How to write a scientific paper

Версия 16:00, 6 декабря 2018

Having no plan, she tries to do everything at once. She opens a blank document in her editor. She stares at the document—still blank—and tries to think of the first word of the first sentence of the first paragraph. At the same time, our writer is still—perhaps unbeknownst to herself—in the process of understanding her results and what to make of them. She might even be uncertain of the point that her paper should make.

Whereas reading is usually linear, writing does not have to be. The process of writing should be modular: first, sculpt your raw materials into rough blocks that together form your story, and then start working on the blocks, filling in more and more details until entire sentences begin to appear towards the end of this process.

This top-down approach begins by identifying the key point of the paper and then involves structuring the material that supports this point into a storyline. That’s right: scientific papers are stories. They are not just containers of information!

Abstract

This top-down approach begins by identifying the key point of the paper and then involves structuring the material that supports this point into a storyline. That’s right: scientific papers are stories. They are not just containers of information! This storyline is then condensed into the abstract of the paper—my advice is to always write the abstract first, not last.

The first choice that you have to make is also the most important one: what is your paper about? What is its key point? What is its conclusion? Your answers lay the foundation for the rest of the paper.

Next, we will develop a super-compressed version of that storyline: the abstract of your paper.

The abstract is the storyline of the paper in miniature form. It determines the rest. Once you have composed your abstract, you have decided what story you want to tell. This makes the paper much easier to write and results in a more focused outcome; you can think of the rest of the paper as an extended version of the abstract.

Draft

It is usually much faster to write a quick-and-dirty first draft and then edit it several times than it is to attempt flawless sentences from the outset. Editing is much faster than writing and—at least for me—much less painful. So, let’s get started!

Be honest

Therefore, it pays to be honest: if you don’t get it, say so. If there is something odd in a plot, call it out. If you are not convinced by the explanations of others, say it. You might have spotted something that no one else gets either, and that could lead somewhere important.

Question

if your result opens new problems, it is even more valuable—your fellow scientists will be happy to attack those problems and cite you while they are at it. Being a scientist is not about answers but about questions. A scientist without questions is an unhappy scientist—give others good questions and they will love you for it!

Script & Movie

The process of going through your results and deciding what to keep resembles the editing of a Hollywood movie. After the movie has been shot, the director and the editor start working with an abundance of raw materials that are to be sculpted into the final product—the theatrical cut. The goal is to assemble the film from the shots and scenes that best support the storyline while cutting out non-essential footage. Your paper is your theatrical cut. Only use what it needs, and leave out the rest.

Source

How To Write A Scientific Paper: An Academic Self-Help Guide for PhD Students (Saramäki, Jari)