Writing tips and tricks

Scientific Paper Writing Guidelines

About

This document provides a structured guide to help you write a clear, rigorous, and publishable scientific manuscript, especially in the chemical sciences. It is tailored to those using Overleaf with ACS or RSC LaTeX templates, but the core principles apply universally.

Getting Started

Choose the Right Journal

Before writing, define your target journal. This influences structure, style, and reference format. Consider:

• Scope of the journal
• Impact factor and audience
• Recent articles similar to your work

Links:

• ACS Journals List
• RSC Journals List
• Journal Finder (Elsevier)

Use the Official Template

Overleaf templates ensure correct formatting and metadata setup.

Here are some useful ones, but for most journals we will probably have a previous example. For others, you may have to look for the template yourself (if it exists!):

• ACS Template: Link
• RSC Template: Link

Follow the structure provided and don’t override style commands unless necessary.

• In general, I prefer using Overleaf for all manuscripts (unless a journal prohibits LaTeX). Use group-maintained Overleaf templates where possible (cover letters, SI, latexdiff, etc.). If you are not sure if there is one, ask me!
• Use cross-references (\ref{}) for figures, tables, sections—never hard-code numbers.
• For versioning: Continue working in one Overleaf project. Backup older versions by copying to separate .tex files every now and then, specially before major changes.
• For reviewer responses: Use latexdiff to highlight changes (e.g., for reviewer responses). For the actual answers, we may use Google docs instead.

Outline First

Before writing, prepare an outline for discussion with your advisor (i.e., me). The outline should include:

• Abstract: 4–8 sentences summarizing the entire paper’s message and contributions.
• Introduction: A paragraph-level sketch of background, open questions, and this paper’s specific goals. End with a clear list of 2–4 main contributions.
• Figure 1: Often a schematic or conceptual diagram—draft this early.
• Results: Describe key experiments, figures, and tables. Write draft captions early on—they should be mostly self-contained.
• Discussion: Draft sections for analysis and interpretation, including an explicit limitations paragraph if applicable.

General Structure of a Scientific Paper

1. Title

• Concise, descriptive, and specific
• Avoid jargon or overly broad titles
• Include keywords if relevant

2. Abstract

• 150–250 words
• Summarize the problem, key methods, major results, and conclusions
• Write it last, even though it appears first

3. Introduction

• Context and motivation
• Review of relevant work (with citations)
• Clearly state the research question or hypothesis
• End with a summary of your contribution

4. Results and Discussion

• Present results in logical order, not necessarily chronological
• Use figures and tables to highlight key findings
• Discuss implications, limitations, and comparisons with prior work
• Include control experiments or computational benchmarks if relevant

5. Methods / Experimental Section

• Describe methods with enough detail to allow replication
• Separate subsections for synthesis, measurements, and simulations
• Include software versions, parameters, and tools used
• Use SI units and standard nomenclature

6. Conclusions

• Recap major findings, make sure message is clear even if its repetitive
• Emphasize scientific impact
• Optionally outline future directions

7. References

• Use a consistent and journal-appropriate style (ACS, RSC, etc.)
• Use BibTeX with a reference manager like:
  • Zotero
  • Mendeley
  • JabRef

To generate BibTeX entries from DOIs, use:

• DOI2Bib

To clean up .bib files, use:

• betterbib (GitHub)

Writing Tips

Be Clear and Concise

• Prefer short, direct sentences
• Avoid unnecessary jargon
• Eliminate filler phrases (e.g., “it is worth mentioning that”)

Be Scientific

• Support all claims with data or references
• Use error bars, confidence intervals, and statistical significance where applicable
• Avoid overclaiming or hyping results

Be Structured

• Use informative section headers
• Use logical transitions between paragraphs
• Ensure each paragraph has one core idea

Be Visual

• Use well-labeled figures and tables
• Avoid clutter in graphs (no rainbow plots, overly small fonts)
• Refer to every figure/table in the main text

Recommended tools for figure-making are:

• ChemDraw, always with ACS style
• Matplotlib / Plotly

Overleaf and LaTeX Tips

• Use \cite{} with a .bib file to manage references
• Use \autoref{} or \ref{} for cross-referencing
• Define custom commands for repeated symbols or equations
• Add % TODO: comments to mark unfinished areas
• Use [draft] option in \documentclass for fast compilation during writing

Final Checklist

• Never submit any version (poster, abstract, manuscript) without advisor approval.
• If deadlines are involved, plan ahead for:
  • Internal review. It takes me time to review a paper critically and several rounds may (probably will) be necessary.
  • External collaborator approval — allow ≥30 days if needed.

Before submission or feedback, ensure:

✅ Scientific Rigor

• All claims supported with data or references
• All figures readable and reproducible
• All abbreviations defined at first use

✅ Formatting

• Correct journal style (template, references, headings)
• Figures and tables placed appropriately
• Units and nomenclature are consistent and SI-compliant when possible (for energies, we like kcal/mol or eV)

✅ Language and Clarity

• Spell-checked and grammar-checked
• No overly long or vague sentences
• Clear and engaging abstract

✅ Metadata

• Author names and affiliations are correct
• ORCID and email info included
• Proper keywords provided (if required)

Bonus Tools

• Grammarly – grammar and style check
• Writefull – language correction for scientific writing
• LaTeX table converter – for tables
• LaTeX equation writer – for equations
• Overleaf LaTeX Tutorials
• Data Visualization: A Practical Introduction
• Multipanel figures