This document provides guidelines for writing scientific papers, including the typical structure and formatting. It discusses the key sections of a scientific paper such as the title, abstract, introduction, materials and methods, results, and discussion. The introduction presents background and context, while the materials and methods section describes how the work was conducted in enough detail to allow others to replicate it. The results section reports the major findings from the study. Overall, the document offers guidance to students on organizing and presenting their research in a clear, standardized structure.

1. Guidelines to Scientific Paper Writing
Compiled by
V. Magendira Mani
Assistant Professor,
PG & Research Department of Biochemistry,
Islamiah College (Autonomous),
Vaniyambadi,
Vellore District - 635751,
Tamilnadu, India.
magendiramani@rediffmail.com
Download at :
https://tvuni.academia.edu/mvinayagam
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2. During the research studies students write various types of papers, which show their knowledge
and skills in solving theoretical as well as practical problems. Papers to be written by a student
are all those tasks and assignments that are to be drawn up and submitted on paper or
electronically, which reveal the student’s skills of analysis, generalizing skills, her/his orientation
in the respective area of specialty. These papers show how the student is able to independently
formulate research problems, analyze with the help of appropriate methods, research and solve
them.
Research Paper represents solving of a specific problem given or approved by supervisor
by applying particular methods of research. Writing of a research paper helps to acquire
skills of formulating and defining a research problem, objective and task setting,
choosing appropriate methods and finding empirical materials for achieving the
objectives, skills of working with special literature, and of analyzing and generalizing
research results.
Special literature sources (references) in the subject must contain a minimum of 10
sources.
The research paper has to be approximately 20-25 pages long (from the title page to
appendices), plus appendices, where necessary.
All research papers are written individually (by one student). By way of exception
(participation in a research team) and with the supervisor’s agreement two students are
allowed to write a paper together, which shall be bigger than normally (by 20%) and the
contribution of each author must be clearly distinguishable (by mentioning the authorship
of introduction, each chapter, subchapter, section).
Preparation of Scientific paper
The manuscript should be prepared in English using “MS Word” with 1 inch
margin on all sides of the page. “Times New Roman” font should be used. The font size
should be of 12pt but main Title should be of 14pt bold uppercase, main headings should be
of 12pt bold uppercase, subheadings should be of 12pt bold lowercase. These subtitles should
be typed in italics. Illustrations (Figures & Graphs) and tables must be inserted at the end of
the reference section. Manuscript should be concisely typewritten in 1.5 spaces in A4 sized
sheets. The length of article should not exceed 25 pages to include figures, tables and
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3. references. No abbreviations on acronyms shall be used in the titles or Abstract acronyms
except for measurements. There shall not be decorative borders anywhere in the text
including the title page.
Format for Scientific article
Scientists have established the following format for "scientific papers”. A complete paper is
divided into sections. The manuscript should be starting with the covering letter and the text
should be arranged in the following order:
1. Covering letter (Appendix - 1)
2. Title Page (Appendix - II)
3. Abstract
4. Keywords
5. Introduction
6. Materials and Methods
7. Results and Discussion
8. Conclusion
9. Acknowledgements (If any)
10. References
11. Tables
12. Figures and/or Graphs
Most journals handle a specific format and they all have “guidelines for authors” published on
their website.
e.g. Author Guidelines on the home page of the Journal of Ecology
(http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0022-0477&site=1)
Covering letter:
The corresponding author should mention the undertaking that if any animal studies
carried was in accordance with their country or institutional ethical committee and also state that
the manuscript has not been published elsewhere or even under consideration for publication.
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4. Title Page
Choose a topic which interests and challenges you. Your attitude towards the topic may
well determine the amount of effort and enthusiasm you put into your research.
A good title is informative, i.e. it summarizes as specifically, accurately, and concisely as
possible what the paper is about.
Select a subject you can manage. Avoid subjects that are too technical, learned, or
specialized. Avoid topics that have only a very narrow range of source materials.
