All-in-one guide for preparing and publishing a bioscience manuscript

Abstract

Research articles communicate original scientific research to their target audience, shaping individual careers and ultimately, scientific paradigms themselves. Writing a high-quality manuscript requires substantial investment of time and effort, but without careful optimization, success of the final product is far from being assured. To address this, we used a meta-survey approach to identify the key determinants of a positive editorial reception. Interestingly, scientific writing and overall manuscript quality emerged as the major determinants of editorial response, irrespective of the journal background. However, writing a high-quality manuscript is often a challenging task for seasoned researchers; for a novice it might prove to be overwhelming. In recognition of this, the present article aims to streamline the manuscript development process for seamless conversion of novel experimental findings into a well-written paper. To this end, we have deconstructed the scientific writing process into seven salient steps, starting from conceptualization to final postpublication networking.