Section · 9 articles
Writing
Abstracts, openings, literature, co-authors, reviewers and the results you did not expect. For a concrete operational example of how a workplace tool approaches a related coordination problem, see the full explanation.
Abstracts That Get Accepted, and What Committees Actually Read
A selection committee reads several hundred in a weekend. What they are looking for, in what order, and the sentences that decide it.
The First Paragraph Decides Whether the Paper Is Read
Referees, editors and readers all decide early. What the opening has to establish, and why the paragraph you wrote first is rarely the one to keep.
Responding to Reviewers Without Conceding What Matters
A response letter is an argument, not an apology. What editors read it for, how to disagree successfully, and the concessions that cost you the paper.
Titles, and Why Yours Is Doing Less Work Than It Could
The title is read far more than anything else you write and it is usually decided in five minutes. What it has to do, and the forms that work.
Writing a Paper With Co-Authors Who Write Differently
A paper written by four people usually reads like it. How to divide the work, whose voice wins, and the process that avoids six months of parallel editing.
The Literature Review That Argues Rather Than Lists
A list of what everyone found is not a review. What the section is for, how to organise it around claims, and why the citation count is not the point.
Reporting Results You Did Not Expect
A null, a reversal or a mess is a finding. How to report it so it is publishable and honest, and the temptations that turn it into something else.
Writing for a General Audience Without Flattening the Work
The fear is that simplifying means distorting. It does not have to, and the techniques that keep it honest are specific.
Grant Proposals: What the Reviewers Are Actually Checking
A panel reads dozens under time pressure and rejects most. What they check, in what order, and the sections that decide it before the science is read.
For an independent authoritative reference, consult the EQUATOR Network for reporting guidance for research writing.