Writing a strong paper- Get writing

Beginning the writing of a research manuscript can be an intimidating and daunting challenge for both novice and experienced writers. However, most agree that process is best made with the scheduling of an uninterrupted amount of time specifically for the task in hand.

Creating an outline

Initially, it is best to form an outline plan of the structure of your paper in order to generate ideas and spend some focused time considering the content and hypothesis. It is best to begin with your key results in the form of figures, as previously discussed. When creating a first outline, begin by asking yourself the fundamental questions:

  • What is the area of research?
  • Why is it important?
  • What is the problem/aim of the field?
  • What are my objectives in solving these problems/meeting these aims?
  • What have I done?
  • How did I do it?
  • What are my significant results?
  • What are my supporting results?
  • What are my major findings?
  • What significance do these results have to the field?
  • What could be done in the future?

Include Figures (with captions!), formulas and equations in answering these questions!

Once you have answered these questions, you will effectively have an extended outline of the paper. It is worth running this past your supervisor or co-authors to ensure that you are all on the same page: this is the fundamental basis of your paper!

Writing a first draft

A common complaint when writing is the syndrome of ‘writers block’ – try not to allow yourself to sit, frustrated at a blank computer screen! Use your allotted time to write wisely and do not procrastinate. If you can expand on the above questions by pouring the mountains of dishevelled Lab notes, figures and experimental designs from the past year, you will soon build yourself a neat manuscript! Try not to get too bogged down with wording, sentence structure or phrasing at this point – leave revisions, tidying and editing for further down the line. It is best to just get the content down on paper first.

Still stuck? A logical approach

Begin with what you know: key figure and tables

You can easily expand on how these results were obtained and have the Methods section down before you know it! This is generally agreed to be the easiest part to write! State your experimental set-up and approach, in a thorough amount of detail and the procedures used to obtain your results.

Next it is best to move on to writing your Results section.

This is often said to be more intimidating that the previous section, based on the fact that this is the section where you must objectively present your key results in a clear, logical and understandable format – using figures and your writing skills alone!

This is the part readers will be most interested in.

The results section presents a meaningful summary of your data presented through visual figures and text and provides an explanation of significant findings without simply repeating figure captions. It is important that your results present as a comprehensive, concise and well-supported argument. It is therefore important to consider the presentation of results as a presentation of your beneficial to reader understanding. Excess details may distract the reader from your key-results, however this should not be confused with manipulating or distorting data!

By this point, you are almost halfway through your first draft paper! Congratulations!

You are in a good position now to think about your discussion.

It is often said that the discussion section is the scariest (and often weakest) part of the paper for new-scientists, so spend some focused time on it. The purpose of the Discussion section is to place your findings in the research context and explain the meaning of the findings and why they are important in an objective and enthusiastic manner. Writing this section can be daunting as it can vary vastly from paper to paper, will less of a rigid format to follow.

An approach you can take, it to begin with the micro and go out to the macro!

Begin with your key results, explaining your findings and the importance of them, with common starting phrases such as, “In this study, we have demonstrated…” or “Our findings show…”. One of the most common mistakes is to assume that the reader understands the importance of your findings – whilst it may be clear to you, it may not be so obvious to your audience! Ensure you state the importance as clearly and directly as possible.

It may also be useful to consider alternative explanations to your findings, pre-empting alternative explanations and addressing potential doubts or misinterpretation will further convince your audience that your research is well-conducted and valid.

Next, compare and contract your findings with those of others published, and approach and explain any discrepancies or unexpected findings. Here you have the opportunity to put your work into a greater context, and demonstrate how your work contributes to existing knowledge in the field. State the assumptions and any weakness or limitations of your study.

Finally, put these results into context with the research field (where you will begin in your introduction). Highlight the importance of your work by considering potential applications or implications that your work has on the field.

Move onto the conclusions

It is next a good idea to move on to the conclusions you can draw from this work, irrespective of whether the journal specifically specifies a conclusion section. This paragraph should summarise your paper:

State the problem, how you addressed it, what you found and what implications this has. Ensure that the conclusion is confident, clear and concise to provide the reader with a strong ‘take-home’ message from your paper.

Finally, face up to the challenge of the introduction!

With the main body of your paper written, your can now tailor your introduction to properly introduce your paper and to the content you have written. Perhaps it is a good idea to go back to your general outline and re-asses it to match your research focus based on the paper you have actually now written!

The introduction tends to be only a few hundred words long, depending on the journal, but it may be the most difficult section due to its importance! The introduction should first establish the research field, demonstrating that it is a lively, important and interesting area of research which has identifiable problems for further research to solve! Next, it must identify a specific gap of knowledge or problem which must be solved – this is a way of introducing your specific area!

Finally, you establish yourself in this area and outline what the content of this specific paper is. This is usually approached by an outline of the state of the research field at present, identify the problem, or raise your research question or theory, then by announcing the principle findings and the value of your findings with respect to present research.

The 'suspense approach', where authors wait to reveal their findings later within the text is not appropriate for scientific writing. Instead, a straightforward, direct and informative approach should be taken to grab the reader’s interest and attention from the very beginning.

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Posted by: Ilana Wisby