How to Write a Review Manuscript

A review is a great way to express your opinion on a particular topic. The primary goal of a review is to synthesize the literature from a particular field in an accessible way, but reviews that offer new insight tend to be more widely read and cited. Good organization and effective communication will also help to convey your ideas to a wide and varied audience. Here we present a guide to writing reviews that you can use and adapt to suit your writing style.

• Decide upon the message that you would like to convey before you begin writing. This might be:
  • A new way of interpreting the existing literature
  • A novel idea that is inspired by the literature
  • The drawing of an analogy between two seemingly disparate topics
  • A new synthesis that could resolve a controversy
  • How recent developments might influence current thinking
• Compose a declarative title to briefly state this point of view
  • Titles that are brief and of simple construction are best
• Write a list of headings that, together, cover the themes that need to be discussed to explain your point of view
  • The most effective headings are brief, yet informative
  • Order these headings in a logical way
• Research and write each section in turn
  • Provide a critical but balanced assessment of the field
  • Include a summary of key concepts at the end of each section
  • Difficult concepts and technical details can be expanded upon in boxes
  • Use an additional layer of subheadings to guide the reader through long sections
• Draw the various threads together in a final section that makes a case for your point of view
  • Avoid summarising what has already been discussed
  • Include outstanding questions or future directions
  • Add an appropriate heading, e.g., ‘conclusion’ or ‘outlook’
• Write a brief introduction to present the topic and explain its importance
  • Begin with a general introduction for non-specialists
  • Include a paragraph at the end that explains what the review will cover together with your main conclusion
• Write a concise abstract that expands upon the title and is enticing to readers
  • Introduce the subject
  • Briefly explain what the review will cover
  • State your main conclusion
  • Aim to be brief and accessible, rather than comprehensive
• Prepare at least one figure for each section to illustrate the points being made
  • Include an introductory and concluding figure
  • Cartoons, schematics and idealized data are most helpful for non-specialist readers
  • Permission to re-use or adapt any previously-published images will need to be sought from the original publisher
  • Compose legends that describe the contents of each panel and any symbols or acronyms used
• Compile a list of references cited
• Proof read the manuscript
  • Aim to maximize intelligibility by using a clear, concise style and avoiding complicated sentence constructions
  • Use plain English and avoid jargon
  • Ask a colleague from a different field to read the manuscript and provide constructive feedback

AIP Publishing provides authors with support for language editing, translation, and figure creation. More information can be found at AIP Author Services.