Лекция: SCIENTIFIC PAPER STRUCTURE

NOTE: The layout of a conference paper is similar to this of a journal article.

TASK 2.Read the passage describing a scientific paper structure and answer the following questions:

1. Is the layout of a scientific paper written in English different from the layout of scientific papers published in Russian?

2. Do you agree with the requirements set for the title of a scientific paper?

The layout of a scientific paper

Many people find it difficult to write a scientific paper. The aim of this article is to help even the most uncertain writers to produce a clear and well presented piece of writing. The layout for a scientific paper is normally:

· a title

· an abstract

· an introduction (which is made up of a brief literature review)

· materials and methods

· experimental results

· conclusions

· acknowledgements and

· a list of references

Titles for essays and scientific papers

The title should indicate what the essay contains and be as concise as possible. Sacrifice brevity for clarity. The title should be a concise summary of the paper. Include important nouns or key words and then join together within the title.

How to write titles

Ensure that the title:

· Describes the contents of the paper.

· Is accurate, concise and specific.

· Has as many key words as possible and is modelled on the style adopted by the publication for which you are writing.

· Is as easy to understand as possible.

The title should not:

· Contain a full stop, unless it is an informative title

· Contain unnecessary words such as “Some notes on …” or “An investigation into… “

· Contain abbreviations, formulas and acronyms

· Promise more than is in the paper

· Be too general

In most cases when writing a title of a scientific paper the title should be followed by the author's name and full address of the institution where the work was carried out.If an author has moved, his/ her new address should be added as a footnote.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_writing#The_layout_of_a_scientific_paper

TASK 3.Read the passage given below and answer the following questions:

1. What are the most widespread types of scientific articles/ papers?

2. What is a research paper?

There are different types of scientific papers/ articles, the most widespread being research papers, discussion papers, and review papers. A research paper is a written and published report describing original research results.In a review paper, the author aims at generalizing the existing theories, approaches, points of view, etc. at a new theoretical level, while the discussion paper presents a critical approach to the points of view of the same problem.

Each scientific paper should have, in proper order, its Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion and Conclusion. An effective way to proceed in writing a scientific paper is to answer these four questions, in order: What was the problem? Your answer is the Introduction. How did you study the problem? Your answer is the Materials and Methods. What did you find? Your answer is the Results. What do these findings mean? Your answer is the Discussion.

(R. A. Day. How to write a scientific paper. Philadelphia, 1979. Borrowed from
N. K. Riabtseva, 1999 ).