The Steps To Writing And Editing A Strong Scientific Manuscript 

Science manuscripts and thesis editing services

Scientific manuscripts have been in existence for well over 350 years now. They have been used to publish extensive research work in various fields. A colossal amount of effort is put into conducting research. Thus, a scientific manuscript must keep up with that and be thorough, well-structured, and factual. Over the years, the outline and format of manuscripts have evolved to make way for the IMRAD or the Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion outline. 

What is a manuscript?  

Firstly, let us understand what a scientific manuscript is.  

Simply put, a scientific manuscript is a written presentation of your research. It is a write-up of how you went about conducting the study, the hypothesis you formulated, the methods you adopted, the results you found, and your interpretation of the same. It ends with a conclusion that is based on your research and findings.   

What differentiates an average scientific manuscript from a good one is:  

The quality of research conducted:  

It should discuss or present new results related to the research and therefore provide a fresh perspective to readers. 

The writing style 

It must also read well with a fluent narrative that is easy to follow. It must reflect your ability to critique and think independently as well.  

The structure  

A good manuscript follows a well-thought-out structure that adheres to standards and is very straightforward. 

 Structure of a quality scientific manuscript

 The structure of a manuscript is very important because it makes it easy to read and helps readers understand what to expect next. In addition to the structure, there are a few other things to keep in mind. 

Title 

Your title needs to be simple yet contain key terms from your research to attract attention.  

Abstract  

Sometimes, writing an abstract can be tricky. So, it’s best to draw from your manuscript itself. Take two to four sentences each from the introduction, the results, and the discussion. Make sure to include the hypothesis or the objective and write the abstract at the end of your manuscript.  

Now, let’s also identify the key pointers to remember from each section of your manuscript.  

Introduction  

Your introduction needs to include some background before it sets the context and brings the readers’ attention to your research. Sometimes, a literature review can significantly help with that. A literature review is a summary of other research articles that are relevant to your research.  

Through the literature review, you can provide a background of existing research, explain how much is known, identify gaps, and relate it all back to your work. Finish off the introduction by clearly stating your hypothesis and bringing in the general methodology used to test it.  

Methods 

In this section, ensure that you provide a detailed and accurate insight into the methodology used to test your hypothesis. The more precise it is, the easier it is for other scientists to comprehend these procedures. If you find that it is reading too long, you can break it down into sub-sections to make sure you don’t lose your reader, and they can keep track of the various procedures with ease. Always ensure that you use labels or headings for your sub-sections.  

Results  

There are mainly two ways in which you must present your results:  

Data: In this section, you insert the visuals related to your results, for instance, graphs, tables, pie charts, or photos. Make sure to label your visuals correctly and that the font is readable.  

Written: In this section, write, in sufficient detail, about the results of your experiment. While you needn’t provide too much information, at the same time, you must be descriptive and include the most important results. Sometimes, you also need to annotate your data display and write about those results in this section.  

Discussion 

Here is where you build a little more on the results and tell the readers how your research stands in the context of other research in the field. So, make sure you understand the relevance of your study, discuss all the results you wrote about in the previous section, and link it to the existing body of work.  

Finish with a summary and leave room to envision what might come next in the field in terms of research. 

Editing your manuscript 

 Once you have provided all the information in your manuscript, you will need to edit it. Editing is modifying and organizing the content to make it more precise and hence more readable. For this, you could take the assistance of science manuscripts editing services. India is home to many such service providers.  

Editing is essential because, without it, you may fail to notice specific factual errors, be too wordy, or even be grammatically incorrect. It helps identify breaks or gaps in the flow of your structure and helps make your manuscript tighter and easier to read. In countries like India, where English is a second language, editing becomes essential. Manuscript editing services in India have a standard that they strictly adhere to, making their editing more effective.  

A few important steps in the editing process are:  

  1. Make sure the language used is intelligent, clear, and precise. 
  2. Proofread the content to bring out and eliminate errors in spelling (British vs American), grammar, punctuations, and even tone. 
  3. Check for unnecessary usage of jargon and biased writing. 
  4. Ensure that data and facts are presented uniform and consistent and that tables and charts are labelled correctly. 
  5. Align the conclusion to the findings of the research and summarize it effectively.
  6. Check for adherence to the journal style recommended- APA, Chicago, Harvard, etc.

Conclusion  

Your research is likely to be read by many others. It has the potential to be published if it can provide a clear presentation of a problem with an accurate description of the methods, results, and discussion. Present your findings in a manner that is readable and verifiable. A scientific manuscript with all these elements can become a success!

 Want to get your scientific manuscript or thesis edited by expert Content Connects team, contact us today.

 

 

Open Chat
Chat with Us Now
Content Connects provides a range of writing, editing, and related services. EXPLORE MORE by hitting the button BELOW.