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How To Write Highlights for an Academic or Scientific Paper

Posted by Rene Tetzner | Sep 7, 2021 | Paper Writing Advice | 0 |

How To Write Highlights for an Academic or Scientific Paper Although some academic and scientific journals have a long tradition of requesting summaries of key findings from the authors of articles accepted for publication, highlights are, for the most part, a relatively recent development in scholarly publishing. Elsevier first introduced highlights in some of its scholarly journals less than a decade ago, with its other journals and many produced by other publishers soon picking up this feature as well. The increasing popularity of highlights for research articles can be explained by their usefulness and appeal for both readers and authors in an online publishing environment. Readers are able to find and view in an extremely concise format the results presented in a published manuscript and thus determine very quickly whether they want to read the paper or not. With the Elsevier Research Highlights app, they can easily do this on their smartphones and even have the articles they wish to read sent to their inboxes. Authors benefit because their papers are given the advantage of greater visibility and discoverability, which can lead to more readers and higher citation counts. In addition, condensing the key elements of a research article into a few highlights can help an author focus more effectively on the primary contributions of his or her research.

The content, length and format of highlights for a research paper differ somewhat among academic and scientific journals, so one journal may simply want a bulleted list of keywords or key phrases, whereas another will require a thorough summary of the research results in the form of a brief paragraph. Elsevier journals ask for a list of bullet points that communicate the core findings of an article, conveying the essence of the research as well as its distinctiveness, but eliminating the background, methodology and other information that might appear in an abstract. Between three and five highlights are usually required, with each one not exceeding 85 characters, including spaces. The Elsevier model may be a good one to use if the journal to which you are submitting a paper indicates that highlights are desirable but provides no specific instructions or guidelines. Yet varying preferences mean that it is always wise to take a close look at the highlights in papers the journal has recently published, particularly any papers that are very similar to your own. In some cases, highlights will not be required until a paper is accepted for publication, so be sure to note when highlights should be submitted as well what form they should take.

Regardless of the exact format of the highlights required, they will almost certainly need to be concise in order to condense a great deal of complex information into a very little textual space. Shortening phrases, simplifying vocabulary, eliminating redundant words and using the active voice will help with observing word and character limits, and replacing long words with shorter synonyms will also help with the latter. These are good writing strategies when addressing a wide or general audience in any case, and this tends to be a desirable goal in highlights for a research paper, as does avoiding jargon and highly technical language. Do note, however, that a few journals will want authors to assume an audience of specialist readers for their highlights, in which case the guidelines will probably specify this. Keywords and key phrases are often encouraged in highlights, but nonstandard abbreviations are best avoided and must be spelled out when first used if they prove necessary. Highlights are usually written in full sentences even when they are presented as bullet points, and it is essential to write clearly and correctly if you wish to communicate effectively with potential readers and hold out the prospect of an excellent paper, so errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation and logic must be eliminated. A logical approach to highlights that begins with clarifying the nature of the research, proceeds with clear statements about the most important results and finishes with outlining the paper’s contribution to the field will generally prove successful.

Keeping both your readers and your research firmly in mind as you write your highlights is vital. Simplifying language and tucking everything you need to say into short and engaging highlights can lead to oversimplifying or exaggerating research findings, especially since the highlights must stand alone without any of the explanations, nuances and complications offered in the main paper. It is therefore imperative to give your highlights serious thought, ensuring that they accurately represent for readers the primary or most exciting results presented in your paper, and also that the paper itself lays emphasis on the findings prioritised in your highlights. For this reason, highlights are best drafted after the paper is written, and some authors will even go back after the highlights are written and revise their papers to achieve a clearer focus on the highlighted results. The process of writing appropriate highlights can therefore enable effective editing and help an author produce a better paper. However you choose to work at writing the highlights for your academic or scientific paper, remember that they will probably be the first thing after the title that a prospective reader encounters and they may even appear in the journal’s table of contents, so you want your highlights to make the best possible impression and lead readers to a paper that lives up to their claims.

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How do I include Highlights with my manuscript?

Highlights are a short collection of three to five bullet points that:

• Provide readers with a quick textual overview of the article.
• Convey the core findings.
• Describe the essence of the research (i.e. results or conclusion).
• Highlight what's distinctive about it.

Highlights will be displayed in online search result lists, the contents list and in the online article, but won't (yet) appear in the article PDF file or print.

Answer Highlights are mandatory for some journals and optional for others. You can check the requirements for the journal you're submitting to by reading the Guide for Authors. To find the Guide for Authors:

• Navigate to the journal's Homepage. To find the journal's Homepage search for the journal using the search box under 'Find by journal title' on the journal author's page .
• Click on 'Guide for Authors' in the left-hand menu.

Highlights should be submitted in the following way:

Unless otherwise instructed in the Guide for Authors, Highlights should be included as a separate source file (i.e. Microsoft Word not PDF).

• Select 'Highlights' from the drop-down file list when uploading files.
• Use 'Highlights' as the file name.

With these specifications:

• Include 3 to 5 highlights.
• Each individual Highlight should be a maximum of 85 characters long, including spaces.
• Only the core results of the paper should be covered.

Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA), Bioenergetics, Volume 1807, Issue 10, October 2011, 1364-1369  

• A conformational two-state mechanism for proton pumping complex I is proposed.
• The mechanism relies on stabilization changes of anionic ubiquinone intermediates.
• Electron-transfer and protonation should be strictly controlled during turnover.

Learning and Instruction, Volume 21, Issue 6, December 2011, 746-756  

• Fading of a script alone does not foster domain-general strategy knowledge.
• Performance of the strategy declines during the fading of a script.
• Monitoring by a peer keeps performance of the strategy up during script fading.
• Performance of a strategy after fading fosters domain-general strategy knowledge.
• Fading and monitoring by a peer combined foster domain-general strategy knowledge.  

