Ellen Wemmenhove graduated with a PhD on 1 February for her study on the growth of the Listeria monocytogenes bacterium in cheese
Proposition: Writing an article is like composing music
‘The nice thing about both science and music is that you have the opportunity to develop something new. In my third year as a student, I started singing in the Wageningen Student Choir and Orchestra Association WSKOV, and two years later I took up the violin. I also write music myself. There is more to that than just talent. You can be lucky and pull something off quickly, but usually it’s a question of hard work, above all.
It is similar when you write an article. It takes a lot of time and patience to write it so that you get your message across to your audience, and have an impact. Four features of both a good scientific article and a good piece of music are rhythm, tone, creativity and perfectionism. Without them, your writing skills will be nothing to show off about.
In my publications, I see rhythm in the order and structure I give the writing. Tone has more to do with the way I put things, creativity is required for developing new ideas, and perfectionism is important for getting the message across really clearly and convincingly. It took me a lot of time to find the right rhythm and tone for a good scientific article, but once I had them, the writing went faster. Writing is a skill I have learned, and from which I think I shall benefit a lot, no matter where I work.’