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• v.13(Suppl 1); 2019 Apr

Writing the title and abstract for a research paper: Being concise, precise, and meticulous is the key

Milind s. tullu.

Department of Pediatrics, Seth G.S. Medical College and KEM Hospital, Parel, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

This article deals with formulating a suitable title and an appropriate abstract for an original research paper. The “title” and the “abstract” are the “initial impressions” of a research article, and hence they need to be drafted correctly, accurately, carefully, and meticulously. Often both of these are drafted after the full manuscript is ready. Most readers read only the title and the abstract of a research paper and very few will go on to read the full paper. The title and the abstract are the most important parts of a research paper and should be pleasant to read. The “title” should be descriptive, direct, accurate, appropriate, interesting, concise, precise, unique, and should not be misleading. The “abstract” needs to be simple, specific, clear, unbiased, honest, concise, precise, stand-alone, complete, scholarly, (preferably) structured, and should not be misrepresentative. The abstract should be consistent with the main text of the paper, especially after a revision is made to the paper and should include the key message prominently. It is very important to include the most important words and terms (the “keywords”) in the title and the abstract for appropriate indexing purpose and for retrieval from the search engines and scientific databases. Such keywords should be listed after the abstract. One must adhere to the instructions laid down by the target journal with regard to the style and number of words permitted for the title and the abstract.

Introduction

This article deals with drafting a suitable “title” and an appropriate “abstract” for an original research paper. Because the “title” and the “abstract” are the “initial impressions” or the “face” of a research article, they need to be drafted correctly, accurately, carefully, meticulously, and consume time and energy.[ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ] Often, these are drafted after the complete manuscript draft is ready.[ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 9 , 10 , 11 ] Most readers will read only the title and the abstract of a published research paper, and very few “interested ones” (especially, if the paper is of use to them) will go on to read the full paper.[ 1 , 2 ] One must remember to adhere to the instructions laid down by the “target journal” (the journal for which the author is writing) regarding the style and number of words permitted for the title and the abstract.[ 2 , 4 , 5 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 12 ] Both the title and the abstract are the most important parts of a research paper – for editors (to decide whether to process the paper for further review), for reviewers (to get an initial impression of the paper), and for the readers (as these may be the only parts of the paper available freely and hence, read widely).[ 4 , 8 , 12 ] It may be worth for the novice author to browse through titles and abstracts of several prominent journals (and their target journal as well) to learn more about the wording and styles of the titles and abstracts, as well as the aims and scope of the particular journal.[ 5 , 7 , 9 , 13 ]

The details of the title are discussed under the subheadings of importance, types, drafting, and checklist.

Importance of the title

When a reader browses through the table of contents of a journal issue (hard copy or on website), the title is the “ first detail” or “face” of the paper that is read.[ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 13 ] Hence, it needs to be simple, direct, accurate, appropriate, specific, functional, interesting, attractive/appealing, concise/brief, precise/focused, unambiguous, memorable, captivating, informative (enough to encourage the reader to read further), unique, catchy, and it should not be misleading.[ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 9 , 12 ] It should have “just enough details” to arouse the interest and curiosity of the reader so that the reader then goes ahead with studying the abstract and then (if still interested) the full paper.[ 1 , 2 , 4 , 13 ] Journal websites, electronic databases, and search engines use the words in the title and abstract (the “keywords”) to retrieve a particular paper during a search; hence, the importance of these words in accessing the paper by the readers has been emphasized.[ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 12 , 14 ] Such important words (or keywords) should be arranged in appropriate order of importance as per the context of the paper and should be placed at the beginning of the title (rather than the later part of the title, as some search engines like Google may just display only the first six to seven words of the title).[ 3 , 5 , 12 ] Whimsical, amusing, or clever titles, though initially appealing, may be missed or misread by the busy reader and very short titles may miss the essential scientific words (the “keywords”) used by the indexing agencies to catch and categorize the paper.[ 1 , 3 , 4 , 9 ] Also, amusing or hilarious titles may be taken less seriously by the readers and may be cited less often.[ 4 , 15 ] An excessively long or complicated title may put off the readers.[ 3 , 9 ] It may be a good idea to draft the title after the main body of the text and the abstract are drafted.[ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]

Types of titles

Titles can be descriptive, declarative, or interrogative. They can also be classified as nominal, compound, or full-sentence titles.

Descriptive or neutral title

This has the essential elements of the research theme, that is, the patients/subjects, design, interventions, comparisons/control, and outcome, but does not reveal the main result or the conclusion.[ 3 , 4 , 12 , 16 ] Such a title allows the reader to interpret the findings of the research paper in an impartial manner and with an open mind.[ 3 ] These titles also give complete information about the contents of the article, have several keywords (thus increasing the visibility of the article in search engines), and have increased chances of being read and (then) being cited as well.[ 4 ] Hence, such descriptive titles giving a glimpse of the paper are generally preferred.[ 4 , 16 ]

Declarative title

This title states the main finding of the study in the title itself; it reduces the curiosity of the reader, may point toward a bias on the part of the author, and hence is best avoided.[ 3 , 4 , 12 , 16 ]

Interrogative title

This is the one which has a query or the research question in the title.[ 3 , 4 , 16 ] Though a query in the title has the ability to sensationalize the topic, and has more downloads (but less citations), it can be distracting to the reader and is again best avoided for a research article (but can, at times, be used for a review article).[ 3 , 6 , 16 , 17 ]

