Writing Technical Papers in English: Organization and Literature Review

Writing Technical Papers in English

• The overall organization of a technical paper consists of: Title, Abstract, Introduction, Literature Review, Methodology, Results, Discussion, and Conclusion.

Literature Review

• A literature review is written to evaluate prior work done in the research area, show relationships between existing work, and set the context for the research.
• Common mistakes in literature reviews include:
  • Summarizing existing literature without building relationships between them.
  • Not giving reasons for including a citation.
  • Citing articles without explaining their content and relevance.
  • Including both good and bad work without making distinctions.
  • Having too many general references or too few specific references.
• A literature review should answer questions such as:
  • What do we already know in the research area?
  • What are the characteristics of key concepts or variables?
  • What are the relationships between these concepts?
  • What are the inconsistencies or shortcomings in our knowledge?
  • What views need to be further tested?
  • Why study the research problem?
  • What contribution can the present study be expected to make?

Example of a Poor Literature Review

• A poor literature review is one that only summarizes prior research without building relationships between them.
• It does not show the relationship between prior research and the current research being done.

Example of a Good Literature Review

• A good literature review groups similar information, shows relationships between different researchers' work, and relates previous work to the current research.
• It indicates the position of the work in the research area's history, moving from a general discussion to a specific area.

Writing a Literature Review

• Suggestions for writing a literature review include:
  • Collecting references and taking notes on key points.
  • Putting references in an appropriate format.
  • Writing a research argument and inserting references in their appropriate places.
  • Writing the review.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Do I have to cite all the relevant literature? No, only those specific to the research problem.
• What if I disagree with the research in an article? Write your disagreement and explain why you are pursuing a different approach.

Methodology

• The methods section describes how the study was carried out.
• It can include technical theory, equipment, experimental work, calculations, and software used.

Results

• Figures and tables should be clearly labeled and explained.
• Every figure should have a caption, and every table should have a title.
• Figures and tables should be mentioned in the text and summarized.

Discussion

• This section will be discussed in more detail later.

Conclusion

• The conclusion summarizes the findings and their implications.
• It answers the research question and provides recommendations.

Recommendation

• Recommendations are based on the findings and implications of the research.
• They should be concise and actionable.

Acknowledgements

• Acknowledgements should include sponsors, outside sources, other departments, and individuals who have helped.
• Keep a diary to track those who should be acknowledged.

References

• References should be in a consistent format, such as the IEEE Transactions format.
• They should be in a logical sequence, such as the order they appear in the text.
• References should be complete and accurate so that others can find the cited items.

Learn how to structure and organize your technical papers in English, including the importance of a literature review and how to avoid common mistakes.