- Introduction: Sets up the scientific question or objectives of the study
- Methods: Explains what you did for the study
- Results: Your results objectively stated
- Discussion: Interpretation of what your results mean in light of other published studies
I just started writing a new paper myself this year, so I thought this was the perfect time for me to write about how to write a paper (how meta!). But first…
As you write the introduction, think about what journal you want to submit your paper for. Think about this well in advance so your tone and word count matches the expectations of the journal (Check out this post for how to choose a journal).
I then use these to identify the main components of my introduction which are: citizen science, children, and perceptions of wildlife.
What is a Scientific Paper?
Right away if you are leading a study (the first author). I highly recommend you start your writing when you are collecting data. I am really bad at doing this (do as I say, not as I do!). If you write your methods as you are actually doing them during the data collection process, everything will be fresh and you will thank yourself later when you go to start the rest of your paper and realize you are already done with your methods.
If you are a graduate student and want experience reviewing papers, you can ask your advisor if you can review one of theirs. Advisors are often sent too many to review and are looking for someone to recommend to the editor to pass their paper off to.
You will probably need more than just these five paragraphs to explain some surprising things you found and your paragraphs may not necessarily follow this same order as the introduction to make them flow.
The first thing that any new writer should do is pick a good electronic reference manager. There are many free ones available, but often research groups (or PIs) have a favorite one. Editing will be easier if everyone is using the same manager.
Of all the sections, the methods section is simultaneously the easiest and the most important section to write accurately. Any results in your paper should be replicable based on the methods section, so if you've developed an entirely new experimental method, write it out in excruciating detail, including setup, controls, and protocols, also manufacturers and part numbers, if appropriate. If you're building on a previous study, there's no need to repeat all of those details
A classic organizational approach used by writers is "storyboarding" where all figures are laid out on boards. This can be done using software like PowerPoint, Prezi, or Keynote. One approach is to put the vision statement on the first slide, and all of your results on subsequent slides. To start, simply include all data, without concern for order or importance. Subsequent passes can evaluate consolidation of data sets (e.g., forming panel figures) and relative importance (e.g., main text vs. supplement). The figures should be arranged in a logical order to support your hypothesis statement. Notably, this order may or may not be the order in which you took the data. If you're missing data, it should become obvious at this point.
What is the key message of your paper? Be able to articulate it in one sentence, because it's a sentence you'll come back to a few times throughout the paper. Think of your paper as a press release: what would the subhead be? If you can't articulate the key discovery or accomplishment in a single sentence, then you're not ready to write a paper.
7. Now Write the Introduction
When conducting scientific research, Armani believes it’s important to test a hypothesis—not prove it. She recruits students who are willing to adopt that “testing” mentality, and are excited to explore the unknown. “I want them to push themselves a little bit, push the field a little bit, and not be afraid to fail,” she says. “And, know that even if they fail, they can still learn something from it.”
One common mistake when writing a methods section is the inclusion of results. The methods section is simply a record of what you did.
Scientific papers follow a similar formula. The introduction gives a view of your research from 30,000 feet: it defines the problem in the context of a larger field
You can use this section to help readers understand how your research fits in the context of other ongoing work and explain how your study adds to the body of knowledge. This section should smoothly transition into the conclusion.
The first thing that any new writer should do is pick a good electronic reference manager. There are many free ones available, but often research groups (or PIs) have a favorite one. Editing will be easier if everyone is using the same manager.
Of all the sections, the methods section is simultaneously the easiest and the most important section to write accurately. Any results in your paper should be replicable based on the methods section, so if you've developed an entirely new experimental method, write it out in excruciating detail, including setup, controls, and protocols, also manufacturers and part numbers, if appropriate. If you're building on a previous study, there's no need to repeat all of those details
A classic organizational approach used by writers is "storyboarding" where all figures are laid out on boards. This can be done using software like PowerPoint, Prezi, or Keynote. One approach is to put the vision statement on the first slide, and all of your results on subsequent slides. To start, simply include all data, without concern for order or importance. Subsequent passes can evaluate consolidation of data sets (e.g., forming panel figures) and relative importance (e.g., main text vs. supplement). The figures should be arranged in a logical order to support your hypothesis statement. Notably, this order may or may not be the order in which you took the data. If you're missing data, it should become obvious at this point.
What is the key message of your paper? Be able to articulate it in one sentence, because it's a sentence you'll come back to a few times throughout the paper. Think of your paper as a press release: what would the subhead be? If you can't articulate the key discovery or accomplishment in a single sentence, then you're not ready to write a paper.
