Developing a structure for a paper
The authors guide of the relevant journal should offer guidance on how you should structure submissions to the journal, including papers, letters to the editor or reflections, etc. If you are writing an academic paper about research then there tend to be standard sections, whatever the journal, but the order in which they appear may differ. You will need to include:
- An abstract
- An introduction
- A list of methods, sometimes including the consumables used
- The results
- Your conclusions
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Acknowledgements if necessary
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References
Think about the paper you wish to write and make a list of headings (using the sections listed above if relevant) and sub-headings of the relevant topics you will cover in each section. Here is an example paper structure you may like to take a look at, to help you get started. Your structure will be much more specific and more detailed than this as you plan your paper in more detail. By the way, you might notice the similarity between the structures of an academic journal paper and a thesis or dissertation - this is no accident!
Your discussion should include the following, regardless of the structure. You might like to include these points in your structure plan or alternatively ensure that they have been covered once you have written the discussion (Docherty and Smith 1999):
- A statement of the principal findings
- Strengths and weaknesses of the study
- Strengths and weaknesses in relation to other studies focusing on any differences in results
- The meaning of the study, its impact and implications
- Unanswered questions and future research
Once you have completed your structure plan you should ask your supervisor or a peer to check through it for you. Be prepared to make changes where necessary to improve the structure at all stages of the writing process if necessary.