I saw this comic from XKCD, and wanted to try writing about my research using the 1000 most commonly used English words. I wrote a summary of my work below, then used this tool to rewrite the same passage. Check out the two versions below!
Did you know that corals can get sick? I didn’t until 2018! These ocean animals turn colors when diseased, making it easy to see they are sick. In the past 40 years, we have seen an increase in diseased coral. If we don’t do something, they will probably die.
Currently, I study the possible causes of coral disease, specifically ocean warming. Ocean warming makes corals stressed. When they are stressed, they can get sick more easily. Using “meta-analysis,” I can look at how coral disease changes as the ocean warms from reports of disease seen by other researchers. My work marks the first time studying how coral disease will increase with ocean warming.
I found the more the ocean warms, the more we observe coral disease. However, coral disease also increases over time even if the ocean doesn’t warm much. Coral disease is also different in different oceans. It’s hard to predict what coral disease will look like in the future, but my study brings attention to the worsening health of corals which is necessary to find ways to slow coral death.
It’s important to slow ocean warming so coral disease doesn’t get worse. Without help, corals may die and we will lose our coral reefs. Without corals, communities will suffer. You may not know, but corals do a lot for humans. Here are three things they do.
- Corals protect coastal cities from storm damage like wave swells.
- Corals are home to other ocean animals which humans eat, such as fish and shellfish.
- Corals are also beautiful to look at, so they attract tourists. Coastal communities often need tourism for the economy.
Without corals, humans and ocean ecosystems will struggle. We need to work together to save our coral reefs and take care of the Earth.
Now, here’s the same text using the 1000 most commonly used English words
I saw this on the computer and wanted to try it out with my own work. I wrote this with help from their box.
Did you know animals that live in the water can get sick? I didn’t until 2018! These animals turn colors when sick, making it easy to see they are sick. In the past 40 years, we are seeing that they are sick more and more. If we don’t do something, they will probably die.
Now, I study the causes that make these animals sick, usually water warming. Warming makes the animals not happy. When they are not happy, they can get sick more easily. Using computers and lots of numbers, I can look at how much the animals get sick as the water warms from studies done by others. My work is the first time studying how many animals all over the world are and will be sick from water warming.
I found the more water warms, the more animals get sick. But they also get sick as time goes on even if the water doesn’t warm much. These animals also get sick in different ways in different parts of the world. It is hard to say for sure exactly how many animals will be sick in coming years. But my study draws eyes to this bad situation which is needed to find ways to slow the death of these animals.
It’s important to stop warming the water so the animals don’t get more sick. Without help, they may die and we will lose them. When they are gone, humans will have a hard time. You may not know, but water animals do a lot for humans. Here are three things they do.
- The animals I study save cities near the water from their homes breaking in times of high wind and rain.
- These animals are home to other water animals which humans eat.
- The animals I work with are pretty so humans like to go and see them. This gives cities near the water lots of money that they need.
Without the animals living in the water that I study, humans can’t live. We need to work together to save our water animals and take care of our world.
Being able to talk about your research is a big part of the science process. If no one knows what you did or why, then your work will have little impact. Exercises like the above are helpful to me in trying to move away from complicated explanations with difficult words, especially since my current research uses statistics.
I hope you were able to learn more about the first chapter of my PhD – The impact of rising temperatures on the prevalence of coral diseases and its predictability: a global meta-analysis – and that it was said in an easy to understand way.
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