Writing a good manuscript

1. Writing a good manuscript Lena Qiying Ma Professor Biogeochemistry of Trace Metals Soil and Water Science Department University of Florida

2. A scientific paper • Title • Abstract • Introduction • Methods • Results • Discussions • Conclusions • Acknowledgement • References

3. Title • Fewest words to describe the content • Avoid • A study of • Investigations of • Observations on • Include • A particular species • A region www.columbia.edu/cu/biology/ug/research/paper.html

4. Title • Statement of the question or problem • How smoking affects students’ grade? • Specific enough to describe the contents or subject matter but not too technical • Effect of smoking on academic performance • Summarizing the results can be effective • Students who smoke get lower grades www.biochem.arizona.edu/marc/sci-writing.pdf

5. Abstract • Short summary of the paper • Purpose • Methods • Results • Conclusions • Include likely “search words” • Less technical than the article • Don't use abbreviations or citations • Avoid use of “in this paper” http://www.columbia.edu/cu/biology/ug/research/paper.html

6. Abstract • A shortened version of a paper • Most read section of a paper • Contain all information necessary for the reader to determine: • The objectives of the study-Introduction; • How the study was done-Methods; • What results were obtained-Results & Discussions; • The significance of the results-Conclusion. • Write the abstract last http://classweb.gmu.edu/biologyresources/ writingguide/scientificpaper.htm

7. Introduction • Provide • Background information • Significance of the problem • Lead reader to understand the hypothesis and means of testing it • Provide the context for your investigation • State the question and hypothesis • Hypothesis = tentative explanation • Research is to prove a hypothesis false http://www.columbia.edu/cu/biology/ug/research/paper.html

9. Introduction • Introduction • Discuss how the data will add knowledge to the field • What specific questions you tried to address • Don’t introduce literature in general terms: need to be informative • Why is this study of scientific interest and what is your objective • Move from general to specific information • The last sentences should be a statement of objectives and a statement of hypotheses owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/559/03/ web.archive.org/web/20011127041109/www.hms.harvard.edu/fdd/comm/index.html

10. Introduction • Creates a context for the paper • Plants are constantly exposed to a myriad of environmental and biological stresses • States a question or poses a problem • How plants respond to drought stress is of major concern, not only to researchers but also to farmers • Indicates the consequences and importance of the question • By understanding the biochemical and physical changes induced by drought, researchers may be more able to target processes which could enhance drought tolerance • Presents a hypothetical answer or course of action • It is likely that no single factor is responsible for conferring drought tolerance in plants but that it is an integrative process involving a number of signaling pathways http://www.ucalgary.ca/~natsci/writing/intro.shtml

11. Methods • Report what you did to repeat the findings • No laundry list • Assume readers have the same basic skills • Target graduate students • Last paragraph provides statistical tests used http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/559/03/

12. Results • Focus on • Describe the results in sufficient details to establish their validity • Identify the novel aspects of the results • What is new and what makes it non-obvious; • Identify the significance of the results • Implicated improvements and impact. • Things to avoid • Do not include the same data in a table and a figure • Too much motivational material • Describe obvious results • Describe unnecessary details http://www.cs.columbia.edu/~hgs/etc/writing-style.html

13. Results • General approach • Briefly describe experiment without details • A sentence or two • Report main results • Representative: most common • Best case: best example of ideal or exception • Additional tips • Order multiple results logically • Most to least important • Simple to complex • Organ by organ, chemical class by chemical class http://www.biochem.arizona.edu/marc/sci-writing.pdf

14. General rules for figures • Must have a caption • Using a capitalized name • Figure 1. Ethylene glycol process flow sheet • Should stand alone as much as possible • Compare multiple plots, put them on one graph • If the result is too cluttered, use different graphs • Keep the scales consistent to compare • Use different symbols and line types to distinguish multiple plots on the same graph • Include error bars • Use "scatter" or "x-y" plots, not "line" plots http://www.ent.ohiou.edu/~valy/techwrite.html

15. Discussion • Interpret data in light of published results • What principles have been established or reinforced? • What generalizations can be drawn? • How do your findings compare • To the findings of others • To expectations based on previous work? • Are there any theoretical/practical implications of your work? http://www.biochem.arizona.edu/marc/Sci-Writing.pdf