From a sentence construct point of view, titles may be nominal (capturing only the main theme of the study), compound (with subtitles to provide additional relevant information such as context, design, location/country, temporal aspect, sample size, importance, and a provocative or a literary; for example, see the title of this review), or full-sentence titles (which are longer and indicate an added degree of certainty of the results).[ 4 , 6 , 9 , 16 ] Any of these constructs may be used depending on the type of article, the key message, and the author's preference or judgement.[ 4 ]

Drafting a suitable title

A stepwise process can be followed to draft the appropriate title. The author should describe the paper in about three sentences, avoiding the results and ensuring that these sentences contain important scientific words/keywords that describe the main contents and subject of the paper.[ 1 , 4 , 6 , 12 ] Then the author should join the sentences to form a single sentence, shorten the length (by removing redundant words or adjectives or phrases), and finally edit the title (thus drafted) to make it more accurate, concise (about 10–15 words), and precise.[ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 9 ] Some journals require that the study design be included in the title, and this may be placed (using a colon) after the primary title.[ 2 , 3 , 4 , 14 ] The title should try to incorporate the Patients, Interventions, Comparisons and Outcome (PICO).[ 3 ] The place of the study may be included in the title (if absolutely necessary), that is, if the patient characteristics (such as study population, socioeconomic conditions, or cultural practices) are expected to vary as per the country (or the place of the study) and have a bearing on the possible outcomes.[ 3 , 6 ] Lengthy titles can be boring and appear unfocused, whereas very short titles may not be representative of the contents of the article; hence, optimum length is required to ensure that the title explains the main theme and content of the manuscript.[ 4 , 5 , 9 ] Abbreviations (except the standard or commonly interpreted ones such as HIV, AIDS, DNA, RNA, CDC, FDA, ECG, and EEG) or acronyms should be avoided in the title, as a reader not familiar with them may skip such an article and nonstandard abbreviations may create problems in indexing the article.[ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 9 , 12 ] Also, too much of technical jargon or chemical formulas in the title may confuse the readers and the article may be skipped by them.[ 4 , 9 ] Numerical values of various parameters (stating study period or sample size) should also be avoided in the titles (unless deemed extremely essential).[ 4 ] It may be worthwhile to take an opinion from a impartial colleague before finalizing the title.[ 4 , 5 , 6 ] Thus, multiple factors (which are, at times, a bit conflicting or contrasting) need to be considered while formulating a title, and hence this should not be done in a hurry.[ 4 , 6 ] Many journals ask the authors to draft a “short title” or “running head” or “running title” for printing in the header or footer of the printed paper.[ 3 , 12 ] This is an abridged version of the main title of up to 40–50 characters, may have standard abbreviations, and helps the reader to navigate through the paper.[ 3 , 12 , 14 ]

Checklist for a good title

Table 1 gives a checklist/useful tips for drafting a good title for a research paper.[ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 12 ] Table 2 presents some of the titles used by the author of this article in his earlier research papers, and the appropriateness of the titles has been commented upon. As an individual exercise, the reader may try to improvise upon the titles (further) after reading the corresponding abstract and full paper.

Checklist/useful tips for drafting a good title for a research paper

Some titles used by author of this article in his earlier publications and remark/comment on their appropriateness

The Abstract

The details of the abstract are discussed under the subheadings of importance, types, drafting, and checklist.

Importance of the abstract

The abstract is a summary or synopsis of the full research paper and also needs to have similar characteristics like the title. It needs to be simple, direct, specific, functional, clear, unbiased, honest, concise, precise, self-sufficient, complete, comprehensive, scholarly, balanced, and should not be misleading.[ 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 13 , 17 ] Writing an abstract is to extract and summarize (AB – absolutely, STR – straightforward, ACT – actual data presentation and interpretation).[ 17 ] The title and abstracts are the only sections of the research paper that are often freely available to the readers on the journal websites, search engines, and in many abstracting agencies/databases, whereas the full paper may attract a payment per view or a fee for downloading the pdf copy.[ 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 , 8 , 10 , 11 , 13 , 14 ] The abstract is an independent and stand-alone (that is, well understood without reading the full paper) section of the manuscript and is used by the editor to decide the fate of the article and to choose appropriate reviewers.[ 2 , 7 , 10 , 12 , 13 ] Even the reviewers are initially supplied only with the title and the abstract before they agree to review the full manuscript.[ 7 , 13 ] This is the second most commonly read part of the manuscript, and therefore it should reflect the contents of the main text of the paper accurately and thus act as a “real trailer” of the full article.[ 2 , 7 , 11 ] The readers will go through the full paper only if they find the abstract interesting and relevant to their practice; else they may skip the paper if the abstract is unimpressive.[ 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 13 ] The abstract needs to highlight the selling point of the manuscript and succeed in luring the reader to read the complete paper.[ 3 , 7 ] The title and the abstract should be constructed using keywords (key terms/important words) from all the sections of the main text.[ 12 ] Abstracts are also used for submitting research papers to a conference for consideration for presentation (as oral paper or poster).[ 9 , 13 , 17 ] Grammatical and typographic errors reflect poorly on the quality of the abstract, may indicate carelessness/casual attitude on part of the author, and hence should be avoided at all times.[ 9 ]

Types of abstracts

The abstracts can be structured or unstructured. They can also be classified as descriptive or informative abstracts.

