How to Revise the First Draft of Your Scientific Paper

[@arlindervishaj]

Thank you very much! Very timely for me as I am revising.

[@jameelabduljalil25]

Me too.

[@ScientificWritingwithKarenLMcK]

Glad it was helpful!

[@damianandresuriarte8151]

I remember working hard on every sentence without having a first draft. Your eleven-minute advice may save dozen or even a thousand hours. Thank you Karen!

[@ScientificWritingwithKarenLMcK]

Thanks for commenting!

[@robertferraro236]

Another great tool I find indispensable, especially with the quality of the voices these days, is text-to-speech tools where you have your computer read your writing out loud. You can sometimes read the same text 10 times and still overlook a typo that may be in your text. However, you cannot miss hearing it when the typo is read out loud. Also, hearing your first draft (or 20th draft) out loud you can also easily hear any poor expression. Oftentimes, something might read ok but when you hear it, you can clearly hear that it just does not quite sound right.

[@ScientificWritingwithKarenLMcK]

Good idea. Thanks for commenting.

[@robertferraro236]

A tip I would like to offer is to do your proofreading on printed copies and far away from your writing environment. I mean away from your screen and in another room or building. You pick up grammatical errors, poor expression, and typos much easier in print, especially if you put yourself in the mind of a reader of the paper-a third person perspective so to speak. Interestingly, it also helps spark new ideas for your paper.

[@ScientificWritingwithKarenLMcK]

Thanks for the tip.

[@jameelabduljalil25]

Thanks.