Scientific writing 3.0: A reader and writer's guide - Jean-Luc Lebrun, Justin Lebrun 2021
Structure metrics
Headings-subheadings: the skeleton of your paper
Paper structure and purpose
✓(+) All contribution-related search keywords in the title are also in the headings/subheadings.
✓(+) The contribution is grouped under successive headings.
✓(+) The structure contains informative subheadings
✓(+) Not one heading/subheading could change place without compromising the structure of the paper.
✓(+) In top level subheadings, the structure does not contain acronyms, synonyms, or keywords understood by experts only.
✓(+) The majority of your structure words are in the abstract.
✓(+) The structure does not contain orphan headings or subheadings.
✓(−) Contribution-related search keywords from the title are missing in your structure.
✓(−) The contribution is scattered throughout the structure.
✓(−) The structure does not contain any subheadings, or any informative headings or subheadings.
✓(−) Headings/subheadings could change place without compromising the structure of the paper.
✓(−) In top level subheadings, the structure contains acronyms, synonyms, or specific expert keywords.
✓(−) Less than 50% of your informative structure words are in the abstract.
✓(−) The structure contains orphan headings or subheadings.
AND NOW FOR THE BONUS POINTS:
✓(+++) Even a non-expert could figure out the title of your paper, just by reading the structure.
© Jean-Luc Lebrun 2011
1 Reprinted from journal of biomechanics, Vol 39, Hai GU, Alvin Chua, Bien-Keem Tan, Kin Chew Hung, nonlinear finite element simulation to elucidate the efficacy of slit arteriotomy for end-to-side arterial anastomosis in microsurgery, pages 435— 443, copyright 2006, with permission from Elsevier.”
2 The supplementary material is not published. It is sent to the journal alongside your paper to enable the reviewer to check your data at a higher level of detail than that used in the paper, to provide additional proof which you left out, or to verify a formula which you could not expand in detail for lack of space and ease of reading.