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| people:etanter:writing-tips [2012/09/05 14:07] – etanter | people:etanter:writing-tips [2013/08/26 18:08] – etanter |
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| Over the years, I have started to find myself repeating the same things again and again about how to write a paper. Most of it I learnt from [[http://www.emn.fr/noye/|Jacques Noyé]] while I was doing my PhD thesis. The rest I learnt by interacting with students and colleagues, and reading other similar pages on the web, about how to write a thesis, present papers, etc. | Over the years, I have started to find myself repeating the same things again and again about how to write a paper. Most of it I learnt from [[http://www.emn.fr/noye/|Jacques Noyé]] while I was doing my PhD thesis. The rest I learnt by interacting with students and colleagues, and reading other similar pages on the web, about how to write a thesis, present papers, etc. |
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| Writing papers is an art, it requires practice and dedication. Unfortunately, we we were not taught about it when we studied at school. As a researcher though, it is vital to master it. Don't forget, a good idea badly explained is not worth a penny (at least not a publication). So as a wanna-be researcher, you should consider this dimension of the work seriously, and be willing to dedicate yourself to it up to the point where you enjoy it (and others do too!). | Writing papers is an art, it requires practice and dedication. Unfortunately, we were not taught about it when we studied at school. As a researcher though, it is vital to master it. Don't forget, a good idea badly explained is not worth a penny (at least not a publication). So as a wanna-be researcher, you should consider this dimension of the work seriously, and be willing to dedicate yourself to it up to the point where you enjoy it (and others do too!). |
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| <note warning> | |
| //If you are a student working with me, do not hand me a draft of a paper/report without having gone carefully through all these points.// | |
| </note> | |
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| * **Polish your English.** International research uses the English language. Nothing is more annoying for a native speaker to read a paper written in bad English (even for non-native speakers, it hurts). The first step to getting your paper accepted, is to produce an "acceptable" paper. Of course, "readable" is a good starting point! Check basic things: tense (use present tense), grammar, be sure that verbs and subjects match, that each verb has a subject (¡no es castellano!), etc. Use a spell-checker. Don't hesitate to frequently consult a good dictionary, thesaurus, and grammar book (if your English is sufficiently advanced, monolingual books are a good idea). Go on the web, buy books, read, learn. [Btw, thanks to Ren Cerro for correcting my own English in this page!] | * **Polish your English.** International research uses the English language. Nothing is more annoying for a native speaker to read a paper written in bad English (even for non-native speakers, it hurts). The first step to getting your paper accepted, is to produce an "acceptable" paper. Of course, "readable" is a good starting point! Check basic things: tense (use present tense), grammar, be sure that verbs and subjects match, that each verb has a subject (¡no es castellano!), etc. Use a spell-checker. Don't hesitate to frequently consult a good dictionary, thesaurus, and grammar book (if your English is sufficiently advanced, monolingual books are a good idea). Go on the web, buy books, read, learn. [Btw, thanks to Ren Cerro for correcting my own English in this page!] |
