Writing a journal article is really many different challenges bundled into one task. This hub helps you tackle them one at a time.
Beta stage/living document
This hub is still under development and currently undergoing a major overhaul to move away from author-centric towards more user-centric thinking.
Getting started with a new paper
- I just want to start writing
- I don’t have any data yet
- I don’t understand what a paper is actually supposed to do
Writing help per IMRaD section
- My research doesn’t fit the IMRaD format
- Front matter: title, abstract, keywords, etc.
- IMRaD/paper structure: section length, headings
Introduction
- I don’t know how to explain the knowledge gap
- My introduction is too long or repetitive
Methods
- I can’t tell how much detail is too much
- I don’t know how to organise the Methods section
Results
- I’m not sure how to write about my figures without repeating what they already show
- I don’t know which results to include
Discussion
- What’s the difference between Results and Discussion?
- My Discussion repeats the Results
- I can’t find any relevant literature / nobody has studied my topic
- I feel weird talking about the limitations of my study
- How do I handle conflicting findings or literature?
- What are Conclusions/Implications/Research recommendations/Outlook and are they the same thing?
Tackling procrastination and writer’s block
- I don’t trust my research / I’m not ready to start writing
- I’ve lost motivation
- I can’t get any words on paper / everything sounds stupid
- My writing feels chaotic, I’m barely making progress, and my supervisor wants things I can’t deliver yet
Handling feedback & peer review
- I’m afraid to share my work / worried it won’t be good
- A reviewer says my writing should be edited by a native speaker
- A reviewer wants me to do more work (another experiment, more analysis)
- My supervisor keeps giving feedback on the wrong things
- Reviewers want contradictory things
Submitting and getting published
Templates
- Letter of Inquiry (email template)
- Proofreading checklist (google doc)
- Cover letter template (google doc)
- Rebuttal template (google doc)
- Page proofs checklist (google doc)
Need hands-on support? See Writing Consultations