Bacon Editing

Sculpt and refine

Wed, 11 Jun 2025 02:47:37 -0700

Once you have written the first draft of your research paper, it is time to start revising. The goal of revision is to turn your first draft into a coherent piece of writing that clearly communicates your message. This involves making sure the overall structure of your manuscript is sound rather than worrying about spelling and grammar (that comes later when we start editing). Revision also considers the informational content of your manuscript and the logical flow of your ideas and arguments. In this post, I describe how to revise the overall coherence, informational value, and logical flow of your paper to help you turn your first draft into a clear and coherent manuscript that is ready for editing.

Overall coherence

The first step of revision is to make sure the overall structure of your paper is sound. To do this, check each section in turn and make sure that you have included the right information in the right section. The following checklist briefly summarizes what should be included in each section and what common mistakes you should avoid:

Abstract: have you defined the knowledge gap/problem, research question, main findings, and implications?
Introduction: have you introduced the topic, explained the rationale, described the current state of the knowledge, highlighted the knowledge gap/problem, and stated the research question?
Methods: have you described all experimental procedures in sufficient detail and in a logical order? Have you avoided presenting any results?
Results: have you presented your data in a logical order and described all your tables and figures? Have you avoided interpreting your findings?
Discussion: have you answered your research question, supported your answer with your data, discussed how the published literature supports or refutes your findings, explained any unexpected results, discussed the strengths and limitations of your study, and emphasized the...Read More

Battling writer's block

Thu, 08 May 2025 01:07:47 -0700

It’s a very common problem in research writing: the experiments are done, the data are analyzed, now it’s time to write. But what to write? Although you have lots of promising data, it can be difficult to know where to start. A common mistake is starting to write before you are clear what you want to say. While this approach works well for some writers and can help to generate ideas, it is not the best way to draft a research paper.

Writing a good first draft that is clearly thought out and well structured will help you enormously in the revising phase when you refine your writing to create a clear and coherent final manuscript. It will also help your co-authors to give effective feedback to improve the paper. But how can you do this? In this blog post, I give tips on how to overcome writer's block and get your ideas flowing into a well-structured first draft.

First things first

Before you start writing, think about what your take-home message is. In a research paper, this should centre around your research question (i.e., what you set out to investigate). Being aware of this will help you create a focused and coherent draft that you and your colleagues can revise later on.

Now it's time to make a plan. Research papers have a set structure, which is a big help when it comes to getting started. Some journals even provide a template for their articles. This gives you the basic skeleton of your paper: you know that you need to write an Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion section. By thinking about what needs to go in each section, you can draft an outline of your paper.

Start with what you know

A common cause of writer’s block is not knowing how to interpret your findings. You may be feeling pretty overwhelmed at the task of interpreting your masses of data, drawing conclusions, and justifying these conclusions based on the literature. So leave that for now. Start with what you know: what...Read More

A match made in heaven

Mon, 28 Apr 2025 00:00:02 -0700

In research writing, we often have to write sentences that include lots of information and complex terminology. This can make our sentences harder to understand. To help our reader along, we can keep words that work together as close together as possible. This helps because these words often rely on each other for their meaning. If they are close together, the reader understands the meaning immediately. If they are further apart, the reader has to keep one of the words in mind until they get to the second, which can distract them from taking in the intervening information. This makes life harder for our reader. But how can you tell which words belong together? Here I describe some common words that should stay together in your sentences.

Subject and verb

Once the reader learns who or what the subject is in a sentence, they immediately want to know what that subject is doing. If the subject and verb are not close together, the reader is distracted, waiting for the verb to find out the meaning. Consider this example:

Further research into the disadvantages of unplanned hospital admissions for patients with palliative care needs is needed.

Here, the subject of the sentence (further research) is separated from the verb (is needed), which makes it harder for the reader to focus on the important information in between. Putting the subject and verb together helps with this:

Further research is needed into the disadvantages of unplanned hospital admissions for patients with palliative care needs.

Keeping the subject and verb close together also avoids subject-verb disagreement, which can alter the meaning of a sentence. Check out my earlier post for more information on subject-verb disagreement and...Read More

Give your writing rhythm

Sun, 13 Apr 2025 23:33:02 -0700

One of the most common tips for good scientific writing is to keep your sentences short. This is good advice because short sentences are usually easier to understand. However, if you only use short sentences your reader will struggle. Why? Consider this example:

PI3K-Akt signalling regulates cell proliferation. Akt kinase is at the centre of this pathway. It interacts with a variety of proteins. Akt is overexpressed in almost 80% of tumours. However, it is not a suitable target for cancer treatment. Inhibiting Akt has serious clinical side effects. Akt-interacting proteins regulate Akt kinase activity. They are potential targets for cancer therapy.

