Writing your paper

Publishing the results of your research is a critical part of your academic career. By following the advice and guidance here, you’ll be able to produce a paper that’s a great fit for The Primary Education Journal.

Know who you're writing for

Before you start writing up your research, it’s important to have a good idea of which journal you want your paper to be published in.

When writing your paper you should keep the journal you are targeting in mind, to make sure the style, structure and audience are all a good fit.

This helps the editor to see how your work matches with the aims and scope of the journal, and make it more likely to be accepted for publication. Make sure you’ve read the aims and scope for The Primary Education Journal before you start writing, it will tell you what types of article are accepted.

Read the guidelines

You need to understand what the editor of The Primary Education Journal will be looking for. By understanding the expectations of the journal, you can write your paper to meet those standards from the start.

Familiarizing yourself with The Primary Education Journal’s instructions for authors (IFAs) is a key part of writing your paper and preparing to submit.

The IFAs tell you exactly what The Primary Education Journal’s editorial board expects to see, including details of specific processes to follow to make sure there are no problems should your article be accepted

It’s important to familiarize yourself with the journal’s editorial policies. Editorial Policies clearly lay out the standards of reporting expected by the journal, as well as covering everything from ethics standards to use of third-party material.

Structuring your article

The best way to determine how to structure your article is to study for The Primary Education Journal. The right manuscript structure can boost your chances of publishing success.

Look through the journal’s instructions for authors, but also take the time to read a selection of articles already published there to see how they are structured. This will help you to understand what the editor may be looking for. You could also make use of an article template. Check the instructions for authors for template, then download the article template and instructions.

Writing your manuscript

Every article is unique, and the structure and the sections you need to include depends on the type of article you’re writing and the subject of study.

Here’s a helpful step by step guide to take you through the standard sections that many researchers need to include when writing a manuscript, in the order in which you would normally write them.

Prepare tables and figures (if required)
When creating tables and figures for your article, check the journal’s instructions for authors, which may specify artwork formatting guidelines such as layouts and use of color.

Write up the literature review (if required)
Literature reviews aren’t always needed, but often form an important part of Educational Sciences manuscripts. Typically, a literature review should discuss what’s already known about the topic of the article, identify gaps in current knowledge and present your approach to addressing those gaps.

Write the method
The method section gives the reader all the details of how you conducted your research. Check the instructions for authors for journal to see whether there are any specific requirements on how it should be presented. It’s also a good idea to review previously published papers in the journal or sample reports on the journal website.

Write up your results
In the results section, you’re answering the question ‘what have you found?’. You should state your findings, but don’t interpret the results or discuss their implications in this section.

Write the discussion and conclusions
Your discussion and conclusion are where you interpret your results. Discuss your conclusions in order of most to least important, and end by stating your main conclusions again.

Write the introduction
Your introduction should provide the background information needed to understand your study, and the reasons why you conducted your experiments. At the end of your introduction you should include a clear statement of your aims and a brief sentence or two on how you conducted your study. Although your introduction comes first in your article, you’ll have a clearer idea of how to write it once you’ve written the rest of your paper.

Write the abstract and create a compelling title
Your abstract is the shop window of your article – this is where customers (researchers) can sample your wares and decide whether to read and cite your content or look elsewhere. Follow our advice on writing the title and abstract for your article using keywords to set up your work to be easily discovered online.

What else should I include when writing my paper?

If you are using third-party material in your article, It is important to make sure that you are clear on the guidance you need to follow, as The Primary Education Journal needs you to have written permission.
If you need to refer to a data set in your article, you’ll need to make sure that you cite the data appropriately. Read more in our how-to guide on citing data.
Please make sure you read through the Editorial Policies which include important information about why and how you should cite sources in your article.

Formatting your paper

Our format-free manuscript template will help you to format your manuscript to get it ready to submit to The Primary Education Journal. Please refer to instructions for authors.

Using AI when writing your paper

The Primary Education Journal supports the responsible use of Artificial Intelligence tools in the process of writing your article. Examples of their use include:

Language improvement: There is a range of tools that will suggest options for improving the clarity or accuracy of your writing, as well as adapting your language so that it is more suitable for a research journal.
Formatting: The Primary Education Journal requires you to use a set format for citations, sections and language (e.g. APA 7, British English). AI can help to reformat your draft manuscript to meet those requirements.

You should also be aware of the limitations of AI tools for writing. They can introduce inaccuracies, falsities (aka hallucinations), and do not always precisely attribute ideas, quotes, or citations. Therefore, if you do decide to use AI tools to support your writing, it will need rigorous revision before it can be submitted for publication.

Please note that if you use AI when writing your paper, this will need to be acknowledged. Read our authorship guidance for more details.

Key principles to be aware of when using AI in any part of the research process include:

AI technologies should always be used with human oversight and transparency.
You must make sure any tools you intend to use respect high standards of data security, confidentiality, and copyright protection.
You must make sure that your input and output data is not retained for AI training when you use third-party AI tools during manuscript writing.
You must receive permission from copyright holders prior to using copyrighted material in input to an AI tool. This applies, for example, to literature reviews and summaries.
Some potential uses of AI in research are considered unethical. For example, generative AI tools should not be used in ways that replace core researcher and author responsibilities.
You must also acknowledge the use of AI in any papers you write based on that research. Read our authorship guidance for more details.

Above all, however you use AI, it remains your responsibility to make sure that your work meets the highest standards in your field of research. If you use AI tools to support your writing, it will need thorough review before it can be submitted for publication.

Before you submit

Once you have the first complete draft of your paper, make sure it is in the best possible shape before submitting, by editing your manuscript properly. You need to know how to improve your research paper by taking a critical look at your manuscript. So we’ve listed below a few key areas that you need to pay attention to:

Defining authorship: co-authors, corresponding authors, and affiliations.
The ethical issues you should be aware of as an author.
Declaring competing interests. Also known as a ‘conflict of interest’, full disclosure of any competing interests is required when you submit your paper to a journal.
If your research includes a medical/clinical study you will need written patient consent from your participants. All authors are required to follow the ICMJE requirements on privacy and informed consent from patients and study participants.

Once you have written your paper and are ready to submit, read our guidance on making your submission to help you through the process.

Enhance your paper

Have you considered any optional enhancements for your paper?

A graphical abstract is a useful tool that provides a concise, visual summary of the main conclusions of your article. It can be a great additional way to communicate your findings.
A video abstract lets you introduce readers to your article in your own words, telling others why they should read your research. They are an increasingly popular way of getting others to engage with published research.