Scientific Writing

Scientific Writing

Academic paper composition, LaTeX formatting, and scholarly communication.

Paper Structure Templates

IMRaD (standard empirical paper)

1. Title: Concise, informative, includes key variables
2. Abstract: Background (1-2 sentences) → Objective → Methods → Results → Conclusion (150-300 words)
3. Introduction: Broad context → Narrow focus → Gap → Research question/hypothesis
4. Methods: Reproducible detail; subsections by procedure
5. Results: Findings without interpretation; tables/figures referenced
6. Discussion: Summary → Interpretation → Comparison with literature → Limitations → Implications → Future work
7. References: Consistent citation style

Review / Survey Paper

1. Introduction with scope and search methodology
2. Taxonomy / organizational framework
3. Systematic coverage of subtopics
4. Synthesis and comparison
5. Open problems and future directions

Grant Proposal (NSF/NIH style)

1. Specific Aims (1 page)
2. Significance
3. Innovation
4. Approach (preliminary data, research plan, timeline)
5. Budget justification

LaTeX Support

Common Templates

Article:

\documentclass[12pt]{article}
\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}
\usepackage{amsmath,amssymb,amsthm}
\usepackage{graphicx}
\usepackage{hyperref}
\usepackage[margin=1in]{geometry}
\usepackage{natbib}

\title{Your Title}
\author{Author Name \\ Institution \\ \texttt{email@example.com}}
\date{\today}

\begin{document}
\maketitle
\begin{abstract}
Your abstract here.
\end{abstract}

\section{Introduction}
\section{Methods}
\section{Results}
\section{Discussion}

\bibliographystyle{plainnat}
\bibliography{references}
\end{document}

Useful LaTeX Packages

• booktabs — professional tables
• siunitx — SI units and number formatting
• algorithm2e — pseudocode
• tikz/pgfplots — figures and plots
• cleveref — smart cross-references
• subcaption — subfigures
• listings/minted — code listings

BibTeX Entry Formats

@article{key,
  author  = {Last, First and Last2, First2},
  title   = {Paper Title},
  journal = {Journal Name},
  year    = {2024},
  volume  = {1},
  pages   = {1--10},
  doi     = {10.xxxx/xxxxx}
}

Reviewer Response Template

We thank the reviewer for their constructive feedback. Below we address each comment point by point.

---

**Reviewer Comment 1:** [Quote the comment]

**Response:** [Your response]

**Changes made:** [Describe specific changes with page/line numbers]

---

Guidelines for reviewer responses:

• Be respectful and grateful, even for harsh reviews
• Address every point, even minor ones
• Clearly distinguish between changes made and rebuttals
• Provide evidence (new analyses, references) for disagreements
• Reference specific manuscript locations for changes

Writing Quality Checklist

Clarity

• One idea per paragraph
• Topic sentence first
• Active voice preferred (but passive OK for methods)
• Avoid jargon without definition
• Short sentences for complex ideas

Precision

• Quantify claims ("increased by 15%" not "significantly increased")
• Distinguish correlation from causation
• Use hedging appropriately ("suggests" vs "proves")
• Report effect sizes, not just p-values

Flow

• Logical paragraph transitions
• Consistent terminology throughout
• Forward references for later sections
• Signposting ("First... Second... Finally...")

Common Issues to Fix

• Dangling modifiers
• Pronoun ambiguity ("this" without referent)
• Nominalization overuse (use verbs, not noun forms)
• Redundancy ("past history", "future plans")
• Weak openings ("It is well known that...")

Citation Styles

• APA 7th: (Author, Year) — social sciences
• IEEE: [1] numbered — engineering/CS
• Vancouver: (1) numbered — biomedical
• Chicago: footnotes — humanities
• Nature: superscript numbered — natural sciences

When unsure, ask the user for their target journal/conference and adapt accordingly.