Exoplanet Research Workshop

The Paper Writing Process

This page is a guide to the paper writing process for teams that are writing papers. Check out our publications page to see papers that previous participants have published. If you have any further questions about this process, please reach out to your point person.

Literature Review

The following are papers your team should read if you are writing a paper. You can split them up among your teammates or each read all of them. If you’re interested, you can search for more papers on your own.

We encourage you to check out some of the papers in the Journal of the American Association of Variable Star Observers (JAAVSO) or Astronomy Theory, Observations and Methods (ATOM). You will likely be publishing in one of the two aforementioned journals.

Anatomy of the Paper

You might choose to structure your paper with the following sections: Abstract, Introduction, Instruments Used, Light Curves, Data Reduction, Results, Conclusion, Acknowledgments, and References. For a more comprehensive guide to the paper structure, see here.

The Feedback Process

Whenever you have a draft ready for review, your point person will read and provide feedback on your paper. Next, Kalee will do the same. After the aforementioned feedback process and before you publish, your point person will help you find astronomers to review your paper.