Academic writing is intended for a critical and informed audience, based on closely investigated knowledge, and posits ideas or arguments.
37
votes
9answers
3k views
Software to draw illustrative figures in papers
I would like to have suggestions of good software for drawing illustrations in research papers. I already know about Xfig, but this works only on Linux and is at times, clunky when it comes to text. ...
30
votes
8answers
2k views
What are the advantages or disadvantages of using LaTeX for writing scientific publications
What are objective advantages or disadvantages of using the markup language LaTeX instead of a WYSIWYG word processor like MS Word or LibreOffice Writer?
Please use objective arguments to prevent a ...
30
votes
7answers
1k views
How do I overcome fear of rejection when writing academic papers?
I don't know how to put it. I have never published before. Previously my one paper was rejected, that was because the experiments were not ready and my advisor asked me to still submit it just to have ...
29
votes
1answer
549 views
In what tense (present/past) should papers be written?
That is, should it be present tense or past tense?
Should there be a difference between the abstract, main body and the conclusion?
Does the field of publication have any impact?
25
votes
3answers
852 views
What's the point in “the paper is structured as follows”?
Inspired by the recent question on list of figures: what is the point of ending your introduction with a paragraph saying "The paper is structured as follows: in Section 1 we do BLAH, then in Section ...
25
votes
4answers
625 views
Choosing the title of a paper: are provocative titles better?
I am currently working on a paper that challenges some long-standing practices within my field, but am questioning how to title the paper. Basically, the old view in the research field is "we do Y ...
24
votes
6answers
629 views
How to reduce a paper's size for a page limited conference
This is a usual problem of mine, I have a page limited conference (usually 8) and my paper is 15 pages long, or in a less dramatic case 10.
How do you go about taking stuff off the paper. Do you have ...
24
votes
3answers
420 views
Choice of personal pronoun in single-author papers
Which personal pronoun is appropriate in single-author papers - 'I' or 'we'? Could the use of 'I' be considered egotistical? Or will the use of 'we' be considered to be grammatically incorrect?
23
votes
5answers
322 views
How do I improve my rewriting and editing skills?
When writing academic papers, I'm really bad at improving what I have already written. I have heard stories about how most of the time in writing should be spent on rewriting what one has already ...
20
votes
2answers
198 views
Writing papers in language X and translating to English vs. writing papers in English to begin with?
I'm working with a group in China, and we were discussing the following question, which I would like to ask here too:
Question: Is it better to write a paper in Chinese, then translate it into ...
20
votes
5answers
310 views
How to find ways to proofread English in papers
As a non-native speaker of English, it can often be hard to spot some of the errors that a native speaker would find. For a long time, I've been thinking about getting a native speaker to help me with ...
18
votes
9answers
1k views
What are the key features of a short (15 min) conference presentation?
I am preparing to give a conference presentation from scratch.
What is an effective ratio of introduction / methods / results / conclusion slides?
How can I balance the details of research without ...
18
votes
7answers
287 views
Resources on how to overcome writer's block, especially for non-native English speakers?
One of the issues we have at my English-language institute is the problem of getting our doctoral students to write papers in English. For some, writing isn't a big challenge. For others, however, the ...
18
votes
4answers
318 views
How to improve technical writing
Whenever I write an article, I feel the result is not good enough. Although every theorem is solid and correctly proven, something is always "squeaky".
The main evidence for my feeling shows itself ...
18
votes
3answers
319 views
In writing a paper, how far can criticism of previous works go?
What are the appropriate limits when criticizing the previously published work of others that you're citing in a paper? Are there limits with respect to maintaining decorum and decency?
17
votes
7answers
897 views
How common is it to write out a script for a talk? What are the benefits?
I have never written a verbatim script for a talk. I have at times written notes or outlines, but I never read from them when presenting (and rarely when practicing). With enough (weeks) of practice, ...
