Academic writing, and how to write in a clear and comprehensible way

ABSTRACT An intrinsic part of our lives as scientists, academic writing strongly affects our careers. Even great researchers are much more likely to be successful if they are also proficient writers. Unfortunately, many researchers prefer long hours spent in the field or laboratory to writing. Often, this is a result of their reluctance towards writing, something that characterizes not only scientists, but many people in general. But many researchers do not like writing because they do not know how to do it well—academic writing is not that simple. In this paper, I show how to improve your academic writing skills. I do not teach writing; instead, I share my experience about learning how to write.