Questions tagged [writing]
For questions on the process of writing. For questions on the content of writing, use [writing-style].
1,217
questions
2
votes
1
answer
138
views
overlapped results in tables for research journal
In research papers (for examples, computer science journals), may I have overlaps between multiple tables containing experiment results?
My situation is like this. I have two tables Table A and Table ...
20
votes
4
answers
5k
views
As an undergraduate, is it alright to get help finishing my paper?
15 months ago, I improved the bounds for an open math problem which I think is worthy of publication. Later, 9 months ago, I came up with two further results that I also would like to publish. I have ...
0
votes
2
answers
221
views
Do academic journals ever recommend software writing tools for scientific writing that suggest better paragraph construction?
I'm working on some edits to a paper under review with coauthors. Comments include advice that a better writing style be used and awkward wording be fixed. Coauthors are comfortable and expressive in ...
4
votes
1
answer
393
views
Publishing a paper with questionable statistics
I've submitted a paper to a reasonably good journal in my field. One of the reviewers questioned the statistical methods and recommended major revisions. Without getting into the nitty-gritty of the ...
4
votes
3
answers
1k
views
How should I cite the ministry in my own country in APA?
In my research paper, I have cite from a curriculum published by the Ministry of Education in my country. Should I cite the name of the ministry in my own language (i.e. Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı; MEB as ...
4
votes
1
answer
155
views
What facts constitutes as citation-worthy
If I were to state a fact that is simply a part of a field, do I need to cite a scientific article that supports this? Like, let's say I write something like this:
"... tryptamine being a ...
1
vote
2
answers
388
views
Mentioning a personal tragedy in an academic style paper. Is it allowed?
I am working as an editor for an edited book volume on covid-19.
I have come across a very peculiar chapter submitted by an author. In the chapter, the author discloses a personal incident where the ...
6
votes
4
answers
598
views
Do you have to cite your own pre-print?
I am writing a paper that is based on previous work I have done that I have published as a pre-print. I am submitting it to a conference. However it is significantly improved and different. The ...
3
votes
0
answers
129
views
Is it bad-practice to have a high citation to content ratio in academic writing? [duplicate]
I'm writing a high school history textbook. While writing my book, I'm finding its becoming very heavily laden with sources. If I used Turabian's footnote style, they tend to fill half the page. ...
3
votes
2
answers
449
views
How to refer to someone consistently who has multiple names/spellings?
I am writing a research paper in which I mention Moroccan explorer Estaban quite often. In the books I have, his name is spelled in different ways; the Wikipedia article linked above lists even more ...
4
votes
3
answers
738
views
To what extent can advisors edit our writing?
When advisors edit our thesis work, what kind of changes can they make? Is there a limit to what they can do? There's proofreading and also editing for style and clarity. Is asking students to ...
1
vote
2
answers
125
views
Can you use herein to refer back?
As the title suggests, I would like to know if it is correct to use 'herein' to refer back. For instance, I have used the phrase 'in this paper' several times in a document and I wish to use another ...
27
votes
5
answers
8k
views
Is using "iff" appropriate?
Is the word "iff", meaning "if and only if", recognized outside of logic?
In particular, is it appropriate for a physics text? Or is this kind of abbreviation frowned upon?
0
votes
1
answer
122
views
Question for review [closed]
What are the type of question you can ask someone when you send you manuscript to for review. The person may not necessarily be in your field.
1
vote
1
answer
156
views
Can conference papers use the original words in published papers?
Conference papers are often only about 10 pages. When I was writing conference papers, some words seemed unnatural. Can I directly use the original words in someone else's paper? Not a conclusion or ...
4
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Do I have to cite sources for my opinion when it was formed by reading other people's opinions? (undergraduate)
So I'm new to university and have written like 5 papers in my life, please help!
So basically the scenario is, I have a paper about a certain topic which I know nothing about. So I do some research on ...
5
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Statistical analysis plan giving away some of my results, Reviewer 2
Context: At the end of the methodology section, I explain that I will apply an ANOVA to check if at least one condition is different, then I will investigate using multiple comparisons.
