handouts

42. Whiteboards
and interactive whiteboards
• Good for developing an explanation,
diagrams and simple headings, and for
recording interaction with, and comments
from the audience.
• Writing on a whiteboard takes time and that
you will have to turn your back to the
audience to do so. Bear in mind that white
background of a whiteboard can cause
contrast problems for people with vision
impairment.
• Practice using it, before your presentation.

44. Flip Charts
• Popular
• Low cost
• Low tech solution to recording interactive
meetings and brainstorming sessions.
• Can be prepared in advance and is portable
• requires no power source and no technical
expertise.
• Ideal for collecting ideas and responses from
the audience and are good for spontaneous
summaries.
• However, if the audience is large, a flip chart
will be too small to be seen by everyone.

46. Video
• Excellent for training purposes, but can be
difficult to fit into a presentation structure.
• If a computer connected to a projector is
available then videos can be played as files,
from a DVD or with an Internet connection via
YouTube or other online sources.
• Videos can also be built into a presentation
using PowerPoint or other presentation
software.

48. PowerPoint
• Use of PowerPoint and other
presentation software is very common
when presenting today.
• Care should be taken, however, that
visual effects do not detract from the
presentation itself. If you do choose to
use PowerPoint try to have a practice
run well in advance of a presentation so
that you are confident when giving the
presentation itself.

50. Over-Head Projector (OHP)

51. Slides
• Slides of excellent visual quality can have
great impact on any size of group.
• However, a good blackout is required for the
images to be seen clearly and this
causes eye contact with the audience to be
lost. Unlike with other methods of
presentation, you will not be able to add
any spontaneous notes or records to the
slides. If you are using slides, ensure that
they are prepared in the correct order,
ideally numbering the slides.

52. Handouts
• Handouts summarizing or including
the main points of a presentation are
an excellent addition but must be
relevant.
• Presentation software packages such
as PowerPoint can automatically
generate handouts from your
presentation slides.

53. Speaking in public

54. The seven tricks
1) Admit nervousness
All you have to do is admit that you are a
bit nervous speaking to your audience.
The audience will be more forgiving if
your nervousness shows up later on.
More importantly you will feel more
relaxed. Imagine their surprise when you
gave them the best presentation ever
despite your nervousness.
The best way to do this is by joking
about it.

55. 2) Redefine your audience
• Redefine your audience generally means
changing how you see your audience. Instead
of seeing them as lecturers who are evaluating
you, maybe you can convince yourself that they
are all fellow students who are in queue to
present after you. They are all equally nervous
so there is no reason why you should be too.
• Do not try to convince yourself that they are
babies in diapers or that nobody is around as
suggested by some books. It is very hard to
convince yourself that no one is around when
you are actually speaking to them.

56. 3) Invest in visual aids
• Imagine a presentation with beautiful
PowerPoint slides and even more
impressive notes given to each of your
audience members. Half of the time,
their eyes will not be on you. They will
read through the notes and your fancy
slides. This will help a lot as you can
then speak to the people who are not
looking at you. Giving a speech to
people who are not looking at you is
always easier.

57. 4) Make mistakes
intentionally
• This is another trick I encourage you to try.
Once I “accidentally” dropped my notes on
the floor, and while picking them up, I
warned the audiences that the presentation
will be more confusing after this. I heard
some laughter from the floor.
• The idea is to gain control of your audience.
If you can make them laugh and be more
interactive with you, your presentation will
have that casual feel to it which will make it
more memorable than others. Ultimately
you will find it easier to do.

58. 5) Speak to one person at a
time
• One of the most terrifying things about public
speaking is the crowd. Just by looking at the
crowd, all in silence just to hear you speak, will
send shivers down your spine. To overcome
this, you just need to speak to one person at a
time.
• Choose one member of your audience and
dedicate your whole presentation to him or her.
Just assume that everyone else is not paying
attention. When someone asks you a question,
change your focus to that person and answer
the question as if the two of you are in a coffee
shop chatting away. Isn’t that the most relaxing
way to handle a crowd?

59. 6) Be impressive with
personal opinion
• Just like blogging, everyone can copy an article
and paste it onto their blog. However, people
read blogs not only to know about things
happening but to know what that particular
blogger’s opinion is on the matter.
• When you speak or give a presentation, try to
squeeze in a few of your personal thoughts on
the matter. Of course these should be prepared
early on. However, you should make it as if the
ideas are “just in” while you are presenting.
That will differentiate your presentation from
the rest.

60. 7) Have fun experimenting
• This is the most important tips of all. Have
fun with the crowd. Try new ways to give
the best presentation to your audience.
Maybe experiment with a new funny
approach, or walk around the hall instead of
being static on the stage. Have fun with
experimenting on human behavior and you
will see that public speaking is not that bad
after all.
• Remember that there are no failures,
only different results.
• Have fun!