GRASP

How to write like a researcher

October 21st, 2025, by Karen Miller Tag(s): Writing tips, Thesis writing

Academic writing is a core skill for every researcher, yet many HDR students find it challenging. Clear and effective writing is essential, not just for sharing your findings, but for determining how your work is understood and valued by others.

David Lindsay, a scientist and Emeritus Professor at UWA, deals with these challenges in his popular book, Scientific Writing: Thinking in Words. David visited Curtin Library earlier this year and gave a wonderful presentation to HDR students with many practical tips on writing journal articles drawn from his book.

In this post, I’ll outline some of the insights and examples David shared in his presentation. You’ll find advice on everything from the importance of creating a compelling story and writing a good title, to how to structure your writing to keep your reader engaged. These pointers will help you write with greater clarity, confidence, and impact.

Writing is central to research

You are not truly a researcher unless you write like one. Effective communication, especially through writing, is a core part of being a professional researcher.

Unfortunately, most researchers receive little formal instruction in writing, and thus struggle with it. David recommends five fundamental ‘nuts and bolts’ which will help you enjoy the writing process.

Five nuts and bolts for better academic writing

  1. Understand what makes good writing:

    • Good writing tells a logical story.
    • Readers want a simple, clear narrative about your findings.
    • Turn your research into a story based on your work.

  2. Engage your readers:

    • As a researcher, your audience is not obligated to read your work.
    • Entice readers to start (and keep) reading by making your writing interesting and relevant.

  3. Structure your writing well:

    • Organise information so readers know what to expect.
    • Deliver content in a way that meets those expectations.

  4. Prioritise good style:

    • Write with precision, clarity, and brevity.
    • Aim to inform, not to impress.

  5. Don’t forget your reader:

    • The only person that matters is your reader
    • Give your reader every chance to read, understand and be influenced by what you write

Joining the nuts and bolts together …

Create a compelling story

One of David’s key messages was that writing a good research paper involves converting your research or ideas into a compelling story. Some things to bear in mind include:

  • Have a theme that holds the whole story together.
  • Draw satisfying conclusions.
  • Maintain your reader’s interest.
  • Convince readers your work is worth their time.

Construct your title carefully

Your title needs to convince readers they’ll learn something useful if they read on. Include discovery, action, and consequence.

Compare these title examples

  • Less engaging: The effect of pepper and salt on roast beef.
  • More engaging: Pepper and salt improve the taste of roast beef.

A scientific title example:

  • Less engaging: The role of the skeletal muscle secretome in mediating endurance and resistance training adaptations.
  • More engaging: The secretome from skeletal muscle mediates how humans adapt to training for endurance and resistance.

Structuring your paper

Writing your introduction

The introduction is the ‘powerhouse’ of your article. It tells your readers what they can expect, gives them guidelines to interpret your work, and sets up your data as part of an evidence-based story. A good introduction should:

  • Define the scope of the study and the problem.
  • State the objective and research question.
  • Provide background and context, including gaps in the literature.
  • Explain the theory behind your work.

Writing up results

Start by presenting the findings that directly address your hypothesis, as this is what readers expect first. Next, include any other results that are particularly interesting or noteworthy. Omit any information that does not add value or relevance. Ensure that every result you present leads to a clear conclusion about its meaning or possible implications.

Writing up the discussion

Take a similar approach to prioritising your discussion points. Structure your paragraphs by starting each paragraph with a clear topic sentence that signals what the paragraph will cover. Use the body to present your reasoning and interpretation of results. Always end with a concluding sentence that explains the significance of your findings so your reader will understand the impact of your work.

Writing with style

Clear, precise writing helps your readers understand your research and its significance. Here are three practical techniques you can use to improve the clarity of your academic writing:

  1. Use prepositions to avoid ambiguity

    Ambiguous phrases can confuse your reader. Add prepositions, such as ‘of’, ‘as’, ‘on’, ‘at’ or ‘by’ to make your meaning clear.

    • Ambiguous:
      “blood amino acid uptake”

    • Clear:
      “uptake of amino acid from blood”
      “uptake of amino acid by blood”

    Tip: When you write a phrase that could be interpreted in more than one way, add a preposition to specify exactly what you mean.

  2. Use verbs instead of nouns

    Verbs make your writing more direct and dynamic. Avoid turning actions into nouns (a process called “nominalisation”).

    • Before:
      When blood temperature increased, the patient’s respiratory response deteriorated.

    • After:
      Increases in blood temperature resulted in a deterioration of the patient’s respiratory response.

    Tip: Look for sentences where you’ve used a noun to describe an action, and try rewriting them with a verb instead.

  3. Use signpost words to guide your reader

    Signpost words help your reader follow your argument and understand how your ideas connect.

    Examples of signpost words or phrases:

    • in contrast
    • however
    • in addition
    • moreover
    • therefore
    • so
    • thus
    • on the one hand
    • for example

    Tip: Try adding signpost words to the beginning of sentences or paragraphs to show how your ideas relate to each other.

Key takeaways

Small changes in how you structure your sentences can make a big difference in how easily your readers understand your work. Practice the techniques in your next draft and notice the improvement in clarity and flow.

The main thing to remember is that you are writing to make it easy for your reader. If you apply the strategies and techniques suggested above, your readers will be happy, your writing will be successful and you will enjoy it as well!

If you found David’s tips and examples useful, as those of us who were in the audience did, then I recommend taking a look at his book, Scientific writing: Thinking in words Second edition.;Victoria : CSIRO Publishing; 2020. It’s available in the Curtin Library as an ebook.

In the book you’ll find many more techniques and examples to strengthen your writing and share your ideas with confidence.

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Photo by Filip Štefičar on Unsplash