The reviewers ...
38
votes
11
answers
6k
views
How can I improve undergraduate students' writing skills?
The fact: my students write badly. The source of the problem is, most likely, low quality primary and secondary education, with little emphasis on essays.
Long term solutions are beyond the scope of ...
2
votes
0
answers
127
views
Acceptance rates of submitted papers by country
Is there any data source or statistic showing acceptance rate of submitted papers for publication by country?
0
votes
0
answers
397
views
struggling with the discussion chapter of PhD thesis (by publication)
Thank you very much for your insightful suggestions earlier and I am back with another question and would love to hear your thoughts about this. My PhD thesis consists of three stand-alone papers (aka ...
62
votes
11
answers
13k
views
How can I avoid overuse of words like "however" and "therefore" in academic writing?
I am in the field of computer science (more specifically robotics), and as I am writing, I must actively avoid using the words "however", "therefore", etc... every few sentences. ...
1
vote
2
answers
107
views
Rules or Laws to guide sectioning and sub-sectioning [closed]
Regardless of the field or subject, is there a website or organization that has rules on how to section and sub-section a document? I have a document on which I have randomly chosen a layout.
project ...
4
votes
2
answers
411
views
Where can I easily find best-paper-award-paper of a conference?
Recently I read an article on tips for PhD students to improve their scientific writing skills. There, one suggestion was to find and read the best-paper-award-papers in highly reputed conferences in ...
1
vote
0
answers
97
views
Tone to use in describing your "research project"
This is an extension question for this What exactly is "briefly explain your master research project" in a PhD application? (CS field)
Suppose I am writing a brief description for my ...
2
votes
1
answer
891
views
Writing sample requirement for PhD application - submit something you assisted in writing?
I'm applying to PhD programs and some require writing samples with a reminder of prioritizing works that are related to the phd program or to my research proposal. The only related writing I have is ...
24
votes
4
answers
5k
views
Is it appropriate for peer-reviewer to look for possible plagiarism?
I'm in the second year of a post-doc, and currently participating in my first experience as a peer-reviewer (my lab PI recommended me to the editor because he's too busy to do it right now). I noticed ...
2
votes
1
answer
134
views
What is the best way to add the results of the Master thesis in the Latex report
I am writing my Master thesis report. My thesis was research and development of a test data generator for a particular domain in an organization. The developed application will generate test data in ...
4
votes
1
answer
5k
views
Difference between Related work and Background section?
I am writing my first Computer Science conference paper. The thing I don't understand is the difference between "related work" vs "background", could someone explain this?
I have ...
2
votes
2
answers
298
views
Chicago or APA for draft manuscript?
I am relatively new to the writing process. I wrote my first manuscript in APA style and found it time consuming while changing it to the Chicago manual style. I am aware that most journals have their ...
1
vote
2
answers
181
views
How to write an introduction for a conference or journal paper efficiently? [closed]
When writing research paper, I am often stuck and spend a lot of time working on the introduction. Most of my time spent is staring at a blank page... The introduction takes me significantly longer to ...
0
votes
1
answer
470
views
How to justify research assistant's role in the grant application
How can we justify the role of Research Assistant in the grant application?
Everyone knows that faculty members are busy with teaching, admin tasks, writing grants etc. so they actually seek PhD and ...
4
votes
4
answers
266
views
Active voice: Using "I" to show my contribution and "we" to include the audience?
I've read the other questions on active vs passive voice. But my question is slightly different.
Let's say I'm writing in active voice and using "I" as I'm primarily writing a thesis-like ...
3
votes
1
answer
230
views
Writing an Original State of the Art Section When There Are Recent (Meta-)Surveys for the Topic
Problem
In many fields, it is customary that every paper has a section describing the state of the art of the field, to give a background and show familiarity with related works. While sometimes, this ...
2
votes
1
answer
122
views
How important is it to cite the earliest report of something?
As a general rule I try to put in some due diligence to cite the authors who first provided strong evidence of something that I'm referencing, even if I wasn't aware of their work before I started ...
