A college professor of mine would always say that to be a good scientist, you need to be a good writer. Contrary to popular belief, the ability to write well is not a God-given talent but a skill that requires practice and development. For scientific writing, this means not only that you must state your findings clearly and cogently but also that your finished manuscript is fit for publication. There are countless tiny tips and tricks to improve your writing, but today I’m going to be talking about general strategies for authors. Here are some good rules of thumb to keep in mind when writing a scientific paper.
Write for Your Audience
The first rule of writing a scientific paper is the same as the first rule of public speaking: know your audience. Will the reader be a layperson, an industry professional, or a research scientist? Knowing your audience will inform how deeply you need to explain relevant concepts and vocabulary and what information you highlight. An article meant for someone outside the
scientific field will focus far less on highly detailed descriptions and tables and more on delivering a broad understanding of the topic, the findings, and their impact. The same would not be true if the paper was written for experts in the field. But no matter the level you write for, the reader needs to determine how and why you completed the study or experiment and what
conclusions you reached.
Know Journal Requirements
Even once you know your audience, all your work is ahead of you. To get published in a reputable journal, your manuscript will need to conform to their requirements. For this reason, it is essential to read the author instructions for your target journal early in the writing process. Studying the requirements specific to your target journal will save time in the long run. If the journal limits the word count for an abstract or full manuscript, you can avoid the wasted effort developing content you only would have to edit out later. Editors will also appreciate an appropriately formatted paper that shows the author has taken time to familiarize themselves with the journal’s practices.
Plan your Paragraphs with Topic Sentences
Creating topic sentences is a great way to keep yourself organized when writing a scientific paper. Manuscripts are long, and contain so much data, analysis, and explanation that it’s easy to get mixed up and repeat information. Use topic sentences to keep each paragraph focused and unique, eliminating unnecessary fluff. Well-written topic sentences indicate the subject, how you will address it, and its relationship to the ideas in the surrounding paragraphs. Doing so provides the additional benefit of providing you with an outline for your manuscript. Outlining with topic sentences not only keeps you on track while drafting but also helps you avoid getting lost when you come back after a break.
Write Your Abstract Last
The abstract acts as a summary of the full manuscript. This condensed section encourages the audience to read further by highlighting the paper’s purpose and relaying essential findings. A good abstract will stand on its own, even apart from the full document. For this reason, it might be tempting to write an abstract first. However, an effective summary of your paper’s significant findings and themes can only really be determined once every section is in place. When a word limit is in place, letting the abstract follow the paper is necessary for a tight, cohesive section.
Give Yourself Time
This is the simplest but also the most important habit for an author. Though many people work best under pressure, not leaving yourself adequate time to draft and edit your paper will result in a sloppy, unpolished manuscript. Even finding an excellent way to display data and figures is more challenging than you might expect when you end up in a time crunch. Careful proofreading is also vital to a successful paper; spelling and grammar check software will not be sufficient. Journal editors are highly discerning, and multiple drafts of your paper will likely be necessary before you arrive at one worthy of submission.
Ensuring you have adequate time to work on your paper also means you have time to take a break and reset when writing stalls. Taking a walk and coming back with fresh eyes makes you more effective. Writing and editing are exhausting when done for long stretches, and scheduling time for breaks means you are using the time you spend more efficiently. Your research is important, and there is a lot of detail that goes into producing publishable work. Remaining disciplined and spacing out your writing will allow you make sure every part is perfect.
Your research is only as good as the paper that you write about it. By incorporating these habits into your writing process, you will be able to produce focused, effective, and, most importantly, publishable work. To learn more about the practices of good science writers, contact me.