The Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Institute (IHSI), Roy J. Carver Biotechnology Center, and Department of Earth Science and Environmental Change (ESEC) recently sponsored a lecture and reception at the Beckman Institute with Nature Reviews Urology Chief Editor Annette Fenner, What Editors Want: How to Write and Review Papers. Broadly aimed to support all researchers, the event attracted faculty, staff, and students from 75 units and 11 colleges and schools across the Illinois campus. Fenner discussed what editors look for in primary papers and reviews and offered tips on how to be a better writer and reviewer. Attendees had the opportunity to connect and learn first-hand how to write and position their research to maximize the chances of having it published. You can view a video recording to learn more.
An insider’s perspective
Reminding attendees that their busy audience does not have time to read every paper published, Fenner stressed the importance of using engaging titles in scientific manuscripts. "The title is the first thing that people are going to read. If your title isn't clear, if it isn't engaging, if it isn't something that people are going to look at and go, ‘oh, that sounds cool,’ no one's even going to start reading your paper, so the rest of your work is almost entirely in vain,” Fenner noted.
Advising attendees to write the abstract after the manuscript, Fenner shared that many authors miss opportunities to further engage readers with their introductions. “I think people tend to kind of throw out the introduction because they’ll have written it before. Especially writing and publishing a lot in the same field, you kind of just reuse the same stuff for your introduction,” Fenner said. “I think the introduction is an undervalued aspect of the paper to really make you think about what’s important in the field for you.”
After the title, Fenner explained that reviewers often look next at figures and graphs, so they should be developed and placed thoughtfully. “At risk of making a sweeping statement, I don't know many scientists who sit and read the results word for word. They look at the graphs and they read the discussion, so if your figures aren't very good, then you've already lost your audience.”
Fenner continued the lecture with more advice on what editors look for in other manuscript components, editing manuscripts, submitting to journals, peer reviewing articles, and giving presentations. The lecture closed with an overview of the editorial processes and an invitation to submit to Nature Reviews, and a Q&A session. The event was followed by a reception in the Beckman Atrium.
IHSI Research Development Manager, Maggie Berg, wished she had heard this talk in grad school. “I remember how daunting it was to write my first manuscript,” Berg said. “Dr. Fenner did a great job of demystifying the process and her advice would have greatly improved my manuscripts."
Connect with IHSI
IHSI’s Research Development core works directly with Illinois investigators to expand health sciences research. The team provides proposal development support, offers grant seeking workshops and resources, and coordinates campuswide responses to local and national funding priorities. Please contact Maggie Berg with questions or to discuss partnership and support for your research project.
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