IMRAD

1. Structuring a manuscript
Kateryna Sorochkina
USUCT
kateryna.sorochkina@gmail.com

2. 2
Project Planning
Contents
 Structure of academic writing
 IMRAD standard components
• Introduction
• Materials and methods
• Results
• Discussion
 Thesis statement: argue and develop
 Tables and Figures: way to present data

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What is academic paper?
Essay
Research Paper
Dissertation
Should have:
Clear and limited focus – thesis statement
Logical structure
Evidence-based arguments
Impersonal tone
Info from: https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-academic-writing-1689052

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Structure of academic writing
Manuscript
Paragraph
Introduction
Methods
Results
and
Discussion
Basic principle
Introduction
Body
Conclusion
Topic Sentence
Assertion statements
eXample(s)
Explanation
Significance
Move from simple to complex!
General Specific
Known Unknown
Info from: https://www.thoughtco.com/body-paragraphs-composition-1689032

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IMRAD standard components
• What are you studying and why?
Introduction
• What did you do?
Methods
• What did you find?
Results
and
• What do your findings mean?
Discussion

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Introduction
During introduction writing:
 get the reader's attention by opening sentence (importance of the topic)
 give your reader some info about the issue (background of the topic)
 summarize the current state of knowledge on the topic
 state the research question clearly (thesis statement)
 describing the scope and structure of paper
To achieve success:
 think critically
 provide facts not opinion
 use only appropriate citations
– 10-20% of whole paper
“Know your audience, keep it
short, tell readers why you have
done the study and explain why
it’s important, convince them
that it is better than what has
gone before, and try as hard as
you can to hook them in the first
line.” by Richard Smith
(Norris, C. B. (2016) Academic Writing in
English, University of Helsinki)

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Materials (name, chemical formula, purity, manufacturer)
Methods:
• How to produce?
• How to analyze?
• How to process data?
Specify:
 quantities of materials
 process maintenance parameters
name, model, manufacturer and company's location of equipments
Don’t write well known, standardized or quite lengthy procedures, use
citations.
Note: to ensure that the structure is correct, follow the instructions in Journal guide!!!
Methods What to write?

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Way to present data:
 Figure
 Table
 Text
Main rules:
Make data in figures and tables readable
Do not duplicate the data
Do not evaluate (say “NO” to strong emotional terms as greatly/
considerably/markedly or greater etc)
Do not summarize
Avoid passive voice
Results Show the statistical significance of your findings!
Lead your readers into following
your thoughts by state the main
findings in order relating to the
used hypotheses and methods.

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Discussion
Compare… Explain…
“…answers the question posed in the Introduction
and includes the main supporting evidence…”
by Gustavii from (Norris, C. B. (2016) Academic Writing in
English, University of Helsinki)
 your own finding
 own data with other studies’ findings
Do your results support or deviate
previous studies?
 how the study adds to previous
knowledge
 contradictory results
To mention any possible explanations
for the results
Conclusion – as a “mirror image” to the Introduction
begin by short summarizing the main aim of paper
confirm the topic/thesis statement of paper
 end by recommendations and implications for future research General
Specific

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Thesis statement: argue and develop
- is a one sentence captures ONE main idea of the
paper.
-is not a fact nor a question, but your point of view
on the topic.
- is way to tell the reader about the scope, purpose,
and direction of the paper.
- identifies the relationships between your evidences
and argument.
Thesis statement
From https://www.thoughtco.com/exercise-in-
identifying-effective-thesis-statements-1692401
What is the
thesis
statement?
imagesait.ru

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Way to write a strong thesis statement
Check list for strong thesis statement:
 Does your thesis statement reflect each paragraph of the paper?
(avoid irrelevant info or rewrite thesis statement)
Is your thesis statement arguable?
(Does the statement encourage a dispute?)
Is your thesis statement specific?
(avoid using of two statement connected by coordinating conjunction)
Is your thesis statement clear?
(avoid jargon, abstract or vague words)
Is your thesis statement original?
(avoid quoting, “to be” verbs, generic arguments and formula statements)
Does your thesis statement represent your position on the issue?
(NO facts, NO universal judgments, NO announcing the topic)
Identify the topic
Develop your argument
Make a “guide” to your argument

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Examples:
Arguable
“The Beverly Hills Diet is inadvisable for the typical college student.” – So what?
“Although it does provide quick weight loss, the Beverly Hills Diet is inadvisable for the typical
college student because it is inconvenient, unhealthy, and provides only temporary weight
loss. “ – create a debate
Clear
“Scholars should work to seize metacognitive outcomes by harnessing discipline-based
networks to empower collaborative infrastructures” - too complex sentences with special
language
“Ecologists should work to educate the U.S. public on conservation methods by making use of
local and national green organizations to create a widespread communication plan.” – clear
Specific
“World hunger has many causes and effects.” – to broad (All over the world? What reasons?
What are the consequences?)
“Hunger persists in Glandelinia because jobs are scarce and farming in the infertile soil is
rarely profitable.” – specific
Info from https://wts.indiana.edu/writing-guides/how-to-write-a-thesis-statement.html