Authors names and affiliations, author for correspondence
All title page elements are written on a separate line, centred, with the exception of information
on supervisor; the place and date of defence are on the same line:
University name, all caps
Faculty name
name of department in the subject or under supervision of which the paper is written
name of the chair in the subject or under supervision of which the paper is written
author’s first name and family name
title of the paper in capital letters
type of paper (research paper, bachelor’s thesis, master’s thesis); in a research paper
add also the subject in which the paper is written
Title or position (lecturer, assistant/Associate. professor, researcher, senior
researcher) and full name of supervisor(s) - aligned right
Place (or location of supervising institution, i.e. town) and year of defence.
Title page font size is 12 pt (except for the title). Title of the paper is printed in Bold,
all caps, font size 16 pt.
Author’s first and family name are placed before the title, 2/3 from the top of the
page. Hyphenation and abbreviations are not allowed on the title page.
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5. Abstract
The Abstract states clearly and concisely what is dealt with in the paper. It is a concise statement
of the questions, general procedure, basic findings, and main conclusions of the paper. This is a
brief, all-encompassing section summarizing what you discuss in the rest of the paper, and
should be written last, after you know what you have said.
The abstract should be written as one single spaced paragraph (all other sections are double
spaced), and must not exceed 200-250 words.
A good “Abstract”...
states the question investigated and the principal objectives of the investigation,
specifies the scientific context of your experiment,
summarizes what you did,
summarizes your results, and
States your major conclusions.
Keywords
Abstract ends, on a separate row, with keywords (5-10 words, depending on the research
specificity) which identify the subject areas discussed in the research.
Introduction
The Introduction presents a background for the work you are doing and put it into an appropriate
context (e.g. scientific principles, environmental issues, etc.). What questions are you asking in
your study? What organisms or ideas were studied and why are they interesting or relevant?
Identify the subject(s) and hypotheses of your work. Tell the reader why (s)he should keep
reading and why what you are about to present is interesting. Briefly state your general approach
or methods (e.g. experimental, observational, computer simulation, a combination of these, etc.)
as a leading to the next section. Cite any references you used as sources for your background
Information. Any statements not original to you should be properly cited in the text using the
scientific citation style, and listed in the “References” section at the end of your paper.
This section should be written in the past tense when referring to this experiment. However, use
the present tense when discussing another investigator’s published work. Why? Previously
published work is considered part of the present body of knowledge.
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6. A good “Introduction” will
include a clear statement of the problem or question addressed in the experiment,
state the hypothesis or hypotheses that you tested in the study,
put the question into some context by stating why this is an important question to be
answered and/or why you found this to be a particularly interesting question,
state the objectives of the research,
address how the research helps to fill holes in our knowledge,
include any background material that is particularly relevant to the question,
Give a brief overview of the method of the investigation. If deemed necessary, the
reasons for the choice of a particular method should be stated, and
State the principle results and conclusions of the investigation. Do not keep the reader in
suspense. Let the reader follow the development of the evidence.
Materials and Methods
The “Materials and Methods” section tells how the work was done. There should be enough
detail that a competent worker can repeat the experiments. What procedures were followed? Are
the treatments and controls clearly described? Does this section describe the sampling regime
and sample sizes, including how individuals were assigned to treatments? What research
materials were used: the organism, special chemicals, concentrations, instruments, etc.? Briefly
explain the relevance of the methods to the questions you introduced above (e.g. "to determine if
light limited algal growth, I measured"). If applicable, include a description of the statistical
methods you used in your analysis.
Careful writing of this section is important because the cornerstone of the scientific method
requires that your results are reproducible, and for the results to be reproducible, you must
provide the basis for the repetition of your experiments by others. Avoid lab manual or “cook
book” type instructions. This section should be written in the past tense.
