How to: Write Scientific

What Makes a Good Literature Review?

A literature review focuses on a specifictopic and related thesis statement and gives a detailed report on published scientific literature surrounding the topic.

Infographic by Amy Foltz

Tips:
  • Look for reputable sources from peer reviewed journals and publications
  • Have a clear thesis, not just a summary
  • Provide a synthesis of current understanding and analysis for future directions
  • Create new figures that address the above points

 

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What Makes a Good Abstract?

An abstract gives a summary before a scientific article about the purpose, hypothesis, methods and main findings of the journal. A good abstract should highlight the key information of the study and should not include any new information not included in the body.

Tips:
  • Declare the objective/thesis of the report
  • Establish the methods used
  • What were the key results
  • What are the conclusions
  • Keep it concise
  • Consider a structured abstract (where it is broken up into scientific process)
  • Make sure not to include any new information not included in paper

Resources:

What Makes a Good Title?

Making a clear title that includes the relevant information or thesis of the paper will make it easier for a reader to know what to expect within the report. Often they have short creative titles followed by a subtitle that more clearly defines the thesis.

Tips:
  • Interesting
  • Clearly shows what the research subject is
  • Sample researched is obvious

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