Paper Structure

Paper Structure

The architecture of an academic paper is dictated by its genre, methodology, and disciplinary context. Always identify the paper type before selecting a structure. Applying the wrong structure is one of the most serious structural errors in academic writing.

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Structure Selection Guide

| Paper Type | Primary Structure | Common Disciplines | |---|---|---| | Empirical quantitative research | IMRaD | STEM, Psychology, Education | | Empirical qualitative research | IMRaD (modified) | Sociology, Education, Nursing | | Literature review | Funnel (thematic) | All disciplines | | Argumentative essay | Classical / Thesis-led | Humanities, Social Sciences | | Case study | Analysis-Synthesis | Business, Sociology, Medicine | | Dissertation / Thesis | Chapter-based | All disciplines | | Journal manuscript | Journal-specific (IMRaD base) | All | | Technical report | Problem-Method-Results | Engineering, CS | | Health policy brief | 4-section policy structure | Public Health | | SOAP note | SOAP | Medicine, Nursing |

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1. IMRaD — The Universal Empirical Research Structure

Introduction → Methods → Results → Discussion

This is the undisputed standard for quantitative and qualitative empirical research across STEM and social sciences.

Introduction

Follows the CARS model (Swales, 1990):

• Move 1 — Establishing a Territory: Validate the topic's significance: "X is a fundamental property of..." / "X plays an important role in..."
• Move 2 — Establishing a Niche: Identify the gap, problem, or controversy: "To date, little is known about..." / "Previous research has failed to..."
• Move 3 — Occupying the Niche: State your purpose and what your study does: "This study therefore set out to..." / "This paper argues that..."

Ends with: a clear statement of research aim, research questions and/or hypotheses, and a brief outline of the paper's structure.

Methods

Goal: absolute reproducibility — another researcher should be able to exactly replicate the study.

Must include:

• Research design (experimental, survey, ethnographic, case study, etc.)
• Participants / sample (size, demographics, sampling method, inclusion/exclusion criteria)
• Materials / instruments (validated scales, equipment, software, interview guides)
• Procedure (step-by-step data collection)
• Analysis approach (statistical tests, thematic analysis, discourse analysis, etc.)
• Ethical approval statement

Tense: Past tense throughout ("Data were collected," "Participants were recruited")

Results

• Present findings objectively — no interpretation here
• Organise by research question or hypothesis
• Use tables, figures, and statistics appropriately
• Report all relevant results — not just those that support your hypothesis
• Tense: Past tense ("Results showed," "Participants reported")

Discussion

• Interpret results in relation to your hypotheses and the existing literature
• Explain unexpected or contradictory findings
• Compare your findings to prior studies (both confirming and disconfirming)
• Acknowledge limitations (sample size, generalisability, measurement issues)
• Suggest directions for future research
• Tense: Mix — present tense for interpretation, past tense for your specific findings

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2. The Argumentative Essay

Classic 5-Part Structure

1. Introduction — Hook → Background → Thesis statement (clear arguable claim)
2. Body Paragraph 1 — Strongest supporting argument
3. Body Paragraph 2 — Second supporting argument
4. Body Paragraph 3 — Address counterargument + refutation
5. Conclusion — Restate thesis (reworded) → Synthesise arguments → Broader significance

PEEL Paragraph Structure (Body Paragraphs)

• Point — Topic sentence stating the paragraph's argument
• Evidence — Cite supporting source(s); integrate paraphrase or brief quote
• Explanation — Analyse and explain how the evidence supports your point
• Link — Bridge sentence connecting back to thesis or forward to next point

Variations: TEEL (Topic-Evidence-Explanation-Link), MEAL (Main idea-Evidence-Analysis-Link), RACES (Restate-Answer-Cite-Evidence-Summarise)

Thesis Statement Qualities

✓ Strong: Makes a specific, arguable claim ("Digital surveillance by employers significantly undermines psychological safety in remote work environments, contributing to increased burnout rates") ✗ Weak: States a fact or topic ("This paper will discuss digital surveillance") ✗ Too broad: "Technology affects work" ✗ Too narrow to sustain an essay: "Zoom's screen-monitoring feature increased one company's burnout by 12%"

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3. The Dissertation / Thesis Structure

