4 PRS Proofreading and Editing Service PhD Experts • All Academic Areas • Fast Turnaround • High Quality work and why, and although this generally comes far later in the paper than descriptions of methodology, you can also outline the limitations of your study. Anticipating potential criticisms of your methodology and taking special care when explaining any aspects that may seem weak or ineffective to your readers are often extremely helpful when trying to describe exactly what is unique and valuable about your work. In many ways deciding upon and explaining your methods, practices and sources is simply a matter of positioning yourself within your field of study or specialisation and justifying your own perspective as an informed and thoughtful one. I once had a creative writing teacher who insisted that perspective was the most important aspect of fiction – without an understanding of where he or she is writing from, he argued, no author can even begin – and this is equally true of scholarly writing, though in somewhat different ways. Establishing your perspective is an essential part of developing your voice as a writer, and when you’re writing academic or scientific prose, that voice needs to be professional and authoritative (see Section 4.4 below). Explaining how sound the methodology you’ve developed or adopted is makes for a great start, but scholarly authority must ultimately be supported by solid and reliable evidence if your article is to be a success. 1.2 evidence: discoveries, Results and data The evidence presented in a scholarly paper – the discoveries, results and data that stem from the research – is in many ways the heart of any article. Were the evidence discovered through the approaches you adopted not convincing or interesting or original or useful, there would be little point in writing a paper to share that PARt I: wHAt to PUBlIsH And wHeRe to PUBlIsH It