How To Write A Scientific Paper: An Academic Self-Help Guide for PhD Students

by Jari Saramäki, Virtual Voice (Narrator)

Write outstanding papers using a systematic top-down approachWriting a scientific paper is hard, especially if you want to publish in top journals. It’s even harder if you are a PhD student who is still learning the craft.

But don’t worry, this book is here to help! It shows you a straightforward, step-by-step method that makes it easier to turn your hard-earned results into clear and exciting papers, ready for top journals.

Instead of dwelling on technicalities, this guide breaks the process down into manageable chunks. How to choose the message of your paper? How to craft its abstract, sentence by sentence? How to effectively outline the paper, and how to turn the outline into a first draft and then into a finished manuscript? What to do if you get stuck? And finally, how to deal with critical reviews?

Here is what you

A complete step-by-step plan for writing research papers, from choosing which results to include to wrapping up the paper in the Discussion sectionConcrete, actionable, and practical advice, from a paragraph-level template for the Introduction to guidance on preparing plots and figuresLots of writing tips, from placing signposts in your text to shortening and straightening your sentencesThis book is tailored specifically for Ph.D. students who are aiming to write journal articles based on their research results. However, its insights and guidance can be highly beneficial and recommended to academics at all levels.

The book
PART STORY
1. How To Choose The Key Point Of Your Paper
2. How To Choose The Supporting Results
3. How To Write The Abstract
4. How To Choose The Title

PART OUTLINE
5. The Power Of Outlining
6. How To Write The Introduction, Part Structure
7. How To Write The Introduction, Part A Four-Paragraph Template
8. How To Write The Introduction, Part The Lede
9. How To Write The Materials And Methods
10. How To Write The Results, Part Figures
11. How To Write The Results, Part Text
12. How To Write The Discussion

PART WORDS
13. How Does Your Reader Read?
14. How To Write Your First Draft
15. How To Edit Your First Draft
16. Tips For Revising Content And Structure
17. Tips For Editing Sentences

PART IT'S NOT OVER YET
18. How To Write The Cover Letter
19. How To Deal With Reviews

About the author

I am a professor of computational science and an experienced academic with more than 100 published papers. My research is interdisciplinary, to say the I have studied the social fabric of smartphone users, the genetic structure of ant supercolonies, the connectome of the human brain, networks of public transport, and the molecular biology of the human immune system, to name a few. I am also interested in scientific writing as a craft. So one could say that I have a broad range of interests—or that I just can't choose, but that's exactly how I like it!

Genres: Nonfiction, Writing, Science, Research

Audible Audio

Published March 25, 2025

Reviews

[Timo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an excellent beginner‘s guide for how to write a scientific paper, and has been extremely helpful in my process of preparing my first paper draft.
A concise and entertaining book that does exactly what it claims to do.

[Violeta · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a clear guide which provides straight-to-the-point advice for writing scientific papers. It made my writing process (in STEM) less painful. The book revolves around the idea that a scientific paper is a story with setup, confrontation, results and discussion. It comes with handy (but occasional) example phrases to use as signposts and guide your future reader.

[Rita Ortega · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very useful, and entertaining guide to the whole process that takes you from having a set of results to publishing a scientific paper. It gives nice tips, checklists and a complete summary for quick referencing. Now that I am preparing several manuscripts, I'll make sure to have this in hand to improve my writing process.

[Mahdieh Ebrahimi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This a great formalism for writing papers. I enjoyed it a lot.

[Ylva · Rating 5 out of 5]

A concise and smart guide to writing science. Would recommend to anyone in academia.

[Marc ZEIMET · Rating 5 out of 5]

Which PhD student did not struggle to write her first paper to be published eventually in a research journal?
It is obvious from the start of such an endeavour that there is a strong need to acquire information about what is expected of a scientific paper, but also which skills and competencies the writer needs to have built up in order to be successful in achieving the objective and come up with a valuable outcome.
The book presented by the senior academic Jari Saramäki is outstanding in the list of similar resources.
First, it is targeted at PhD students, probably the group of the most avid users of such a guideline. Second, the publication is well written, easy to follow, with a systemic structure and its content rationally laid out.
Third, it can be used like a recipe instruction as it gives basically all the information on ingredients, techniques, procedure, requirements and privileges (for best results) a top-down approach, like in a funnel system (broad to narrow distilling process).
Indeed, this book can provide guidance to any interested reader engaged in the process of writing a research paper, and it is fairly possible to get to lengths in a "self-help" mode of working.
A very recommended book on this particular topic, to be ranked in the "pole position" or close by.

[Sinibaldo Romero Arocha · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a Ph.D. student, little time is spent in our training, delving into the nuances of scientific/academic writing. The same goes for editing. I have been looking for additional resources to address this gap.
This is a brief, witty, and smart guide to writing a paper. The book focuses on how to write your manuscript once you have garnered enough data. The target audience is graduate students.
His perspective about writing from a reader’s point of view continues to resonate in my head even after weeks of finishing the book.
I will reread it once I start writing my first-author publication.

Memorable quotes:
- “Well-written papers are often about a single thing.”
- “Clutter reduces clarity.”
- “Keep your title short. Research has shown that shorter titles attract more citations.”
- “Always tell the reader what she should see in the figure: how should the plot be interpreted? What is the message of the figure?”
- “Use white space properly.”
- “Always label your axes.”
- “Again, remember that most readers just skim.”
- When your supervisor asks you for the first draft, give her your second draft instead (by all means, call it the first!).
- “When your supervisor asks you for the first draft, give her your second draft instead (by all means, call it the first!).”
- “Endings have power. Do not waste this power.”

[Stella Glennon · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're a PhD student staring down the blank page and wondering how on earth to start writing your scientific paper, this book is like a calm, experienced friend who walks you through it step by step. How To Write A Scientific Paper doesn't try to overcomplicate things—it gives you exactly what you need: clarity, structure, and encouragement. What I appreciated most is how it speaks to the emotional side of writing too, not just the technical bits.

One personal tip—when I was juggling multiple deadlines and still trying to get my own draft into shape, I found it super helpful to get some fast turnaround feedback to keep my momentum going.If you're ever in that pinch, https://samedaypapers.com/fast-essay-... was honestly a lifesaver for quick help while staying focused on the content I actually needed to finish.

Definitely worth reading, especially if academic writing still feels like a mountain. This guide helps you start climbing, one clear page at a time.

[Bishal Santra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being a PhD student, writing papers is one of my most dreaded tasks that I need to do. I have mostly seen writing as kind of a task that I have to do start to end in a serial manner. Going through this book felt like there was a revolution going on inside my head. The author essentially described a method with well thought out examples. And the method is so simple that you would blame yourself for not thinking this earlier.

So, if you are here already, go buy and read this book.

[Carlo Estadilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book to my fellow Ph.D. students (and fellow academicians) who struggle with scientific writing. I groan inside when I have to start writing. "Why must the beautiful process of discovery end with the boring task of writing manuscripts?" To those who were never mentored on how to write, this book comes with concrete recommendations and checklists to at least get you going. I loved reading it.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish I had read this in grad school...when I got this book. Short, pithy, and easy to read with useful advice. Trying to improve my writing habits now and this book provides motivation and proven strategies.

[Books&Plants · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend

Great guide! Thank you for helping us navigate manuscript writing! I definitely recommend this book to scientists at all phases.

[Grace Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book! It was clear, personable, and easy to read. I started reading this book because I was overwhelmed by scientific writing, but the author breaks it down so well. A truly excellent book that is well worth your time.