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Tables and Figures: way to present data
Data
processing
Table
Compare
value
Systemize
data
Figure
Show
changes
Table or Figure?
Table: - precise
- large volume of data
Figure: - complex data
- compare relative
values
Note: All Tables/Figures must be referred to (as “Table 1” and “Fig. 1”):
-near the reference;
- on the next page;
- end of Results or Discussion (for IMRAD);
-in an appendix

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Surname, name
Competition
grade
Exam
grade
Rating
Addams Luis 75.156 86 161.156
Bent Alex 62.839 88 150.839
Black Kathrin 92.152 77 169.152
Devil Bob 70.053 97 167.053
Jacobson Kevin 76.854 86 162.854
Mitchell Paul 77.660 65 142.660
Neuton Beatrice 83.028 72 155.028
Peirce Martin 78.585 83 161.585
Smith Jon 89.051 91 180.051
Wolf Scott 91.167 67 158.167
Table anatomy
Table 1 – Students' academic performance
Colum titles
info support title
Table title
clear content
Body of table
data
Exam grade is a score on Water treatment course exam; the competition grade is
the average score for the course
Footnotes
statistical differences
or data source

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How to make a Table understood?
 Table title is a description of content
(object → comparison)
Follow down the columns, not across
 Move from familiar to new
Sort data on the most meaningful variable
Avoid unnecessary decimal points (round)
 Avoid unnecessary lines in a table
Add a space-filler (—) into empty table cell
Omit repetitious items entirely
Surname,
name
Competition
grade
Exam
grade
Rating
Addams Luis 75.156 86 0.805780
Bent Alex 62.839 88 0.754195
Black Kathrin 92.152 77 0.845760
Devil Bob 70.053 97 0.835265
Jacobson Kevin 76.854 86 0.814270
Mitchell Paul 77.660 ? 0.388300
Neuton Beatrice 83.028 72 0.775140
Peirce Martin 78.585 83 0.807925
Smith Jon 89.051 91 0.900255
Wolf Scott 91.167 67 0.790835
Table 1 – Students' academic performance
Exam grade is a score on Water treatment course exam;
the competition grade is the average score for the
course
Artificial sense of accuracy?
(100, 10.1, 1.23, 0.123)
Sorbent q, mg/g R, %
Sample 1 15.1 89
Sample 2 13.4 79
Sample 3 8.6 51

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Example of Table transformation
Surname,
name
Competition
grade
Exam
grade
Rating
Addams Luis 75.156 86 0.805780
Bent Alex 62.839 88 0.754195
Black Kathrin 92.152 77 0.845760
Devil Bob 70.053 97 0.835265
Jacobson Kevin 76.854 86 0.814270
Mitchell Paul 77.660 ? 0.388300
Neuton Beatrice 83.028 72 0.775140
Peirce Martin 78.585 83 0.807925
Smith Jon 89.051 91 0.900255
Wolf Scott 91.167 67 0.790835
Table 1 – Students' academic performance
Surname,
name
Competition
grade
Exam
grade
Rating
Smith Jon 89.0 91 0.900
Black Kathrin 92.2 77 0.846
Devil Bob 70.0 97 0.835
Jacobson Kevin 76.9 86 0.814
Peirce Martin 78.6 83 0.808
Addams Luis 75.2 86 0.806
Wolf Scott 91.2 67 0.791
Neuton Beatrice 83.0 72 0.775
Bent Alex 62.9 88 0.754
Mitchell Paul 77.7 — 0.388
Table 1 –Academic performance of students
(group B3) on Wastewater treatment course
If you can not simplify the Table, maybe you should use
a figure?

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Figure as a graphic way to present data
• Line graphs compare
• Scatter plots correlate (Y) vs. (X)
• Bar graphs divide and compare
single variable (Y) among groups (X)
• Pie charts compare parts of a whole
X axis – independent variable (as time)
Y axis – depended variable

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Graph structure
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
0 30 60 90 120 150
d,
nm
t,min
M:CO(NH2)2=1:1.75
M:CO(NH2)2=1:3
2
1
Fig. 1. Particles size vs. hydrolysis time for mixed
ZOH-AOH sol with molar ratios Zr:Al=1:1 and
M:carbamide: 1 – 1:1.75; 2 – 1:3.
X axis
Y axis
Minor tick
Legend
Symbols’ key
Data
Major tick
Y axis label
X axis label

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To be understood
 In figure legends, show actual symbols or print them on the
figure itself
 For overlapping curves, change the intervals on the vertical axis.
 Compound two figures one the same topic and format
 Ensure that multiple-part figures have clear numbers or letters nearby
 Be clear, not decorative; no “city skyscraper” by histogram bars
 Do not use a pie chart for black and white printing paper
 Avoid >6 lines, section on a graph.
-0.4
-0.2
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
1.4
0 100 200 300 400
lnC
t, min
1
2 3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Fig.2 . Annual stem growth of white pine seedlings in 2012 (A) a selectivity harvested
area, and, (B) a non-harvested area.

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What is wrong?
Which variable goes where?

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Show your results to colleague:
• Is it necessary?
• Understandable: too simple or complex?
• Does it make sense?
• Must stand alone and be interpretable

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Summary
• follow a structure
• move from simple to complex
• think about reader
• rewrite!