Writing Papers¶
These are guidelines, not rules
Paper writing is as much craft as science, and experienced researchers hold a wide range of opinions on style, structure, and emphasis. The lessons in this track reflect one well-developed approach, but they are guidelines, not universal mandates. Before submitting or making final style decisions, talk to your supervisor or other senior colleagues in your group. Their feedback and preferences take precedence over anything written here.
This track covers how to write a physics research paper from first draft to submission. The focus is on the specific conventions used in high-energy and astroparticle physics: how to structure the argument, what each section must do, how to write clearly in the field's voice, and how to produce a clean LaTeX document.
Lessons¶
| Lesson | Topic | What you will learn |
|---|---|---|
| 01: Paper Structure | Anatomy and narrative arc | How a HEP paper is organised, what each section must deliver, and how figures support the argument |
| 02: The Abstract Formula | Writing the abstract | A four-sentence template that communicates your result clearly and completely |
| 03: Writing Conventions | Voice, paragraphs, and style | First-person plural, paragraph structure, section titles, order-of-magnitude estimates, and what to avoid |
| 04: LaTeX Basics | Producing the document | Document class, figures, equations, cross-references, citations, and the conventions used in RevTeX |
| 05: Revision Checklist | Before you submit | A systematic checklist for catching the most common errors before your paper goes out |
Work through the lessons in order if you are writing your first paper. If you are revising a draft, jump to the lesson that covers what you need.
Style guide and reference papers¶
The writing conventions in this track reflect standards developed through the author's own research, in close collaboration with John Beacom, whose high standards for clarity and precision are directly reflected in the rules you will encounter here.
The three papers below are used as worked examples throughout the lessons:
| Paper | arXiv | Topic |
|---|---|---|
| Towards Measuring the CP-Violating Phase with Atmospheric Neutrinos | 2605.16721 | CP violation, atmospheric neutrinos |
| New Multimessenger Probe of DM–Nucleon Interactions from UHECR Acceleration | 2512.18093 | Dark matter, UHECRs |
| Enhancing DUNE's Solar Neutrino Capabilities with Neutral-Current Detection | 2410.00330 | Solar neutrinos, DUNE |
Templates¶
A LaTeX paper template is available in resources/paper-template/.
A structured outline template is available in Templates → Paper Outline.