17
votes
4answers
423 views
Present math for non-mathematicians
I am a graduate student in mathematics, and I recently got the question why there isn't a press release to the general public whenever we publish a paper (to advertise mathematics and increase ...
16
votes
4answers
374 views
Academic pipeline: How many papers should you have under review?
Often I've come across rules of thumb about maintaining active publication record. The advice I've most often been given is that one should have at least two papers under review at all times? What's ...
16
votes
2answers
422 views
Isn't ghostwriting reverse-plagiarism?
Ghostwriting is when an author writes a work and attributes it to someone else.
Isn't this reverse-plagiarism (someone taking credit for someone else's work, but with permission)? I'm not sure it ...
16
votes
4answers
794 views
What year to use when citing second editions of books
This seems like a silly question, but I can't find a clear answer online. If Dr. Brainiac's Big Book of Science was first published in 1974, but I have the second edition, published in 1996, should I ...
16
votes
2answers
316 views
How do you “grow your own” post doc opportunity?
I am a finishing doctoral student (graduation in ~7-9 months) and I would love to get an year or so of postdoctoral experience. I've come to understand that a postdoc is generally paid by funds ...
15
votes
3answers
242 views
Is it important to list the merits of a research paper?
When we write a research paper, most of the times we need to describe in the introduction what is the merit of the present work (unless is a survey of sorts).
Many professors, tell me that is enough ...
15
votes
2answers
156 views
Abbreviations in journal papers
Do I expand abbreviations at their first use per section or per paper?
This is an IEEE publication, but I haven't come across any specific instructions.
14
votes
3answers
490 views
Internet Git repository for collaboration on a paper
I've just started using git for tracking changes in a LaTeX paper I'm writing, and for collaboration with co-authors.
However, I cannot find easily private git repositories with reasonable plans for ...
14
votes
4answers
1k views
Can I reuse part of a paper for my thesis?
I am finishing writing my master's thesis (~100 pages) and I also just submitted a paper (8 pages) to a conference. Since both are on the same subject and I am an author on both, is it ok if I reuse ...
13
votes
4answers
291 views
How do you thematically include accidental findings (“serendipity”) in a dissertation or paper?
I'm asking for approaches to include interesting, but not perfectly fitting results in a dissertation or a paper.
During my PhD project I have made an accidental discovery, which is what I believe ...
13
votes
2answers
169 views
Issue tracking when writing a paper
When writing papers (and even more - when revising after collaborators', or reviewers', remarks) it's hard to keep track what is done, what needs to be fixed, what cannot be fixed, when opinions of ...
13
votes
2answers
156 views
At what point in the writing process should one contact an academic book publisher?
Is it better to contact a publisher early in the writing process so that the editor can be involved in shaping the project, or is it better to submit a full academic book manuscript? In my case, this ...
12
votes
7answers
989 views
How to approach American English vs. British English spelling in a paper?
I am currently writing a paper, for which my title and core problem is spelled differently in American and British English.
I don't worry about my professor preferring one way of writing over the ...
12
votes
4answers
370 views
How can I encourage my advisor to adopt better work practices?
I'm a second year PhD student. In general I love my advisor, but recently we've run into some small bumps in the road while working on a paper together. He's controlling the "master" copy and I send ...
11
votes
3answers
432 views
Can I use contractions in my thesis?
I am writing my thesis (in Computer Science, if that's relevant) and I am thinking about the style, especially about using contractions.
I realize that thesis is a formal text and contractions like ...
11
votes
3answers
181 views
How to handle multiple versions of a paper (e.g. conference and journal version)
A usual flow of a project (in my field) commonly looks like this:
having a result -> (1) writing a paper (with all the proofs) -> (2) making a conference version -> (3) uploading a full version to ...
11
votes
3answers
255 views
What information should I include in a letter of support for a grant?
What are the key information that should be included in a letter of support on a grant application? What information should I avoid?
I'm a theorist and I am planning to list my expertise and ...
