- Your main aim is to make it easy for the reader to
understand your ideas.
- Be obsessional about following the
instructions.
- Impress reviewers with your ability to obey
sensible rules.
- Justify any rule breaking.
- Search the literature on the topic(s) in the
document.
- SportDiscus is better than Medline for research on
sport and exercise.
- The Summary or Abstract is the most
important part of the document.
- Write it first, then rewrite it as you complete
the rest of the document.
- Include as much information as possible by using
the maximum space or number of words permitted.
- Never state "the results will be discussed" or
similar.
- Include no references, draw no figures, and show
no tables.
- Avoid these common grammatical errors:
- Ambiguous antecedant
- Misplaced modifier
- Non-human agent
- Double conditional
- Example of all four errors: Based on this, the
results may suggest...
- Avoid...
- punctuation errors (especially in it's and
plural's)
- spelling errors
- abbreviations
- technical terms (jargon)
- awkward expressions
- clichés, such as the results showed
that...
- passive voice: e.g. It has been identified
that...
- wasted words
- wrong words, especially affect and
effect
- repetitions
- non-sentences
- one-sentence paragraphs
- paragraphs with more than one main idea.
- Focus:
- Check that all material is in its most appropriate
section.
- Keep to the topic.
- Be specific.
- Flow:
- Avoid unlinked ideas (non-sequiturs).
- Make a logical sequence of ideas within and
between paragraphs.
- List headings, subheadings, and topics within each
section before you begin.
- Be concerned with magnitudes of effects and
the precision of the estimates of magnitude.
- Avoid all mention of testing whether effects are
present or absent.
- Use confidence limits to justify sample sizes and
to report finished work.
- Never show test statistics (t, F, c
2).
- Show data with the appropriate number of
digits.
- Consider alternative explanations of findings.
- Reference most assertions.
- Qualify unreferenced assertions with apparently,
may, I/we believe that…
- Get a critical colleague to give you honest feedback
on a draft version.
- Read one of the photocopies of the final document
before you send the package off.
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