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7. Results and Discussion
The “Results” section presents in words the major results of the study. Your data should
be presented briefly in the body of the report and presented in detail as tables or graphs.
However, do not present the same data in both tabular and graphical form in the same
paper. Try for clarity, the results should be short and sweet. Do not attempt to discuss the
interpretation of your data this should be done in the “Discussion” section.
The results section should be written so that any college student could read the text to
learn what you have done.
For eg. You might use a paragraph to explain what is seen on a particular graph; “...
When the enzyme as soaked in sulphuric acid, it produced no change in absorbance”
Do not make the common mistake of saying, “We performed the experiment, see
figures.”
That is too brief and does not convey to a novice what you have done. When stating your
results in the body of the text, refer to your graphs and tables.
Tables and graphs alone do not make a Results section. In the text of this section describe
your results (do not list actual numbers, but point out trends or important features). Refer
to the figures and tables by number as well as any other relevant information. “See
Figures” is not sufficient. Results are typically not discussed much more in this section
unless brief discussion aids clarity. In referring to your results, avoid phrases like 'Table 1
shows the rate at which students fall asleep in class as a function of the time of day that
class is taught." Rather, write: "Students fall asleep in class twice as frequently during
evening than day classes (Table 1)." The results section should avoid discussion and
speculation. This is the place to tell the reader what you found out, not what it means.
Each table and figure should be numbered sequentially for easy reference in the text of
the Results and Discussion sections. Figures (e.g. graphs and diagrams) are numbered
consecutively as Figure 1 to Figure 10. Be sure to label both axes of all graphs (e.g.
growth rate, height, number of species, water consumed, etc.), include units (e.g. meters,
liters, seconds, etc.), and define all treatments.
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8. Your reader should NEVER have to go back to the text to interpret the table or figure
thus you need to provide a legend for each figure and a caption for each table. A figure
legend is freestanding text that goes below the figure. The first sentence of the legend is
typically a succinct statement that summarizes what the entire figure is about. The first
sentence is then followed with particulars of the figure contents, as appropriate, including
information about methods, how the data are expressed, or any abbreviations etc.
Discussion
The discussion section is where you explain your results in detail, speculating on trends, possible
causes, and conclusions. Try to present the principles, relationships, and generalizations shown
by the Results. And bear in mind, in a good Discussion, you discuss you do not recapitulate the
Results.
Don't be shy; discuss the theoretical implications of your work, as well as any possible practical
applications.
A good discussion section...
States what conclusions can be drawn from the results (Present major findings first, then
minor ones; Use your data to support these conclusions),
compares your results with those of other workers and cites the references used for
comparisons,
puts your results in the context of the hypotheses and other material in your Introduction,
indicates where your data fits in to the big picture,
addresses problems that arose in your study and how could they be avoided in the future,
will attempt to explain why results might be inconsistent with the predictions you made
(what you thought would happen before you did your study, based on a specific
hypothesis or other background information),
explains any exceptional aspects of your data or unexpected results,
examines your results for possible errors or bias,
recommends further work that could augment the results of the study you have presented,
and
States your major conclusions as clearly as possible, using specific examples from your
data.
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9. Conclusions
In Conclusions the author presents with his/her own words a generalisation of the
research, mentioning the objective and how the objective was achieved, pointing out the
main results and findings, suggestions, problems that need to be solved still, and
development trends. Conclusions and suggestions/proposals are presented by special
items or theses.
Conclusions also identify the hypotheses, either proved or/and disproved with the
reasoning of approval or/and disproval.
Conclusions shall not raise any new problems, present no viewpoints or draw conclusions
in issues not discussed in previous parts.
Conclusions may not contain viewpoints or solutions not discussed in the main part of the
paper. Conclusions do not refer to literature sources or present opinions or conclusions
made by other authors.
Conclusions assess whether the objectives of research were achieved or not.
Introduction and Conclusions should be presented in such a way that a reviewer could
have an idea of the problems, the way these were solved and main results.