Structured and unstructured abstracts

Structured abstracts are followed by most journals, are more informative, and include specific subheadings/subsections under which the abstract needs to be composed.[ 1 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 13 , 17 , 18 ] These subheadings usually include context/background, objectives, design, setting, participants, interventions, main outcome measures, results, and conclusions.[ 1 ] Some journals stick to the standard IMRAD format for the structure of the abstracts, and the subheadings would include Introduction/Background, Methods, Results, And (instead of Discussion) the Conclusion/s.[ 1 , 2 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 17 , 18 ] Structured abstracts are more elaborate, informative, easy to read, recall, and peer-review, and hence are preferred; however, they consume more space and can have same limitations as an unstructured abstract.[ 7 , 9 , 18 ] The structured abstracts are (possibly) better understood by the reviewers and readers. Anyway, the choice of the type of the abstract and the subheadings of a structured abstract depend on the particular journal style and is not left to the author's wish.[ 7 , 10 , 12 ] Separate subheadings may be necessary for reporting meta-analysis, educational research, quality improvement work, review, or case study.[ 1 ] Clinical trial abstracts need to include the essential items mentioned in the CONSORT (Consolidated Standards Of Reporting Trials) guidelines.[ 7 , 9 , 14 , 19 ] Similar guidelines exist for various other types of studies, including observational studies and for studies of diagnostic accuracy.[ 20 , 21 ] A useful resource for the above guidelines is available at www.equator-network.org (Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of health Research). Unstructured (or non-structured) abstracts are free-flowing, do not have predefined subheadings, and are commonly used for papers that (usually) do not describe original research.[ 1 , 7 , 9 , 10 ]

The four-point structured abstract: This has the following elements which need to be properly balanced with regard to the content/matter under each subheading:[ 9 ]

Background and/or Objectives: This states why the work was undertaken and is usually written in just a couple of sentences.[ 3 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 12 , 13 ] The hypothesis/study question and the major objectives are also stated under this subheading.[ 3 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 12 , 13 ]

Methods: This subsection is the longest, states what was done, and gives essential details of the study design, setting, participants, blinding, sample size, sampling method, intervention/s, duration and follow-up, research instruments, main outcome measures, parameters evaluated, and how the outcomes were assessed or analyzed.[ 3 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 17 ]

Results/Observations/Findings: This subheading states what was found, is longer, is difficult to draft, and needs to mention important details including the number of study participants, results of analysis (of primary and secondary objectives), and include actual data (numbers, mean, median, standard deviation, “P” values, 95% confidence intervals, effect sizes, relative risks, odds ratio, etc.).[ 3 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 17 ]

Conclusions: The take-home message (the “so what” of the paper) and other significant/important findings should be stated here, considering the interpretation of the research question/hypothesis and results put together (without overinterpreting the findings) and may also include the author's views on the implications of the study.[ 3 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 17 ]

The eight-point structured abstract: This has the following eight subheadings – Objectives, Study Design, Study Setting, Participants/Patients, Methods/Intervention, Outcome Measures, Results, and Conclusions.[ 3 , 9 , 18 ] The instructions to authors given by the particular journal state whether they use the four- or eight-point abstract or variants thereof.[ 3 , 14 ]

Descriptive and Informative abstracts

Descriptive abstracts are short (75–150 words), only portray what the paper contains without providing any more details; the reader has to read the full paper to know about its contents and are rarely used for original research papers.[ 7 , 10 ] These are used for case reports, reviews, opinions, and so on.[ 7 , 10 ] Informative abstracts (which may be structured or unstructured as described above) give a complete detailed summary of the article contents and truly reflect the actual research done.[ 7 , 10 ]

Drafting a suitable abstract

It is important to religiously stick to the instructions to authors (format, word limit, font size/style, and subheadings) provided by the journal for which the abstract and the paper are being written.[ 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 13 ] Most journals allow 200–300 words for formulating the abstract and it is wise to restrict oneself to this word limit.[ 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 22 ] Though some authors prefer to draft the abstract initially, followed by the main text of the paper, it is recommended to draft the abstract in the end to maintain accuracy and conformity with the main text of the paper (thus maintaining an easy linkage/alignment with title, on one hand, and the introduction section of the main text, on the other hand).[ 2 , 7 , 9 , 10 , 11 ] The authors should check the subheadings (of the structured abstract) permitted by the target journal, use phrases rather than sentences to draft the content of the abstract, and avoid passive voice.[ 1 , 7 , 9 , 12 ] Next, the authors need to get rid of redundant words and edit the abstract (extensively) to the correct word count permitted (every word in the abstract “counts”!).[ 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 13 ] It is important to ensure that the key message, focus, and novelty of the paper are not compromised; the rationale of the study and the basis of the conclusions are clear; and that the abstract is consistent with the main text of the paper.[ 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 , 9 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 17 , 22 ] This is especially important while submitting a revision of the paper (modified after addressing the reviewer's comments), as the changes made in the main (revised) text of the paper need to be reflected in the (revised) abstract as well.[ 2 , 10 , 12 , 14 , 22 ] Abbreviations should be avoided in an abstract, unless they are conventionally accepted or standard; references, tables, or figures should not be cited in the abstract.[ 7 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 13 ] It may be worthwhile not to rush with the abstract and to get an opinion by an impartial colleague on the content of the abstract; and if possible, the full paper (an “informal” peer-review).[ 1 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 11 , 17 ] Appropriate “Keywords” (three to ten words or phrases) should follow the abstract and should be preferably chosen from the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) list of the U.S. National Library of Medicine ( https://meshb.nlm.nih.gov/search ) and are used for indexing purposes.[ 2 , 3 , 11 , 12 ] These keywords need to be different from the words in the main title (the title words are automatically used for indexing the article) and can be variants of the terms/phrases used in the title, or words from the abstract and the main text.[ 3 , 12 ] The ICMJE (International Committee of Medical Journal Editors; http://www.icmje.org/ ) also recommends publishing the clinical trial registration number at the end of the abstract.[ 7 , 14 ]

Checklist for a good abstract

Table 3 gives a checklist/useful tips for formulating a good abstract for a research paper.[ 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 17 , 22 ]

Checklist/useful tips for formulating a good abstract for a research paper

Concluding Remarks

This review article has given a detailed account of the importance and types of titles and abstracts. It has also attempted to give useful hints for drafting an appropriate title and a complete abstract for a research paper. It is hoped that this review will help the authors in their career in medical writing.