7. Now Write the Introduction
When conducting scientific research, Armani believes it’s important to test a hypothesis—not prove it. She recruits students who are willing to adopt that “testing” mentality, and are excited to explore the unknown. “I want them to push themselves a little bit, push the field a little bit, and not be afraid to fail,” she says. “And, know that even if they fail, they can still learn something from it.”
One common mistake when writing a methods section is the inclusion of results. The methods section is simply a record of what you did.
Scientific papers follow a similar formula. The introduction gives a view of your research from 30,000 feet: it defines the problem in the context of a larger field
You can use this section to help readers understand how your research fits in the context of other ongoing work and explain how your study adds to the body of knowledge. This section should smoothly transition into the conclusion.
You should provide a clear scientific justification for your work in this section, and indicate uses and extensions if appropriate. Moreover, you can suggest future experiments and point out those that are underway.
This section responds to the question of how the problem was studied. If your paper is proposing a new method, you need to include detailed information so a knowledgeable reader can reproduce the experiment.
However, the abstracts must be keep as brief as possible. Just check the 'Guide for authors' of the journal, but normally they have less than 250 words. Here's a good example on a short abstract.
A common error in this section is repeating the abstract, or just listing experimental results. Trivial statements of your results are unacceptable in this section.
Step 7: Write the Abstract
- Introduction: What did you/others do? Why did you do it?
- Methods: How did you do it?
- Results: What did you find?
- And
- Discussion: What does it all mean?
When presenting your tables and figures, appearances count! To this end:
- Original title: Fabrication of carbon/CdS coaxial nanofibers displaying optical and electrical properties via electrospinning carbon
- Revised title: Electrospinning of carbon/CdS coaxial nanofibers with optical and electrical properties
- Comments: "English needs help. The title is nonsense. All materials have properties of all varieties. You could examine my hair for its electrical and optical properties! You MUST be specific. I haven't read the paper but I suspect there is something special about these properties, otherwise why would you be reporting them?" – the Editor-in-Chief.
I want to acknowledge Dr. Christiane Barranguet, Executive Publisher of Aquatic Sciences at Elsevier, for her continuous support. And I would like to thank Dr. Alison Bert, Editor-in-Chief of Elsevier Connect
- Cover page
- Cover page. Specify the title of the paper, your name, institutional affiliations, and contact information for the reviewers
The main goal of writing a scientific paper is to reveal validity, importance and final outcomes of a research, so this paper should be organized according to a certain scheme:
In fact, you need to show how your investigation helps to decide one of the needs of the humanity or why it’s worth paying attention to this research. While writing your scientific research paper, you should sound concise and persuasive
Scientific Paper Format
Writing a scientific research paper often has its own peculiarities. For instance, you must know and understand how this academic paper differs from a summary. It’s one of the most common mistakes made by the new essay authors. For instance, students who aren’t aware how to write a scientific research paper often complete it by summarizing but not analyzing.
Today, we will try to show you how a scientific paper differs from any other academic papers in order to help you with 'how to write a scientific paper' question. In addition, we’ll write about the way you should structure your scientific papers. It’s really handy because having a reliable blueprint in front of your eyes will save your time and forces greatly.
When you start your academic paper, you should thoroughly understand what kind of essay you need to complete. If you don’t do this, you will have all chances to write a good essay, but not the one your professor or teacher expects to receive.
Unlike some other written paper types that have a more relaxed approach to formatting, a scientific paper requires a much more thorough approach to the format. Scientists who often write papers usually use the IMRaD format, which stands for the following:
A discussion involves talking and answering about different aspects of the scientific paper such as: what principles have been established or reinforced
All-in-all Bit is like Google Docs on steroids! So, no more settling for those boring text editors when you have an excessively robust solution to walk you through!
Clarity – Research is unambiguous and free of irrelevant conjecture or detail.
- Learn and read an assignment carefully,
- Research the nuances of your topic,
- Refine your focus to a strong,
- Offer arguable thesis,
- Select the best evidence to prove the analysis of your dissertation.
Results
Most times, a scientific paper draws the research performed by an individual or a group of people. These papers showcase the valuable analysis in fields like theoretical physics, mathematics, etc. and are routinely published in scientific journals.
The good news is, you don’t have to be a talented writer to pen-down a good scientific paper, but just have to be an organized and careful writer. This is why we have put time and effort into creating an exceptional guide on how to write a scientific paper that will help you present your research successfully to your supervisors or publications without any clutter!
Source: Freepik
A title should be of the fewest words possible, accurately describing the content of the paper. Try to eliminate unnecessary words such as “Investigations of …”, “A study of …”, “Observations on …”, etc.
- Cover page. Specify the title of the paper, your name, institutional affiliations, and contact information for the reviewers