The first step in writing a research paper is taking notes on your readings and sources. The objective of the source summary is to note the most important points of a paper for reference later on. It will also serve as practice in writing concise, crisp paragraphs that focus on the main point you are trying to convey. Most people reading your work are doing research themselves. That means they wish to be able to get to the necessary information as quickly as possible. For that reason, it's important to keep your writing as compact and concise as possible and to write in a standard format.
Start simple
Start by going to sources that explain your topic in simple terms. Many research and education websites present complex research in language that undergraduate students can understand. If the websites are legitimate research sites and in keeping with the knowledge level of the course, they are legitimate sources that can be referenced in your paper. This is especially the case of they provide links or references to the refereed literature (i.e. papers from journals). The introductions of refereed journal articles are also good places to look for simple introductions to a topic. They will also lead you to key articles in the topic you are researching.
In dynamics, it us usually best to start by defining your subject in descriptive terms before advancing to more complex analysis of the dynamics of a given phenomenon. For example, ENSO involves complex wave dynamics associated with Rossby and Kelvin waves. However,in a research paper involving ENSO, you would describe basics about the variation in sea-surface temperature and sea-level pressure before going into more detail.
Use your own words
The objective of a research paper is to communicate to your reader (your professor or peers) the knowledge you've gained through your readings or your own data analysis. This means that you need to summarize the content of your sources in your own words.
- Avoid quotes; they make it appear that you are unable to understand and interpret what you read. Quotes may be used in other fields, but they are very rare in the atmospheric science literature.
- Avoid using terminology that you cannot define or interpret. Particularly in dynamics, there are many advanced mathematical terms that appear in papers that are beyond the undergraduate level. If you do do not see yourself defining them, using them in calculations, or interpreting them in plots in your final paper, you should avoid reporting the results that involve these terms. Focus on material that you can understand.
American Meteorological Society Citation style
Everything in you paper that is not your own research needs to cited in the text with the source appearing in a list of references. All cited sources should appear in the list, and all sources in your list should be cited in your text.
All papers at LSC-ATM are to be cited in your text using AMS citation style. You should read the
AMS Author Reference/Citation Guide to ensure that you are using a correct format. Note that there are special instructions for citing web pages, powerpoints, CD's, etc in the guide.
Citations in the text consist of the last name only of the authors or the publishing organization followed by the year of publication as outlined in the excerpt below. Online papers at the AMS journal site provide citations in AMS format at the end of the papers. You may cut and paste these into your list of references, or you may use citation management software like
Zotero to keep track of your references alphabetically as you do your research.
Use depersonalized scientific tone
Scientific writing style is highly depersonalized. When you cite a reference, you are citing a paper, not the authors; you should therefore take care to cite papers in correct citation style. In a paragraph, cite the article once, then report the remainder of the contents as facts. Do not say "the author's showed that it rained " after already citing the paper; say "It rained".
- Never use first names or initials in the text;
- Never refer to authors' name without citing the year of publication;
- Never refer to "the author's", "the studies", "the paper";
- Never write in the first person; never use "I", "me", "mine";
- When writing in third person, do not use "he", "she", "they" unless the people in question are the subject of the study.
Avoid colloquialism, jargon and slang
A
colloquialism is an expression or word that is appropriate in conversational communication but that is awkward in formal writing.
Slang refers to informal colloquialisms that aren't really acceptable in professional conversation.
Jargon refers to terms in a specialized field that will likely not be understood by your target audience. None of these is appropriate in a research paper.