Financial support and sponsorship

Conflicts of interest.

There are no conflicts of interest.

Acknowledgement

The author thanks Dr. Hemant Deshmukh - Dean, Seth G.S. Medical College & KEM Hospital, for granting permission to publish this manuscript.

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Children and Young People’s Writing in 2012

Added 01 Dec 2013 | Updated 27 Jul 17

Read about how much children and young people enjoyed writing in 2012. The report includes how often they engaged in writing, what types of formats they wrote outside class, and what they thought about various aspects of writing. 

These findings are compared with those from the two previous years and are also broken down by gender, key stage, free school meal uptake and ethnic background. The relationship to writing attainment is also explored. 

The findings are based our third annual literacy survey. This survey was conducted in November/December 2012, and 34,910 young people aged eight to 16 participated.

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• Children’s and Young People’s Writing in 2012: findings from the National Literacy Trust’s Annual Literacy Survey pdf

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The Upstate Writing Project is an official National Writing Project site. It is supported by financial and professional resources of Clemson University and local school districts. In keeping with the National Writing Project model, UWP has the following primary goals:

• To improve students’ writing abilities by improving the teaching and learning of writing in the nation’s schools,
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The National Writing Project (NWP) is a nationwide professional development program for teachers, begun in 1974 at the University of California, Berkeley. The primary goal of the project is to improve student writing achievement by improving the teaching of writing in the nation's schools. The NWP receives federal funding which it currently grants to nearly 200 local sites in 50 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Collectively, these sites serve approximately 100,000 teachers every year, in all grades, in all disciplines. The NWP model is based on the belief that teachers are the key to education reform, teachers make the best teachers of other teachers, and teachers benefit from studying and conducting research.

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Through the College Ready Writers Program, UWP has offered institutes, classroom demonstrations, and a study of effective practices in academic writing instruction with a particular focus on writing and reading arguments. The grant focused on ELA classrooms in grades 7-10 in Florence 2, Greenwood 51 and Union districts, with intensive professional development and coaching in the schools. Anderson 3, Bamberg 2 and Orangeburg 4 districts served as control districts for the first two years of the study so that researchers could evaluate the effectiveness of the professional development efforts. The three control districts received professional development from UWP during the 2015-2016 school year.

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Raise your students’ academic writing results with proven effective teaching strategies. The UWP College Ready Writers Program at Clemson University developed 32 research based argument reading and writing strategies to be used in your middle and high school ELA and Content classroom. Each strategy was proven effective to improve student academic writing during field testing in SC classrooms by trained Teacher Consultants. The resulting strategy lesson plans are ready for you to use in your classroom. Contact Tobi Pirolla at [email protected] to order copies of Argument Reading and Writing Strategies for Middle and High School or to schedule professional development for your school or district.

Sixteen independent studies demonstrate that the students of teachers who receive professional development from a National Writing Project site improve writing abilities in every measured attribute of writing (2008 & 2010, National Writing Project). Read the most recent report , which features the work of Upstate Writing Project.

Research has shown that the Upstate Writing Project 's  work with the College Ready Writers Program positively impacted both teachers' instructional practice and student writing. Students of teachers who participated in the professional development revealed improved writing scores in the areas of content, structure, stance and conventions compared to control groups. Read more .

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Virtual Fall Youth Writing Workshops

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Are you ready to take your writing to another level? During each session, you will learn how to improve your writing and add to your writing toolbox. Get ready to learn new strategies to boost your writing skills. Each session you will level up your writing skills with strategies that generate ideas and improve your drafts. Put your game face on and prepare to power up your writing. Participants will earn badges each session they attend.

For: Children in Grades 4-5 Dates: October 20, 27, November 3, 10 Time: 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm Instructor: Tobi Pirolla Cost: $100

Mythology Writing Workshop

In this four-week virtual workshop, participants will explore the world of mythology through the world of Tristan Strong by Kwame Mbalia. Each week, we will analyze our mentor text, Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky to create original myths. In these four, one-hour sessions, participants will brainstorm and develop a plan for writing on their own.Each week, time will be set aside for feedback and sharing in our virtual author’s chair.

For: Children in Grades 6-8 Dates: October 25, November 1, 8, and 15 Time: 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm Instructor: Laurie Schmotze Cost: $100

Horror Writing Workshop

Do you love scary things? Do you love mysteries and suspense? Come explore what it's like to be a horror writer and poet. During this one-day-only workshop you will explore what scares you and why, and how to use that to your advantage. Get ready to explore movies, short stories, and poetry, as well as monsters, spooky settings, and more. We will be tapping into our real life experiences, and asking ourselves "What's the worst that could happen?"

