Streamlining the path to publication, part two: Drafting a polished manuscript

Following on from the first blog in our series, ‘Streamlining the path to publication, part one: Evaluating journal compatibility’, the next phase in publication development involves drafting your manuscript.

The task of writing a scientific manuscript can be daunting. Staring at a blank page, you may feel acutely aware of the thousands of words needed. It's easy to feel overwhelmed when balancing the demands of scientific rigour, reader clarity, and your chosen journal's specific guidelines.

To support you in drafting a polished manuscript that effectively communicates your findings to your target audience, this blog post provides a step-by-step guide to translate your research into well-structured, concise writing.

Step 1: Familiarising yourself with the submission guidelines

Before you begin writing up your research, it is critical to carefully read the author’s instructions and submission guidelines of your target journal for the type of article you’ll be submitting. These criteria often outline the word count, citation style, instructions for figures and tables, and necessary sections your submission must include. For example, if you are submitting an original research article, journals typically require that you follow the IMRAD format, which includes an introduction, methods, results, and discussion.

Familiarising yourself with the criteria and guidelines your submission must adhere to early on will help shape your paper's structure and formatting and increase the likelihood of acceptance.

Step 2: Outlining the content of your manuscript

At Synthesis, we never begin by writing a full manuscript draft; the initial phase of the writing development process involves developing a skeleton outline, i.e., a detailed plan. 

Using the submission criteria as a framework, we organise our outline into headings and subheadings. Below each section header, we present the key information in concise bullet points.

When developing our outline, we find it helpful to:

• Copy and paste the author guidelines directly into the comments alongside the relevant section of the document. This provides an additional level of security, ensuring we do not overlook any of the journal requirements.

• Keep any references in text form rather than as numbered references, in case any of the copy needs rearranging when moving to a complete draft.

• Leave placeholders for the abstract and conclusion until all authors have agreed on the key content.

• Include placeholders for figures or tables, with suggestions for what they should convey and where they best fit within the manuscript to complement and enhance the text.

Writing an outline is a valuable step as it helps to establish a logical flow and envision the “story” you want to narrate from start to finish. Additionally, gathering internal or external feedback before writing a full draft ensures alignment on the manuscript's content and flow, saving time down the line. Psychologically, beginning with an outline makes the writing process feel more manageable.

Step 3: Moving to a full draft

Fine-tuning

Once you’ve completed your outline, the hard work is behind you. Your focus can now shift to wordsmithing and crafting your copy into a seamless, interconnected draft. At this stage, refine your language, tone, and writing style to suit the journal's audience, ensuring both readability and clarity. Additionally, maintaining consistency in terminology and formatting is crucial.

For further guidance, refer to our comprehensive approach to effective proofreading and editing in healthcare communications here.

Filling in the gaps

After finalising the main body of your manuscript, you will have a clearer sense of the core themes and concepts that define your research, such as its primary aims or most impactful findings. This direction can make the development of the title, keywords, abstract, and conclusion a more straightforward process.

Visual content creation

Including visuals and tables can greatly enhance a manuscript. Not only can they summarise key data or simplify complex concepts while reducing word count, but they can also break up long sections of text, thereby improving engagement. 

Many applications and websites are available for creating tables and figures, including Excel, Canva, and BioRender. However, you may wish to seek professional input from a designer to develop your ideas and give them a more polished, credible appearance.

References and supplementary materials

The final step in completing your manuscript is organising your references and any supplementary materials in accordance with the guidelines of your target journal. Often, you will need to convert in-text references into numerical forms depending on the order in which they appear in the text.

​​At Synthesis, our expertise lies in crafting publications that not only maximise the impact of the presented data but also shape how the evidence is interpreted, applied, and remembered. Contact us at info@synthesishealth.co.uk to find out more about our end-to-end publications support and discover how we can support you in manuscript development from concept to content.