This document provides guidance on writing a scientific paper. It explains that a scientific paper has a standardized format (Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion) to communicate research findings logically and unambiguously. The introduction defines the research problem and objectives. The methods section describes the materials and procedures used so others can replicate the study. The results section presents the experimental observations and data without interpreting them.

1. WRITING A SCIENTIFIC
PAPER:
A SCIENCE INVESTIGATIONS

2. WHAT IS RESEARCH?
•…is the systematic investigation or study
about the things in our environment in
order to establish facts and to carry out
with new information and understanding.
•In science, writing is a way of
communicating research findings.

3. SCIENTIFIC WRITING IS NOT LITERARY
WRITING.
•The preparation of a scientific paper has
almost nothing to do with literary skill.
•It is a question of organization.
• By Robert A. Day

4. IN SCIENTIFIC WRITING
•It is necessary to write a scientific report and
proposal in an organized manner.
•Scientific paper should be logically sequenced.
•Scientific writing must be precise and
unambiguous. Therefore,, scientific report
should be written in a clear and concise manner-
to be able to communicate scientific information.

5. CHARACTERISTICS OF SCIENTIFIC PAPER
•Scientific in nature
•Uses descriptive wording to avoid confusion
and ambiguity
•Does not use figurative language …because it
is imprecise and not acceptable in scientific
reports.

6. SCIENTISTS REPORT THE RESULTS OF THEIR RESEARCH IN
SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS IN A STANDARD SCIENTIFIC PAPER
FORMAT.
Scientific paper is organized according to this format:
• Title This format has become
• Abstract because it is suitable for
• I. Introduction most reports of original
research,
• II. Materials and Methods it is basically logical, and it
is easy
• III. Results to use.
• IV. Discussion
• V. Conclusion

7. •IMRaD ( Introduction, Methods, Result (and)
Discussion)
ia a common format used for academic
(‘scientific’) research paper
-The American Psychological Association (APA)
uses the IMRad headings in its APA style sheet.
Current used:
CMS-Chicago Manual of Style

8. TITLE
• Title - is an accurate description of the study.
• CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TITLE
- grammatically correct
- complete enough to stand alone
- two-or three- word title may be too vague, but a 14- or 15
word title is
unnecessarily long. Maximum of 10 words is better.
If you cannot avoid to shorten a title, consider breaking it into
main title and subtitle

9. TITLE
•Avoid phrases such as
on the, a study of, research on, report on,
regarding, and use of
Omit “the” at the beginning of the title.
The best time to finalize the title is after you have
written the text, so that the title will reflect the paper’s
content

10. ABSTRACT
• The abstract provides the reader a general idea about the science
project.
• The abstract is a short summary of the entire paper, approximately
250 words.
The problem and objectives
Methodology
Results
Conclusion
• Compose the abstract after the paper is completed
• For investigatory project, the abstract is placed at the second page

11. ABSTRACT
Parts of the Abstract Description Guide Question
1st part Present the motivation,
problem,
objective, for proposed
project
Why you did this
project? What is its
purpose?
2nd part Describe the methods
of experiment
What materials did you
use? How did use them?
3rd part
4th part
Present what was
observed
With the use of results
give the contribution
and novelty
What did you observe
What do your findings
mean? How does this
relate to the problem?

12. I. INTRODUCTION
•Introduce what problem you are trying to solve.
•What encourages your research, and what you try to
achieve.
•Write in present tense.
•This section presents the:
research problem
the objectives of the study
hypothesis

13. INTRODUCTION
•The opening paragraphed must be in your own
words and all sources of information must be
properly cited.
•Unless otherwise instructed, place the author of
the reference cited and the year of publication in
parentheses at the end of the sentence or
paragraph relating the idea.
example: “(Finnerty, 1992).”

14. INTRODUCTION
Significance of the Study
•Explain why your study is worth pursuing.
•Why is your study important?
•Making Citation
Paraphrase
•Do not plagiarize or steal others’ idea!

15. INTRODUCTION
•Paraphrase means to say in your own words.
-Read the paper, close down, write down the key
words, and write in your own words.
- When done, compare it with the original in order
to retain the original idea.
-Write the author’s last name and date in
parenthesis when you make a citation.

16. II. METHODOLOGY
• This section describes all materials used in the conduct of
the study.
• The procedures should be written in details so that others
could replicate the study.
-Present your experimental plan.
-Describe how you did it.
-Describe the special equipment used in the experiment.
• The procedure is written concisely, but in paragraph form
using the past tense (if you are writing a report). Write in
future tense if you are writing

17. METHODOLOGY
•The way the independent variable was varied, the
numbers of replicates, the control set up, and the
method of measuring the dependent variable(s)
are all included.
•If living thing is used, include the scientific name
and the sex of the organism if that information is
relevant to the experiment.
•Do not try to justify your procedures in this

18. METHODOLOGY
• The summary of data is usually presented in a form of: Tables,
Graphs, Figures
• Number the tables, graphs, and figures consecutively throughout
the paper.
• Refer to figures and tables within the paragraph as you describe
your results, using the word Figure or Table, followed by its
number. For example, “(Figure 1)”.
• Do not repeat in the text the information contained in tables and
figures.
• If possible, place each figure, table, photographs at the end of the

19. III. RESULT
•This section presents what you have observed in the
experiment (i.e., your data).
•When you present your data, begin with narrative
report on what you have observed in the experiment.
•This will help the reader know what you have
observed.

20. RESULT
•You may provide photographs if it is necessary.
DO NOT put your photographs in the appendix
section.
•Do not report what you expected to happen in the
experiment.
•Do not discuss the meaning of your results in this
section.