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How to Write Highlights for a Paper

Last Updated: March 20, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was reviewed by Gerald Posner and by wikiHow staff writer, Jennifer Mueller, JD . Gerald Posner is an Author & Journalist based in Miami, Florida. With over 35 years of experience, he specializes in investigative journalism, nonfiction books, and editorials. He holds a law degree from UC College of the Law, San Francisco, and a BA in Political Science from the University of California-Berkeley. He’s the author of thirteen books, including several New York Times bestsellers, the winner of the Florida Book Award for General Nonfiction, and has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History. He was also shortlisted for the Best Business Book of 2020 by the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 47,476 times.

The highlights for a scientific paper make it easier for people to find it using a search engine. Ideally, your highlights serve as a sort of "elevator pitch" for your paper, describing the results and any new methods you used. Although it depends on the publisher, the highlights for a paper will usually be no more than 3 or 4 bullet-point phrases. You typically don't need to worry about your highlights until the final editing stages before your paper is published. However, strong highlights can get your paper noticed online more quickly, which can give your research a tremendous advantage. [1] X Research source

Drafting the Highlights for Your Paper

• Conversely, good highlights also keep a potential reader from wasting their time. If your paper doesn't cover information that they need to know or are interested in, highlights let them know immediately so they don't have to read through half your paper before they find that out.

• For example, you would write "UV rays affect skin's overall health" rather than "skin's overall health is affected by sun exposure."
• Research papers often use passive voice, which is more wordy and difficult to understand. Because highlights have a strict length requirement, using active voice allows you to stay within the character limits while including the most important information from your article. For example, you might write: "Prolonged exposure to light damages skin cells."

• Use the simplest words possible, even if they aren't technically accurate. For example, instead of referring to "squamous cells," you could say "skin cells" or simply "skin." Your paper will get into the specific cells studied.

Tip: If you know a child or teenager, read your highlights to them and ask if they can understand what your paper is about. If they don't, ask them what they didn't understand and keep revising.

• One method of proofreading is to read your highlights backward, moving word by word. This encourages you to focus on each individual word rather than the phrase as a whole.
• It's also a good idea to let someone else give your highlights a read-through. Someone completely unfamiliar with your highlights or your paper might notice errors you've repeatedly overlooked because you know what you meant to say.

Using Proper Formatting for Your Highlights

• For example, the National Science Foundation wants each highlight on an individual Microsoft PowerPoint slide.
• Highlights were introduced by the publisher Elsevier and many journals and publishers use similar procedures. If the journal or publisher tells you to use Elsevier's requirements, you can get those at https://www.elsevier.com/authors/journal-authors/highlights .

• If you're providing your highlights in bullet points, the bullet point itself typically isn't considered a character. However, all other spaces and punctuation are.
• Some journals or publishers may also have a minimum length. Even if a specific minimum length isn't given, having a highlight that's only 2 or 3 words typically doesn't provide enough information to a potential reader to be helpful.

Tip: You can typically adjust the settings of your word processing program to count characters rather than words. This will make it easier, as you're revising, to ensure your highlights stay within the length requirements.

• Double-check to make sure you've met all the publisher's requirements before you submit your highlights. Violations of the publisher's protocol could delay the publication of your paper.

Expert Q&A

You might also like.

• ↑ https://www.elsevier.com/authors/journal-authors/highlights
• ↑ https://author.miguelpanao.com/writing-meaningful-highlights-in-scientific-papers/
• ↑ https://www.nsf.gov/mps/che/nuggets/highlight-writing.pdf

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How To Write Highlights for an Academic or Scientific Paper

How To Write Highlights for an Academic or Scientific Paper Although some academic and scientific journals have a long tradition of requesting summaries of key findings from the authors of articles accepted for publication, highlights are, for the most part, a relatively recent development in scholarly publishing. Elsevier first introduced highlights in some of its scholarly journals less than a decade ago, with its other journals and many produced by other publishers soon picking up this feature as well. The increasing popularity of highlights for research articles can be explained by their usefulness and appeal for both readers and authors in an online publishing environment. Readers are able to find and view in an extremely concise format the results presented in a published manuscript and thus determine very quickly whether they want to read the paper or not. With the Elsevier Research Highlights app, they can easily do this on their smartphones and even have the articles they wish to read sent to their inboxes. Authors benefit because their papers are given the advantage of greater visibility and discoverability, which can lead to more readers and higher citation counts. In addition, condensing the key elements of a research article into a few highlights can help an author focus more effectively on the primary contributions of his or her research. The content, length and format of highlights for a research paper differ somewhat among academic and scientific journals, so one journal may simply want a bulleted list of keywords or key phrases, whereas another will require a thorough summary of the research results in the form of a brief paragraph. Elsevier journals ask for a list of bullet points that communicate the core findings of an article, conveying the essence of the research as well as its distinctiveness, but eliminating the background, methodology and other information that might appear in an abstract. Between three and five highlights are usually required, with each one not exceeding 85 characters, including spaces. The Elsevier model may be a good one to use if the journal to which you are submitting a paper indicates that highlights are desirable but provides no specific instructions or guidelines. Yet varying preferences mean that it is always wise to take a close look at the highlights in papers the journal has recently published, particularly any papers that are very similar to your own. In some cases, highlights will not be required until a paper is accepted for publication, so be sure to note when highlights should be submitted as well what form they should take. PhD Thesis Editing Services Regardless of the exact format of the highlights required, they will almost certainly need to be concise in order to condense a great deal of complex information into a very little textual space. Shortening phrases, simplifying vocabulary, eliminating redundant words and using the active voice will help with observing word and character limits, and replacing long words with shorter synonyms will also help with the latter. These are good writing strategies when addressing a wide or general audience in any case, and this tends to be a desirable goal in highlights for a research paper, as does avoiding jargon and highly technical language. Do note, however, that a few journals will want authors to assume an audience of specialist readers for their highlights, in which case the guidelines will probably specify this. Keywords and key phrases are often encouraged in highlights, but nonstandard abbreviations are best avoided and must be spelled out when first used if they prove necessary. Highlights are usually written in full sentences even when they are presented as bullet points, and it is essential to write clearly and correctly if you wish to communicate effectively with potential readers and hold out the prospect of an excellent paper, so errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation and logic must be eliminated. A logical approach to highlights that begins with clarifying the nature of the research, proceeds with clear statements about the most important results and finishes with outlining the paper’s contribution to the field will generally prove successful. Keeping both your readers and your research firmly in mind as you write your highlights is vital. Simplifying language and tucking everything you need to say into short and engaging highlights can lead to oversimplifying or exaggerating research findings, especially since the highlights must stand alone without any of the explanations, nuances and complications offered in the main paper. It is therefore imperative to give your highlights serious thought, ensuring that they accurately represent for readers the primary or most exciting results presented in your paper, and also that the paper itself lays emphasis on the findings prioritised in your highlights. For this reason, highlights are best drafted after the paper is written, and some authors will even go back after the highlights are written and revise their papers to achieve a clearer focus on the highlighted results. The process of writing appropriate highlights can therefore enable effective editing and help an author produce a better paper. However you choose to work at writing the highlights for your academic or scientific paper, remember that they will probably be the first thing after the title that a prospective reader encounters and they may even appear in the journal’s table of contents, so you want your highlights to make the best possible impression and lead readers to a paper that lives up to their claims.

