Write outstanding papers using a systematic top-down approach
Writing a scientific paper is hard, especially if you want to publish in top journals. It’s even harder if you are a PhD student who is still learning the craft.
But don’t worry, this book is here to help! It shows you a straightforward, step-by-step method that makes it easier to turn your hard-earned results into clear and exciting papers, ready for top journals.
Instead of dwelling on technicalities, this guide breaks the process down into manageable chunks. How to choose the message of your paper? How to craft its abstract, sentence by sentence? How to effectively outline the paper, and how to turn the outline into a first draft and then into a finished manuscript? What to do if you get stuck? And finally, how to deal with critical reviews?
Here is what you get:- A complete step-by-step plan for writing research papers, from choosing which results to include to wrapping up the paper in the Discussion section
- Concrete, actionable, and practical advice, from a paragraph-level template for the Introduction to guidance on preparing plots and figures
- Lots of writing tips, from placing signposts in your text to shortening and straightening your sentences
This book is tailored specifically for Ph.D. students who are aiming to write journal articles based on their research results. However, its insights and guidance can be highly beneficial and recommended to academics at all levels.
The book includes:
PART I: STORY
1. How To Choose The Key Point Of Your Paper
2. How To Choose The Supporting Results
3. How To Write The Abstract
4. How To Choose The Title
PART II: OUTLINE
5. The Power Of Outlining
6. How To Write The Introduction, Part I: Structure
7. How To Write The Introduction, Part II: A Four-Paragraph Template
8. How To Write The Introduction, Part III: The Lede
9. How To Write The Materials And Methods
10. How To Write The Results, Part I: Figures
11. How To Write The Results, Part II: Text
12. How To Write The Discussion
PART III: WORDS
13. How Does Your Reader Read?
14. How To Write Your First Draft
15. How To Edit Your First Draft
16. Tips For Revising Content And Structure
17. Tips For Editing Sentences
PART IV: IT'S NOT OVER YET
18. How To Write The Cover Letter
19. How To Deal With Reviews
About the author
I am a professor of computational science and an experienced academic with more than 100 published papers. My research is interdisciplinary, to say the least: I have studied the social fabric of smartphone users, the genetic structure of ant supercolonies, the connectome of the human brain, networks of public transport, and the molecular biology of the human immune system, to name a few. I am also interested in scientific writing as a craft. So one could say that I have a broad range of interests—or that I just can't choose, but that's exactly how I like it!
What if writing scientific papers was faster, easier, and a bit less painful?
This book provides a step-by-step, top-down approach that makes it easier to turn your hard-won results into research papers that are focused, exciting, and readable.
The book's systematic approach builds on what I've learned through coauthoring close to 100 research papers with students. You'll learn how to outline your paper from top to down, how to develop your story, and how to think about what to write before you write it. You'll also learn how to deal with many issues that writers of science commonly face, from the fear of the blank page to dealing with critical reviews.
Here's what you get:- A complete step-by-step plan for writing a scientific paper, from choosing which results to include to wrapping up the paper in the Discussion section
- Concrete, actionable, and practical advice, from a paragraph-level template for the Introduction to guidance on preparing plots and figures
- Lots of writing tips, from placing signposts in your text to shortening and straightening your sentences
This book has been written for the PhD student who is aiming to write a journal article on her research results, but it should also be useful to any scientist who has ever found writing difficult. Whatever the stage of your career, if you'd like to learn how to write research papers systematically and efficiently, this is the book for you!
The book includes
PART I: STORY
1. How To Choose The Key Point Of Your Paper
2. How To Choose The Supporting Results
3. How To Write The Abstract
4. How To Choose The Title
PART II: OUTLINE
5. The Power Of Outlining
6. How To Write The Introduction, Part I: Structure
7. How To Write The Introduction, Part II: A Four-Paragraph Template
8. How To Write The Introduction, Part III: The Lede
9. How To Write The Materials And Methods
10. How To Write The Results, Part I: Figures
11. How To Write The Results, Part II: Text
12. How To Write The Discussion
PART III: WORDS
13. How Does Your Reader Read?
14. How To Write Your First Draft
15. How To Edit Your First Draft
16. Tips For Revising Content And Structure
17. Tips For Editing Sentences
PART IV: IT'S NOT OVER YET
18. How To Write The Cover Letter
19. How To Deal With Reviews
About the authorI am a professor of computational science and an experienced academic with around 100 published papers. My research is interdisciplinary, to say the least: I have studied the social fabric of smartphone users, the genetic structure of ant supercolonies, the connectome of the human brain, networks of public transport, and the molecular biology of the human immune system, to name a few. So one could say that I have a broad range of scientific interests (or that I simply cannot choose). But that's exactly the way I like it!