Section 3
Writing in the Natural and Social Sciences: The Research Paper and the IMRAD Model
By Boundless
Scientific writing has two goals: to inform the reader of new developments in a specific field, and to address existing questions with new evidence.
The body of a scientific paper generally consists of the following sections: introduction (which may include a literature review), methods, results, and discussion.
The abstract is the first (and, sometimes, only) part of a scientific paper people will read, so it's essential to summarize all necessary information about your methods, results, and conclusions.
In academic writing, the introduction and thesis statement form the foundation of your paper.
A methods section is a detailed description of how a study was researched and conducted.
The results section of a scientific paper objectively presents the empirical data collected in a study.
The discussion section of a scientific paper analyzes and interprets the results of a study, while the conclusion explains implications for further research.