PMCb1002 - Academic Writing
Autumn 2023, Class 6 of 6
Editing your work, giving and receiving feedback

Research Paper Structure
0. Title, Abstract, and Keywords
-While this belongs at the beginning of a paper, it is done at the end
-The title should be catchy and informative
-The abstract tells readers everything about your paper
-About 5 keywords that represent your paper

Research Paper Structure
1. Introduction that contains:
-A descriptive preview
-A brief exploration of the pre-existing literature/context in which you are embedding your
research
-A summary of how you will answer your research question and what your findings will tell us about
the world in which you are writing
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Research Paper Structure
2. Theoretical background:
-Your papers always need to follow a theoretical framework that connects your research to existing
knowledge
-It gives you a basis for your hypotheses and choice of research methods
-It guides your analyses by suggesting concepts and relationships to explore
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Research Paper Structure
3. Contextual background:
-Describe and give context to the situation that you are analyzing
-The short history of the issue you are tackling
-The history can be much longer than the period you are analyzing – focus on what you are writing
about
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Research Paper Structure
4. Methodology:
-Quantitative or qualitative
-Explain the approach you chose
-Describe how you collected the data you used
-Explain the methods you used to analyze the data you collected
-Evaluate and justify the methodological choices you made
-This allows readers to check whether your approach is accurate and dependable
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Research Paper Structure
5. Analysis:
-Once you have conducted your research, you will then have to analyze it to examine its
implications and support a defensible claim
-Provide the main points, the evidence used to support each, and the credibility of your evidence
-Explain potential biases
-Describe the implications of the information
-It can be divided into various sub-sections/categories
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Research Paper Structure
6. Findings:
-It can be its own section, or it can be in the analysis or in the conclusion
-Findings may be reported in written text, tables, graphs, and other illustrations
-Include a contextual analysis of the data by tying it back to the research question(s)
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Research Paper Structure
7. Discussion:
-Not always necessary on its own. Can be part of the conclusion
-This section connects your results to previous research studies, makes explicit connections back
to your research question(s) and includes an explanation about how the results might be generalized
-Can also include an analysis of any unexpected findings, with a description of the unexpected
finding, a brief interpretation as to why you believe it appeared and, if necessary, its possible
significance in relation to the overall study
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Research Paper Structure
8. Conclusion:
-Clearly states the answer to your main research question with a short summary of the research
process
-Counter-arguments (if available): what are the main objections to your research, and can you
defend your thesis from them?
-Make recommendations for future work on your thesis or dissertation topic
-Show what new knowledge you have contributed to your field
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How to edit your work
-Reread the requirements and make sure you have everything requested
-Print it out
-Read it out loud
-Give it time before you go back to it
-Make yourself a checklist of necessary items
-Use software like Grammarly
-Fact check and ensure you have proper citations

A green checklist with white squares Description automatically generated
-Here are a few ways to strengthen your writing
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-I often read from the end to the beginning so the paragraphs are stand-alone items

Giving Feedback
-Be kind and diplomatic
-Read through the whole text first
-Be as specific as possible with the feedback and offer advice
-Comments should be actionable
-Quality > quantity
-Proofreading is different from editing
-Share your tips and ideas

Receiving Feedback
-You can ask for feedback at any stage of your writing or research and specify on what you want
feedback
-The person providing feedback means well
-The amount of feedback will vary
-You do not have to follow everything the reviewer has suggested
-If you do not understand some comments, ask!

Receiving Feedback