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Super easy writing tips!

Kalynn M. Schulz

Date (s) modified: 9/2013; 7/24/14; 8/24/14; 9/5/14

Note: These tips should be relevant for several writing projects, but are specifically geared toward writing a research paper. Please remember that writing is mostly an editing process. No one sits down and writes a beautiful first draft. Be patient, and don’t get discouraged! After several edits, your paper will look amazing!

A FEW GENERAL TIPS CUT THE CRAP Don’t use unnecessary phrases when describing research findings.

Do not say “it was found that” “they found that” etc. when describing data. Instead, just describe the data pattern!

Student writes: It was found that stress decreases memory performance. Change to: “Stress decreases memory performance.”

“It was found that” is completely unnecessary!

On a related note, do not start sentences with “so and so researcher found that” When you write sentences this way, it puts the emphasis on the AUTHORS of the paper

rather than their findings, and it is distracting to readers. Not to mention it requires using the past tense.

When editing your writing, go through and take any of these unnecessary phrases OUT of your

paper!

Try fixing the crummy sentences below: It is well known that schizophrenia affects 1% of people worldwide. Bigshot PI and colleagues have shown that prenatal stress exposure alters adult brain and

behavioral function. USE THE ACTIVE VOICE How do I tell an active from a passive sentence?

Is the subject performing the action? ACTIVE Is the action word performed upon the subject? PASSIVE

Example:

I have been exposed to many excellent training experiences.

I have sought out many excellent training experiences.


Kalynn M. Schulz

Date (s) modified: 9/2013; 7/24/14; 8/24/14; 9/5/14

RESEARCH PAPER

INTRODUCTION

What do the readers need to know to understand your research question? This is what comprises your Introduction, nothing more, nothing less. Introductions don’t need to be excessively lengthy, 35 paragraphs will usually suffice. In general, the Introduction should have the structure of [1] HERE’S WHAT WE KNOW (background paragraphs), [2] HERE’S WHAT WE DON’T KNOW (what is the gap in the literature?), [3] HERE’S WHAT WE DID (research question). Think of this format having a funnellike shape; going from a broad literature survey down to the experimental specifics.

One of the biggest mistakes I see students make with writing is they READ READ READ READ READ, sit down to write, and stare at a blank page feeling completely overwhelmed. While of course reading is important, writing should happen soon after the literature search/reading process begins. Furthermore, writing actually helps to focus reading efforts and make literature searches more productive. So let’s break it down.

1. Start with your research question/hypothesis. Write it down. Make sure you never lose sight of your question.

2. WHAT DO WE KNOW? Limit “what we know” ONLY to what the reader absolutely needs to know to understand your research question. Make a list of the major points a reader needs to know to understand your research question/hypothesis. Each “point” in your list will eventually morph into a paragraph.

a. From a point to a paragraph. i. Now that you have your list, do you have all the references/information you need to

discuss each point fully? If not, do some more lit searches, read the relevant papers, and come back to your list to write a paragraph.

b. Paragraph Structure. Introduce an idea (topic sentence), provide evidence for that idea (supporting sentences), summarize what you’ve discussed (summary sentence). i. Topic Sentence. A topic sentence introduces the point of the entire paragraph. It

makes a bold statement. 1. Example of Effective Topic Sentence: Prenatal stress impairs memory and

emotional functioning in a sexspecific manner. ii. Supporting Sentences. Supporting sentences provide the evidence for your topic

sentence. 1. Supporting sentence 1: For example, prenatally stressed males show

impairments in multiple spatial testing paradigms, ranging from the Morris Water Maze to the Y maze (references here).


Kalynn M. Schulz

Date (s) modified: 9/2013; 7/24/14; 8/24/14; 9/5/14

2. Supporting sentence 2: In females, while memory function is relatively spared, prenatal stress significantly increases anxietyrelated behavior in the elevated zero maze (references here).

3. ANOTHER SUPPORTING SENTENCE OR TWO. iii. Summary Sentence. Not surprisingly, a summary sentence summarizes the main

point of the paragraph. Students often feel they are being repetitive with this sentence. You are NOT. Never (ever!) introduce new information in the summary sentence. The summary sentence’s sole purpose is to confirm to the reader that they understood the point of the paragraph. As such, the summary sentence should mirror and extend the topic sentence. For example, compare the following sentence to the topic sentence above:

1. Thus, numerous studies suggest that prenatal stress preferentially impairs memory function in males, and preferentially increases anxietyrelated behaviors in females.

c. Move on to the next point in your list and repeat all the steps in 2b. 3. WHAT DON’T WE KNOW and WHAT WE DID

a. This is usually (not always) one paragraph that starts with a statement of what we don’t know, a supporting statement or two, and ends with your research question. i. The specific neural mechanisms underlying prenatal stressinduced behavioral

alterations are not known. Although several neurotransmitter systems are impacted by prenatal stress (references), the cholinergic system has not been investigated. This is surprising considering the importance of the hippocampal cholinergic system in mediating both memory and emotional functioning (references). Thus, the current study investigated whether prenatal stress impacts the hippocampal cholinergic system, and in particular, nicotinic acetylcholine receptor levels in the hippocampus.

