Example of rough draft on research paper2/17/2024 ![]() ![]() The materials and methods section is easier to write because you are writing about what you did and how, whereas the introduction is more challenging because it has to answer the question ‘Why’ (Why did you choose that topic? Why did you use that particular method?). Structure the introduction in the form of a funnel. Paul Silvia, PhD in psychology, and author of the book How to Write a Lot: a practical guide to productive academic writing advises: “Get your thoughts in order before you try to communicate them to the world of science.” 2Ĥ. ![]() In general, the same headings in the same sequence can be used where applicable for the results section. For the methods section, for example, the subheadings can be (1) Description of the site, (2) Sampling and design of the experiment, (3) Methods of analysing the samples, and (4) Statistical analysis. Whereas the IMRaD structure is a broad one, you need to make it more detailed by adding the required subheadings. If you explain your work to others verbally before you begin to write, you will find writing easier: the sequence of ideas will be clearer to you, words will flow faster, and what you write will be clearer to your readers.ģ. For the results section, because you know what observations you are going to record, you can even prepare dummy tables beforehand and fill in the cells of each table as the results come in.Ģ. Write the methods section as you go along, when all the details are fresh in your mind or can be looked up readily, such as the make and model of any instrument that you used, the duration of a specific chemical reaction, the composition of chemical solutions, and so on. Do not wait until you have completed the entire piece of research work you had planned. Once you have this outline, start filling in details. Think of each section as an answer to a question: Why (Introduction), How (Materials and methods), What (Results), and So what (Discussion). These limits are suggestions: do not take them as inflexible. 1 A rough allocation, in number of words, can be as follows: Introduction, 400 Methods, 700 Results, 1000 and Discussion, 1400. You can make the task even more concrete if you set aside a specific number of words for each of these four sections. If writing a research paper is your aim, you will achieve it more easily if you define that aim in more concrete terms: say to yourself, “I am going to write an account of my research work in about 3500 words, structured in the IMRaD format (introduction, materials and methods, results, and discussion).” ![]()
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