The question you need to answer before you start writing
Many of us struggle at the beginning stages of an article.
How should it be structured? What information belongs in this article? And how do I sort out all the information floating around in my head?
We can make this struggle easier by defining our take-home message early, preferably before we start writing.
What's a take-home message?
It's the one sentence (or two) that the reader will remember when they finish reading the article. It is specific and it answers the main question of the research. For example:
Treatment A improves outcomes in this group of patients.
This model effectively predicts ... in this group.
To write a good take-home message, you need to know your main result and why it's important. Then you just tell us.
I found... This is important because...
Then you remove the scaffolding (in italics above) and you've got your take-home message!
What a take home message is not
It is not a general statement that tells me your intention. For example:
I made some observations about the model.
(So... what are your observations?)
I'm looking at whether this drug will improve outcomes.
(OK... does it?)
Here is my take-home message
If I were to explain my academic writing course in general, I would say:
In this writing course, academics and professionals learn to think consciously about their writing.
That's fine and all, but it's pretty general. You don't actually know what you will take home from the course.
A better take-home message would be:
Academic writing can and should be easy and even enjoyable to read. When writers use strategies like parallelism, old to new, and precise verbs, their writing becomes clearer and more concise, and their research can make a bigger impact.
Now, are you ready to write your own take-home message?
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