How I learned to write a paper Franco Bazzoli University of Bologna

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How I learned to write a paperFranco
BazzoliUniversity of Bologna

• YIM Course Ferrara
• 16 December 2007

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How I learned to write a paper

• Sitting next to my mentor on Saturday mornings
• Reading, reading, and . Reading
• Attending Journal Clubs
• Being persistent, from writing to publishing
  quitters NEVER win
• WINNERS NEVER QUIT!

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How I learned to write a paper..just a few tips

• Define your bottom line
• Break up the story in
• it was previously shown
• what is not known
• the mistery that you want to answer
• Consider non expert
• Giustify the interest of your work to someone
  outside of your field
• Include different levels in which your results
  are significant

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How I learned to write a paper ..just a few tips

• You need a road map for writing the paper
• Simply work out figures and tables to be included
• Give each figure and table a simple declarative
  title in the form of a sentence
• most of the content of the paper should be
  evident from looking at figure/tables and reading
  these sentences
• Give your paper a narrative structure that links
  from one finding to another
• build up the structure by writing notes and then
  rearranging them so that there are logical links

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How I learned to write a paper ..just a few tips

• Title
• strong
• big picture
• but do not claim more that you have shown
• Introduction
• make it clear where the background ends and the
  new work begins
• state clearly your hypothesis and aim
• Methods
• write all is needed to repeat your study

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How I learned to write a paper ..just a few tips

• Results
• put the most important results first
• describe data with minimal interpretation
• the reader has to see your logical path, but
  let him agree or disagree
• Discussion
• start with a short paragraph summarising the main
  results
• do not repaeat introduction and results
• discuss how your results affect the field
• reveal any large area that remains a a complete
  mistery

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How I learned to write a paper ..just a few tips

• How to write clearly
• cut, cut, cut
• chopping out
• specificity
• using only words with precise meaning
• flow
• no gaps in logic

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How I learned to write a paper ..just a few tips

• A golden rule
• Be polite to editors
• And (possibly)
• To reviewers!
• ..no matter how you are provoked

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How I learned to write a paper ..just a few tips

• And
• ..good luck!