11
votes
5answers
558 views
How much should I worry about British spelling when submitting to a U.K. journal?
I'm in the U.S. and have always written in American English. I will be submitting a paper to a U.K. journal for the first time. To conform to British spelling, I've changed the Microsoft Word ...
10
votes
2answers
661 views
Why are all these papers exactly 10 pages long?
I've been reading papers authored by professor A's PhD students. I have read about a dozen of papers by now, and realized that all of them are exactly 10 pages long. These papers were written by ...
10
votes
3answers
201 views
When and how do I start writing a conference paper?
In some areas, like Computer Science, peer reviewed conference are as important as Journal Papers.
Unlike most Journals, Conferences have hard deadlines to submit the papers as well as page limits.
...
10
votes
4answers
207 views
How to hire editor to improve my paper
I'm thinking of hiring a contact/freelance editor to help me improve my paper, before I submit it. I'm looking for someone to perform proofreading and copy editing as well as broader, substantive ...
10
votes
1answer
278 views
What should a progress report contain?
What are the key components of a progress report? There are no official guidelines from the funding agency; all I have is a set of project objectives listed in the original proposal and a target ...
9
votes
2answers
78 views
Contents of the discussion section
In an academic paper, we sometimes have a "Results and Discussion" section.
It is not uncommon to add the explanation and discussion of the results together with the results section.
What are the ...
7
votes
2answers
105 views
How exactly does a conference abstract differ from an article abstract?
I am currently taking a brief course in Technical/Academic Writing. At one point, in passing, the lecturer (who's a researcher in linguistics himself) mentioned that one should not confuse a ...
6
votes
4answers
91 views
Using a software screenshot in a paper
When writing a paper which, as an aside, talks about the design of a user interface on a particular piece of software, can one insert a (correctly labeled and referenced) screenshot of the software to ...
6
votes
1answer
51 views
What sections should I include in the Project Description section of my NSF grant proposal?
I am a Ph.D. student, and I am writing my first proposal to the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) for a research grant in the field of chemistry.
One thing that I have found very confusing is ...
5
votes
1answer
93 views
How to reference different sources in a list?
I am writing my master thesis and I am not sure how to reference/cite different sources in a list.
I have a small list like:
The benefits of "Incredibly interesting topic" are:
benefit 1 (ref 1)
...
5
votes
2answers
68 views
Usage guidelines on Non-Latin-script in an otherwise Latin script text?
While combing through English journal articles and semi-scientific articles, I noticed how problematic it is that in some cases those papers use a romanized, Latin script display of originally ...
4
votes
3answers
160 views
Related work in an article
(This is a junior researcher's question.)
Scientific publications contain a part discussing related work and the context of the paper. However, it is not clear where to put the section discussing ...
3
votes
2answers
119 views
Time employed for writing
I am looking for any indication of how long should it take to write, let's say, a paragraph, for a non-native English speaker (with a good knowledge of English). I know that for the writing process of ...
2
votes
3answers
221 views
How to cite a website URL?
I am currently writing a report and i have been compiling a list of references (from IEEE mostly) and I also have a number of websites.
My question is, what is the best way to note a website url? ...
2
votes
1answer
230 views
How formal should figures in a thesis be?
I am currently writing my masters thesis. I include in it a screenshot of a webpage, in which I want to point at some components and explain what each of them does. What I did so far is that I draw ...
2
votes
1answer
38 views
Resources for English speaking students with poor command of grammar and writing style
I sometimes read student assignments where the grammar and writing style is poor. Paragraphs don't really flow. Sentences go on for ever. The ordering of words is awkward. Instead of concisely ...
-1
votes
2answers
81 views
How do I cite an unpublished work in my paper? which incidentally is my second submission to the same conference [duplicate]
The problem is I completed a work earlier and did another work which extends this work. However, I haven't got the earlier work published. I plan to send these two papers to a conference but I do not ...