Why Our Editing and Proofreading Services? At Proof-Reading-Service.com we offer the highest quality journal article editing , phd thesis editing and proofreading services via our large and extremely dedicated team of academic and scientific professionals. All of our proofreaders are native speakers of English who have earned their own postgraduate degrees, and their areas of specialisation cover such a wide range of disciplines that we are able to help our international clientele with research editing to improve and perfect all kinds of academic manuscripts for successful publication. Many of the carefully trained members of our expert editing and proofreading team work predominantly on articles intended for publication in scholarly journals, applying painstaking journal editing standards to ensure that the references and formatting used in each paper are in conformity with the journal’s instructions for authors and to correct any grammar, spelling, punctuation or simple typing errors. In this way, we enable our clients to report their research in the clear and accurate ways required to impress acquisitions proofreaders and achieve publication.

Our scientific proofreading services for the authors of a wide variety of scientific journal papers are especially popular, but we also offer manuscript proofreading services and have the experience and expertise to proofread and edit manuscripts in all scholarly disciplines, as well as beyond them. We have team members who specialise in medical proofreading services , and some of our experts dedicate their time exclusively to PhD proofreading and master’s proofreading , offering research students the opportunity to improve their use of formatting and language through the most exacting PhD thesis editing and dissertation proofreading practices. Whether you are preparing a conference paper for presentation, polishing a progress report to share with colleagues, or facing the daunting task of editing and perfecting any kind of scholarly document for publication, a qualified member of our professional team can provide invaluable assistance and give you greater confidence in your written work.

If you are in the process of preparing an article for an academic or scientific journal, or planning one for the near future, you may well be interested in a new book, Guide to Journal Publication , which is available on our Tips and Advice on Publishing Research in Journals website.

Guide to Academic and Scientific Publication

How to get your writing published in scholarly journals.

It provides practical advice on planning, preparing and submitting articles for publication in scholarly journals.

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If you are in the process of preparing a PhD thesis for submission, or planning one for the near future, you may well be interested in the book, How to Write a Doctoral Thesis , which is available on our thesis proofreading website.

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Why Is Proofreading Important?

To improve the quality of papers.

Effective proofreading is absolutely vital to the production of high-quality scholarly and professional documents. When done carefully, correctly and thoroughly, proofreading can make the difference between writing that communicates successfully with its intended readers and writing that does not. No author creates a perfect text without reviewing, reflecting on and revising what he or she has written, and proofreading is an extremely important part of this process.

Effective Highlighting: Drawing Attention to Your Important Information

Director of Operations at Nova Journal Experts, LLC

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The use of summaries of key findings by many academic and scientific journals is well established[1]. Once an article is accepted for publication the author is required to submit those key findings. What isn’t so widely established, but has undoubtedly spread in popularity is the use of highlights. The purpose of highlights is to draw attention to important information in a paper. Highlights are 3 to 5 short sentences containing the core findings of the research[2]. Effective highlights allow the reader to find and view in an extremely concise format the presented results, therefore providing the opportunity to quickly determine whether they want to read the paper or not.

While the highlights are only available online, the purpose is designed to create greater visibility and discoverability, which tends to lead to greater readership and a possible higher citation count. In a word, the highlights give a paper advantage in the digital publication. They make it possible for search engines to find a manuscript and match it to an interested audience. In terms of discoverability, the highlights widen the reach of the research by making interested colleagues across a larger spectrum aware of the article. Aside from distribution, greater awareness and accessibility creates the opportunity for further collaboration. If an author understands the relevance of highlights to lead readers to their research, then it is important enough to know how to effectively prepare them. To start, the length, content, and format of highlights for a research paper differ slightly among academic and scientific journals. Where one journal requires a bulleted list of keywords and phrases, another may require a complete summary of the research results. For this article, we will focus on the former.

When creating the highlights an effective method to keep in mind is to use the following key criteria:

• Communicate the core findings

Convey the essence

• Express the distinctiveness of the research

A good model to follow is to provide three to five highlights, with each one not exceeding 85 characters, including spaces.

Communicating the Core

In research, the details tend to be the focus of the writing. Yes, details are important, especially if they are challenging, much more so to allow a peer to reproduce the experience in the research. However, the details of the process or experiments are not the nature of the research. It is for this reason that the details shouldn’t be the highlights. The nature is the WHY factor.

Why is the research taking place in the first place? What is the ultimate answer the research is trying to provide? What is driving this research?

Having a clear view of the WHY factor is essential for writing the highlights.

When communicating your findings, it is important to keep in mind the audience. A common flaw in writing highlights is the lack of thought for those readers who are not experts in the field. Highlights are the window to the world. If the content is not clear, your message is not understood. The essence of your research must be prepared with the idea that the audience knows little about the topic, and the highlights must express the complexity of the research in simple, clear, and concise words.

