This document provides guidelines for writing scientific research articles and creating effective PowerPoint presentations. For research articles, it discusses components like the title, abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion, and conclusion sections. For presentations, it offers tips on outlines, slide structure, fonts, color, backgrounds, graphs, spelling/grammar, and conclusions. Key recommendations include using clear and concise language, focusing on main points, and employing visual elements like figures and tables to enhance understanding.

1. WRITING A SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
ARTICLE

2. Components of a paper
Title
Abstract
Introduction
Experimental
Results & Discussion
Conclusion
Acknowledgments & References

3. Titles
Titles Never use a colon (or hyphen) unless the paper is
part of a multi-part series. Ex:
“Chemistry and kinetics of chemical vapor deposition of
pyrocarbon: I. Carbon deposition from methane .”
“Chemistry and kinetics of chemical vapor deposition of
pyrocarbon: II. Carbon deposition from propylene ”
“The structure of CVD carbon: the effect of deposition
temperature” should be:
“The effect of deposition temperature on the structure of
CVD carbon”

4. “To improve mechanical properties……”
- Which one? Tensile? Bending? Bursting?
- For what applications?
- Better for one application may be the opposite for
another.
“CNT solution in organic acids”
- All? Which did you investigate? Formic- or acetic
acid.
Titles

5. - Full names of all authors according to order
of involvement in the work
Names & Affiliations
- Affiliations of all authors i.e. which
Institution/Organization you belong to.

6. Abstract
 Simply tell the reader two things:
1.What was done.
2.Important results obtained.
 Do not:
1.Provide history or narrative.
2.Speculate -possible uses, etc.
3.Include data that is not in the manuscript.

7. Introduction with references
 A brief history of the subject . Most Introductions
are unnecessarily long
 A minimum of 30%, and as many as 70+% of all
references are usually cited in the Introduction
A reference is something you may wish to refer
to for further information.

8. Experimental
This section has two purposes:
To convince readers that the work has been
done systematically and thoroughly using
appropriate equipment
To allow readers to repeat the experiments if
they wish to check (doubtful) results, prepare the
same materials etc.

9. This section contains ALL information needed for
another person to repeat the experiment:
Sample preparation: Techniques with delivery
rate, time, temperatures, heating rates etc.
Sources of materials: Origin, purity, particle size,
mol. weight etc.
Analytical & measurement techniques
Experimental

10. Results
 A paper is centered around the Results
First get them organized. What to include?
Any photographs?
How will I present them -Figures and/or tables?
Do I need to combine results with discussion?

11. Figures & Tables
 Make sure whether each one is important
 Do not duplicate data in figures and tables.
Which shows the data more clearly?

12. Discussion
If possible separate from the Results
But sometimes results must be discussed in order to logically
point to the next stage in the experiment. In this case combine
Results and Discussion
Compare your results with those of others. References are
really important here.
Be careful to show where your work has advanced the
subject
Try to lead naturally to the Conclusion

13. Conclusion
 This is NOT the same as a summary like the
Abstract. Authors often do mistake in
distinguishing ‘Abstract’ and ‘Conclusion’.
 Conclusion only highlights the major outcome.
NEVER make conclusions that cannot be justified
or are not mentioned in the main text.

14. Making PowerPoint Slides
Avoiding the Pitfalls
of Bad Slides

15. Tips to be Covered
 Outlines
 Slide Structure
 Fonts
 Colour
 Background
 Graphs
 Spelling and Grammar
 Conclusions
 Questions

16. Outline
 Make your 1st or 2nd slide an outline of your
presentation (like previous slide)
 Follow the order of your outline for the rest of
the presentation

17. Slide Structure – Good
 Use 1-2 slides per minute of your presentation
 Write in point form, not complete sentences
 Include 4-5 points per slide
 Avoid wordiness: use key words and phrases
only

18. Slide Structure - Bad
 This page contains too many words for a
presentation slide. It is not written in point
form, making it difficult both for your audience
to read and for you to present each point.
Although there are exactly the same number of
points on this slide as the previous slide, it
looks much more complicated. In short, your
audience will spend too much time trying to
read this paragraph instead of listening to you.