For: Children in Grades 7-12 Dates: October 30 Time: 9:00 am - 12:00 pm Instructor: Kyle McHugh Cost: $75

Novel Writing Workshop

Have you dreamed of writing a novel, but didn't know where to start? This is the workshop series for you! You'll brainstorm story ideas, determine the point of view, setting, characters, and conflict for your novel. In each of the workshop sessions, we'll share mentor texts, have time to write, reflect, and get feedback. You'll develop a strong novel outline and set goals for completing and publishing your novel.

For: Children in Grades 6-10 Dates: October 5, 12, 19, 26 Time: 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm Instructor: Tobi Pirolla Cost: $100

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Welcome To The Richard Wright Center for Writing, Rhetoric, and Research

Welcome to the Richard Wright Writing Center for Writing, Rhetoric, and Research at Jackson State University. Our mission is to provide an environment for intellectual engagement outside the classroom. At any stage of the creative and research processes, students and faculty have the opportunity to interact with trained tutors using technology as they develop written, oral, and visual representations of their ideas for an academic audience.

The Richard Wright Writing Center for Writing, Rhetoric, and Research offers a variety of services to students of all levels and disciplines. Our services include:

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Useful links

Alliance of Independent Authors Non-profit professional association for authors who self-publish.

Apples & Snakes

Raising the profile of spoken word and poetry.

Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society

ALCS is a not-for-profit organisation designed to support ensure authors receive fair payment.

BBC Writers Room Working with new and experienced writers in drama, comedy, CBBC, CBeebies, radio and online.

British Council (Literature)

Working with hundreds of writers and literature partners to develop innovative projects and collaborations.

Commonword (North West) Writer development organisation.

Creative Scotland (Literature)

Crime Writers’ As sociation Networking for British crime writers.

Exiled Writers Ink Exiled Writers Ink brings together writers from repressive regimes and war-torn situations and it equally embraces migrants and exiles.

Historical Writers’ Association Social support, opportunities and networking for anyone involved in historical writing.

ICORN (International Cities of Refuge Network) Independent organisation of cities and regions offering shelter to writers and artists at risk.

Lapidus Networking and information for people interested in writing for wellbeing.

Literature Wales

Literature Works (South West)

Regional literature development agency for the South West.

National Association of Writers in Education Supporting the development of creative writing in all educational and community settings.

National Union of Journalists Voice for journalists and journalism in the UK.

New Writing North

Regional literature development agency for the North.

New Writing South (South East)

Regional literature development agency for the South East.

Out on the Page Out on the Page is a UK based project which exists to support the development of LGBTQ+ Writers and Writing through networking, information, workshops, courses and retreats.

Pop Up Projects CIC

A non-profit children’s literature development agency which delivers Education, Community and Talent development programmes and produces a year-round Festival in schools across the UK.

The Royal Society of Literature

Ruppin Agency’s Writers’ Studio One-to-one mentoring services for writers of adult and young adult fiction and narrative non-fiction.

Scottish Book Trust Charity with resources and opportunities for writers.

Society of Women Writers and Journalists Encouraging literary achievement of women writers.

Spread the Word (London)

Regional literature development agency for London.

Welsh Book Council Focus for the publishing industry in Wales.

Writers & Artists Annual yearbook, series of guides and website providing information and industry contact details to help creatives get their work published.

Writing East Midlands

Regional literature development agency for the East Midlands.

Writing West Midlands

Regional literature development agency for the West Midlands.

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Grokking GenAI: 9 Unique Ways

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English for Research Publication Purposes

Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology via Coursera Specialization Help

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In five courses, you will acquire the knowledge and skills that are deemed to be essential to success in scientific writing. You will develop your expertise with a range of academic literacy skills and self-editing strategies to prepare a publishable manuscript that editors will take seriously. You will learn the unwritten rules of good writing to meet the requirements of modern-day research publications. You will also learn practical tools and techniques for writing an easy-to-read persuasive grant proposal and a convincing request for funding. Finally, you will gain skills necessary to communicate information obtained through a process of technical or experimental work. This Specialization is the perfect first step into the world of research publications. It is designed to take your knowledge of academic writing and turn it into an in-depth understanding of current trends in scientific writing to help you get published in an international journal, win a research project grant, or report research findings. Our general goal was to make this Specialization as convenient as possible for you without sacrificing any essential content.

Scholarly Communication

Technical writing, academic literacy, grant proposal.

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Explore UBC resources specific to the writing situations within the sciences.

Watch these videos to introduce yourself to the fundamentals of academic writing and research. Content includes perspectives from both senior academics at UBC and undergraduate and graduate students.

One of the best ways to learn about the conventions and practices of scholarly speaking is by watching other people do it.

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Boosting Year 6 Writing Outcomes

Grammar for writing, grammar for writing: a randomised controlled trial study.

This trial study, funded by the  Educational Endowment Foundation , will explore the effectiveness and impact of the explicit  teaching of grammar in the context of writing for  Year 6 students, with a particular focus on FSM students.

Details on the trial study

Researchers have conducted several studies over the past 10 years exploring the relationships between explicit teaching of grammar in the context of writing, which have led to positive results.

Schools are eligible for this project if they have at least 20 students in year 6. It would be useful to know your whole school % for FSM/Ever6 as this helps to understand the profiles of participating schools.

Schools joining this research project will be randomly allocated to either  the Intervention  group or a  Comparison  group.

This research project involves Year 6 teachers participating in four CPD days and teaching two fully-prepared units of work, developed by the Exeter team.