Evidence of distinctiveness

Typically, you have less than ten seconds before a reader decides it’s time to click away. Therefore, it’s imperative to make use of the highlights to provide evidence of the research contribution in a succinct point. The following are two examples ineffective and effective highlights:

“a hollow-cone spray is used in an impinging process occurring on a flat surface”

Consider that research in impinging sprays occurs on a surface, “Why is this a highlight?” The example does not explain the nature of the research, nor does it express any contribution in the field[3]. However, the sentence can be structured to state the distinctiveness of the research and in turn create an effective highlight.

“Hollow-cone sprays in cooling processes address heterogeneities in the temperature field.”

The sentence meets the required 85 characters and contains the nature of the research. The effective example introduces the type of spray in a cooling process and states the impact, which is the cooling of the surface and addressing heterogeneities in a temperature field. A small change can make a difference between ineffective and effective highlights. Depending on the journal you are submitting a manuscript, they may not specific instructions or guidelines for an author to develop the highlights. The varying preferences simply mean that it is wise to review the published material, in particular, any papers similar to the subject matter. Take note of the form the highlights are required and when.

Concise and to the point

Regardless of the required format, highlights need to be concise to communicate complex information in a limited textual space. Shortening phrases, simplifying vocabulary, eliminating redundant words, and using the active voice will help with observing word and character limits, and replacing long words with shorter synonyms will also help with the latter.

Proofread your highlights

An important step that should never get overlooked in the process is the proof. Any error in spelling, grammar, or logic in the highlights reflects on the rest of the paper. The reader will expect the manuscript to be poorly written if there is an error staring at them in the face. Consider having a colleague review the section to catch any errors you may have missed. If you have your manuscript professionally edited, be sure to write the highlights before you submit the manuscript for editing so they are included in the professional revision. Keeping both the reader and the research firmly in mind as you write the highlights is the key. It is not possible to simply shorten the language and throw away thought to create form-fitting and engaging highlights. This can lead to oversimplifying or exaggerating research findings, especially since the highlights must stand alone without any of the explanations of the main paper. It is therefore imperative to draft the highlights after the manuscript is written and serious thought is given to their development, ensuring an accurate representation for the readers the core findings, the essence, and also distinctiveness presented in the paper.

The highlights will probably be the first thing after the title that a prospective reader will read, so you want the highlights to make a great first impression and draw attention to your important information.

Scientific Writing Workshops

If you like our articles, try our MasterCourses. Our training courses and webinars are based on the material from our scientific writing workshops, which cover these and many other topics more thoroughly, with more examples and discussion. We offer on-site workshops for your event or organization, and also host workshops that individual participants can attend. Our on-site scientific writing workshops can range from 1-2 hours to several days in length. We can tailor the length to suit your needs, and we can deliver a writing workshop as a stand-alone activity or as part of scheduled meetings. Our scientific writing workshops consistently receive high praise from participants including graduate students, post-docs, and faculty in diverse fields. Please see our MasterCourses page for details. If you found this article helpful or if there is a topic you want us to address in a future article, please use our online comment submission form , or contact us directly. Your comments and suggestions are valuable!

References:

• Guyatt G, Sackett DL, Sinclair JC, Hayward J. Cook DJ, et al. User’s Guides to the medical literature: IX. A method for grading health care recommendations . J AM Med Assoc 1995;274 (22):1800-04
• Green B, Johnson CD. How to write a case report for publication . J Chiropr Med 2006;5(2):72-82 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2647062
• Panao M, Writing meaningful highlights in scientific papers

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Writing meaningful Highlights in scientific papers

One novelty in scientific papers in the last decade was Elsevier’s introduction of highlights. Are authors paying sufficient attention to highlights writing?

Highlights are 3 to 5 short sentences containing core findings of the research described in the paper. Highlights are available only online with the purpose of driving a person’s attention toward reading the paper. Therefore, when we’re invited to review a paper, the core findings are one of the first things we need to review and … what a mess!

Instead of core findings we read a short version of the title, operating conditions, etc. It’s like we’re reading an abstract divided into short sentences. So I wondered, is it possible to find guidelines to write more meaningful highlights by ourselves, instead of paying someone else to do it for us?

I find highlights a very important step in scientific articles. Thus, these are my 6 “Highlights” for writing more meaningful highlights based on experience, Journals’ recommendations and the little advice we can find in the web.

1. Understand Highlights Meaning

When I read the highlights in a paper I review, my first question was –  “do authors understand what highlights mean?”

I think if authors realized how important highlights are, they would pay a lot more attention to them. Besides the title, highlights are the first thing a person reads while searching the web for any publications in a certain field. It’s my opportunity as an author, or co-author, to capture someone attention to read my research.

Things are changing in the scientific articles publishing industry, and there is a movement toward the relevance of having more “reads” of your paper, rather than publishing in high impact factor journals.

If you understand what highlights may represent in leading people to read your paper then you realize how important it is to know their meaning.

According to Elsevier, the publisher which introduced highlights, these convey the core findings and provide readers with a quick textual overview of the article . Highlights describe the essence of the research (e.g. Results, conclusions) and highlight what is distinctive about it.

Core Findings.

Quick overview.

The essence of research. 

These are the keywords to understand highlights meaning. The challenge is how to express them in sentences shorter than a tweet…

2. Clear view of the nature of your research

When details in our research work are challenging, we tend to focus our writing describing them. Details are important, especially if challenging, because someone else might want to reproduce your experience and needs those details. But the details of your thought process, or experiments are not the nature of your research. Therefore, they shouldn’t be highlights.

The nature of your research is your WHY .

What is the ultimate question your research is trying to answer?

Why are you researching on a certain topic in the first place?

What drives your research?

Some topics are easier than others, but having a clear view of the WHY in your research is essential for writing meaningful highlights.

3. Realize people know little about your topic

I remember speaking to a small audience and feel I’m not making myself understood. This is a common flaw. Even if you have one, two or more experts in your field in front of you, when presenting an article at a conference, you should always assume there’s someone in the audience who is not an expert in your field. And when you prepare your presentation, you are speaking to this person, not the experts.

Highlights audience is the world. Therefore, you are 100% sure people which know little about your topic will read your highlights. You must write to them. 