Although every sentence is short and easy to understand by itself, the text as a whole is very difficult to read. It’s rather like being in a car and jerking along rather than driving smoothly down the road. The problem is that the writing lacks rhythm. This makes it harder for the reader to understand how your ideas flow together. We can solve this problem by varying the length of our sentences:

PI3K-Akt signalling regulates cell proliferation. At the centre of this signalling pathway is Akt kinase, which interacts with a variety of proteins. Although Akt is overexpressed in almost 80% of tumours, it is not a suitable target for cancer treatment because inhibiting Akt has serious clinical side effects. Akt-interacting proteins can regulate Akt kinase activity and have emerged as potential targets for cancer therapy.

That’s much better. By using a combination of short and long sentences, we have made the text more interesting and easier to read. This dispels a common myth in research writing: that longer sentences are bad and should be avoided. What is important is that we use longer sentences where they are helpful and that we write longer sentences that are clear and easy to read. In this blog post, I explain when to use longer sentences in your research paper...Read More

Answer the question!

Mon, 07 Apr 2025 02:58:15 -0700

Your research paper needs a clear focus for your reader to understand your findings and interpretations. Many scientists struggle to maintain this all-important focus in their research writing, but there is a simple solution: focusing on the research question. The research question is the central point of your paper. It tells the reader what you want to find out, and the information you present in every section of your paper should contribute to answering this question. The Introduction should explain why the research question is important, the Methods should show how the research question was answered, the Results should present the data needed to answer the question, and the Discussion should answer the question and justify that answer. In this post, I look at each section of the research paper in detail and consider how we can use our research question to stay on track.

Introduction

Although the research question is typically asked towards the end of the Introduction, we should still keep it in mind from the start. Why? Because the background information we include should explain to the reader why this question needs to be answered. The published literature is vast, and it is easy to lose focus. Making sure that your background information is relevant to your research question will help you to stay on track. Start off with the general background information and gradually narrow the focus down to the specific question.

Once you have written a first draft of your Introduction, check each of the sentences in turn. Are they guiding your reader towards the research question or veering off topic? Delete any sentences that are irrelevant to your research question to avoid misdirecting your reader (or giving them no direction at all).

Methods and Results

The research question is relevant in the Methods section because here we show the reader how the question was answered. Make sure that the methods you present can...Read More

Compare with care

Mon, 31 Mar 2025 01:05:23 -0700

Scientific research papers are filled with comparisons – for example, test variables are compared with controls or treatment groups are compared with placebo groups. Ideally, the reader should be able to understand which variables are being compared and what the difference between them is. For this, the comparison needs to be clear and logical, but scientists often struggle with this. In this post, I give useful tips for writing effective comparisons.

Put the things being compared together

Sentences making comparisons are often filled with information (group names, variables, values, statistics, etc.) and it is often difficult to decipher what is being compared. Putting the things that are being compared close together often helps with this. Let’s take a look at some examples. Consider this title for a research paper:

Trial sequential analysis of the effect of melatonin on postoperative sleep quality measured with visual analogue scale in adults compared with placebo

The problem with this comparison is that the two things being compared (melatonin and placebo) are separated by intervening information. That makes it harder for the reader to figure out exactly what is being compared. The solution is simple – put them together:

Trial sequential analysis comparing the effects of melatonin and placebo on postoperative sleep quality measured with visual analogue scale in adults

Now consider this sentence from a Results section:

Among six observational studies, three found Hispanic patients were less likely to receive labour epidural analgesia compared with non-Hispanic White patients (adjusted odd ratio [aOR] range, 0.44 to 0.80) after adjusting for covariates.

The reader needs to work to figure out what is being compared here. Putting the two things being...Read More

Guiding The Way

Mon, 24 Mar 2025 02:45:20 -0700

Using signposts in your research paper can guide your reader through your explanations and arguments, making your paper easier to read. These signposts can be single words or longer phrases and can work at different levels in a text – from organizing the overall structure of a research paper to clarifying single sentences. However, many scientists do not use these useful signposts in their research writing, leaving their reader to make important connections by themselves. In this blog post, I explain how to use signposts to connect your ideas and tell a coherent story.

