Take the following ingredients.…
The classic first words of every recipe.
I received a recipe via Marc Koper on how to write a paper. He didn’t cook it up himself, but George Whitesides did, a Professor of Chemistry at Harvard University.
His recipe is intended for chemistry, but is also very useful outside of this field.
The main ingredients are:
- Start as early as possible writing the outlines for your paper.
- Take charts, equations, graphs and diagrams as the starting point for your outline, not text.
- Don’t make your structure chronologically but start with the key issues first.
In the full recipe he explains why outlines are so important; how to make such an outline and also how to use it. He also has suggestions how to cooperate with your supervisor. This approach is very much in line with my lessons during the Three-day-writing-course: always determine the subject for your text first before you start writing.
In the next video George Whitesides elaborates a bit more on how to write a paper to communicate your research.
Do you want to stay informed about all the handy tips, tricks and tools? Receive 244 #phd tips and get the newsletter as a bonus! Register here.
Get your free PhD tips