This is a major challenge because, ideally, you should be able to express the complexity of your topic in simple, clear and concise words. A way to test these highlights is asking a friend from another field for an opinion.

4. Evidence your contribution in the field

I struggle when people literally waste their highlights with things that don’t provide the nature of their research or evidence their contribution. Let me give you an example. 

If I write 

“a hollow-cone spray is used in an impinging process occurring on a flat surface”

Why is this a highlight? Actually, this is close to what I read recently in a paper I reviewed. In all research about impinging sprays, isn’t it logical this impingement occurs in a surface? Why is this a highlight? The surface can be flat, curved, dried, wetted, structured or not, but this sentence does not explain the nature of research, nor expresses any contribution in the field. 

If we wanted to change this sentence to something more meaningful, it could be 

“Hollow-cone sprays in cooling processes address heterogeneities in temperature field.” 

The sentence is not perfect, but it has 85 characters (after 2 iterations) and contains the nature of research. It introduces the type of sprays; if they’re used in cooling processes, it means their impact on a surface is logical; and it states the purpose of that impact, which is cooling the surface and addressing heterogeneities in temperature fields, thus pointing to the challenge. Let me repeat, this is not a perfect example, but illustrates what I mean.

Another example where a small change can make a difference, at least from my viewpoint. Again, close to what I’ve read recently.

“The effect of drop dynamics, surface temperature and spray height on the liquid film formed after spray impact.”

First, it’s too long, so it needs to be shorten. But it contains what’s included in the paper’s scope, when the journal requires the core findings. Suppose the authors found these three parameters produced an effect on the outcome, a small change can resolve the issue,

“Drop dynamics, surface temperature and spray height affects liquid film formation.”

While the highlight in the first example contextualised the reader, spray cooling involves the formation of liquid films. And through this highlight, the reader knows which parameters affect the outcome and, if interested, he will read the paper to know how.

5. Be clear, concise, and go straight to the point

A non-negligible number of papers I reviewed doesn’t pay much attention to the 85 characters limitation. It forces us to seek clarity in our statements. Be concise in the words used to convey meaning. And go straight to the point because that’s what highlights are for, right? Lead the potential reader to make a quick assessment whether he should read the paper or not.

A good exercise is to distance yourself from your paper. Put yourself in the reader shoes and be critical. Would you read this paper about a topic in your field with these highlights?

6. Use simple terms

This is probably the greatest challenge. But it is important to understand what we mean by simple terms. Some research topics involve words which are not simple because their part of the lexical used in the field. Simple terms come naturally when we have a mature and clear view of our main breakthroughs.

Highlights help you refine the message in your research, evidencing only what really matters. And when we express what matters in simple terms, a reader should experience clarity and the desire to know more. 

These reflections are not exhaustive and I hope these “guidelines” motivated you to be more careful in writing meaningful highlights.

QUESTION: Are there any other suggestions, based on your experience, that would help authors write more meaningful Highlights?

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Computer Science > Human-Computer Interaction

Title: scim: intelligent skimming support for scientific papers.

Abstract: Researchers need to keep up with immense literatures, though it is time-consuming and difficult to do so. In this paper, we investigate the role that intelligent interfaces can play in helping researchers skim papers, that is, rapidly reviewing a paper to attain a cursory understanding of its contents. After conducting formative interviews and a design probe, we suggest that skimming aids should aim to thread the needle of highlighting content that is simultaneously diverse, evenly-distributed, and important. We introduce Scim, a novel intelligent skimming interface that reifies this aim, designed to support the skimming process by highlighting salient paper contents to direct a skimmer's focus. Key to the design is that the highlights are faceted by content type, evenly-distributed across a paper, with a density configurable by readers at both the global and local level. We evaluate Scim with an in-lab usability study and deployment study, revealing how skimming aids can support readers throughout the skimming experience and yielding design considerations and tensions for the design of future intelligent skimming tools.

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Integrating Accessibility into Data Science Curricula

Mine dogucu has coauthored a book chapter on data science + accessibility, sharing resources to foster inclusivity in computing..

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“We firmly believe that accessible education is the cornerstone of a more inclusive future, and it’s high time we brought this narrative into the realm of data science.”

This assertion appears in Data Science + Accessibility , one of 16 chapters in the new book Teaching Accessible Computing , edited by Alannah Oleson, Amy J. Ko and Richard Ladner. As the editors state in their introduction, their goal is to help educators feel confident introducing topics related to disability and accessible computing and integrating accessibility into whatever computer science course they teach.

The chapter on data science courses is written by JooYoung Seo , an assistant professor in the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Mine Dogucu , a professor of statistics in UC Irvine’s Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences ( ICS ).

“Accessibility is more than just a principle — it’s a practice,” explain Seo and Dogucu in their chapter. “It’s a commitment to ensuring that everyone, regardless of their abilities, can participate in and contribute to data science. It’s about recognizing and valuing diversity, and about striving for inclusivity in all aspects of our work.”

An Impactful Partnership

Dogucu recounts how she first met Seo through a post on GitHub. “I was using a tool widely used by data scientists, but it didn’t support alternative text . So I went to GitHub to submit a feature request, asking the team that developed the tool to support alt text.” Seo seconded her request. “He came to GitHub and commented on it, saying he really would like this feature as well, and that’s how JooYoung and I first met.”

Both are recipients of grant funding from Teach Access , which supports faculty efforts to teach undergraduate students about accessible technology design and development. “Our work is partially a result of Teach Access,” says Dogucu. “JooYoung and I think a lot about how to teach accessibility to students,” she explains. “If educators can’t teach accessibility, it’s probably because they themselves never learned it.” So how do you break that cycle?

Seo and Dogucu aim to address the issue by developing course materials, and they started by writing a paper together called “Teaching Visual Accessibility in Introductory Data Science Classes with Multi-Modal Data Representations.” The paper provided the framework for writing the Data Science + Accessibility chapter.

Data Science + Accessibility Seo and Dogucu identify in the book chapter three key aspects to building accessibility in data science: computational reproducibility, data representation, and social and cultural value.

