How to write and publish a scientific paper - Barbara Gastel, Robert A. Day 2022

Editorials
How to write opinion (Letters to the editor, editorials, book reviews, and essays)
Doing other writing for publication

Some journals include invited editorials and other opinion pieces by scientists. In addition, scientists sometimes write opinion pieces for professional venues such as The Scientist, for op-ed pages of newspapers read by the general public, or for other popular venues.

Invited editorials in journals can include both “perspective editorials” and “persuasive editorials.” A perspective editorial provides context for and comments on a scientific paper in the same issue of the journal. Often, a scientist who peer-reviewed the paper is invited to write it. The beginning of such an editorial commonly resembles a miniature review paper on the subject. The end can then serve somewhat as an independently written discussion section—noting, for example, strengths and limitations of the research reported in the paper and discussing the implications. For a perspective editorial to appear in the same issue as the paper it comments on, it may need to be submitted quickly. Therefore, along with the honor of being invited to write such a piece, you might receive a stringent deadline.

A persuasive editorial, in a journal or elsewhere, argues for a specific point of view (for example, on science policy). How to structure your argument can depend on your audience. If your audience seems largely to agree with your main point, presenting it early and then supporting it can be most effective. If, however, many readers are likely to be opposed initially, you might gain the most agreement by starting with mutually supported ideas and relatively unexceptionable data and then showing how they lead to your conclusions. Whatever your approach, include arguments for and against your point of view and competing points of view. Acknowledging other viewpoints and showing that yours is superior is scientifically sounder, and thus more credible, than acting as if other viewpoints do not exist.

Some journals publish unsolicited opinion pieces, sometimes called sounding boards. The principles of writing them tend to be much the same as for writing persuasive editorials. For guidelines on writing such items, consult the journal’s instructions to authors. Similarly, if you wish to submit an opinion piece to a newspaper op-ed page or other popular venue, check that publication’s requirements by looking at its website or contacting its editorial office.