Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Ten Tips to keep in mind when writing articles

Sung-Tae Hong, Journal of Korean Medical Science, Korean Academy of Medical Sciences, Seoul, Korea
Writing a good quality scientific article takes experience and skill but the process can be helped by following basic principles.I propose ‘TEN Tips’ that editors can encourage authors to use to improve their manuscripts. These have been developed to facilitate reader-friendly scientific communication and citation.They may help peer review or editing as well as writing. The Ten Tips have a culinary flavour. It is strongly recommended towrite the first draft rapidly, then allow it to cook slowly, tasting repeatedly. During the drafting and slow cooking, prepare and trim the manuscript following the Ten Tips:
1.Keep to a clear plan for the article: plan the article carefully before writing, including contents, conclusion, target journal, authorship and references
2.Keep to the formatting requirements of the target journal
3.Keep consistency: prepare the manuscript using a consistent flow of contents or items
4.Keep scientific confidence: all authors must be confident of their results and conclusion
5.Keep your story: write the manuscript to tell a scientific story
6.Keep sentences sexy: make sentences simple and short
7.Keep in mind Rule of Ten 1: only 10% of people who readthe title go on to  read the abstract, so an informative and attractive  title is essential
8.Keep in mind Rule of Ten 2: only 10% of people who read the abstract go on to read the text
9.Keep the Rule of First and Last: begin the text with a topic paragraph and close it with a resolution paragraph. Begin each   paragraph with a topic sentence and close it with a
resolution sentence
10.Keep connecting words: connect sentences by repeating keywords within a paragraph.

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