How to write a research journal article in engineering and.pdfVIP

How to write a research journal article in engineering and science1 By Scott A. Socolofsky Assistant Professor, Dept. Civil Engrg., Ocean Engrg. Div., Texas AM Univ., M.S. 3136, College Station, TX 77843-3136. E-mail: socolofs@ Abstract: Writing a research article can be a daunting task, and often, writ- ers are not certain what should be included and how the information should be conveyed. Fortunately, scientific and engineering journal articles follow an accepted format. They contain an introduction which includes a statement of the problem, a literature review, and a general outline of the paper, a methods section detailing the methods used, separate or combined results, discussion and application sections, and a final summary and conclusions section. Here, each of these elements is described in detail using examples from the published literature as illustration. Guidance is also provided with respect to style, getting started, and the revision/review process. Keywords: scientific writing, technical writing, journal article, how to, outline 1 Introduction Writing a journal article can be an overwhelming process, but breaking it down into manageable tasks can make the overwhelming the routine. These manageable tasks can be identified by determining what the essential elements of a successful article are and how they function together to produce the desired result: a published journal article. Often, different languages and cultures write in different styles and with different organization than English- language authors. This can compound the problem for non-native English writers. In this article, I outline the essential elements of an English-language journal article in engineering