“I think perhaps the biggest contribution of this chapter is the focus on reproducibility,” says Dogucu. “Thinking of reproducibility from an access perspective is very important.” Of course, that then leads to the issue of data representation.

“For instance, a blind scientist might not understand everything in a report if the images aren’t in an accessible format,” explain Dogucu. “Or if a report is provided in pdf format, a screen reader would have problems reading it.” So the chapter introduces a variety of ways to ensure data access and representation.

For example, readers learn about an open source multimodal access and interactive data representation (MAIDR) system developed by Seo. The system has the potential to offer customizable options across braille, text, and sonification, providing new levels of access for people with varying disabilities.

Dogucu points out the long-term impact of such education and tools, touching on the social and cultural value. “When you teach it, these options are then built into the future.” The result is more inclusive data science, which leads to more inclusive insights and outcomes.

“This gets into the ethical implications of our work as data scientists,” says Dogucu. Data can perpetuate certain biases and assumptions depending on how the data is gathered, analyzed and presented, having lasting impacts on entire communities. Seo and Dogucu are working to remove bias, expand access and share new perspectives.

“Together, we can shape a future of data science that is not only technically robust,” they conclude in their chapter, “but also ethically responsible and universally accessible.”

— Shani Murray

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#schoolsnotprisons: attend the informatics seminar on participatory action research, a multitasker’s guide to regaining focus (the new york times), haley marts highlights the benefits of experiential learning, statistics ph.d. students win distinguished paper awards, ics researchers awarded best technical poster at ndss, defeating deepfakes at the source.

CBSE Board Exam 2024 Highlights: Computer Exam Was Reflective Of The Curriculum, Says Teacher

Cbse board 2024 live updates: cbse commenced conducting board exams for classes 10 and 12 starting february 15. class 10 exams ended on march 13..

Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)  conducted  Class 12 Computer Science paper today, Tuesday, April 2, 2024. The exam began at 10.30am and ended around 1.30pm. With this, CBSE concluded the board exams for the year. 

CBSE commenced conducting board exams for Classes 10 and 12 starting February 15. Class 10 exams ended on March 13.

A total of 39 lakh students from 26 countries took the examinations this year . In the national capital, the exams were held at 877 centres, with 5.80 lakh students appearing.

Students who took the examination  were advised to arrive at the centre at least 30 minutes before the commencement of the exam. Students were also asked to bring their own stationery as borrowing in the examination hall is not permitted.

Here are the LIVE updates on the Board exam:

• Know your concentration span, Study with breaks.
• Students must work out best time for concentration.
• They must hold group study for difficult subjects.
• Students must not be discouraged by previous results. They must try to identify their weak areas from previous exams and work on them.
• Students must make time management plan for all subjects.
• They must repeat their learnt work so the recall in exam is easy. Work not repeated or revised is easily forgotten.
• Students must plan their revision time by drawing up a timetable. The timetable should also include activities such as playing, walking, watching TV that help in relaxation.
• Arrive at the examination centre at least 30 minutes before the commencement of the exam.
• Prohibited items should not be brought into the examination hall, as doing so may result in the exam cancellation.
• Students must bring their stationery; borrowing is not permitted.
• The admit card is a crucial document and must be carried to the examination hall.
• Students should abstain from spreading fake news regarding paper leaks or other matters.
• Familiarise themselves with exam guidelines before the exam.

Track Budget 2023 and get Latest News Live on NDTV.com.

Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world .

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Eclipse glasses: A look behind the scenes of how they're made

BARTLETT, Tenn. — In most other years, American Paper Optics produces 3D glasses to fulfill orders for theme parks and movie theaters, creating what its top executive calls “optical joy” on your favorite rides or for the latest action movie.

But in a year with an eclipse — like the upcoming total solar eclipse that will cross North America on Monday — the company pivots to make eclipse glasses. 

It’s a relatively simple swap when it comes to materials: The assembly line to print, glue and fold the glasses shape is the same, but the polarized 3D lenses are switched out for specially tested and International Organization for Standardization-certified lenses that can stand up to the sun for the eclipse. 

The company has become a leading supplier of these types of glasses, building up experience leading up to 2017’s solar eclipse, in addition to supplying glasses internationally to other countries in the path of eclipses since then.

But this year is special. 

“This is what we would call the equivalent of 30 Super Bowls,” American Paper Optics President and CEO John Jerrit said during a tour of the company’s manufacturing facility. 

He projects that the company will sell 75 million pairs of eclipse glasses this year, up from 45 million in 2017. With thousands of orders coming in daily, and in an attempt to avoid the mad dash by consumers for glasses like what happened in 2017, the team tripled its staff and ramped up production to make about 1.5 million pairs a day. 

The assembly line is a combination of automation and work done by hand to make sure the essential eclipse glasses make it from the plant in Bartlett, Tennessee, just outside Memphis, to the path of totality in all corners of the country.

The company has partnerships with major retailers such as Kroger, Walmart and Lowes, along with options for direct-to-consumer orders online on its website , or via certified resellers. It sells its plastic glasses online for $29 each, while its cheaper pairs that use double laminated paperboard are sold 25 at a time for $50, or $39 for a 10-pack.

“You want to make sure that your glasses were tested by a U.S lab and produced in the U.S.,” Jerrit said. “I’m incredibly concerned [about counterfeits] because this is such an important event, and your eyes are too important.”

One room of the factory is dedicated to showcasing the thousands of different custom orders the company has produced for this year’s eclipse; it’s here that Jerrit pulls out a handful of glasses his team had no part in — the counterfeits. 

“It’s very frustrating for us,” he said, fanning out copycat glasses ordered on eBay, Amazon or picked up at local retailers that, at first glance, look like the real thing. These glasses have a variety of defects from lacking proper labeling to improper manufacturing.

To combat the fakes, Jerrit’s team created the Core Four guidelines — elements on your glasses to look for to ensure you stay safe — all located on the interior of the glasses, the side that faces you when you put them on.

It’s complicated, but necessary to check that you have all four elements included on your glasses, to ensure the 4 ½ minutes of optical joy during the eclipse are both safe and enjoyable. 