Conclusions should be 2-3 pages long, depending on the nature of research.
Acknowledgments
In this section you should thank anyone who has helped you in any aspect of this project. The
source of any financial support, gifts, technical assistance and advice received for the work being
published must be indicated in the Acknowledgments section.
References (or References Cited)
The References section is a complete list of all references that you cited within your paper. The
references are listed in alphabetical order by last name of the first author of each publication.
Include only those references that you have actually read and that you specifically mention in
your paper. If a laboratory hand-out was used it is only a beginning and must be cited.
When researching for information for the Introduction and Discussion sections or the paper, seek
out original sources that are written by experts in the field (e.g. articles found in scientific
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10. journals such as Science, Nature, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, New
England Journal of Medicine, etc.) or authoritative magazines (e.g. Scientific American) and
books written by well-respected scientists. Textbooks, although acceptable in this class as a last
resort, are rarely cited in the scientific papers since information in textbooks is less reliable than
from the original sources.
Citing Journal and Magazine Articles
Format
Author(s). Publication year. Article title. Journal title volume: pages.
Example
Ahlberg, P.E. 1990. Glimpsing the hidden majority. Nature 344: 23.
Citing Journal and Magazine Articles with no Identifiable Author
Format
Anonymous. Publication year. Article title. Journal title volume: pages
Example
Anonymous. 1976. Epidemiology for primary health care. International Journal of
Epidemiology 5: 224225.
Citing Books
Format
Author(s). Publication year. Book Title, edition if known. Publisher, Place of publication,
number of pages.
Example
Purves, W.K., G.H. Orians and H.C. Heller. 1995. Life: The Science of Biology, 4th
edition. Sinauer Associates, Inc., Sunderland, MA, 1195 pps.
Citing Book Chapters
Format
Author(s). Publication year. Chapter title. In: Book title (Author(s)/editors, first name
first) Place of publication, pages.
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11. Example
Jones, C.G. and J.S. Coleman. 1991. Plant stress and insect herbivory: Toward an
integrated perspective. In: Responses of Plants to Multiple Stresses (H.A. Mooney, W.E. Winner
& E.J. Pell, editors), Academic Press, San Diego, pp. 249280.
Citing Newspaper Articles
Format
Author(s). Date (Year/Month/Day). Article title. Newspaper title Section: Page: Column.
Examples
Bishop, J. E. 1982 November 4. Do flies spread ills or is that claim merely a bugaboo?
The Wall Street Journal 1: 1: 4.
Citing a Thesis or Dissertation
Format
Author. Publication year. Title [dissertation]. Publisher: Place of publication, number of
pages. Available from: University Microfilms, Ann Arbor, MI; DAI number.
Example
Ritzmann RE. 1974. The snapping mechanism of Alpheid shrimp [dissertation].
University of Virginia: Charlottesville (VA). 59pp. Available from: University Microfilms, Ann
Arbor, MI; AAD 7423.
Government report
Format
Author/Agency (if no author). Publication year. Title. Publisher, Place of publication,
number of pages.
Example
Mitchell, R.G., N.E. Johnson and K.H. Wright. 1974. Susceptibility of 10 spruce species
and hybrids to the white pine weevil (= Sitka spruce weevil) in the Pacific Northwest. PNW225.
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12. Tables
Should be typed on separate sheets of paper and should not preferably contain any molecular
structures. Only MS word table format should be used for preparing tables. Tables should show
lines separating columns but not those separating rows except for the top row that shows column
captions. Tables should be numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals and bear a brief title in
capital letters normal face. Units of measurement should be abbreviated and placed below the
column headings. Column headings or captions shall be in bold face. It is essential that all tables
have legends, which explain the contents of the table and place footnotes to tables below the
table body. Tables should not be very large that they run more than one A4 sized page. Tables
should not be prepared in the landscape format, i. e. tables that are prepared widthwise on the
paper. Be sparing in the use of tables and ensure that the data presented in tables do not duplicate
results described elsewhere in the article.
