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The Young Statisticians Writing Competition
Some tips on writing
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So - you’ve got your subject
Now the tough bit Getting started
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The Young Statisticians Writing Competition Some tips on writing 1 - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
The Young Statisticians Writing Competition Some tips on writing 1 - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
The Young Statisticians Writing Competition Some tips on writing 1 So - youve got your subject Now the tough bit Getting started 2 Draw readers in with Some mental imagery they can all relate to Weve all been there: stuck in the
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Draw readers in with…
Some mental imagery they can all relate to “We’ve all been there: stuck in the slowest queue…”
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Draw readers in with…
A recent and/or well-known real-life example “When Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 went missing….”
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Draw readers in with…
A “killer fact” “85% of Wall St fund managers do worse than chance”
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Keep ’em interested
Tell stories: of your project, the puzzle, the science…
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Now just keep going
Use analogies: Pr(winning Lotto jackpot): 49!/(43!6!) ~ 1.4x107 “Like pulling out the one black sugar grain hidden in a 12-kg bag of the stuff”
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Keep it simple
Jargon A little is OK (lets readers into your world, and may tell them something new) Always explain Consider putting explanation in a “box” Keep algebra to a minimum – it scares people
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Keep it simple
Sentences: short-ish, and active, not passive: “We decided to investigate further” NOT “It was decided to investigate further” Words: monosyllabic and colloquial “This seems to be just flat wrong” NOT “The alternative hypothesis H1 was not confirmed (p = 0.924)”
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How to wrap up
- The loop-back
“So next time you’re in a supermarket queue…” “What happened to Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 may never be known, but….”
- Look forward /call to action
“Over the next year, we plan to…” “So how can we break the stalemate ?”
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Final words
Read widely and critically, see what works – and create your own style Robert Matthews rajm@physics.org
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