Learn How to Write Papers & Essays: Tips from the Experts

[exponent137]

I found one example how to write papers etc. http://www.ncl.ac.uk/students/wdc/learning/
Is it still something like this?
Is it something more oriented to physics?

 

[Choppy]

By the time you're ready to write a paper, you should be intimately familiar with the format and style of the journal you intend to publish in. That's because in order to be ready to write a paper, you need to be reading papers - a lot of them.

That said I think just about all graduate students should take advantage of workshops, courses, resources etc. on academic writing, because writing is a critical skill for someone hoping to do well in academia. I know - a person's scientific achievements should stand on the merit of the work itself. But the fact of the matter is that if you struggle to communicate your ideas, if people find your papers challenging to understand because of the writing, it will be a challenge to get it published at all, and when it gets published it won't get the attention it warrants.

 

[Maths Absorber]

By the time you're ready to write a paper, you should be intimately familiar with the format and style of the journal you intend to publish in. That's because in order to be ready to write a paper, you need to be reading papers - a lot of them.

That said I think just about all graduate students should take advantage of workshops, courses, resources etc. on academic writing, because writing is a critical skill for someone hoping to do well in academia. I know - a person's scientific achievements should stand on the merit of the work itself. But the fact of the matter is that if you struggle to communicate your ideas, if people find your papers challenging to understand because of the writing, it will be a challenge to get it published at all, and when it gets published it won't get the attention it warrants.

What recommendations would you give to an undergraduate student to prepare himself to publish papers by the time he reaches graduate school ?

 

[exponent137]

Because there is a number of courses, I suppose that it is possible to find also something also on internet, maybe even specialized for physics.
Is it still something on internet?

It would be useful some option of google translate only for science writing. But this is for future.

 

[Choppy]

What recommendations would you give to an undergraduate student to prepare himself to publish papers by the time he reaches graduate school ?

1. Read prolifically. Read as much as you can, specifically within your intended field of study if you have one. This can be difficult at first because you have to struggle to learn both jargon and the context of the work.
2. Find a good mentor. Students tend to pick up a lot from their supervisors including style and habits. Sometimes your choice is limited, but to the extent you have control over it, look for people who both do high quality work and are able to explain it well.
3. Practice. With any project you do it's a good idea to write it up in scientific format, whether you eventually publish it or not. Write up your literature review. Clearly define the goals of your project. Write out your methods and place them in context of what's currently being done in the field. Do up professional looking graphs. Sometimes, all you may be doing is some personal benchmarking of a code, or reproducing someone else's results - work that is not in and of itself publishable, but you never know when you'll need to draw on those results for a paper down the road. This also helps you to organize information.
4. Seek feedback on your writing (and offer it to others). Sometimes you can learn a lot just from peer-review.
5. Practice writing professionally in most things you do - even posting on internet forums.

 

[Choppy]

Because there is a number of courses, I suppose that it is possible to find also something also on internet, maybe even specialized for physics.
Is it still something on internet?

It would be useful some option of google translate only for science writing. But this is for future.

Well, apparently there are cases where AIs have successfully submitted papers to conferences!

I don't know of anything specific online, but I'm sure they're out there if you look for them. I know there are academic editorial services out there, but probably not much that's free.

 

[mfb]

Well, apparently there are cases where AIs have successfully submitted papers to conferences!

Sometimes Artificial Stupidity is sufficient.