Friday, July 16, 2010

"So many papers deserve to be better written than they are."

"Here's a simple test: if somebody reads your conclusions before reading the rest of your paper, will they fully understand them? If the answer is 'yes', there's probably something wrong. A good conclusion says things that become significant after the paper has been read. A good conclusion gives perspective to sights that haven't yet been seen at the introduction. A conclusion is about the implications of what the reader has learned."-Nature Physics 3, 581 (2007)

Nature Physics published a short editorial article on how to write a good Nature paper, entitled "Elements of Style". It is short and sweet. Crisp and clear. Good read for a sense of what editors are looking for.

http://www.nature.com/nphys/journal/v3/n9/full/nphys724.html

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