Writing Across the Curriculum

UC Davis University Writing Program

The IMRaD Model of Dissertation Chapters
The Most Important Things to Keep in Mind
You need to write three journal-quality experimental reports along with the literature review, these will
become the main chapters of your thesis.
What I cover is a conventional format for such reports--IMRaD (Introduction, Materials/Methods, Results,
and Discussion)--but you will need to match your format to your discipline.
Look at past dissertations and at journals in your field to ensure you use the correct format. Likewise, the
your citation format (usually Council of Science Editors, CSE) will depend on your field.
What follows is a standardized description of what goes into each section of an experimental report.
INTRODUCTION
Purpose: to supply sufficient background for your reader to understand and evaluate the results of your
experiment; to provide the rationale for your study; to state briefly and clearly your purpose in writing the
paper.
The introduction to a research report always includes:
1. the nature and scope of the research problem
2. a review of the pertinent literature
3. the method of investigation, possibly with rationale
The introduction to a research report usually includes:
4. the principal results
5. the principal conclusions
As you write, consider the following questions:
How can you grab your readers attention? Why is this topic important? Of interest?
What work has been done on the problem so far?
What is the gap in the literature/problem with previous research? (What conflict or unanswered
question, untested population, untried method in existing research does your experiment address? What
findings of others are you challenging or extending?)
What solution (or step toward a solution) do you propose? Briefly describe your experiment:
hypothesis(es), research question(s); general experimental design or method; justification of method if
alternatives exist.
This is not a mystery novel: Give away the ending.

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Start writing the introduction while the experiment is underway.
Use mostly present tense.
Engage your reader by showing context, relative importance, unanswered questions.
Make clear links between problem and solution, question asked and research design, prior research and
your experiment.
Be selective, not exhaustive, in choosing studies to cite and amount of detail to include.
In general, the more relevant an article is to your study, the more space it deserves and the later in the
introduction it appears.
The introduction is the place to mention your own previously published note, abstract or closely related
articlesput this at or near the end and to define specialized terms (when needed) or abbreviations.

METHODS
Purpose
From the methods section (sometimes methods and materials), the reader should be able to conceptualize
and evaluate your process and replicate your work.
The section answers the question: How was the data generated?
Were results generated in a manner consistent with accepted practice? Were methods appropriate
to objectives? What analytical methods were applied?
The section includes enough specific detail about materials used and methods followed that another
scientist could repeat your experiment, especially to verify your results.
This section should also cover the problems you anticipated, the steps you took to prevent them from
occurring, the problems that did occur and the ways you minimized their impact.
Common Problems
Not taking the readers level of expertise into account: edit for unnecessary explanation of common
procedures.
Not providing for reproducibility: consider exactly what your reader will need to reproduce your work.
The most crucial detail is usually measurement.
Not providing rationale for the protocol followed.
Not describing the control: identify the control(s) and explain what they are controlling for.
Ignoring significant problems: discuss problems that arose and how you overcame them.
Putting results in the methods section: results always go in the results section.
Process
Keep excellent notes: what you did, why you did it, and what happened. As you revise, go to your target
publication and read the notes to authors AND the methods sections of several articles similar to yours.
Organization
Narrative structure: Think of this section as a narrative not a recipe. Tell what you did, not how to perform
the experiment.
Follow natural chronology: Describe what you did in the order in which you did it.
Consider using subsections: if you used a lot of materials, if the procedure is unusually complicated, or if
you have used a new or generally unfamiliar procedure.

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Mechanics:
Tense: use past tense to refer to everything you did during the experiment.
Passive vs. active voice: It depends. Check your target publication.

RESULTS
Function: to objectively present your key results, without interpretation, in an orderly and logical sequence
using both illustrative materials (Tables and Figures) and text.
Organization: The tables and/or figures present key findings in a logical order. This organization of the
tables and figures should tell a story, leading the reader through the steps needed to logically answer the
research question. The text of the results section follows this sequence and highlights the answers to the
research question.
Refer to each Table and/or Figure individually and in sequence (see numbering sequence), and clearly
indicate for the reader the key results that each conveys. Key results depend on your question: they might
include obvious trends, important differences, similarities, correlations, maximums, minimums, etc.
Summarize Data: Reduce data to a manageable size. Convert raw data to means, for example by
reporting mean capture rates in weeks or months. Present this compacted information in the visually
accessible forms of Tables and Figures. Once reduced, comparisons can be made, trends can be noted, and
from them generalizations can be put forth.
Both kinds of information must be presented: In the text section, present the major generalization(s); In the
Tables and Figures, present the data supporting the generalization(s).
Text Section: The body of the Results section is a text-based presentation of the key findings. The text
should guide the reader through the results, stressing key findings. A major function of the text section is to
provide clarifying information.
Write the text of the Results section consecutively, concisely and objectively. Use passive voice if that is
the norm of the target journal but use the active voice when possible. Use past tense.
Every Figure and Table included in the paper MUST be referred to in the text section; these references
should be individual, in sequence and should clearly indicate for the reader the key results that each
conveys. Sentences should draw the reader's attention to the relationship or trend highlighted. Refer to the
appropriate Figure or Table parenthetically:
Germination rates were significantly higher after 24 h in running water than in controls (Fig. 4).
DNA sequence homologies for the purple gene from the four congeners (Table 1) show high
similarity, differing by at most 4 base pairs.
Tables and Figures: These can take 3 forms: text (different than the text section described above), Tables
and Figures. Arrange these in the most logical sequence.
Text: Some simple results are best stated in a single sentence, with data summarized parenthetically.
Figures: Figures are visual presentations of results, including graphs, diagrams, photos, drawings,
schematics, maps, etc. Graphs show trends or patterns of relationship. Bar graphs, frequency histograms,

