Penn Professors on Writing in Chemistry

David W. Christianson

About the Professor

David W. Christianson is the Roy and Diana Vagelos Professor in Chemistry and Chemical Biology. He leads the Christianson Research Laboratory that researches structural aspects of the mechanisms of hydrolytic metalloenzymes such as the arginases.

For more please visit The Christianson Research Lab website.

Specific Writing Tips

"There are subtle nuances with the words that we use to convey the results of our experiments, and it is important for us to get it right."

Important Criteria for Student Writing

For Christianson, the most important mechanical aspect of writing is citations. "Citations are critical, since these set the foundation for why we did an experiment to advance beyond previously published work" and "help the reader distinguish between our work and the work of others," he said. The most important conceptual aspects are each of the following four things: demonstrating mastery of others' ideas, reasoning and evidence, synthesis of sources/ideas, and having original ideas."There will be no new experiment designed without (#1), and there will be no new result without (#4). We wouldn't know how the new result fits within the context of previously published work without (#3). Finally, a successful student must exhibit a breadth of knowledge in the field as exemplified by (#2)," he said.

Personal Writing Process

Christianson does pre-writing, the 1st draft, revision, and then consults outside readers. He uses the inverted pyramid concept within the IMRD format. He goes from abstract to specific.

Professional Writing

Professor Christianson writes reviews for papers and also nominations for the Nobel Prize.