by Thomas Mejtoft, PhD
Writing reports and academic papers is a core part of university studies, and it’s a skill that will follow you throughout your career. Structuring ideas clearly, presenting research effectively, and communicating with confidence are just as important as the technical work itself.
Having written more than one hundred papers, book chapters, and other academic texts, I have accumulated substantial expertise in this area over the years. On this page, I have collected resources on academic writing. It includes an online lecture series that goes through the writing process, as well as a few notes that discuss specific important aspects of academic writing.
ONLINE LECTURE SERIES
Writing reports and scientific papers
An online lecture series on writing reports and scientific papers for students, researchers, and professionals.
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This lecture series is here to support you in the writing process. While it was created for MSc students in engineering at Umeå University, the content is valuable for anyone who wants to strengthen their academic writing. The lectures cover everything from setting objectives, creating a clear structure, to using references, working responsibly with AI, and presenting your research.
By following along, you’ll gain practical tools and strategies that make writing less overwhelming and help you share your work in a way that others can both understand and appreciate.
Watch the full lecture series
Writing reports and scientific papers (13 videos)
Individual lectures
Introduction to the lecture series (3 min)
- Understanding the research paper (7 min)
- Peer-review and honest feed-forward (14 min)
- Crafting objectives (12 min)
- Creating an understandable structure (13 min)
- AI and the writing process (11 min)
- Qualitative and quantitative data collection methods (24 min)
- Writing your method (8 min)
- Informed consent when working with human subjects (11 min)
- Using references in your writings (14 min)
- Master quotes in writing (11 min)
- Preparing a concise, searchable, and honest title (11 min)
- Presenting your research (12 min)
Bonus lectures
Lecture on Lectures (11 min)
Free writing: An exercise and a method (14 min)
NOTES
Notes on (scientific) writing
Notes that, in detail and with examples, discuss different parts of the writing process.
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This page gathers practical notes on key aspects of academic writing and communication. Each note addresses a specific challenge students and researchers often face, from handling references and citations to working with quotes and designing clear, honest data visualizations.
The goal is to provide short, concrete guidance that complements more comprehensive writing manuals. Whether you are citing unusual sources, integrating external material, or presenting your findings, these notes are designed to help you avoid common pitfalls and strengthen the clarity and credibility of your work.
References and in-text citations
No 1: How to cite and use figures from other sources
No 2: References to secondary sources and review articles
No 3: How to cite screenshots
No 4: Writing references to personal communication
No 5: Writing references to programming code
No 6: Citing content created by generative AI
Crafting visual representations of your data
No 7: Designing understandable and honest data visualizations
Working with quotes in your writings
No 8: Mastering quotes in writing
AI AND ACADEMIC WRITING
AI-supported academic writing
Some resources that provide perspectives, examples, and guidance on how AI can be integrated into academic writing.
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Artificial intelligence is becoming an increasingly common tool in the writing process, offering support with brainstorming, structuring arguments, proofreading, and even mentoring. Used responsibly, these tools can help students and researchers focus more on critical thinking and creativity while still maintaining academic integrity.
AI and the writing process (online lectures)
AI-supported proofreading and mentorship for academic writers (prompting)
Guidance for the use of AI in the academic writing process (example instruction)
GUIDES
Tips and Tricks
Some tips and tricks guides for getting started and getting better at using different tools.
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Using a WYSIWYG text editor, such as MS Word, is easy and straightforward. There are, however, many benefits in terms of control, for example, consistent styling, precise typography, robust citation management, and automatic cross-references that make some people prefer writing using markup languages such as LaTeX. LaTeX is a markup language for typesetting (not a traditional word processor), which emphasizes structure over appearance at the time of writing.
Even though there are tools to make it easier to write in LaTeX, there are still many small tips and tricks for creating high-quality documents. For references, LaTeX typically uses BibTeX to manage bibliographic data and automatically format citations and reference lists.
Feel free to send suggestions for changes or additions, or report errors in the documents above.
Top image generate with support of Dall-E 3
(First published by Thomas Mejtoft: 2025-08-14; Last updated: 2026-02-03)