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X,Y scatterplot, X,Y linegraphs, photos and gels are all examples of figures. Choose the type according to
what is being presented, linegraphs, for example, are useful for showing chronology. Bar graphs show
relative magnitudes well.
Tables: Tables present lists of numbers or text in columns, each column having a title or label. Do not use a
table when you wish to show a trend or a pattern of relationship between sets of values - these are better
presented in a Figure. Tables are useful when exact values are important, when using verbal data, or when
there are no clear patterns that lend themselves to graphical presentation.
Tables and Figures must be clear, well labeled, and described by their legends; they should be easily
understood independent of the text section. Use the simplest possible design.
Legends (or captions) should convey as much information as possible about the Table or Figure: the
subjects of the experiment, the treatment applied or the relationship displayed, location (if a field
experiment), and sample sizes and statistical tests if they are not displayed elsewhere.
Table legends go above the body of the Table and are left justified; Tables are read from the top down.
Figure legends go below the graph; graphs and other types of Figures are usually read from the bottom up.
Figures and Tables are numbered independently, in the sequence in which they are referred to in the text,
starting with Figure 1 and Table 1. The first Table refered to is Table 1, the next Table 2 and so forth.
Similarly, the first Figure is Figure 1, the next Figure 2, etc. When referring to a Figure in the text, the word
"Figure" is abbreviated as "Fig.", while "Table" is not abbreviated.
Do not reiterate each value from a Figure or Table - only the key result or trends that each conveys.
Do not present the same data in both a Table and Figure - this is considered redundant and a waste of space
and energy. Decide which format best shows the result and go with it.
Do not report raw data values when they can be summarized as means.
Do present the results of your experiment(s) in a sequence that will logically support (or provide evidence
against) the hypothesis, or answer the question, stated in the Introduction.
Do report negative results.
Style: concise and objective/ past tense.
DISCUSSION
Purpose: to interpret your results and explain your new understanding of the problem. Relate your work to
the findings of other studies - including previous studies you may have done.
Note that some journals separate Discussion and Conclusion; others fold Results and Discussion together.
Considerations/Content:
Do your results provide answers to your testable hypotheses? Relate discussion back to the objectives and
questions raised in the Introduction section. However, do not simply re-state the objectives. Make
statements that synthesize all the evidence.

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UC Davis University Writing Program
If necessary, note problems with the methods and explain anomalies in the data. Do not simply list the
problems but provide thoughtful discussion about the implications of the errors in terms of your
conclusions.
Do your findings agree with what others have shown or not? Interpret your results in light of other
published results, by adding additional information from sources you cited in the Introduction section as
well as by introducing new sources. Provide accurate citations.
What is our new understanding of the problem posed in the intro? Do not make statements that are too
broad. Limit conclusions to those the data support.
What is the next step? Suggest future directions for research, new methods, explanations for deviations
from previously published results, etc.
Organization: follow the sequence established in the results / use subheadings, if needed and if used in
your target journals
Do not introduce new results in the Discussion.
Style: Use the active voice whenever possible in this section. Watch out for wordy phrases; be concise and
make your points clearly
ABSTRACTS
The abstract is a very condensed summary of the hypothesis, methods, results, and conclusions of your
report.
Consider the purpose and audience for your abstract. It will be read by many more people than will read
your paper. It will exist outside of the context of your paper. Its length, form, and content are dictated by
discipline and journal.
It should:
Stand on its own
Focus on summarizing results and strictly limit background information
Be consistent with what is reported in the paper
Be clear, concise and complete
Use complete and straightforward sentences.
Usually be a single paragraph, but this depends on the discipline and journal.
Be written in past tense
Avoid: acronyms, abbreviations, citations

RESOURCES
Day and Gastel, How to Write and Publish a
Scientific Paper (Greenwood Press).
Penrose and Katz, Writing in the Sciences (Allyn
and Bacon)
Scientific Style and Format: The CSE Manual
for Authors, Editors, and Publishers Seventh
Edition

http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/sciences.ht
ml (CSE formatting)
Graduate Writing Fellows:
writingfellows@ucdavis.edu

Writing Across the Curriculum

UC Davis University Writing Program