Scientific paper structureWhy a Scientific Format?The scientific format may seem confusing for the beginning science writer due to its rigid structure which is so different from writing in the humanities. One reason for using this format is that it is a means of efficiently communicating scientific findings to the broad community of scientists in a uniform manner. Another reason, perhaps more important than the first, is that this format allows the paper to be read at several different levels. For example, many people skim Titles to find out what information is available on a subject. Others may read only titles and Abstracts. Those wanting to go deeper may look at the Tables and Figures in the Results, and so on. The take home point here is that the scientific format helps to insure that at whatever level a person reads your paper (beyond title skimming), they will likely get the key results and conclusions.Top of pageThe Sections of the PaperMost journal-style scientific papers are subdivided into the following sections: Title, Authors and Affiliation, Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Acknowledgments, and Literature Cited, which parallel the experimental process. This is the system we will use. This website describes the style, content, and format associated with each section.The sections appear in a journal style paper in the following prescribed order:Experimental process Section of Paper What did I do in a nutshell? Abstract What is the problem? Introduction How did I solve the problem? Materials and Methods What did I find out? Results What does it mean? Discussion Who helped me out? Acknowledgments (optional) Whose work did I refer to? Literature Cited Extra Information...