About The Project

Trial study background

Researchers from the  Centre for Research in Language and Literacy  have conducted several studies exploring the relationships between explicit teaching of grammar in the context of writing, which have led to positive results on students outcomes in writing. This is a way of teaching writing that helps learners to understand how linguistic structures convey meaning, rather than teaching grammatical rules in the abstract. The teaching of grammar is therefore explicit, but embedded in the context of teaching about writing genres (e.g. narrative fiction, persuasive writing). The aim is to improve students’ metalinguistic understanding of the language choices they make when they write.

This trial study funded by the  Educational Endowment Foundation,  will explore the effectiveness and impact of this approach for students in Year 6, with a particular focus on FSM students. Schools in the NE and NW of the country and London Boroughs are the focus of this research.

Eligibility criteria

Randomisation.

Schools joining the research project will be randomly allocated to either the Intervention group or a Comparison group.

• The  Intervention  group will receive the professional training and teaching materials starting in Autumn Term 2016
• The  Comparison  group will get £500 as a partial contribution towards buying in the CPD training once the research intervention is over. This CPD would be 2/3 days over a couple of terms or a year. 

The Pedagogy

Young writers are shown high-quality texts, how writing is shaped and crafted, and how grammatical choices are one part of that shaping.

To take part

If you are interested in taking part please contact Sara Venner, Research Fellow for the Project, via email:  [email protected]  or phone 01392 724863.

What It Involves

Year 6 teachers participating in four CPD days and teaching two fully-prepared units of work, developed by the Exeter team.

• CPD  – will introduce the teaching approach, develop teachers’ grammatical subject knowledge and familiarise teachers with the two teaching units for the project. CPD days are in September (day 1), November 2016 (day 2) and CPD days 3 & 4 will be in February and May 2017;

A small contribution towards travelling costs will be available. The exact location of venues for the CPD is yet to be confirmed

• Teaching Schemes of Work  – there are two units, the first focuses on fictional narrative and the second on persuasive writing. Both units will need to be delivered by the Year 6 teachers to their pupils in the Spring Term of 2017;
• Analysis  - a sample of writing from a Year 6 class will be analysed at the beginning of the research project. Then after the teachers attend the CPD sessions and teach the Schemes of Work, their childrens’ writing outcomes will be analysed again and assessed for any improvements.  

Handy PDF copy of Grammar for Writing

Benefits to schools

• Likely improvement in writing outcomes for Year 6 writers
• Improving how writing is taught following 4 high quality CPD sessions by a team of experts
• Support for children and teachers’ grammatical knowledge
• Teaching from 2 high quality schemes of work, tailored to meet Year 6 writing outcomes
• Production of 2 pieces of quality writing which can be used as evidence in final KS2 writing assessments

Benefits to teachers

• Teachers found the explicitness, the use of discussions, the emphasis on playful experimentation and their increased confidence in subject knowledge to be invaluable features from taking part in the intervention. 

Benefits to pupils

• Improved understanding of grammatical terminology
• Improved understanding of how to make language choices in writing
• Improved outcomes in writing

Resources for Intervention Teachers

General information

• Parental Consent form (.doc)
• Grammar resources (.pdf)
• Parental opt out letter March 2017 (.doc)
• Grammar for writing: Next steps (.doc)

CPD days 

Download the presentation:

• Grammar for Writing CPD day 1 (.ppt)
• Grammar for Writing CPD day 2 (.ppt)
• Grammar for Writing CPD day 3 (.ppt)
• Grammar for Writing CPD day 4 (.ppt)

Grammar Subject Knowledge

• Your grammatical subject knowledge ‌
• Exploring sentence stucture CPD day 1 (.pdf)
• SVO activity cards (.doc)
• Verb chart (.doc)
• Adverbial cards 1 (.doc)
• Adverbial cards 2 (.doc)
• Will you join the RSPB with highlights (.doc)

Narrative Fiction

• Narrative Scheme of Work  (video)
• Scheme of Work (.doc)
• 1.1 Story-builders (.ppt)
• 1.2 Merlin and Arthur Plot Summaries (.doc)
• 1.3 Story Structure Cards (.doc)
• 1.4 Small Story Structure Cards (.doc)
• 1.5 The 'Excalibur' Opening (.doc)
• 2.1 Word-Weavers (.ppt)
• 2.2 Character Descriptions (.doc)
• 2.3 Character Noun Phrase Examples (.doc)
• 2.4 Gawain and the Green Knight (.pdf)
• 2.5 Noun Phrase Generator (.doc)
• 3.1 Sentence Shapers (.ppt)
• 3.2 Enchanted Objects Mythical Beasts (.doc)
• 3.3 The Lady of the Lake (.doc)
• 3.4 Sentence Fragment Cards (.doc)
• 4.1 Writing-Designers (.ppt)
• 4.2 Story Mountain Outlining Sheet (.doc)

Persuasive Writing 

• Food waste (.ppt)
• Food waste fact sheet (.doc)
• Love Food Hate Waste (.doc)
• Article from the Independent (.doc)
• Scheme of work (.doc)
• Gathering idea planning sheet (.doc)

Resources for Comparison Teachers

• ‌ Comparison Group CPD Day 1 (.ppt)
• ‌Comparison Group CPD Day 2 (.ppt)
• ‌Comparison Group CPD Day 3 (.ppt)

Consent to Take Part

This project is designed to study the teaching and learning of writing in primary schools. The new approach, Grammar for Writing, aims to improve writing by developing pupils’ understanding of grammatical choices. Its impact will be evaluated by comparing it with the “teaching as usual” approach using a randomised controlled trial (RCT).

