Lesson from PhD Course: Writing a scientific text

Lessons from Magne Nylenna, Kunnskapssenteret: 

The setup of a publication

• Introduction
• Three paragraphs:
• What is known
• What is unknown
• What is your plan
• Catch the interest of the reader and help him or her understand
• Start with a quote, a definition, a scenario
• Materials and methods
• Study design
• How, what, when, and where
• Data analysis
• Aim for six paragraphs
• Results
• Aim for six paragraphs
• systematic presentation of findings
• A logical order: general to detailed
• Use tables and figures; do not state the same facts twice.
• Discussion
• 6-7 paragraphs
• Structure:
• summarize main findings
• the limits and strengths
• interpretation of results
• importance of the study
• End with a clear message

"Kill your darlings"

• Make your title better.
• Informative and exciting
• be careful with conclusions
• wait until the final manuscript; use a working title
• A question in the title must be answered in the text
• Form example: "An exciting statement: An explanation of the text"