Monograph Format (Most Common)

| Chapter | Content | |---|---| | Front Matter | Title page, declaration, acknowledgements, abstract, table of contents, list of figures/tables, abbreviations | | Chapter 1: Introduction | Background, problem statement, research aim and questions, significance, scope, overview of chapters | | Chapter 2: Literature Review | Theoretical framework, critical review of relevant literature, research gap | | Chapter 3: Methodology | Research philosophy, design, methods, analysis, ethics, limitations | | Chapter 4: Results/Findings | Presentation of data (quantitative: tables/figures; qualitative: themes with evidence) | | Chapter 5: Discussion | Interpretation, comparison to literature, theoretical implications | | Chapter 6: Conclusion | Summary of findings, contributions, limitations, recommendations, future research | | References | Full reference list in required style | | Appendices | Interview guides, questionnaires, ethical approval, raw data, supplementary material |

Article-Based (Publication-Based) Thesis

• Consists of a "kappa" (framing chapter) + 3–5 published or publishable journal articles
• Kappa: Introduction + Synthesis of the articles + Overall conclusion
• Each article stands alone and follows journal structure
• Increasingly common in Scandinavia, Netherlands, Australia; growing elsewhere

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4. The Case Study

Standard case analysis structure:

Introduction: Complete, objective summary of the case + thesis stating the analysis's purpose

Body:

• Analysis — Break down the case: identify problems, stakeholders, resources, constraints, evidence
• Synthesis — Apply theoretical frameworks to the facts; connect concepts to the real-world situation; derive new understanding

Conclusion: Evidence-based recommendations derived from the synthesis

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5. Systematic Literature Review Structure

1. Introduction — Research question, significance, rationale for systematic approach
2. Methods — Search strategy, databases searched, date range, search terms (PICO), inclusion/exclusion criteria, screening process, data extraction method
3. PRISMA Flow Diagram — Visual representation of screening stages
4. Results — Overview of included studies (table); thematic synthesis of findings
5. Discussion — Synthesis of evidence, quality assessment, limitations of the review
6. Conclusion — Implications for practice, policy, or future research

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6. Technical Report (STEM / Engineering)

1. Title Page — Report title, authors, institution, date
2. Executive Summary / Abstract — Key findings and recommendations (standalone)
3. Table of Contents
4. Introduction — Problem statement, scope, objectives
5. Background / Literature — Prior work, theoretical basis
6. Methods / Approach — What was done and how
7. Results — Data, findings, analysis
8. Discussion — Interpretation, limitations
9. Conclusions and Recommendations — What should be done
10. References
11. Appendices — Raw data, calculations, schematics

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7. Health Policy Brief

Strictly structured into four content areas:

1. Problem Definition — What is the health problem, who is affected, what is the scale?
2. Policy Description — What existing policies or interventions address this? What are their gaps?
3. Evidence — Quantitative data, epidemiological evidence, cost analysis
4. Implications — Consequences of action vs. inaction; policy recommendations

Length: Single-page Policy Brief (600–800 words) OR multi-page White Paper (2,000–5,000 words)

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Introduction and Conclusion — Core Phrases

Introduction Openers

• "X is a fundamental property of..."
• "X is fast becoming a key instrument in..."
• "X plays an important role in the maintenance of..."
• "Recent years have seen a significant increase in..."
• "The relationship between X and Y has attracted considerable scholarly attention..."

Transition to Research Gap

• "To date, there has been little agreement on..."
• "Previous studies have failed to specify..."
• "What is not yet clear is the impact of X on..."
• "No study has examined X in the context of..."

Stating Purpose

• "This study therefore set out to assess..."
• "The central question in this dissertation asks..."
• "The aim of this paper is to..."
• "This study seeks to address this gap by..."

Conclusion Contribution Phrases

• "This study makes a major contribution to research on X by demonstrating..."
• "The findings offer some important insights into..."
• "This is the first study to undertake a longitudinal analysis of..."
• "These results have significant implications for..."

Acknowledging Limitations

• "Interpret with caution due to limited data..."
• "The generalisability of these results is subject to certain limitations..."
• "Future research should investigate..."
• "This study was limited by its cross-sectional design..."

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: muhammad1438
• Source: muhammad1438/academic-writer-skills
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.