Writing

Mine isn't the best, but I'm working on it. What I'm noticing now is the appalling lack of good writing in scientific literature. Each week for classes I read around five journal articles, from Nature to Cell to Tissue Engineering. I estimate that, on average, only one out of every five is well written. One. That leaves four mediocre or poorly written articles. Such lack of quality goes a long way towards defeating the purposes of publishing said articles in the first place. Great research isn't much use if it's indecipherable. I suspect the following to be key contributing factors:

- Lack of training. My training at UCI was abysmal. The few writing requirements were inevitably devoid of feedback. Many faculty and TAs were incapable of providing the needed feedback, or, worse, simply did not care.
- Lack of interest. I wish every scientist could delight in good writing. Yet all too many students and faculty seem simply not to care.
- The status quo. Poor writing quality is all but ubiquitous in scientific journals. Not that there aren't plenty of instances of good writing, but rather that the sheer quantity of bad writing has set a low standard.

This is a problem. And it won't "just go away." So here's to working towards improved training, increased interest, and better standards.