The aim of the journal article is to communicate your research effectively and help readers understand the issues at hand. Structure your manuscript so that readers take away the most important messages.

1. Manuscript structure: How to convey your most
important ideas through your paper
Helping you get published

2. Manuscript structure: How to convey your most important ideas through your paper
The core purpose of writing a paper is to go beyond mere
presentation of facts and thoughts. It is to reach out to the
reader—to communicate your research effectively and help
readers understand the issues at hand.
This article introduces and illustrates various concepts for
structuring a manuscript such that readers take away the
most important messages—the messages you want to
convey—after reading your paper.

3. The philosophy behind good manuscript structure
A crucial point to remember while writing a paper is that
readers do not simply read; they interpret.1 Different
readers are likely to extract different meanings from your
paper, depending on their expectations or the clues they
receive from the manuscript’s structure. This brings us to a
concept that serves as the foundation of good writing
practices1:
Write with the reader in mind

4. Manuscript structure: The essential elements
A fitting analogy to the structure of most research manuscripts would be an
hourglass.2 The manuscript begins with broad statements, narrows down to the specifics
of your study, and ends with broad considerations. This section presents the basic
components of a manuscript and outlines the essential functions and content of each
part.2-6

5. Introduction (What are you studying and why?)
Use this section to set the context for your study and problem. Remember that several
readers may not understand the significance of your study right away. Therefore, use
general language and carefully developed logic to guide your readers to the main
problem/objective of your study.
DOs and DON’Ts
Describe the rationale for undertaking the study
Explain how the research makes an important contribution to the field or advances
knowledge
State the research question clearly
Explain the theoretical framework that the study is based on
Provide a background of the problem or issue that your research aims to understand
or resolve, citing studies to support your arguments
Summarize the current state of knowledge on the topic, citing studies as appropriate
X Don't review all studies that have ever been published on the topic

6. Methods (What did you do?)
This section is the most specific to your study. A primary criterion for well-conducted
research is that it must be replicable. This means that another researcher should be able
to reproduce the results by following the methods detailed in your paper.
DOs and DON’Ts
Provide full details of all methods, techniques, and instruments
Include photograph or diagram of the experimental setup
Describe the questionnaire, survey, or other data collection instruments
Provide or cite studies that support the validity and reliability of the analysis methods
and instruments
Describe the lab settings or environment
Explain the analysis methods and why you chose them
X Don’t exclude important details simply to avoid a lengthy description of the methods

7. Results (What did you find?)
Include all the details of your data and results in this section. Highlight the most significant
findings in the text and then move on to the peripheral findings. Readers should be able to
understand your results without spending too much time reading this section.
DOs and DON’Ts
Use tables and figures effectively to present results in a manner that’s easy to
understand at a glance
Describe the actual data rather than provide generalizations
State the main findings in the text
Highlight any unexpected or surprising results in the text
Explain what the results are saying, rather them simply stating the statistical data (e.g.,
“X was found to substantially increase with Y [followed by statistical data]” rather than
“X and Y had a positive correlation of .73”)
X If you have illustrated the results of your study in figures and tables, do not include
detailed descriptions of these results in the text

8. Discussion (What do your findings mean?)
A good discussion section extends the specific results to their broader implications, which
can then be tied in with the general background given in the introduction to maximize the
impact of the overall paper. Therefore, remember to go “back and forth” between your
discussion section and the introduction.
DOs and DON’Ts
Start by stating whether your hypothesis was supported
Interpret the results: what do the results imply?
Relate your findings to those of previous studies, for example, whether your results
support or deviate from results in previous studies
Explain how the study adds to previous knowledge
Remember to mention any possible alternative explanations for the results
Address the limitations of the study
X Don’t simply repeat the results again
X Don’t draw conclusions that are not supported by the data

9. Conclusion (What have you learned from the study?)
In this section, state the main conclusions of the study in the context of the formulated
problem. By the time readers reach this part of the text, they should have understood
what you did and the outcomes of the research. Readers should be able to understand
how and why you reached your conclusions.
DOs and DON’Ts
Explain what you’ve learned from the study
Ensure that the conclusion is directly related to your research question and stated
purpose of the study
Elaborate on the broader implications of the research
Suggest specific future avenues of research to advance the knowledge you’ve gained
from the study or answer questions that your study did not address
X Don’t oversell your research or “overgeneralize” the results, that is, stretch the study
findings to provide suggestions or conclusions that the research doesn’t really support
X Don’t simply summarize the results

10. Writing for different groups of readers
A good writer is aware of what different types of readers may be expecting from the paper
and can structure a paper according to the readers’ expectations and backgrounds. Even a
general reader with little or no knowledge of the field should be able to get a broad
understanding of what you did and why.2
Avoid jargon. Clearly define key terms, especially ones that are not used in their
conventional sense or ones that few readers can be expected to be familiar with.
If only specialists in your field can understand what you’re saying, your paper will not be
read by a wide audience. Lead readers up to the problem or theory you are studying.
Don’t assume that readers know everything about the topic of your research.

11. Writing for different groups of readers
No explanation: We investigate the role of reduced monoamine oxidase B (MAO B)
activity in smoker behavior.
Better: The enzyme monoamine oxidase B (MAO B) is involved in the breakdown of
dopamine, a neurotransmitter implicated in reinforcing and motivating addictive
behaviours such as smoking. MAO B inhibition is associated with enhanced activity of
dopamine. We investigate the role of reduced MAO B activity in smoker behavior.

12. Manuscript structure: How to convey your most important ideas through your paper
Conclusion
To be an effective author, keep the reader in mind while writing your paper. A well-
structured manuscript helps you enhance the flow of your ideas and tells readers what to
expect at different parts of the manuscript.

13. Manuscript structure: How to convey your most important ideas through your paper
References:
1. G Gopen, J Swan The Science of Scientific Writing., American Scientist, 78, pp. 550–558
2. DJ Bern Writing the Empirical Journal Article., in The Compleat Academic: A Practical Guide for the
Beginning Social Scientist, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., New Jersey, USA
3. Characteristics of a High Quality Manuscript. National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, available
online at http://www.nctm.org/publications/content.aspx?id=17149
4. J Samet. Dear Author—Advice from a Retiring Editor., American Journal of Epidemiology, 150, 433–
436
5. D Byrne. Common reasons for rejecting manuscripts at medical journals., Science Editor, 23, pp. 39–
44
6. Characteristics of a High Quality Manuscript (for mathematics ). Journal for Research in
Mathematics Education. (n.d.).

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