METHODS

1. Remember that the purpose of a Methods section is to allow other laboratories to replicate your study. Therefore, detailed instructions are essential. Methods sections can seem tedious, but remembering that this section is a necessary service to the scientific community may help motivate you! With this in minddon’t just copy and paste everything from the last manuscript your lab published. MAKE DARN SURE EVERYTHING IS ACCURATE. Finding out you’ve made a mistake AFTER something has been published is no fun. You are then ethically obligated to publish a correction, which is simply embarrassing (in my recent experience). Mistakes will happen, but they are avoidable if you take the time to construct your Methods section carefully.

2. Bear in mind that the next section in your paper, the Results, should follow the presentation order (to the extent possible) of the Methods. Thus, try to have the Methods cover the outcome measures in the order that best presents your research findings.

3. Stylistically, Methods sections can be dry, and there aren’t any particular rules (but check the


Kalynn M. Schulz

Date (s) modified: 9/2013; 7/24/14; 8/24/14; 9/5/14

instructions for authors for the journal to which you are submitting). Just use your common sense, write in complete sentences, and use headers where appropriate/needed.

RESULTS

1. The “rules” for Results sections have lightened up a bit over the years. The traditional view was that results are to be stated within the Results section with absolutely NO interpretation of their meaning. In this view, data interpretation is reserved for the Discussion section, which ensures that readers will draw their own conclusions when reading the Results section. However, with the significant increase in scientific papers published over the last 30 years, some interpretation within the Results section is now viewed as a courtesy to the overwhelmed reader. I recommend keeping data interpretation within the Results section to a minimum. Below are a couple of ways to help readers better understand your data within the Results section.

a. Use of headers to summarize a finding i. Example header: Prenatal stress increases anxiety in females but not in

males b. Simple clause following a result.

i. Prenatal stress significantly decreased time in the open areas of the elevated zero [F (1,18) = 7.80, p< 0.05], suggesting that prenatal stress increases anxietyrelated behavior in females.

2. If possible, present your most interesting results first. 3. As much as possible, have your Results follow the order of events presented in the Methods.

DISCUSSION

1. Your Discussion should have a triangular shape. It will start with your most interesting findings, and end more broadly with the implications of your data for future studies and the larger scientific community.

2. Discuss your most interesting/important results first!

3. Let’s break it down: a. Each paragraph of your Discussion will basically follow the structure laid out in Introduction

section 2b, but we can get a little more specific about the content in the Discussion. i. Topic sentence:

1. What is your result and what does this result mean/suggest? ii. Supporting sentences:

1. Describe/Summarize the studies that support your data interpretation. 2. Also describe any studies that do not agree with your findings, and the

potential reasons for differences between your studies (e.g. experimental method differences).

iii. Summary sentence:


Kalynn M. Schulz

Date (s) modified: 9/2013; 7/24/14; 8/24/14; 9/5/14

1. An effective summary sentence makes a statement regarding the importance of your result within the context of the literature reviewed in the supporting sentences.

a. Example: Therefore, our finding that prenatal stress increases anxietyrelated behavior in females but not in males complements and extends current knowledge of the sexspecific effects of prenatal stress on anxietyrelated behaviors in adulthood.

b. Discuss additional results. You are not obligated to discuss every result from the Results section, however, you will likely discuss most of your results in order of importance (most to least).

c. What additional questions do your results generate? d. What are the larger implications of your results (e.g. for human health)?

4. Every Discussion will be a little different depending on the specific experiment. As long as you start specific with your most interesting findings, tell readers why they should care about your findings, discuss your findings within the context of the greater literature, and discuss future questions and/or larger implications of your data, you will be in good shape!

EDITING

1. You will probably end up cutting lots of text, even entire paragraphs, during the paper editing process. Instead of deleting a paragraph forever, cut and paste this text into a separate “cuts” file. Why? Because what won’t work in one section of the paper (e.g. the Introduction), often works great in another section (e.g. Discussion). Sometimes I even end up accessing my “cuts” file for later writing projects (e.g. grant proposals).

2. Don’t get discouraged! No one sits down and writes a beautiful first draft of a paper. Writing is a process of EDITING! Have other people read your work and get feedback. After several draftsit will look great!