How to make sure you don’t get tricked by fake eclipse glasses

• The manufacturer’s name *and* address should be clearly labeled (it doesn’t have to be from American Paper Optics, but several of the counterfeits solely had the manufacturers’ name).
• The lenses should have a silver appearance on the front and should be black on the inside. They should not be torn or punctured.
• The ISO needs to have certified the glasses. You can find the ISO logo and the IS 12312-2 code printed on the inside. (Again, several of the counterfeits also included a false ISO logo.)
• The back of the glasses should have user instructions from the manufacturer on how to safely use your eclipse glasses.

Maura Barrett is an a correspondent for NBC News.

TN 10th Science Question Paper 2024 with Answer Key, Download in PDF

i mg src="https://img.jagranjosh.com/images/2024/April/342024/tn-board-10th-science-question-paper-2024.jpg" width="1200" height="675" />

Tamil Nadu   SSLC Science  Exam 2024: The TN Board 10th Science Public Exam was conducted today, April 3, 2024. Students were allowed to write the exam from 10:15 AM to 1:15 PM while 15 minutes were allotted for reading the question paper before the official start time of the exam. Here, we have presented the after exam analysis for the Tamil Nadu Board 10th Science Exam 2024. The analysis has been prepared based on the reviews shared by students and teachers. It's important to note that each student's perception of the exam may vary, so the analysis provided aims solely to evaluate the overall difficulty level. Additionally, students can access the TN 10th Science Question Paper 2024 with answers here. The answers are crafted by the subject experts and are best to assess your performance in the exam.

TN Board 10th Class Science Exam 2024 Highlights

Pattern of tamil nadu 10th science question paper 2024.

The question paper of Science was for 75 marks and included 35 questions. The question paper was divided into three parts:

• Part I: Questions from 1-12 of 1 mark each.
• Part II: Questions from 13-22 of 2 marks each.
• Part III: Questions from 23-32 of 4 marks each.
• Part IV: Questions from 33-35 of 7 marks each.

All questions in Part I were compulsory however choices were provided in all other parts.

TN SSLC Class 10 Science Paper Analysis 2024

The TN 10th Science Paper 2024 has been reviewed to be of medium difficulty level. All questions were from the prescribed syllabus only. The pattern followed in the exam was exactly similar to the latest TN SSLC model paper. Most questions were simple and assessed students' understanding of the fundamental concepts of mathematics. Only a few questions in Parts III and IV seemed to be challenging to students. Experts also called the paper well-structured and balanced and commended it for providing a fair assessment of students' knowledge and skills.

TN SSLC Class 10  Science   Question Paper Pattern 2024

Question Paper will be provided here soon

Download the full question paper below:

Tamil Nadu Board  Class 10  Science   Answer Key 2024

To be updated shortly

TN Board  Class 10 English Question Paper 2024 with Answer Key

TN Board Class 10 Maths Question Paper 2024 with Answer Key

TN Board  Class 10  Date Sheet 2024

What’s Up: April 2024 Skywatching Tips from NASA

Total Eclipse Time!

A total solar eclipse sweeps across the U.S. on April 8. U.S. areas outside totality will enjoy a partial eclipse and can join NASA's live eclipse webcast!

• All month – Jupiter is a brilliant, steady light low in the western sky following sunset.
• April 8 – Total solar eclipse across the U.S., as the Moon's shadow moves from Texas northward through Maine. Outside the path of totality, the rest of the continental U.S. will experience a partial eclipse. The amount of the Sun covered by the Moon at maximum eclipse depends on your distance from the path of totality.
• April 8-12 – Mars and Saturn rise together in the hour or so preceding sunrise. They're closest on April 10 & 11 – about half a degree apart, or the width of the full Moon.)
• April 10 – Find the slim lunar crescent (only 7% illuminated) hanging above brilliant Jupiter in the west after sunset. Comet 12P is visible with binoculars or a small telescope about 6 degrees below the Moon, just below and to the right of Jupiter.
• April 23 – Full moon

What's Up for April? Some easy-to-spot planets, there's still time to observe comet 12P, and how to enjoy this month's solar eclipse if you're not in the path of totality.

For several days in the first half of April, early risers can watch Mars and Saturn rising together in the morning. Taking a look about half an hour before sunrise, you can find them low in the east, about 10 degrees above the horizon. They're at their closest on April 10th and 11th, but still really close in the sky the whole second week of April.

Now, on the evening of April 10th you can find the Moon with Jupiter in the west. Jupiter's easy to identify as a bright, unflickering light, low in the west following sunset, all month. Being just a couple of days after its "new moon" phase, the Moon shows only 7% of its illuminated surface on this evening, making for a beautiful crescent shining there with the giant planet Jupiter.

This is also a good night to have a look for comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, which has been getting brighter, and is easily observable with binoculars or a small telescope, especially if you can get away from bright city lights. The comet will be just beneath the Moon, and just right of Jupiter, but you'll have to be quick, as it drops below 10 degrees elevation an hour after sunset and then sets an hour later. So you'll want a clear view toward the horizon, and be looking for it as twilight ends. If you want to catch this comet, do it soon, because it will be too close to the Sun in the sky to observable after mid-April, and later when it makes its closest approach to Earth, it will be on its way outward from the Sun and growing fainter.

2024 Total Solar Eclipse

There's a total solar eclipse on the way, and it's kind of a big deal. We've been really fortunate to have two total eclipses visible across a wide swath of the U.S. recently, first in 2017, and now on April 8th, 2024. The next time such an eclipse will cross the States is 21 years from now. If you live in or near the path of totality, or you're traveling there to experience the eclipse, you're in for an incredible experience.

But what if you're not going to be able to experience totality for this eclipse in person? What can you expect, and how can you still enjoy it? Well for starters, NASA has you covered with a live webcast, from multiple locations, as the Moon's shadow moves across the country. So join us for the total eclipse online, whatever your plans.

If you're anywhere in the continental U.S. outside of totality, you'll still experience a partial solar eclipse. The amount of the Sun to be covered by the Moon at maximum eclipse depends on how far you are from the path of totality.

