Opinion: Senior Scientists Should Be Writing

Three reasons why authorship matters, even—perhaps especially—to established scholars

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WIKIMEDIA, COLINSuccess in science is largely defined by publishing scientific results in relevant journals. However, writing science is about much more than simply describing methods, reporting results, calculating statistics, and quantifying one’s career achievements. It’s a critical skill that can improve one’s research.

Scientific authorship has become a muddy matter, as most life science papers now often list several authors. Indeed, coauthorship constitutes are large part of a scientific life, and this sometimes lead to difficulties of giving the rightful people intellectual credit. Didactically, it is also a misnomer, as the word “author” still refers to one who writes. With scientific papers boasting a dozen or more “authors,” it is almost impossible to accept the title for each individual.

Writing science is a fundamental part of scientific projects for young scientists, typically in the form of a thesis, which is based on published papers. Often, the senior author provides mentorship for the scholar and, through scientific writing, gradually teaches the pupil on how to communicate science to fellow ...

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