19. Slide Structure – Good
 Show one point at a time:
– Will help audience concentrate on what you are
saying
– Will prevent audience from reading ahead
– Will help you keep your presentation focused

20. Slide Structure - Bad
 Do not use distracting animation
 Do not go overboard with the animation
 Be consistent with the animation that you use

21. Slide Structure - Bad
 Distracting animation
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
card
3.5
siro
1.5
No.ofthin(-50%)places/km
THIN PLACES(-50% )
card siro

22. 100℃
100℃
Extrusion temp. ：100 ℃
Spinneret ：0.5 mm
Air gap ：15 mm
Injection speed ：4.0 m/min
Winding speed ：35~70 m/min (depending on the coagulant)
Dry-jet Wet Spinning
Air gap
Water wash
Consistent animation

23. PVA/chitin composite
films
0 5 10 15 20
1200
1300
1400
1500
1600
1700
1800
1900
Tensilestrength(MPa)
Whisker content (wt%)
30 MPa
400 MPa
PVA/chitin composite
drawn fibers
Consistent animation

24. Fonts - Good
 Use at least an 18-point font
 Use different size fonts for main points and
secondary points
– this font is 24-point, the main point font is 28-point,
and the title font is 36-point
 Use a standard font like Times New Roman or
Arial

25. Fonts - Bad
 If you use a small font, your audience won’t be able to read what you have written
 CAPITALIZE ONLY WHEN NECESSARY. IT
IS DIFFICULT TO READ
 Don’t use a complicated font

26. Colour - Good
 Use a colour of font that contrasts sharply with
the background
– Ex: blue font on white background
 Use colour to reinforce the logic of your
structure
– Ex: light blue title and dark blue text
 Use colour to emphasize a point
– But only use this occasionally

27. Colour - Bad
 Using a font colour that does not contrast with
the background colour is hard to read
 Using colour for decoration is distracting and
annoying.
 Using a different colour for each point is
unnecessary
– Using a different colour for secondary points is also
unnecessary
 Trying to be creative can also be bad

28. Background - Good
 Use backgrounds such as this one that are
attractive but simple
 Use backgrounds which are light
 Use the same background consistently
throughout your presentation

29. Background – Bad
 Avoid backgrounds that are distracting or
difficult to read from
 Always be consistent with the background that
you use

30. Graphs - Good
 Use graphs rather than just charts and words
– Data in graphs is easier to comprehend & retain
than is raw data
– Trends are easier to visualize in graph form
 Always title your graphs

31. Table - Bad
Structure Count (Ne) PPI Pilling rating
Plain 30 42 3
Plain 30 52 3
Matt 30 42 1-2
Matt 30 52 2
Matt 30 66 2
Twill 30 42 2-3
Twill 30 52 3
Twill 30 66 3
Diamond 30 42 2-3
Diamond 30 52 3
Diamond 30 66 3
Satin 30 42 1-2
Satin 30 52 1-2
Satin 30 66 1-2

32. 0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Pillingrating
PPI
PPI Vs Pilling
Graph: PPI Vs pilling rating
(count 40Ne,plain)
Graph: PPI Vs pilling rating
(count 40Ne,Matt)
Graph: PPI Vs pilling rating
(count 40Ne , Twill)
Graph : PPI Vs pilling rating
(count 40Ne,Diamond)
Graph:PPI Vs pilling rating (
count 40Ne,Satin)
Expressing Table Data in Graph

33. Stress-strain behavior of PVA/SWCNT fibres
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
SWCNT 1.0%
SWCNT 0.7%
SWCNT 0.5%
SWCNT 0.3%
Neat PVA
Stress(GPa)
Strain (%)
Sample Tensile
strength
(GPa)
Young’s
modulus
(GPa)
Elongation
%
Toughness
(J/g)
Neat PVA 1.65 30 10.0 67
SWNT 0.3% 2.17 40 10.5 91
SWNT 0.5% 2.42 46 10.3 105
SWNT 0.7% 2.25 48 8.0 74
SWNT 1.0% 2.20 52 7.0 62
Graph & Table
together

34. Graphs - Good
Items Sold in First Quarter of 2002
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
January February March April
Blue Balls
Red Balls

35. Graphs - Bad
20.4
27.4
90
20.4
30.6
38.6
34.6
31.6
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
January February March April
Blue Balls
Red Balls
 Minor gridlines are unnecessary
 Font is too small
 Colours are illogical
 Title is missing
 Shading is distracting

36. Spelling and Grammar
 Proof your slides for:
– speling mistakes
– the use of of repeated words
– grammatical errors you might have make
 If English is not your first language, please
have someone else check your presentation!

37. Conclusion
 Use an effective and strong closing
– Your audience is likely to remember your last words
 Use a conclusion slide to:
– Summarize the main points of your presentation
– Suggest future avenues of research

38. Giving thanks and Questions??
 End your presentation with thanks, Ex:
“Thank you for your kind attention”, or
“Thank you for listening”
 Thanks may be followed by a simple question
slide to:
– Invite your audience to ask questions
– Provide a visual aid during question period
– Avoid ending a presentation abruptly