Wright’s ways in Writing a Manuscript

A manuscript for publication is an original work that presents new knowledge. This new knowledge can be conceptualized in many ways, but it is important that it builds upon already existing knowledge, adds to the discipline, and makes a convincing case for its own acceptance. Manuscripts are analytical and critical expositions based on original investigation or on a systematic review of the literature. A manuscript encompasses different sections. Here, we will break down each section and how to write down each section in detail.

Article structure

Header page

• Title
• Authors
• Abstract
• Keywords

Main text

– Introduction

– Methodology

– Case Studies/Results

– Discussion/Conclusions

• Acknowledgements(Optional)
• References
• Supplementary material

Title

A good title should contain the fewest possible words that adequately describe the contents of a paper. Title should be.

• informative, meaningful & specific (not vague)
• Neither too short nor too long
• Words like ‘studies on’, ‘investigation on’ etc. should be avoided
• Must be chosen with extreme care since it will be read by thousands of people while a few will go thru the entire paper
• Indexing and abstracting of an article depends on the precision of the title
• Inappropriate title will led the article to be indexed in wrong zone
• Don’t use unnecessary jargon, uncommon, abbreviations, ambiguous terms, unnecessary detail, Focus on part of the content only

Authors and affiliations

Be consistent with spelling, full versus short names, full versus short addresses.

Abstract

An objective is a short description of (i) the problem and (ii) the solution. Houghton (1975) defined as a summary of the information in a document. The abstract should (i) state the principal objectives and scope of the investigation, (ii) describe the methodology employed, (iii) summarize the results, and (iv) state the principal conclusion. The quality of an abstract will strongly influence the editor’s decision. Use the abstract to “sell” your article. A good abstract:

• Is precise and honest
• Can stand alone
• Uses no technical jargon
• Is brief and specific
• Minimizes the use of abbreviations
• Cites no references

Better to avoid: Abbreviations, references (save for the introduction), and exaggerated conclusions

Keywords

Keywords should be very selective and appropriate. While choosing keywords, imagine you are looking for your article in certain database. Keywords are important for indexing: they enable your manuscript to be more easily identified and cited. Check the Guide for Authors for journal requirements. Avoid uncommon abbreviations and general terms.

Introduction

Provide the necessary background information to put your work into context. The introduction should provide:

• Review of the problems that will be addressed through the methodology
• General definition or overview of the approach and whether it has been used before or is novel
• Description of how the data will be collected and analyzed
• In brief terms, what was achieved

Don’t include:

• Write an extensive review of the field
• Cite disproportionately your own work, work of colleagues or work that supports your findings while ignoring contradictory studies or work by competitors
• Describe methods, results or conclusions other than to outline what was done and achieved in the final paragraph
• Overuse terms like “novel” and “for the first time”

Methodology/ Materials and Methods

It needs to give full details by which a competent works can report the experiment. For materials, include the exact technical specifications and quantities and source or methods of preparation. For methods, usual order of presentation is chronogical. This section must be brief but informative. Clearly explain how you carried out your study according to the following generalized structure:

• What materials were used?
• How the experiment was structured or designed?
• How the experimental procedure was done? (i.e. protocol for recording the data & it should be realistic)
• How the data were analyzed?

Write most of this section in past tense using passive voice. Do not include any result!

Case Studies/Results

It is the most significant part of a paper.

• It should be short but clearly represented without wordiness.

ii) No discussions should be included here.

ii) Use Tables and Figures to organize all the data systematically: Tables to show exact values; Figures to show trends or relationship effect.

iii) Figures and Tables should be easy to understand without the reader having to refer to the text

iv) Do not include both a Table and a Figure showing the same information

v) Textual representation mentioning the key findings must be provided with each Table and Figure Use different tenses while giving different information in the result section. e.g. i) Something done during the study- past tense ii) Something in the paper itself (Figure, Table) – present tense

Discussion

• Try to present the principles, relationships and generalization shown by the results. Discuss, and do not recapitulate the results.
• Point out any exceptions or any lack of correction, and define unsettled points.
• Show how your results, and interpretations agree (or constract) with previous published works.
• Discuss both theoretical implication, as well as practical applications.

Conclusions

The Conclusions section, alongside the Abstract and Introduction, is one of the core elements of a journal article. The Conclusions section can be written up by using the following structure (one paragraph each):

• Introduction
• Results (one paragraph for each research question)
• Significance of the research/practical implications, for example for the society, or business companies
• Limitations
• Recommended topics for further study

It is important to include the practical implications of your research in the Conclusions chapter; discussing what the implications are for practitioners, companies, etc. Novice researchers tend to concentrate purely on the results and forget about the implications. The Conclusions must be in line with the previous sections and should not present totally new results. The implications should, however, be discussed.

Acknowledgements

Acknowledge anyone who has helped you with the study, including:

• Researchers who supplied materials, reagents, or computer programs
• Anyone who helped with the writing or English, or offered critical comments about the content
• Anyone who provided technical help

References

Check the Guide for Authors for the correct format. Check the style and format as required- it is not the editor’s job to do so for you.

Check

• Spelling of author names
• Punctuation
• Number of authors to include before using “etal.”
• Reference style

Avoid

• Personal communications, unpublished observations and submitted manuscripts not yet accepted
• Citing articles published only in the local language
• Excessive self-citation and journal self-citation

Supplementary material

Information related to and supportive of the main text, but of secondary importance, may be contained in an appendix Includes:

• Extensive statistical analysis
• Supplementary mathematical analysis
• Additional data
• Video data

In writing manuscript there are some scientific Ethics:

• Persons who have significant contributions in conducting the research must not be excluded from the authors list and persons without having any contribution should not be included as author.
• No plagiarism but rephrase or rearticulate giving proper reference.
• Be cautious about the novelty and copyrights of others.

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