Scientific Paper Structure
The Sections of the Paper
Most journal-style scientific papers are subdivided into the following sections: Title, Authors and Affiliation, Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Acknowledgments, and Literature Cited, which parallel the experimental process.
| Section of Paper | Experimental process |
|---|---|
| Abstract | What did I do in a nutshell? |
| Introduction | What is the problem? |
| Materials and Methods | How did I solve the problem? |
| Results | What did I find out? |
| Discussion | What does it mean? |
| Acknowledgements (optional) | Who helped me out? |
| Literature Cited | Whose work did I refer to? |
| Appendices (optional) | Extra Information |
Styles
Main section headings
- should be capitalized, centered at the beginning of the section
- Should be double spaced from the lines above and below
- Do NOT underline the section heading OR put a colon at the end.
Subheadings
- Should be capitalized (first letter in each word), left justified, and either bold italics OR underlined.
Example of a subheading
Effects of Light Intensity on the Rate of Electron Transport
Acknowledgements
If, in your experiment, you received any significant help in thinking up, designing, or carrying out the work, or received materials from someone who did you a favor by supplying them, you must acknowledge their assistance and the service or material provided.
Authors always acknowledge outside reviewers of their drafts
Place the Acknowledgments between the Discussion and the Literature Cited.
Appendices
Function
Contains information that is
- non-essential to understanding of the paper
- but may present information that further clarifies a point without burdening the body of the presentation
Optional part of the paper, and is only rarely found in published papers.
Style
Headings
- Each Appendix should be identified by a Roman numeral in sequence, e.g., Appendix I, Appendix II, etc.
- Each appendix should contain different material.
What could be put in appendix? (not an exhaustive list)
- raw data
- maps (foldout type especially)
- extra photographs
- explanation of formulas, either already known ones, or especially if you have “invented” some statistical or other mathematical procedures for data analysis.
- specialized computer programs for a particular procedure