Golden rules to writing a perfect scientific manuscript

You are done with your research work and have gathered good scientific data that require international submission and recognition. It is understood, that for every science researcher, more than money it has been always considered that the biggest reward is ones publication and will be referred as Your name et al. In this regard you are planning to get a peer reviewed publication in an international journal however you are confused with the correct style of writing an international standard manuscript. Hence, considering the enormous struggles faced by Indian students, I decided to short list some pertinent points that are essential to follow which would make it easier to write:

a. Selection of Journal- A very integral part of your article publication is to select the appropriate journal. Some major pints to consider are-

i. Look for journal which matches your work and data requirements

ii. Always look for peer reviewed journals

iii. Be clear with the publication charges aswell

b. Journal requirements- Once you have selected the journal name, you should thoroughly note down their requirements.

c. Preparing illustrations- Research articles become more meaningful and acceptable through presence of relevant illustatrions hence, it is advisable to always include them. International journals accept only image and eps files. The eps files are those images files which are generated with adobe illustrator software. Download this software free trial or purchase it and practice with it.

d. Creating your draft- Writing a scientific manuscript is a big challenge as you need to have good writing skills and should have good scientific justifications. Ideally, the main contents of the manuscript should be –

i. Abstract- Every manuscript require a suitable abstract which describe and present your work and data in brief. It should have a good hypothesis with good justifications. Again this could be divided into brief sections of an introduction, methodology applied for your work, results obtained and the conclusion.

ii. Introduction- Begin with a brief biological description of the topic and state what you intend to do. You should elaborately mention the hypothesis with clear justifications to perform the study. One line sentence on what is your strategy and how are you going about it. Next, you provide brief mention on the national and international status of your work with appropriate references whether or not the same strategy was implemented earlier in your lab or elsewhere. Never miss out this information, it should be clearly indicated in your manuscript. If it’s a novel study, then mention its importance and anything related which has been done before.

iii. Materials and methods- This section is extremely crucial as you need to provide the techniques here. Read a lot of research articles especially this section before writing this part. It is advisable to write in parts and in fresh minds. It must be well drafted with accurate values and measurements. Any change or modifications would be directly questioned by your reviewer. Describe the technology or equipment briefly and you must clearly explain the source of the study and the control. In this context, you give details about the treatment done on the model of study, like mouse, cell types or humans. Describe the software type you used in details and all the data analysis using statistical tools mentioning the version number.

iv. Results and Discussion- This section describes your data and all the findings of your study addressing to all your questions for the study. Ideally, you need to include the statistical calculations and data analysis reports pertaining to either relative or absolute comparisons. If any negative finding is there it should also be justified appropriately. Most often you could combine the results with discussion together in one section. Here you could explain the data in details with proper justifications and reference.

v. Conclusions- Finally, this section you mention about the values of your study to the scientific community and its potential uses in the near future for further studies. You could also provide the inferences to the welfare of the mankind and hence, to your nation.

e. Plagiarism- A common cause of manuscript REJECTION is plagiarism- any work which is unlawfully copied in this present manuscript, including sentences or your images from previously published research articles or any source is illegal and punishable once found guilty. While writing be extremely vigilant you keep your work, your language and your words ‘ORIGINAL’. Never do anything which will spoil all your efforts done for the past several years.

f. Bibliography tool- Drafting a good manuscript requires a lot of literature survey and hence, correct inclusion of the reference for all the information provided is essential. Almost every statement you provide here has to be referred by a publication with mention of the year. Hence in this regard, you should use an ideal software tool like the Endnote which is very useful. Just register and download it, you may use it for free at first as trial version. Using this tool requires a little experience and most often it is advisable to work online.

g. Manuscript editing- The language of the manuscript should be simple English that could be easily understood by readers from all parts of world including China, Japan, Germany and others. Ideally, you should use single format of Times New Roman and 12 font size. Always write with accuracy and fresh mind. Never use superlative words like ‘extremely’, ‘first time’, ‘best’, ‘worst’. Also strictly avoid writing provocative or contradictory statements against any previous work. This will create a negative feedback on your work in the scientific community.

h. Working with your coauthors- Remember this work is not only the work of the first author, there are efforts put in by other members of your team. Hence, you should give importance to them aswell. To make your work easier, you could divide the draft version to your coauthors who had given significant time in the study. Keep revising your writeup and the draft versions should be regularly exchanged amongst your coauthors especially those who participated in the study. At the end of this article, remember there is a section where you are supposed to explain the work done by your peers/coauthors.

i. Selection of peer reviewers- It is always advisable to choose reviewers who are your team’s peers or people who are aware of your team and acknowledges your work.

j. Work with your mentor- Once your draft is completed, you send your mentor to give his edits and there will be several rounds of polishing which could be a little frustrating and time taking. Never give up, you should feel excited that your work will be getting published and the biggest reward is that your work will be always remembered once you are no longer there.

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