Figures
Figures are all illustrative materials, including graphs, diagrams, maps, drawings, schemes,
photographs, etc. Should be on separate pages but not inserted within the text. Figures should be
numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals and bear a brief title in lower case bold face letters
below the figure. Graphs and bar graphs should preferably be prepared using Microsoft Excel
and submitted as Excel graph pasted in Word. These graphs and illustrations should be drawn to
approximately twice the printed size to obtain satisfactory reproduction. As far as possible,
please avoid diagrams made with India ink on white drawing paper, cellophane sheet or tracing
paper with hand written captions or titles. Photographs should be on glossy paper. Photographs
should bear the names of the authors and the title of the paper on the back, lightly in pencil.
Alternatively photographs and photomicrographs can be submitted as jpeg images. Figure and
Table titles and legends should be typed on a separate page with numerals corresponding to the
illustrations. Keys to symbols, abbreviations, arrows, numbers or letters used in the illustrations
should not be written on the illustration itself but should be clearly explained in the legend.
Avoid inserting a box with key to symbols, in the figure or below the figure. In case of
photomicrographs, magnification should be mentioned either directly on them or in the legend.
Symbols, arrows or letters used in photomicrographs should contrast with the background.
Method of staining should also be mentioned in the legend.
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13. APPENDIX - I (COVER LETTER FOR SUBMISSION OF MANUSCRIPT)
To Date:
Editors
Journal Name XXXXXX
I am herewith submitting a manuscript entitled
“XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Title” for publication
in XXXXXXXXX Journal name for possible evaluation. The Corresponding author of this
manuscript is XXXX, and contribution of the author as mentioned below with their
responsibility in the research.
1. XXXXX - contribution (Mention their contributions)
2. XXXXX- contribution (Mention their contributions)
3. XXXXX- contribution (Mention their contributions)
With the submission of this manuscript I would like to undertake that:
Submitted manuscript is Original Research Article/Review/short communication etc.
This research work was conducted from January XXXX to December XXXX.
The contents of this manuscript are not now under consideration for publication
elsewhere.
The contents of this manuscript will not be copyrighted, submitted, or published
elsewhere, while acceptance by the journal is under consideration.
There are no directly related manuscripts or abstracts, published or unpublished, by any
authors of this paper.
My Institute’s is fully aware of this submission.
The research project was conducted under the supervision of:
XXXX Address / Contact No / Mail ID etc .
Signature of the Authors Signature of the Corresponding author
1.
2.
3.
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14. APPENDIX - II TITLE PAGE
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX.
Title of the manuscript
Type of Paper: Research/Review/short communication etc.
Authors Details:
XXXXa XXXXXXXb XXXXXXXX*c
University name, all caps XXXXXXX
Faculty name XXXXXX
Name of department in the subject or under supervision of which the paper is written XXXXX
Author’s first name and family name
Place (or location of supervising institution, i.e. town)
Eg.
Authors Details:
Kalaiyarasan Vinotha Abdul Majeeth Mohamed Sadiqb Vinayagam Magendira Mani*c
a,*c
Assistant Professor, PG and Research Department of Biochemistry, Islamiah College
(Autonomous), Vaniyambadi- 635 751, Tamil Nadu, INDIA.
b Principal & Head, PG and Research Department of Biochemistry, Adhiparasakthi College of
Arts and Science (Autonomous), Kalavai -632 506 Tamil Nadu, INDIA.
*Corresponding author
Dr. V. Magendira Mani, M.Sc., M.Phil., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Biochemistry
Islamiah College (Autonomous)
Vaniyambadi - 635 751
TamilNadu.
INDIA.
Office : +91 xxxxxxxxxx Mobile : +91 xxxxxxxx Fax : xxxxxx
E-mail : magendiramani@rediffmail.com
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