AEBI210 How to Write a Perspective Article Fall 2024Statistics

Java Python Fall 2024 – AEBI210

How to Write a Perspective Article

Perspective articles are intended to provide readers with a brief summary of the main findings of a recent research article, along with relevant and interesting background information and a commentary on why the findings are important, within the larger scientific context and in terms of applications of the findings.

The text is limited to approximately 800 to 1,000 words and a maximum of 10 references (including the highlighted paper).

Reading the paper

You: a scientist – not the authors of the primary research article; do not say “we” did this. Say, “the authors” did this or “ Last name et al., (2024)” reported this or that or “ Last name and colleagues” did this.

Audience: general scientific population – e.g., if the paper was published in Plant Physiology, you are writing this perspective article to appeal to scientists outside of the plant domain, including e.g., soil microbiologists, agronomists, etc. or further afield, folks interested in molecular biology of non-plant species.

Your goal: to write a short summary to explain to non-specialist plant biologists what this paper found and why it is interesting. To do this, you must have a pretty good understanding of the findings and significance of the paper yourself.

As you are reading the paper, try to identify the key questions and findings. It can be helpful to highlight important passages/figures so that you can refer to them.

As you are reading, think about how you would explain this work to another. I like to imagine I’m telling a story:

Once upon a time, there was an interesting question. To find an answer, some people did some experiments and found something out, which helped us to know more about the interesting question.

Writing the summary

It’s helpful to think of your perspective article as having three parts (not separated by subheadings, but as part of one running article; use paragraphs to break up flow).

Part 1 is the background to the study for the benefit of the non-specialist

Part 2 says what was done in the paper being summarized, usually starting “In this issue of Journal of Environmental Quality …”

Part 3 explains how the new findings fit into what we already knew and comments on any unresolved questions. The limitations, the significance, and how these findings can be applied to further studies or in environmental practices.

In Part 1, start broad, indicating the key question being addressed (e.g., nitrogen uptake, water use efficiency, polar growth, etc). I give the opening sentence a “low threshold” – easy to get through, comfortable. Ease your reader into the specific question being addressed. What do we already know? What questions are unanswered (and why are they important?). Lead the reader gently towards the question/gap in knowledge that is being investigated in this paper.

In Part 2, includes something about how the authors did the work. Don’t make a list; instead, combine a  method with a question or a finding. For example, “ Using a < AEBI210 How to Write a Perspective Article Fall 2024Statistics i>proteomics approach, the authors examined proline-rich protein accumulation during seed maturation.” Or, “From a GWAS study, the authors identified an embryo-specific protein that  is found exclusively in the plastid.” Obviously, several different methods are used in each paper, so try to link each (or a subset) with the corresponding question or finding.

Try to avoid too many gene names, lists, or minor details. Focus on the big results. What are the key findings?

In Part 3, you should address:

•    How do the key findings fit into our current understanding?  What new insights do  they provide? Are there any inconsistencies with other studies, or does the study support the findings from similar work?

•    What are the unresolved questions? What are the next experiments?

•    What are the limitations of the study? It’s OK to critique papers, but don’t insult the authors.

•    How can the  results of these studies inform. decisions outside of the  realm of fundamental science, e.g., conservation efforts?

References

Be sure to include a reference to the original research paper you are highlighting, along with no more than nine additional papers. Many of your references will come from the section where you give the overview of the topic, stating what the question is and what we already know. Others will come at the end, when you highlight how the new findings fit with those of others. Feel free to draw upon the references provided in the paper you are reviewing!

In-text citations: for example: (Chatterjee et al., 2011) Reference list: for example:

Chatterjee A, Abeydeera ND, Bale S, Pai PJ, Dorrestein PC, Russell DH, Ealick SE, and Begley TP (2011)

Saccharomyces cerevisiae THI4p is a suicide thiamine thiazole synthase. Nature 478: 542–546 Follow Plant Physiology guidelines, see for example:

https://academic.oup.com/plphys/article/188/2/924/6427639

Rubric – 20 points

•    Title (2 pts)

•    Intro (3 pts): Intro sets the context and is concise (1-2 paragraphs)

•    Findings from the  research  paper (5 pts):  In 1 paragraph, summarize key findings and then expand in the following paragraphs (2-4) on other results and methodology.

•    Limitations (3 pts): Discusses shortfalls of work

•    What has been discovered since (3 pts)

•    How this can be applied (2 pts): Discusses significance and application to agriculture or fundamental biology

•    Word count (1 pt): 800-1000 words

•    References (1 pt): in-text citations, and reference list at the end of article: max 10 including research paper; follows proper guidelines

Resources:

The science of scientific writing

https://www.americanscientist.org/blog/the-long-view/the-science-of-scientific-writing

How to write a first-class paper:

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-02404-4

Plant Physiology editor (Mary Williams) guide on preparing manuscripts:

https://plantae.org/manuscript_prep/

One of my News and Views articles:

https://academic.oup.com/plphys/article/188/2/924/6427639

Read more perspective-type/”News and Views/”Dispatch” articles from top journals, including niche journals for a specific field:

https://www.nature