Discurso científico

• Ciencia compleja, pero…

• Complejidad no significa impenetrabilidad de
expresión,
• No es solo presentación de información,
• Sino comunicación real.

• Oraciones y párrafos.
• ¿La mayoría de la audiencia percibe lo que el
autor quiere decir?
 The Science of Scientific Writing

• If the reader is to grasp what the writer means,

• the writer must understand what the reader needs

• American Scientist (Nov-Dec 1990), Volume 78, 550-558.

 Opinión de un editor
• “Nunca me cansaré de sorprenderme por la
incapacidad general de físicos, profesionales de la
salud, y otros científicos para comunicarse a
través de la palabra escrita. Su escolaridad, ideas
creativas y la agudeza de sus interpretaciones ,
frecuentemente se pierden en el traslado del
cerebro a la página”.
– Angelis Catherine
– Editor in Chief of JAMA and the Archives Journal
– 2007
 Opinión de un científico
• “Learning how to write clearly, directly, more simply, is
undoubtedly one of the most important and valuable
skills any scientist can learn. In college, we had a notion
that scientists had to learn the technical skills of their
field but not how to write. And that is the biggest
falsehood you could possibly perpetrate on young people.
I believe that writing and rhetoric are the most valuable
skills across any discipline in any field, especially science
and medicine.” –
• Christopher Dant, PhD
 El lector
• El lector

Expectativas del lector

El lector no solo lee, también interpreta !!

Escribir con el lector en la mente

 Substancia y estructura (1)
• t(time)=15’, T(temperature)=32º, t=0’, T=25º;
• t=6’, T=29º; t=3’, T=27º; t=12’, T=32º; t=9’;
• T=31º
 Substancia y estructura (2)
• time (min) temperature(ºC)
• 0 25
• 3 27
• 6 29
• 9 31
• 12 32
• 15 32
 Substancia
• La substancia de un articulo cientifico
comprende mas allá del descubrimiento o el
registro de datos: lo que es crucial es que se
extienda a su interpretación.

• Un documento científico es incompleto sin la

interpretación del autor.
 Sustancia (2)
• La sustancia del pensamiento y la expresion del
pensamiento estan tan fuertemente ligados, que el
cambio de uno afecta a la calidad del otro.

• La estructura de un escrito, mas que el significado de

las palabras individuales, influye significativamente en
el lector y la interpretacion que este hace de la lectura.

• Dicho en otros terminos: La estructura creada por el

autor ( intencionalmente o no) ayuda, o bien, dificulta
al lector el proceso de interpretacion del escrito
cientifico.
 Estructura (Prosa 1)* Gopen y Swan,1990. The science of
scientific writing
• The smallest of the URF’s (URFA6L), a 207-nucleotide (nt) reading frame
overlapping out of phase the NH2-terminal portion of the
adenosinetriphosphatase (ATPase) subunit 6 gene has been identified**
as the animal equivalent of the recently discovered yeast H+-ATPase
subunit 8 gene.* The functional significance of the other URF’s has been,
on the contrary, elusive. Recently, however, immunoprecipitation
experiments with antibodies to purified, rotenone-sensitive NADH-
ubiquinone oxido-reductase [hereafter referred to as respiratory chain
NADH dehydrogenase or complex I] from bovine heart, as well as enzyme
fractionation studies, have indicated that six human URF’s (that is, URF1,
URF2, URF3, URF4, URF4L, and URF5, hereafter referred to as ND1, ND2,
ND3, ND4, ND4L, and ND5) encode subunits of complex .This is a large
complex that also contains many subunits synthesized in the cytoplasm.*
• *42 palabras, 27 palabras
• **("the smallest") is separated from its verb (has been) by 23 words, more
than half the sentence.
• "Uninterrupted Reading Frame," which describes a segment of DNA
 Prosa 2
• The smallest of the URF’s is URFA6L, a 207-
nucleotide (nt) reading frame overlapping out
of phase the NH2-terminal portion of the
adenosinetriphosphatase (ATPase) subunit 6
gene; it has been identified as the animal
equivalent of the recently discovered yeast
H+-ATPase subunit 8 gene. 43 WORDS
• **("the smallest") is separated from its verb (has been)
by 23 words, more than half the sentence.
 Prosa 3
• The smallest of the URF’s, and [A], has been
identified as a [B] subunit 8 gene. The
functional significance of the other URF’s has
been, on the contrary, elusive. Recently,
however, [C]experiments, as well as [D]
studies, have indicated that six human URF’s
[1-6] encode subunits of Complex I. This is a
large complex that also contains many
subunits synthesized in the cytoplasm
 Prosa4

