Academic

As academics, our careers revolve around the number of papers that we publish. Although the length of someone’s publication list does not necessarily reflect that person’s intelligence or contribution to the scientific community, research institutes, companies, and even nonprofit organizations use publication lists to compare the candidates’ merits. However, research projects can take a long […]

A research paper is usually more concise and succinct than an essay, because, if it is written well, it focuses on one specific question, describes the method that was used to answer that one question, describes and explains the results, and guides the reader in a logical way from the introduction to the discussion without going on tangents or digging into not absolutely relevant topics. The conclusion section at the end of a research manuscript should therefore not start with a long-winded repetition of what was done and why and how, but rather get to the point in as few words as possible. Instead of beginning with “In conclusion, in this study, we investigated the effect of stress on the brain using fMRI…”, you should try to find a way to incorporate the repetition of the essential (and only the essential) details into the summary of the key points. “The findings of this fMRI study on the effect of stress on the brain suggest that…” or “While it has been known for a long time that stress has an effect on the brain, the findings of this fMRI study show that, surprisingly…” would be better ways to start a conclusion. 

What is Academic Writing? Academic writing communicates information and ideas to a narrow or wider academic readership.Academic writing can be descriptive (e.g., a results section), analytical (e.g., a comparison of different theories), persuasive (your own point of view), or critical (when you discuss other peoples’ points of view). This type of writing always has a […]

As you may recall from ourlast post, we defined “authorship” according to theguidelines developed by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE)and explained why authorship matters. Other, more flexible, definitions also exist, including oneproposed by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE): While “there is no universally agreed definition of authorship… [at] a minimum, authors […]

Acommon writing issue for many authors of essays and research papers is making sure to use parallel structure. In many ways, the English language operates like math. When we string words or phrases together, we must make sure that all parts are of “equal value.” That is, they must all be in the same form. […]

With the ever-increasing volume of information available digitally, finding relevant sources has become quite the challenge! To hunt down the articles we want, we use search engines and type in keywords that narrow down results. Keywords, therefore, are essential for filtering the overwhelming amount of resources available. When we use these parameters in a database […]

We publish because we want to share our knowledge and because we want recognition for our work. We acknowledge people’s ideas and findings by providing citations. Unfortunately, however, the rules regarding this common practice are not always easy to decipher, even for the best of us! We have published a number of other articles that […]

In a previous article, we explored ways to improve your manuscript acceptance rate by examining thefactors editors considerwhen making their decisions. We also looked athow to find a journal to publish in, examining aspects such as ajournal’s scopeand thepeer reviewprocess. In this article, we will discuss practical issues about manuscripts before we launch into identifying […]

Being Informed About Reasons for Manuscript Rejection In the world of journal publications, rejections are the norm rather than the exception. There are of course many identifiable reasons for a manuscript not to be published–from lack of relevance, to the size of the submissions pool, to the specific tastes of a journal’s readership. However, researchers […]

In the first part of a series of editing tips, we will show you how to strengthen your writing effectively. The next few posts will cover the most frequent writing issues we see in our clients’ submissions–namely wordiness. We hope that these overviews and exercises help you reduce word count, clarify your writing, and improve […]

If you are a PhD doctoral or Master’s student approaching graduation, then a large research project, dissertation, or thesis is in your future. These capstone research projects take months if not years of preparation, and the first step in this process is first writing a compelling, organized, and effective research proposal. Check out thekey differences […]

When choosing the best citation format or style for a research paper, it is easy to get confused. One of the most importantsections in a research proposalor scientific paper is the bibliography orreferences section. Even though it is often listed as one of the last parts of aresearch proposal checklist, leaving it to the end […]