Scientific writing means thoroughly analysing complicated issues and presenting them with reason and objectivity. Scientific work encompasses researching, excerpting, structuring, thinking about different interpretations, and testing theses. The skill of correcting and improving academic insight is central to the process of knowledge production.

Writing and working scientifically requires being concise. Succintly describe issues and references to familiar authors and theories in your own words. Be as to the point as possible, while still covering the topics in-depth.  

This may feel time-consuming and unusual at first. Developing scientific writing skills takes time and effort. Associate professor Dr. phil. habil. T. Zoglauer, interim head of the chair, advises even experienced scientists typically write up to one page a day. You should estimate, at a minimum, the same number of working days as the number of pages you aim to submit. 

Every written paper contains a cover sheet, body of text, references, and a declaration of academic honesty.

• Cover Sheet: Includes the title of the paper, author’s name, study programme, number of semesters, and information on the lecture or seminar (module number, lecturer). Download the chair’s Word template (DOT file) by saving it on your device (right click the link → select Save Link as) and open in a word processing program.
• Body: A structured text organized according to its style, purpose, and context. Different types of text include: commentary, scientific paper, literature study, book or film review, essay, article, blog entry, et al. PDF | Text types with explanations
  • Scientific texts are published in academic journals or books (e.g. papers, comments, or literature studies). When citing other texts, including non-scientific ones, avoid colloquial expressions. Prioritise the correct presentation of arguments and facts. 
• If you use figures or graphics, a list of figures and tables is mandatory. Additional attachments include interview data or empirical data you collected yourself or that you want to highlight.

With the onset of digital media, text production on the Internet has proliferated tremendously, including scientific and academic texts—‘Wikipedia’ serving as a perfect example. Additionally, some journals now publish exclusively online, while other scientists use blog entries to discuss their findings and hypotheses. This leads us to an entirely new intellectual culture, with knowledge becoming digital common property. Previously established methods of scientific quality assurance (proofreading books or journals) are changing. 

This means the distinctions between what is literary and scientific writing, and what is popular and academic writing, are in flux (e.g. see The Third Culture: Literature and Science (1998) by Elinor S. Shaffer; or "Between fact and fiction: Demarcating science from non-science in popular physics books" (2003) by Felicity Mellor in Social Studies of Science 33, pp. 509-538).

We consider the decisive criteria of merit to be the verifiable presentation of arguments and facts. This includes context-sensitive handling of historically and institutionally contextualized meanings.

When writing a scientific paper, pay attention to the type of text(s) requested. See below for a list provided by the chair:

• PDF | Text types with explanations

Please note that the following formalities are mandatory when handing in a written paper:

• Font size: 12 pt
• Font: Times New Roman
• Line spacing: 1.5 lines
• Line format: ragged margin (‘left-justified’)
• Margin: top/bottom 2.5 cm; left/right 3 cm
• Page numbers: centered on top

We urge you to follow these guidelines in formatting texts for submission. This will allow your lecturer to focus on the content of your paper rather than being distracted by its form.

Correct spelling is essential. Please note spelling conventions according to Duden Spelling Dictionary (24th edition and later or online) for German texts or a standard reference for English spelling conventions (e.g. The Oxford Dictionary). For finding grammatical mistakes within your text, you may also use the spell check included in your text processing program.

Further notes:

• Add page numbers and use the same font throughout the entire document.
• Use 6 pt or less for the space between paragraphs. Think carefully about starting a new paragraph and know its purpose.
• Select an italic typeface to emphasize. Choose bold typeface only for headlines. Use both typefaces sparingly.
• Separate citations longer than two lines into an isolated section (left/right margin: 0.5 cm; spacing before and after).

This chair offers you a pre-formatted DOT file that you may download (Click the link, then do a right click → Save as...). Save the file on your device and open it with Microsoft Office Word or a similar text processing program.

• DOT | Downloadable Word template with correct formalities*

There are a lot of different citation styles when it comes to quoting from professional literature and the preferences vary by departments and chairs.

At the chair of Technoscience Studies we prefer the ‘Author-Date’ style. For support, you will find attachments below. Please note that references in your document or paper need to be consistent!

The university library also gives you access to more information and software licences concerning various literature management programs.

• PDF | Downloadable examples (English; by Chicago Manual of Style)
• PDF | Style guide (English)

To learn the answer to that question visit our subpage  "Citing instead of Plagiarizing".