Synonym for elucidate6/22/2023 In a proposal, every extra word matters when it comes down to fitting into page limits. Why not just say “shed light on?” To reasons: first, I worry it sounds too conversational. “Elucidate” makes me think of a process - to shed light on something is to contribute to its greater understanding, even if you don’t have all the answers. In revising a draft today, I found myself changing a co-author’s “discover” to “elucidate.” Some of you are probably cringing, or yelling WHY? at your screens right now. To me, “discover” implies something totally new, and set in stone. Overuse of the thesaurus in the attempt to sound more intelligent, or to avoid redundant word use, is not an effective strategy. One of the biggest challenges I found as I transitioned out of graduate school was collaborative writing, (as opposed to the grad school model where I wrote the entire paper and then had my advisor or co-authors return edits), and one thing I still find tricky is integrating multiple writing styles into one cohesive voice. I’m collaborating on a proposal right now where I’m not the lead, so I’m a bit more self-conscious of my language choices than usual. So far, 2015 has been the Year of Grants (which also makes it the Year of Grant Rejections, but that’s another post). I often joke about the fact that became a scientist in large part because of all the awesome words (sverdrup , ribozome, hysteresis…). I play Scrabble, and I collect vocabulary the way some of my colleagues collect bird sightings or rocks. I’ve been an avid reader since I was a kid, and I worked in bookstores throughout my late teens and early 20’s to pay for my habit. Ice age ecology, early career academia, and diversity in STEMĬare to elucidate? The vocabulary of grant applications
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