How to write a scientific paper: A step-by-step guide for researchers

A strong scientific paper begins with a clear narrative, strategic planning, and a structured approach to writing and publication, as outlined by Prof. Sophien Kamoun.

Writing a scientific paper is a fundamental skill for researchers at every career stage. Beyond documenting results, scientific writing plays a central role in knowledge dissemination, academic visibility, and career advancement.

In the “Don’t Perish! A Step-by-Step Guide to Writing a Scientific Paper” workshop, Prof. Sophien Kamoun presents a clear and practical framework for planning, writing, and publishing research papers. The workshop emphasizes that successful papers are not just technically sound – they tell a compelling scientific story.

Watch the workshop video to discover practical strategies for writing and publishing a scientific paper. Below, explore key tips and insights to help you craft your manuscript with clarity and impact.

In this comprehensive workshop, Sophien Kamoun guides participants through the entire process of writing and publishing scientific papers, emphasizing that publishing is essential for communicating knowledge and advancing academic careers. He stresses that writing is primarily about constructing a clear, logical, and compelling story, encouraging the use of AI tools as tutors rather than ghostwriters.

Kamoun advocates integrating publication planning with ongoing research by developing storylines and outlines early, which helps prioritize experiments and focus literature reviews. He recommends creating shared folders for collaboration and stresses defining the unknown, main findings, and implications concisely to form the paper's backbone.

The workshop covers detailed guidance on writing each paper section: results should be written after finalizing figures; introductions are best drafted after results to tailor background; discussions offer creative freedom to relate findings to prior work and explore implications; abstracts are constructed last by extracting key sentences; and titles should be assertive and informative to attract readers.

Kamoun highlights the importance of preprinting to disseminate work rapidly and using social media threads to engage broader audiences. He underscores writing the methods section clearly for reproducibility and archiving code and data with permanent DOIs. Continuous reading and iterative editing are vital for improving writing skills, with AI tools serving as valuable assistants.

He advises clarity, simplicity, and active voice in writing, encourages reusing previous writing as templates, and cautions against passive voice. Responsible AI use is emphasized, with authors maintaining intellectual engagement. When choosing journals, authors should consider audience breadth and journal fit, while being wary of predatory publishers.

Finally, Kamoun offers practical advice on dealing with editors and reviewers, interpreting editorial language, and responding professionally to feedback. The session concludes with encouragement to celebrate publishing achievements and continued engagement with the scientific community.

Watch video and find out more about Q&A on Zenodo KamounLab Publications.

About the presenter

Sophien Kamoun is a Senior Scientist at The Sainsbury Laboratory and Professor of Biology at the University of East Anglia. Internationally recognized for pioneering work on plant diseases and immunity, he has developed genomics and molecular approaches that transformed understanding of eukaryotic plant pathogens and opened new paths to combat major crop diseases.

A champion of open science, Kamoun promotes preprints, transparent peer review, and open data to accelerate discovery. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society and recipient of major honours including the Kuwait Prize and the Linnean Medal. He co-founded Resurrect Bio and GetGenome, initiatives advancing innovation and equitable access to genomics worldwide.

For more than 25 years, he has delivered the “Don’t Perish” workshop to help early-career scientists communicate their work clearly and publish papers that matter.

The online event on 2 April 2026 was part of the EU-funded ViroiDoc project's transferable skills training in cooperation with the GetGenome. This content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).