Improving Scientific Paper Writing

Rohit was interviewed by Aaron at UiT. The topic? How Rohit’s improved at writing scientific papers. It seems the secret is practice practice practice. Along with a blend of techniques detailed in the video including stopping procrastination, and paying close attention to page limit and word limits.

One technique is to pattern match the structure of your section with other papers which were accepted by the publication you’re aiming for. This involves taking notes about what kind of information is presented in each sentence in other papers, and if for example they all start with a high level intro to the topic in the first sentences then Rohit knows that’s a good place to start. He says to be careful to pick papers that are not on the same topic that you’re writing about.

Another technique is to write in sprints with stream of thought like intensity. This means writing whatever comes to mind for a certain period of time before a break. And after a few of these sprints, suddenly you have much more text than you need, and you can begin trimming it down.

A third idea Rohit shared was that after getting feedback from one journal for several attempted submissions, you begin just getting a feel for what they expect. After seeing what they like and don’t like, you grow instincts for what kind of things will be needed and which things should be avoided to cater to a publication.

Thanks Rohit for sharing your thoughts! If you have lessons from your own experience that might help others, please feel free to comment at the bottom of this page!