2
votes
2
answers
257
views
Should I send an addendum/erratum due to single error in sign?
I was reading my own paper published in 2018 and I noticed that in one of the sections I wrote "<" instead ">" to indicate greater than or greater value, although the ...
1
vote
2
answers
112
views
In a paper with a co-author who contributed one part (say, computer implementation), where should the contributions of the authors be outlined?
If I write a paper, and another person provides a computer program that visualizes the idea, where should I mention the roles of the authors? Is the "acknowledgements" section appropriate ...
2
votes
0
answers
46
views
In a paper whose I am the sole author, should I use "I" or "we"? [duplicate]
When writing a paper whose I am the sole author, should I use "I" or "we" when referring myself?
2
votes
3
answers
369
views
Is a higher amount of literature cited in an essay generally seen as better?
I'm a postgraduate M.Sc. student at a university studying math. Currently I need to write some essay/assignment (about 10 pages) for a seminar where we revisit already published work and describe it ...
4
votes
6
answers
1k
views
I'm an independent researcher with a very long paper, how can I get help editing it and submitting it to a journal?
I am an independent researcher and have spent the past year writing a fairly extensive (60+ pages) research paper on a topic in probability/statistics. The paper is almost complete but there are a ...
4
votes
2
answers
381
views
What to do when your idea turns out to be an old one
I learned yesterday that an idea (let's call it Idea A) I came up with on my own and that will appear in a paper I'm writing actually appeared in a paper 15 years ago. (My field is math, I'm a PhD ...
40
votes
10
answers
12k
views
Is "flowery language" frowned upon in engineering and STEM related research?
I work in an engineering field (related to AI, machine learning, etc.) and something I found interesting is whenever I use "big words" or even long words like "substantiate" or &...
5
votes
1
answer
439
views
Plagiarism and credible sources
Plagiarism is the reuse of other's materials without proper credit and acknowledgement [1]
Credible sources are vaguely defined, but it can be attributed to verifiable facts in the literature [2]
I ...
0
votes
1
answer
91
views
Can I, when writing a book, make use of a physical model made up by someone else? [closed]
Currently, I'm writing a book about everything from A to Z [physics, the science of the brain, AI, many more scientific topics, the "philosophy" (the workings) of the sciences, economy, the ...
3
votes
1
answer
5k
views
How to properly describe future works in Master's Thesis?
I have developed an application for the Master's Thesis. It provides enough functionality for demonstration purposes and to explain the workings of it. However, many other areas (some major, some ...
22
votes
6
answers
7k
views
How do I handle inaccessible DOIs when citing papers?
When writing a paper, it's not that seldom, that I want to cite papers where a DOI is given but cannot be accessed (anymore). Quite frequently, the corresponding DOI is also presented within the PDF ...
1
vote
1
answer
298
views
How to evaluate an implementation Master's thesis in Evaluation chapter? [closed]
I am writing a Master's Thesis where I developed an application. The application was developed after the study of another similar application. My application does things differently but the principle ...
0
votes
1
answer
121
views
Standard recommendations and steps for writing introductory books [closed]
Suppose I plan to write an introduction to, say, statistics that's intended both for self-learning and as a companion to a university course.
Is there any standard advice about the following?
...
1
vote
2
answers
154
views
Can I reference a result on a dataset without any research paper by that author as state of the art?
The best result on a given dataset has no trace in the form of
research paper or any sort of analysis.
We have no idea whose results were those, or what method was created.
Some competition was held,...
1
vote
0
answers
87
views
Can I suggest the authors to hire professional writer for scientific paper as a reviewer during second review? [duplicate]
I have reviewed a scientific paper and suggested a major revision. They corrected it but still, I think the language quality is not standard. In this case, can I ask the authors to hire a professional ...
14
votes
6
answers
10k
views
How can I communicate that the word limit prevents you from elaborating something in an essay?
Let's posit:
You're a university student. I don't posit degree level; you can be undergraduate or postgraduate.
You must not overstep the essay's word limit, whatever it is. You lose marks if you ...