1. How to Write a Paper
Dr U Singh
Professor and Head
PMR, AIIMS, New Delhi

2. Outline
• Importance
• Research Components
• Order of Writing
• Guide on Writing
• Common Mistakes
• Choosing Journals

3. Publish or Perish
• Responsibility of the Job
• Job interviews
• Promotion
• Sharing knowledge
• Proving your worth

4. Inspiration
• Story telling
Moral of the Story ?

5. Sources
• Better Medical Writing
in India, NMJI
• Being an editor
• Being a reviewer
• Innominate

6. Research?
• What is the question?
• Does literature answer it?
• Design the study
• Interpret the results
• Did you find the answer? If No

7. Writing Guide
• Why did you start?
• What did you do?
• What answers did you get?
• What does it mean?
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion

8. Author’s order
• Intellectual responsibility
• Order
1. Who writes the draft
2. Who has contributed
Beware: Data invention
Avoid Guest Authorship

9. Because:
People know what you did…!

10. Order of Writing
1. Results
2. Methods
3. Discussion
4. Introduction
5. Abstract
6. Title

11. Results
• Outline first
• Style can wait
• What you found
Chart, Table, Text
Don’t repeat information

12. Methods
• Detail: What did you do
• How: Ensure reproducibility
• Illustrate: Diagrams or photos
• Statistics: Power and detail
Give References

13. Discussion: Style
• Write on your own
• Have a logical thread
• Explain: meaning of results
• How your study is different
• End up with a message

14. Discussion: Content
• Recapitulate main findings
• Discuss the method used
• Argue conflict of results with
other studies
Why yours are more convincing
Implications of your study

15. Introduction
• Should be brief
• State the Reason:
Why you started this study
Caution: The question posed here
must be answered in the discussion

16. Abstract
• Word limit: < 150*
• Title
– Should be short
– Yet contain maximum
information
– Should be retrievable
Avoid: “A Study of”
No Abbreviations

17. Acknowledgements
• Contributors but not authors
• Financial & Material support

18. References
• You should read them all
• Should be retrievable
Check accuracy
Should be Relevant

19. Case Reports - tips
• Why you started?
• What is interesting?
• Give complete details of case
• Why it is different ?
• What are the implications?
Keep it short: 600-1000 words

20. Incubation and Drafts
• Wait after first draft
• Relook in 3 wks
• Colleague Treatment
• Outsider Treatment
• Format for the journal
Redraft at each Step
More drafts: Easy Publication

21. Which Journal
• Requirements as per
–Types of Papers
–Style of Papers
• Check special requirements
• Reason why that journal

22. Additional Needs
• Ethical Clearance
• Declarations:
–Authorship
–Originality
–Not published earlier
–Not sent to any other journal
–Conflict of interest

23. What happens after
submission
• Assessment by reviewers
• Cross checking of references
• Possible revisions

24. Decision based on
• Is there a clear message?
• Would this change thinking?
• Is the language appropriate?

25. Common Mistakes
• Un-necessary details
• Conclusions not based on
study but presumed
• Figures without legends

26. Common Mistakes ..contd.
• Format not as per journal
• References not as per format
• Word limit crossed
• Author details incomplete
• Declarations not attached

27. Grammar …..Mistakes ..contd.
• Past Tense
–What you did
–What you found
• Sentences
–Short
–Avoid tortuous
Present tense for
Universal Truths only
Avoid sentences
Ending with ‘ing’

28. Grammar …..Mistakes ..contd.
• Commas: Be cautious!
Don’t, Go! Don’t stop, Go!
Don’t Go!

29. Polish you Grammar
Raymond Murphy

30. Photographs
• Poor perspective and lighting
• X-ray pictures with flash on
• Wide angles (Mobile phones)
• Skewed images (hand held)
• Bad aspect ratios
Learn Medical Photography
Respect Copyright

31. Avoid photos with mobiles

32. Lens Angle Variation

33. Aspect Ratio

34. Avoid wrong Angle photos

35. Wrong Angle photos
Better

36. No flash for transparencies

37. Predators
• Predatory Journals Identify
–May be indexed
–Payment for publications
–Fast publications
–Peer review doubtful
–Mostly not read or printed

38. Predators vs Mainstream
• Predatory Journals Problems
–Not cited
–Papers published are lost
• Mainstream Journals
–High rejection rate (85-90%)
–Long time taken to publish
Question Remains:
Perish or?

39. Before Submission:
Critical Appraisal (3rd Party)
• Why did they start?
• What did they do?
• What did they find?
• What did it mean?
• What is the message?
Use Critical Appraisal Tools
“CASP” “icmje.org”

40. Take home message
• Done research: Write
• Drafts: Re-check & Prune
• Follow journal guidelines
• Do appraisal, then send
• Good journals: Predators ??
Please: Polish your English