In observing a partial eclipse, you'll still need to use specialized eye protection, such as eclipse glasses, a pinhole projector, or a telescope with a solar filter. One of the easiest methods is something most of us have in our kitchen – a regular colander. These make excellent pinhole cameras that project the eclipse onto the ground. And barring that, the sun dapples that filter through the tree leaves do something very similar. It's also fun to note the eerie way the sunlight dims during the eclipse, especially in places where the Moon covers 80% or more of the Sun's disk.

NASA has a bunch of eclipse resources to help you get ready for this awe-inspiring celestial event. There's info on safe-viewing, citizen science opportunities, and you'll even find our "eclipse explorer," where you can find eclipse details for your specific zip code.

From wherever you're observing, solar eclipses are remarkable events. So observe safely, and join our live webcast, because it's an event you surely don't want to miss.

Here are the phases of the Moon for April.

Stay up to date on NASA's missions exploring the solar system and beyond at science.nasa.gov. I'm Preston Dyches from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and that's What's Up for this month.

Skywatching Resources ​

• NASA's Night Sky Network
• NASA's Watch the Skies Blog
• Daily Moon Observing Guide
• Full Moon Blog

About the What's Up production team

"What's Up" is NASA's longest running web video series. It had its first episode in April 2007 with original host Jane Houston Jones. Today, Preston Dyches, Christopher Harris, and Lisa Poje are the science communicators and space enthusiasts who produce this monthly video series at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Additional astronomy subject matter guidance is provided by JPL's Bill Dunford, Gary Spiers, Lyle Tavernier, and GSFC's Molly Wasser.

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The Geopolitics of Renewable Hydrogen

Renewables are widely perceived as an opportunity to shatter the hegemony of fossil fuel-rich states and democratize the energy landscape. Virtually all countries have access to some renewable energy resources (especially solar and wind power) and could thus substitute foreign supply with local resources. Our research shows, however, that the role countries are likely to assume in decarbonized energy systems will be based not only on their resource endowment but also on their policy choices.

What Comes After the Forever Wars

As the United States emerges from the era of so-called forever wars, it should abandon the regime change business for good. Then, Washington must understand why it failed, writes Stephen Walt.

Telling Black Stories: What We All Can Do

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Press Release - Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

• Gita Wirjawan
• Moeed W. Yusuf
• Barham Salih
• Jennifer Spence
• Michael Sulmeyer

Cambridge, MA – April 02, 2024 — The Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School proudly announces several new Senior Fellows joining in Spring 2024, chosen for their outstanding leadership, professional accomplishments, and dedication to shaping future policy leaders.

Gita Wirjawan brings a wealth of experience from his distinguished career in public service and business. As Indonesia's former Minister of Trade and Chairman of its Investment Coordinating Board, Wirjawan has worked at the highest levels of international diplomacy and economics. Today his podcast, “Endgame,” reaches millions of listeners around the world. Wirjawan joins as a Fisher Family visiting fellow.

"Gita Wirjawan's multifaceted expertise and global reach will enrich our community, benefit our students, and advance our scholarship on issues ranging from sustainable development to the role of emerging countries in today’s international landscape," remarked Belfer Center Director Meghan L. O'Sullivan .  

The Fisher Family Fellowship was created in 2010 by Nicholas Burns, the current U.S. Ambassador to China, while he was Harvard Kennedy School faculty. The fellowship was created through an endowment made possible by Nancy and Richard W. Fisher, AB ’71. The fellowship program has welcomed senior diplomatic leaders from across the world to campus to engage with students, faculty, and fellows and to contribute to the intellectual life of the Harvard Kennedy School.  

Moeed W. Yusuf is the Vice Chancellor of Beaconhouse National University and former National Security Adviser to the Prime Minister of Pakistan. With a background in policy research, Yusuf has contributed significantly to scholarship and policy debates on security issues in Pakistan and South Asia. He previously worked at several prominent institutions including the U.S. Institute of Peace and Boston University and was a 2008-2009 Research Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School.

"Moeed Yusuf's diverse background in government and academia, and his deep experience in both the United States and Pakistan, will be invaluable in our efforts to address consequential policy questions in the context of a changing international order. His leadership in higher education will also be a great benefit to our students and broader community," noted O'Sullivan.

Wirjawan and Yusuf join former Iraqi President Barham Salih as the 2024 Belfer Center Spring Senior Fellows, contributing to the Center’s community of over 120 resident and non-resident fellows, united in their commitment to driving positive change in the realm of international affairs.

In addition, the Belfer Center welcomes the arrival of Dr. Nadya Hajj as a Visiting Scholar with the Middle East Initiative. Dr. Hajj, an Associate Professor and Director of Peace and Justice Studies at Wellesley College, brings her expertise in conflict transformation and public good provision among marginalized communities, particularly refugees, to enrich the Center's research agenda and outreach efforts.

Jennifer Spence has been appointed as Project Director of the Arctic Initiative. Drawing on her background as Executive Secretary of the Arctic Council's Sustainable Development Working Group and Adjunct Professor with Carleton University's Northern Studies Graduate Program. Spence has been a Senior Fellow with the Arctic Initiative since 2022. Spence will guide the Initiative's endeavors in scholarship, policy engagement, and youth leadership training to address the pressing challenges posed by climate change in the Arctic.

Finally, the White House announced that President Biden has nominated Michael Sulmeyer as the United States Assistant Secretary of Defense for Cyber Policy at the Department of Defense. His extensive experience spans various key roles within the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the National Security Council, and U.S. Cyber Command. Sulmeyer made significant contributions to academia and research as the former Director of the Cybersecurity Project at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. 

• Fisher Family Fellow
• Bio/Profile
• More by this author

• Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

• Senior Fellow, Middle East Initiative

• Visiting Scholar, Middle East Initiative (Spring 2024)

• Project Director, Arctic Initiative
• Former Senior Fellow, Arctic Initiative
• Sustainable development
• Natural resource management
• Environmental policy
• Media Inquiries

• Former Director, Cyber Security Project
• Cyber Security
• Information technology

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