Why do scientists write so well?
Answers
Many scientists are good at scientific writing- which is a very specific type of writing. Although a few are blessed with the skill set, most of us cultivate it over the years. The more we write, the better we get. Fortunately, we have to write articles and proposals all the time. There are plenty of well written, cogent journal articles that are almost like poetry to many of us **.
However, scientific writing [writing for peers] is not science writing [writing for a lay audience]. The skills required for science writing are vastly different from those required for scientific writing. This is because the objective and the audience are different. The objective of scientific writing is to clearly specify every bit of information needed to replicate the studies and make precise arguments based on your experimental results. The objective of science writing is to tell an interesting big picturesque story without compromising on facts, which is a very difficult thing to do, more so for someone who understands the facts.
So, yes, very few scientists (the likes of E.O. Wilson) are good at writing in general (scientific and science), and on average, people aren’t great at things they are not trained to do.