LSE Ultimate Tips to Get Your Paper Published:
Keep it simple (and short). “There is no form of prose more difficult to understand and more tedious to read than the average scientific paper.” Francis Crick (1994). Explain everything clearly using short, bite-sized sentences/paragraphs, and avoid complicated wording.
Write logically not chronologically. The most memorable manuscripts have a narrative structure. How you tell the story directly influences how it is perceived and what people will do with it (forget it, remember it, use it).
What’s the point? In the Introduction, tell the reader why they should care about your work. What was known before your study and how does your study move the field forward? In the Discussion, outline the broad (but realistic) implications.
Consider your audience. Editors, reviewers, & readers value different things. Editors value papers that stand out from many submissions on a range of topics. Reviewers value convincing data that move the field forward & presented considerately. Readers value clear explanations.
Explain don’t hype. Accurately describe and interpret the data and, most importantly, acknowledge limitations and weaknesses.
Tailor it to the journal. In our view, first impressions count. Don’t send your rejected Nature-formatted paper straight to Science. Also - know the scope of the journal and what they publish in your field.
See lifescienceeditors.com/workshops/ for more Resources.