During this project, you will be contacted by both the  Project Team  (University of Exeter), who are responsible for developing and supporting the new teaching approach, and by the  Evaluation Team  (University of York), who are carrying out an independent evaluation of its effectiveness.

This memorandum of understanding (MoU) explains what your school’s participation in the study will entail.

In order to formalise your consent to participate, please choose the relevant button above

Randomised Controlled Trial (September 2016 – July 2017)

The trial will involve your school being  randomly  assigned either to deliver Grammar for Writing (the intervention group) or to continue with your normal teaching approach (the comparison group). Teachers in the intervention group will be asked to attend four training days across the year, and to deliver two Grammar for Writing units in the spring term, one on narrative writing (four weeks) and one on persuasive writing (two weeks). Schools in the intervention group will be asked to pay £500 to participate as a partial contribution to the costs of the 4 CPD days and the teaching materials. Schools in the comparison group will receive a £500 payment as a partial contribution towards buying in the CPD after the project has ended, if desired.

The following information and evaluation data will be required by the evaluation and project teams:

Prior to randomisation

Schools will:

• Provide contact details of a main contact person and of Year 6 teachers (valid email addresses and telephone numbers) to the Exeter Project Team.
• Provide names of teachers and details of classes (including UPNs), along with details of any setting or streaming by attainment, to the York Evaluation Team by the end of the summer term 2016.
• Facilitate the participation of teachers to complete a short on-line grammar quiz by the end of the summer term 2016.

During the evaluation

Participating teachers will :

• Complete a short on-line grammar quiz and teacher survey at the end of year, and will receive a £20 gift voucher for successful completion.
• Update UPNs of Year 6 pupils by the end of September 2016 and contact details (if appropriate) during the course of the evaluation.
• Facilitate a visit by the Exeter Project Team to observe one Grammar for Writing lesson of a sample of participating teachers ( intervention group only ).
• For a randomly selected sub-sample: facilitate a school visit by one or two researchers from the York Evaluation Team to observe an English lesson (Grammar for Writing in schools trialling the new approach, a lesson focusing on grammar/writing in other schools) during the study year, followed by short discussions with some of the Year 6 teaching staff and a member of the senior management team.
• Provide a breakdown of the KS2 writing results on narrative and persuasive writing for each participating Year 6 pupil in the summer term 2017 (to be confirmed pending national test arrangements)

Use of Data

All pupil data will be treated with the strictest confidence and will be stored in accordance with the Data Protection Act (1998). Named data will be matched with the National Pupil Database using pupils’ UPNs by the Evaluation Team and shared (anonymously) with the Education Endowment Foundation.

All results will be anonymised so that no schools will be identifiable in the report or dissemination of any results. Confidentiality will be maintained and no one outside the York Evaluation Team will have access to the database.Identifying data will be retained for one year after the end of the project and anonymised for a maximum of 3 years.

Requirements for Schools

• The school is not participating in another research project or evaluation that would interfere with development and evaluation of the above approach in Year 6 writing.
• All the Year 6 pupils and their teachers who teach them English will participate in the project.
• Participating teachers will complete the training provided and seek help and advice from the Exeter Project Team if they have any queries or uncertainties about implementing Grammar for Writing.
• The school will deliver letters to parents giving them information about the study and an opportunity to opt their child out of the data gathering process. They will inform the York Evaluation Team of any responses arising.
• The school will provide data requested to the Exeter Project Team and York Evaluation Team as detailed above.
• The school will permit the publication of anonymised data collected and its use in presentations.
• Teachers will, at the earliest opportunity, notify the Exeter Project Team if there are support or operational issues which could prevent the effective use of the approach.
• If the school has to withdraw from the project for operational or other unavoidable reasons, it will notify the York Evaluation Team straight away and, wherever possible, still provide test data for the project. 

Responsibilities of the Exeter Project Team:

• Set up a training course to inform teachers on how to implement Grammar for Writing
• Act as the first point of contact for any questions about the project
• Provide on-going support to the school
• Provide information sheets for parents
• Collect participating teacher and lead contact names and email details.  

Responsibilities of the York Evaluation Team:

• Conduct the random allocation
• Collect class and pupil level data (including name, date of birth, UPN)
• Request NPD data using pupil details
• Analyse the data from the project
• Disseminate the research findings

The Pedagogy and Sample Lesson Plans

The pedagogy

In this research project young writers are shown high-quality texts, how writing is shaped and crafted, and how grammatical choices are one part of that shaping.

The pedagogy of the intervention is founded on four key principles:

• E.g. exploring how post and present tense are used in newspaper reports for recount and comment.  
• Exploring how prepositional phrases can establish setting in a narrative. For example, you could explore how prepositional phrases establish the setting for each of the characters in ‌‘ The Gruffalo'  and then ask the children to create a new character in the ‘ The Gruffalo' story and describe where he or she lives using prepositional phrases. Download the Gruffalo sample lesson
• E.g. discussing as a whole class the different grammatical choices in two students’ drafts of the ending to an argument piece.  
• E.g. using the class shared book as a source for exploring how grammar shapes meaning. For example from ' The BFG'  explore rhythm through the pattern of three clauses. Download the BFG sample lesson ‌

Publications

Grammar for Writing? An investigation into the effect of Contextualised Grammar Teaching on Student Writing. Jones, S.M.  Myhill, D.A.  and Bailey, T.C.  (2013) Reading and Writing    26 (8) 1241-1263

Re-Thinking Grammar: the Impact of Embedded Grammar Teaching on Students’ Writing and Students’ Metalinguistic Understanding Myhill, D.A. Jones, S.M., Lines, H. and Watson A.  (2012) Research Papers in Education   27 (2) 139-166  

