Unfortunately, due to the uncertainty regarding COVID19 and the ban on groups larger than 10 people, the Massachusetts Geological Society Steering Committee has decided that we have little choice but to cancel the Cape Cod field trip planned for May 29th to 31st. While very disappointing, we think this is the right decision at this time. Mar 15, 2020 Welcome Content. Anthony Hurd // fangs. By Lorin Drexler Mar 15, 2020. Calamity Fair // limbs. By Lorin Drexler Jan 16, 2020.
How to write a geological paperNote that this is not comprehensive, just a set of notes based on errors made in previous papers. For a thorough understanding, you cannot beat reading papers in the literature to internalize the format and style of a geological paper.
OverviewStyle. Both style and content are important: In conveying your ideas it is always important to write clearly and concisely paying attention to grammar and spelling. I expect your papers to be well-written. This will require that you proofread your work carefully.
Avoid careless mistakes. Style must be absorbed; this document can only be of limited length, and all other details must be gleaned from actual science journal articles. You should do your best to make your paper look and sound like a small version of a journal article. The Bressler room has stacks of GSA Bulletins. Pick up any one of those to learn the correct style you should use. The only difference is layout: your Tables and Figures will go at the end, not interspersed with the text.
(In fact, real science papers also have them at the end when they are submitted to the journals; there are layout people who place the figures in the correct places on the pages). If anybody will be reviewing or correcting your paper, it should be double-spaced, and have margins at least 1-inch on all sides so there is room to write comments.Voice. A scientific paper should focus on the data, not on your actions. If you find yourself using the word 'I', you should question whether you are following this guideline. The paper should not tell the story of how you collected the data and figured out the answer; it should explain the hypothesis, the methods used to test that hypothesis and the results of those tests. Many papers you read are written completely in the third person.
This often leads to a tendency to use the passive voice ('quartz is formed there by veins'). As in all writing, avoid it where possible in favor of the active voice ('veins form quartz there').Tone. The style of writing should be serious and matter-of-fact, without much (any) personal opinions (e.g., 'I really like this mineral because.'
) included.Paper organizationNote that parts of this section are taken from.