Before finalizing a research paper for a good journal, be ready to make several drafts and amendments. Write the first draft by answering the following:
1. Why did you start the experiment? (The introduction)
2. What did you do? How was it done? (The materials and methods)
3. What did you find? What was learned? (The results)
4. What do the results mean? How do they relate to what is already known? (The discussion)
Use these questions to analyze your research results. Having completed these sections, you can complete other parts of the paper such as references, tables, and figures and figure legends, abstract, running title, key words, and acknowledgements (if any).
You must also ensure that your completed paper fulfills the following crucial issues for a better chance of being accepted.
The article comes under the subject area of the journal
The article contain original work
The title of the article is clear, concise, and effective
The article has followed ethical and statistical standards
The experimental methods used are valid and adequate
The interpretations of results and discussion are in conformity with relevant facts
The style of writing and use of English are appropriate for the journal
The abstract is comprehensive and concise
The quality of illustrations and photographs are of international standards
The manuscript conforms to the journal’s requirements as indicated in the “Instruction to authors”.
Journals publishing quality papers have their own templates and publishing framework, which provide the authors with suitable guidelines for shaping and writing their articles. To me, this is the good part. However, the bad part is sometimes the unfair rejection of thee paper.