Publish, Never Perish

A Structured Guide to Academic Writing

Neil Krishan Aggarwal

Academic Advancement
They want you to be productive... But often great ideas evaporate because teaching how to write for the academic press is not an expressed aim of many research endeavors.

Breakdown: Reverse
Engineering the Paper
All papers have a basic

structure = blueprint
Structure is made up of smaller

sections = components
Once you understand the sections (components) you can focus on building quality sections (components) that fit together into the structure (blueprint)

...What are they?

Academic Papers

Structure
Section 1: Intro Section 2: Methods Section 3: Results Section 4: Discussion
These sections make up your story

Section 1: Intro
What does the current literature add to YOUR project
What to include and how much?

-What is the scientific problem and why is it important?

1st paragraph Heavily referenced

-What part of the problem is the exact focus of the paper?

2nd paragraph

-What do we not know about the problem and what does this study add?
3rd paragraph

Section 2: Methods
Citing & Replicability
What to include and how much?

Methods are about using proven techniques for results and allowing others to potentially replicate your project

Cite and emphasize developed techniques that are proven through the scientific method in previous studies
Walk the reader through your project in clear steps Cookbook

Section 3: Results
Data Presentation
What to include and how much?

Tables are your Molds/Guides

Table 1 = Demographics
Account of what/who the data sources are

Table(s) 2-->N = Results

What the data actually is

Section 4: Discussion
What you project adds to the Literature
What to include and how much?

- Reiterate project findings

1st paragraph

- Situate project results within the larger literature

2nd paragraph

- Limitations of the study

3rd paragraph

- Future directions and next possible projects

4th paragraph

Sections
Blueprint
& Components
Intro: What the Literature adds
to your project

Methods: How and why was

the project organized

Results: Where did the data

come from and what did it show

Like a good story, each section flows into the next, & the Intro (prologue) informs the Discussion (epilogue) & vise versa

Disucssion: What does your

project add to the Literature