Playful Explicitness with Grammar:  A Pedagogy for Writing Jones, S. Myhill, D.A. Watson, A and Lines, H.E. (2013) Literacy     47 (2) 103-111

Grammar Matters: How Teachers’ Grammatical Subject Knowledge Impacts on the Teaching of Writing Myhill, D.A.  Jones, S and Watson, A. (2013) Teaching and Teacher Education   36:77-91  

Essential Primary Grammar Myhill, D.A  Jones, S  Lines, H and Watson, A (2016) http://www.mheducation.co.uk/catalog/product/view/id/215382/s/essential-primary-grammar/  

Testimonials

"Our children really enjoyed the unit and the quality of writing was excellent." -  Ruth Shallcross, Enfield Primary Teacher

"I taught Merlin this year to my year 6 class and they loved it. Years 4 and 5 also completed the unit and had the same response – especially the boys! The teachers were very positive about teaching it and said it has changed the way they teach writing." -  Year 6 Teacher

"Increasing the children’s awareness of verbs has hugely simplified the issue of clauses and the associated use of punctuation, conjunctions and adverbial phrases. I have felt that the children are now so much more able to consider the purpose and effect of their writing and therefore make more deliberate choices about composition. It is in discussing their choices that the children’s learning becomes truly embedded and we will continue to devote more time within our lessons to enabling the children to discuss, share and evaluate." -  Alison Armstrong Yr 6 teacher

"I feel that the Exeter model has over the last three years become integral to my practice. The concept of incorporating real life texts and allowing students to explore and consider real writers’ choices offers them the opportunities to immerse themselves in a range of original and creative ideas. I have watched, with great pride, my learners not only become more confident in their analysis of writers’ crafting, but transfer these skills into their own writing, creatively imitating a range of more challenging structures and decisions in their own pieces. I truly believe this model gives our youngsters more confidence, power and choice, providing them with the tools in which they can absorb a true and transferable knowledge of English." -  Rosie Saunders - Secondary English teacher Okehampton College

Who is eligible for the trial study?

Schools are eligible for this trial study if they have  BOTH :

• At least 29% FSM/Ever6 in the school
• At least 20 students in Year 6 (September 2016 cohort)

What if we don’t have 29% FSM?

The requirement for 29% FSM/Ever6 has been set by the funder EEF. However those schools which have marginally less than 29% FSM/Ever6 should get in touch with the Exeter team.

We have three Year 6 teachers – are all required to take part in the trial study?

Yes, all Year 6 teachers within a school are required to take part.

This will ensure all Year 6 students within a school will receive the same intervention.

What does the CPD include?

The trial study will involve Year 6 teachers participating in   4 Continuing Professional Development (CPD) days   which will: introduce the teaching approach, develop teachers’ grammatical subject knowledge, and familiarise teachers with the two teaching units for the trial study .  

Where is the CPD?

There are likely to be 3 venues:

• a convenient location for the cluster of schools in the NE
• a similar convenient venue for schools in the NW
• a London location

When is the CPD?

As the CPD will be repeated regionally to minimize travel needed, the precise dates for the CPD days cannot be confirmed yet. However they are likely to be spread through the year, with the first one in September 2016 and the remaining ones likely to be in November 2016, February and May 2017.

Are there any travel expenses provided for the CPD days?

A modest contribution will be available for travel costs to and from the venues.

Who will be delivering the CPD?

Professor Debra Myhill  – Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Executive Dean, Director of the Centre for Research in Writing.  Debra’s research interests centre upon: composing processes in writing; the role of grammar and metalinguistic understanding in writing; the relationship between talk and writing.

Dr Susan Jones  –  Senior Lecturer, Director of Doctoral Programmes . Sue’s research interests also focus on the role of grammar and metalinguistic understanding in writing, as well as gender issues in writing pedagogy.

Rebecca Cosgrave and Jenny Core  from Babcock LDP Primary Literacy team based in Exeter.

Who decides whether a school is a Comparison or Intervention group?

Schools participating in the trial study will be RANDOMLY allocated by the York University team in July?

What is involved if we are an ‘Intervention school’?

Each school will pay £500 towards the CPD and teaching materials. The year 6 teacher/s will participate in 4 CPD days and will need to teach two fully-prepared units of work developed by the Exeter team; a fictional narrative unit (4 weeks) and a persuasive writing unit (2 weeks). The school will also need to send by the end of June 2016 their ‘end of term data’ on their Year 5 cohort who will be starting year 6 in September 2016. 

What is involved if we are a ‘Comparison school’?

Each school will receive a contribution of £500 towards buying in the CPD, with a member of the Exeter team coming to your school to deliver the CPD. The total cost for the 2/3 CPD days will be around £2000. Schools in areas where there are a number of Comparison schools can share the cost of this training. The school will also need to send by the end of June 2016 their ‘end of term data’ on their Year 5 cohort who will be starting year 6 in September 2016.

Do schools have to sign any forms for taking part?

All participating schools, both from the Intervention group and the Comparison group, will have to sign a   Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)   which specifies all responsibilities and pupil data required for the trial study.

Who is funding this trial study?

The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF)  is an independent grant-making charity dedicated to breaking the link between family income and educational achievement, ensuring that children from all backgrounds can fulfil their potential and make the most of their talents .

The Project Team

Rebecca Cosgrave  and  Jennifer Core  form the Literacy training support team at Babcock Education supporting the project.