• The smallest of the URF’s (URFA6L) has been

identified as the animal equivalent of the
recently discovered yeast H+-ATPase subunit 8
gene.

• Cual es mejor?... Solo el autor puede decirlo

• Each unit of discourse, no matter what the
size, is expected to serve a single function, to
make a single point. Enfasis !!
 Version corregida
• Here is one set of revisionary decisions we made for the example:
• The smallest of the URF’s, URFA6L, has been identified as the
animal equivalent of the recently discovered yeast H+-ATPase
subunit 8 gene; but the functional significance of other URF’s has
been more elusive. Recently, however, several human URF’s have
been shown to encode subunits of rotenone-sensitive NADH-
ubiquinone oxido-reductase. This is a large complex that also
contains many subunits synthesized in the cytoplasm; it will be
referred to hereafter as respiratorychain NADH dehydrogenase or
complex I. Six subunits of Complex I were shown by enzyme
fractionation studies and immunoprecipitation experiments to be
encoded by six human URF’s(URF1, URF2, URF3, URF4, URF4L, and
URF5); these URF’s will be referred to subsequently as ND1, ND2,
ND3, ND4, ND4L and ND5.
 Énfasis y puntuación
• The smallest of the URF’s is URFA6L, a 207-
nucleotide (nt) reading frame overlapping out of
phase the NH2-terminal portion of the
adenosinetriphosphatase (ATPase) subunit 6
gene; it has been identified as the animal
equivalent of the recently discovered yeast H+-
ATPase subunit 8 gene.

• Al usar un punto y coma ;se ha hecho énfasis en

una segunda pieza de informacion que parece
tambien importante
 Tres normas
• Tres principios retoricos basados en las expectativas del
lector:

• Primero: El sujeto debe ir seguido, tan pronto como sea

posible, de su(s) verbos(s);

• Segunda: Cada unidad del discurso, no importa el

tamaño, debe servir a una sola funcion o referirse a un
solo punto.

• Tercera: La informacion que intenta ser

enfatizada ,debe aparecer en puntos de cierre
sintácticos.
 Extensión de la oraciones y párrafos
• ¿Cuando es demasiado larga una oración?.
• 10, 30, 100 palabras: fluidez o
impenetrabilidad ese es el punto
• ¡qué se enfatiza, y qué se omite !
• Sujetos y verbos , próximos. Aligerar cargas
sintácticas. Uso apropiado de conectores
• Mientras mas problemática sea la estructura,
menos probable que los lectores perciban la
intención del autor
 Posiciones tópicas
• Las abejas dispersan polen

• El polen es dispersado por las abejas

• Las dos frases son parecidas pero la primera
parece referirse a un texto sobre las abejas y
la segunda al polen
• Posición o lugar que se le da a las palabras
 7 reglas
• 1. Follow a grammatical subject as soon as possible with its verb.
•
2. Place in the stress position the "new information" you want the reader to
emphasize.
•
3. Place the person or thing whose "story" a sentence is telling at the beginning of
the sentence, in the topic position.
•
4. Place appropriate "old information" (material already stated in the discourse) in
the topic position for linkage backward and contextualization forward.
•
5. Articulate the action of every clause or sentence in its verb.
•
6. In general, provide context for your reader before asking that reader to consider
anything new.
•
7. In general, try to ensure that the relative emphases of the substance coincide
with the relative expectations for emphasis raised by the structure.