2.5  Summary

Scientific papers, like any other form of professional communication, are about getting messages across. To make sure you focus on the so what, create your scientific paper in a top-down fashion. First, work on the macrostructure: Select the content for your paper and organize it in a reader-friendly way, paying special attention to the beginning and the end. Then, work on the mid-level structure: Deliver one message with each paragraph using clear, accurate, and concise sentences. Finally, work on the microstructure: Polish your paper all the way down to the smallest details of the language.

At the macrostructure level, present the content in the order in which the audience will most likely want to read it. In particular, place first in an abstract what readers are primarily interested in, that is, the beginning of the story (the motivation), in the form of a context, a need, a task, and an object of the document; and the end of the story (the outcome), in the form of findings, conclusions, and perhaps perspectives. Write your abstract so that it can be understood even by the least specialized of your target readers, independent of the full paper.

With the full paper, strive to convince your audience that your work is important, valid, and relevant. In the Introduction section, emphasize again the motivation for your work. Structure this section like the first half of the abstract (context, need, task, and object of the document), but in more detail. In the Conclusion section, emphasize the outcome of your work. Structure this section like the second half of the abstract (findings if needed, conclusions, and perspectives), but with more detail. In the body of the paper, present just enough evidence to establish the validity of this outcome.

At the paragraph level, present first (typically in the very first sentence) what you want your readers to remember before developing this message in the rest of the paragraph. With each sentence, convey one idea: Structure the sentence in a way that reflects your idea, with the topic in the subject position, the action in the verb, and the main information in the main clause. Use verbs well: Choose the right verb, put it in the right tense and voice, and make sure it has a meaningful subject.

After you have designed and drafted your paper, revise it for correctness using whatever tools are most helpful to you. Beyond spelling and grammar checkers, consider text searches, both in your paper (searching for your own list of attention points) and on the Web (checking usage discerningly through popularity).