By Sivarchana Boada, Ph.D., Susannah Goodman, M.A., and Megan Bohn, Ph.D.
I am a second-year postdoctoral fellow in the National Biosafety and Biocontainment Training Program (NBBTP)/Intramural Research Training Award (IRTA) Fellowship at the NIH. This program prepares me to be a biosafety and biocontainment professional of the highest caliber to meet the needs of biomedical, emerging diseases and biodefense research communities. My training, which focuses on experiential and didactic learning, has afforded me several opportunities to expand my capabilities in biorisk management and communication. These include delivering trainings and conducting laboratory safety surveys, attending the American Biological Safety Association (ABSA) International’s Biosecurity Symposium, and winning the informational poster award at ABSA International’s 65th Annual Biosafety and Biosecurity Conference for my research on understanding the biosafety climate and safety perceptions of research and biosafety professionals.
As I enter the second year of my fellowship and prepare to complete my capstone project, I’ve begun to realize the importance of strong writing skills. Why should a biosafety professional (or scientist, for that matter) care about good writing, you might ask? Brevity is the key to good and effective communication, especially when communicating up with leadership or research laboratory personnel that have competing priorities vying for their limited attention. Regardless of what stage you are in your career, mastery of this skill will serve you well as you apply for research grants, develop standard operating procedures, and share your research findings in reputed journals. If you (like me) are looking to hone your writing skills, the recent skill blitz series on successful academic and professional writing is a great starting point. This skill blitz series was comprised of three sessions that showcased simple strategies to improve writing habits, reduce clutter in writing, and use elements of persuasion to write more effectively.
The Key to Effective Writing Is To Cut the Clutter
We live in a time when everyone is bombarded with information all the time. The consequence of this is that our work, whether it is a grant, a manuscript, or a simple email, is competing for limited attention. If you want your writing to be effective—to win that scarce resource of attention—you must reduce the mental tax on your reader. You do this by using clear, concise language that confidently conveys a strong message.
Good Writing Habits Can Be Used To Sharpen and Refine Ideas
William Zinsser, a classic teacher of non-fiction writing, famously said, “Writing is thinking on paper.” With that in mind, this series talked about how regular writing schedules can be used as a process of idea refinement—of “trapping” thoughts on paper and reworking those ideas until they make perfect logical sense. For instance, if you’re working on a paper, you should write actively while you are still conducting your experiments and not waiting for the perfect time, place, or inspiration to come along. The series cited and described a practical strategy for the order in which to break down and tackle the separate sections of a typical manuscript.
Clear Writing Indicates a Clear Mind
There are a few documents that scientists regularly write where the powers of persuasion come in quite handy. The cover letter for a job application and the specific aims page of a grant proposal come immediately to mind. This series examines sample documents to demonstrate how to write persuasively. The clearest between-the-lines selling-point you can send with your writing is to have a clear command of words, to demonstrate that you are in charge of your message, your narrative, and your goals. The human mind is designed to turn information into stories, and with this fact, the series strongly emphasizes a crucial point: If you don’t supply your narrative, the reader will do it for you, often not to your advantage.
The skill blitz series, through the three modules, taught me valuable skills on developing good writing habits and persuasive writing that I am eager to apply as I write my capstone project and seek employment opportunities during my fellowship. For more information about this series or to view associated materials, please email Dr. Megan Bohn at Megan.Bohn@nih.gov.