Journal article move structures

The IMRD format, together with the finer organizational structure (moves) and language of the journal article, helps readers quickly locate the content that they seek. As a developing writer, it is important that you learn to present your content in these expected ways and places. As readers scan your paper, they should be able to quickly locate your topic, the nature of your work, the methods you used, and your conclusions. The use of keywords in your title and abstract and throughout the body of your paper is especially important. Because so many scientists now turn to computer-based technologies and search engines to find pertinent and current information, if you fail to use expected keywords, your work may be missed even if relevant. 

Upon completion of exercises 3.5 and 3.6, you probably noticed that not all written works in journals strictly adhere to the move structure in figure 3.1. Not surprisingly, the move structure does not apply to genres intended for a more general audience (e.g., news alerts, book reviews, editorial remarks), nor does it apply to all research-related works. For example, research articles published in Organic Letters omit a Methods section entirely instead, the procedures are published on the Internet as supporting information. 

Because of these variations, we end this section with a cautionary note Although the move structure in figure 3.1 presents a common and effective way to organize your Methods section, it will not apply in all situations. Move structures vary from journal to journal and article to article hence, ultimately you must model your organizational structure after an article similar to the one that you plan to write. 

Browse through three articles in one of the following journals The Journal of Organic Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Environmental Science Technology, or Chemical Research in Toxicology. Flow well do the articles adhere to the move structure illustrated in hgure 4.1 ... 

In this part of the chapter, we revisit the journal articles that were introduced in chapter 4, where we focused on Results. Here we focus on the Discussion sections of these articles. We examine how well the authors follow the move structure in figure 5.1, how they interpret their results, and how they conclude their work. 

The Introduction, like other sections of a journal article, follows a conventional set of moves. In fact, the move structure for the Introduction section is likely the most consistently followed move structure presented in this textbook (hgure 6.1). 

Asyou might suspect, not all authors or journals adhere strictly to the move structure depicted in figure 6.1. One variation (employed commonly by organic chemists) is to mention the gap and the current work in the first paragraph of the Introduction. We will encounter one such variation later in this chapter, when we examine the Introduction section of a journal article from The Journal of Organic Chemistry. 

Figure 7.1 A visual representation of the move structure for a typical journal article abstract.

The title also has an organizational structure. After analyzing more than 300 titles of chemistry journal articles, we found that titles commonly follow an X of Y by Z pattern (table 7.1). In essence, X, Y, and Z are three moves linked together by common words (e.g., of or by). Y describes what was studied X and Z modify or extend Y in some way. Y is required X and Z are optional, but typically at least X or Z is present. Of course, this pattern illustrates only a conventional way to construct a journal article title countless variations are possible. 

The poster text is divided into the same general IMRD sections as the journal article Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion. Similarly, most posters include an Acknowledgments section, some have an abbreviated References section, and all have a title and author list. Most posters do not include an abstract, in part because of space limitations and in part because an abstract already appears in the conference proceedings. Like the journal article, the IMRD structure of the poster follows an hourglass shape. The top (Introduction) and bottom (Discussion) sections have a broader focus, while the middle sections (Methods and Results) have a narrower focus. Each section of the poster can be divided into individual moves or steps that guide viewers in a conventional way through the content of each section. These moves are analyzed in the next part of the chapter. 

The move structures presented throughout the book are repeated here to serve as convenient references for readers. These move structures depict common organizational frameworks for the various sections of four chemistry genres the journal article, the conference abstract, the scientihc poster, and the research proposal. 

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