Writing your paper

When writing your paper you should keep the journal you are targeting in mind, to make sure the style, structure and audience are all a good fit. This helps the editor to see how your work matches with the aims and scope of the journal, and make it more likely to be accepted for publication. (Make sure you’ve read the aims and scope for your target journal before you start writing, it will tell you what types of article are accepted.)

You’ll find lots more advice on finding the right journal for your research in our section on choosing a journal.

Familiarizing yourself with your chosen journal’s instructions for authors (IFAs) is a key part of writing your paper and preparing to submit. The IFAs tell you exactly what the journal’s editorial board expects to see, including details of specific processes to follow to make sure there are no problems should your article be accepted.

Look through the journal’s instructions for authors, but also take the time to read a selection of articles already published there to see how they are structured. This will help you to understand what the editor may be looking for.

You could also make use of an article template. Check the instructions for authors for your chosen journal to see if they accept templated articles, then download the article template and instructions.

Sometimes there are specific templates available to use, for example the Article Template and Software Tool Article Template for LaTeX users submitting to F1000Research via Overleaf.

Here’s a helpful step by step guide to take you through the standard sections that many researchers need to include when writing a manuscript, in the order in which you would normally write them.

1. Prepare tables and figures (if required)
   Tables and figures should present new information rather than duplicating what is in the text. When creating tables and figures for your article, check the journal’s instructions for authors, which may stipulate on formatting points such as layouts and use of color.
2. Write up the literature review (if required)
   Literature reviews aren’t always needed, but often form an important part of Humanities and Social Sciences manuscripts. Typically, a literature review should discuss what’s already known about the topic of the article, identify gaps in current knowledge and present your approach to addressing those gaps.
3. Write the method
   The method section gives the reader all the details of how you conducted your research. Check the instructions for authors for your target journal to see whether there are any specific requirements on how it should be presented. It’s also a good idea to review previously published papers in the journal or sample reports on the journal website.
4. Write up your results
   In the results section, you’re answering the question ‘what have you found?’. You should state your findings, but don’t interpret the results or discuss their implications in this section.
5. Write the discussion and conclusions
   Your discussion and conclusion are where you interpret your results. Discuss your conclusions in order of most to least important, and end by stating your main conclusions again.
6. Write the introduction
   Your introduction should provide the background information needed to understand your study, and the reasons why you conducted your experiments. At the end of your introduction you should include a clear statement of your aims and a brief sentence or two on how you conducted your study. Although your introduction comes first in your article, you’ll have a clearer idea of how to write it once you’ve written the rest of your paper.
7. Write the abstract and create a compelling title
   Your abstract is the shop window of your article – this is where customers (researchers) can sample your wares and decide whether to read and cite your content or look elsewhere. Follow our advice on writing the title and abstract for your article using keywords to set up your work to be easily discovered online.

What else should I include when writing my paper?

• If you are using third-party material in your article, It is important to make sure that you are clear on the guidance you need to follow, as most journals need you to have written permission.
• If you need to refer to a data set in your article, you’ll need to ensure that you cite the data appropriately. Read more in our how-to guide on citing data.
• There are also specific guidelines to follow when including mathematical scripts and special characters.
• Please make sure you read through the Taylor & Francis Editorial Policies which include important information about why and how you should cite sources in your article. These requirements apply to all journals published by Taylor & Francis Group.
• Have you considered writing a Plain Language Summary? They can greatly help to communicate the significance of scientific research evidence to a broad audience.

For more tips and useful advice, we’ve put together a handy guide and video on what to consider when writing your journal article.

Writing a review article? A review article, also called a literature review, should give an overview of current thinking on the theme rather than presenting new results. Read our specific advice on writing a review article for more guidance.

Writing a manuscript in a more unusual format? There may be specific resources available to help you structure and write the article – for example, F1000Research offer detailed instructions for authors for some of their article types, like Data Notes and Registered Report Stage 1 Study Protocols. It’s always worth exploring the journal or platform homepage to see if there are dedicated guides and resources to help you prepare your manuscript.

Many journals also allow the use of templates to help you format your article. You can find out if this applies to your chosen journal by checking the instructions for authors, then visit our formatting and templates page to find the downloadable template files and their instructions.

Guidance may vary by journal, so we’ve listed below a few key areas that you need to pay attention to:

• Defining authorship: co-authors, corresponding authors, and affiliations.
• The ethical issues you should be aware of as an author.
• Declaring competing interests. Also known as a ‘conflict of interest’, full disclosure of any competing interests is required when you submit your paper to a journal.
• If your research includes a medical/clinical study you will need written patient consent from your participants. All authors are required to follow the ICMJE requirements on privacy and informed consent from patients and study participants.