16. Discussion • Highlight the most significant results • How do these results relate to the original question? • Do the data support your hypothesis? • Are your results consistent with the literature? http://www.columbia.edu/cu/biology/ug/research/paper.html

17. Discussion • Summarize the results in first paragraph • Start with the specific • Criticize your data and place your observations in the context of the field • Then address the larger significance of the work to the field in general http://web.archive.org/web/20011127041109/www.hms.harvard.edu/fdd/comm/index.html

18. Discussion • Explain what the results mean or why they differ from the literature • Interpret your results in light of published results • Include information from sources you cited in the Introduction and introduce new sources • Relate to the objectives in the Introduction • Make statements synthesizing all the evidence • Suggest future directions for research, new methods, explanations for deviations from the literature http://classweb.gmu.edu/biologyresources/ writingguide/scientificpaper.htm

19. Discussion • Steps to organize discussion • Restate your question, hypothesis, and prediction. • Answer the question. • Write down the specific data, e.g. statistical tests. • State whether your results confirm the prediction and support the hypothesis. • Write down what you know in your experiment. How do your results fit in with what you know? What is the significance of your results? • List weaknesses you have identified in your experimental design. • List any problems that arose during the experiment itself. http://classweb.gmu.edu/biologyresources/ writingguide/scientificpaper.htm

20. Effective discussion • Move from specific to general • Your findings  literature, theory, practice • Don't ignore or bury the major issue • Did the study achieve the goal presented in the Introduction? • Resolve the problem • Answer the question • Support the hypothesis • Make explanations complete • Give evidence for each conclusion. • Discuss possible reasons for expected & unexpected findings. • What to avoid • Don't over-generalize. • Don't ignore deviations in your data. • Avoid speculation that cannot be tested in the foreseeable future. http://www.biochem.arizona.edu/marc/Sci-Writing.pdf

21. Effective discussion • What do your observations mean? • Summarize the most important findings at the beginning. • What conclusions can you draw? • Describe the patterns, principles, & relationships results show. • Explain how your results relate to expectations and to literature cited in your Introduction. Do they agree, contradict, or are they exceptions to the rule? • Explain plausibly any agreements, contradictions, or exceptions. • Describe what additional research might resolve contradictions or explain exceptions. • How do your results fit into a broader context? • Suggest the theoretical implications of your results. • Suggest practical applications of your results? • Extend your findings to other situations or other species. • Give the big picture: do your findings help us understand a broader topic? http://www.biochem.arizona.edu/marc/Sci-Writing.pdf

23. Scientific writing • Writing order • Method • Results • Introduction • Discussion • Abstract • Title • Rules for what needs a citation • All direct quotations from another author • All substantial information taken from another source • One does not give a reference for well-known facts • Newton's Three Laws of Motion http://web.archive.org/web/20011127041109/www.hms.harvard.edu/fdd/comm/index.html

24. Use of tense • Verb tense and voice • All formal technical writing uses the past tense • Describing methods and results • Use present tense for things that are true when the author writes about them and will still be true in the future when the text is read • Published information or accepted facts • Background information presented in the Introduction • Discuss your results and conclusions • Use of past tense • Abstract • Materials and Methods • Results sections • Introduction and Discussion sections when referring to your experiment http://www.rbs0.com/tw.htm

28. A scientific paper • Title • Abstract • Introduction • Methods • Results • Discussions • Conclusions • Acknowledgement • References

29. References • Scientific writing • Penn State University • http://www2.lv.psu.edu/jxm57/irp/sciwrit.html • Craft of scientific writing: a book • Michael Alley, Penn State • http://www.writing.eng.vt.edu/csw.html • Communicating our work • Brenda S. Hoffma, Harvard Medical School • http://web.archive.org/web/20011127041109/www.hms.harvard.edu/fdd/comm/index.html • Scientific writing • Natalie H. Kuldell • http://www.visionlearning.com/library/module_viewer.php?mid=123 • Writing a scientific research article • http://www.columbia.edu/cu/biology/ug/research/paper.html