The bigger picture: creating coherence with subheadings

Subheadings are useful global signposts that show the reader which section of a paper (Introduction, Methods, Results, or Discussion) they are reading. These sections can be divided even further to help the reader find specific information quickly and easily. For example, the Methods section might be divided according to the different experiments performed and the Results section might be divided according to the data gathered from these experiments. At this level, signposts can be even more effective if they are used consistently between sections. For example, presenting the data in the Results section in the order the experiments are described in the Methods section, and then discussing these data in the same order in the Discussion.

The paragraph level: making the point with topic sentences

Another useful signpost is to start each paragraph with a topic sentence that summarizes the main point and prepares the reader for what follows. This is particularly useful in the Results section of your research paper when you are describing your data. In this section, paragraphs are often cluttered with values and statistics that get in the way of the main point. Summarizing the main finding outright tells the reader what is going on, allowing them to process the list of values and statistics that follow...Read More

A Strong Finish

Tue, 25 May 2021 04:06:41 -0700

The Discussion is the final section of your research paper. The purpose is to conclude your research story by answering your research question and explaining what your results mean. This is important because it helps the reader to realize the value of your work. However, many scientists struggle to write a well-structured Discussion and often fail to answer their research question properly. In this blog post, I describe how to structure your Discussion so that your reader understands the value of your findings.

Specific start

Unlike the Introduction section, where we describe general information and then gradually focus on the specific research question, the Discussion should start with the specific findings before moving on to the broader implications.

In the first paragraph, repeat the research question and then answer it by summarizing the main findings. This will remind your reader what your study is about and will prepare them for your analysis and interpretations. For example:

The purpose of this study was to see whether intravenous administration of dexamethasone before intrathecal injection of morphine reduces nausea and vomiting after Caesarean delivery. We found that dexamethasone significantly reduced the incidence of nausea and vomiting in the first 24 hours after surgery.

This is a credible start to your Discussion section because it tells the reader what the specific research question was and then presents results that answer this question rather than making bold, generalized statements that are not supported by your results.

A logical structure

To maintain a logical structure when writing your Discussion, make sure that each paragraph deals with one topic. Start the paragraph by introducing the topic, continue by developing that topic, and finish by concluding the topic. For more guidance on writing paragraphs, check out my Read More

The Results Are In

Mon, 08 Mar 2021 06:01:47 -0800

The purpose of the Results section is to present your findings in a clear, objective, and logical manner. It should report the findings of the experiments you described in the Methods and prepare the reader for the interpretations you will provide in the Discussion. Typically, this is done through tables, figures, and narrative text. In this blog post, I explain how to structure this information so that your findings are communicated effectively to your reader. I also describe common mistakes in the Results section and how to avoid them.

Follow the guidelines

The structure of your Results section will depend on the specific design and methodology of your study. Check the guidelines of your chosen journal. Most give specific instructions on what to include and how you should arrange the results.

Reporting guidelines provide a checklist of important information needed for the reader to understand and use the results. There are specific guidelines for different study designs. For example, the CONSORT checklist for clinical trials suggests seven subsections for the Results section (participant flow, recruitment, baseline data, numbers analysed, outcomes and estimation, ancillary analyses, and harms), which provides a useful template.

A logical order

Present your results in different subsections, each with its own subheading. These subsections should follow a logical order. For example, you could order your results to match the research question and hypotheses you outlined in the Introduction or the experiments you described in the Methods. It also helps to highlight the most relevant results first, that is the primary outcome followed by secondary findings. To maintain focus, any information that is not directly relevant to the research question should be put into the supplementary information.

Design Read More

Show Them How It's Done

Fri, 18 Sep 2020 09:01:09 -0700

The Methods section of your research paper explains how you did the study. This information allows your reader to judge the validity of your findings and repeat or adapt your experiments if they wish. To help your reader find the information they need, the Methods section needs to be clearly structured and contain the relevant details. In this blog post, I explain how to structure the Methods section so the methodological information is easily accessible.

What to include

The Methods section should include the following information:

The study design
What you studied (animal model, human participants, cells, etc.)
What you used (equipment and materials with manufacturer’s details)
What you measured (outcome measures)
How you collected your data
How you analyzed your data.

Your reader will find what they are looking for more easily if you put this information into subsections with subheadings. Starting with a description of the study design makes sense because the Introduction section typically ends with a brief description of the experimental approach. And ending with a description of how the data were analyzed provides a nice transition to the Results section.

Check the author guidelines of your chosen journal for specific instructions on how to structure your Methods section. Some journals ask their authors to follow reporting guidelines. These guidelines are specific to the study type and they improve the quality of your article by ensuring that all the relevant information has been included.

Now let’s take a closer look at what should be included in each subsection.

Study design

Start by briefly describing your study design. For a clinical...Read More