Abstract

Writing an article isn’t a straightforward process. It involves difficult decisions, dilemmas and even politics, and these have a substantial effect on article quality and impact. This is even more true now than used to be the case due to the massification of science and pressure to publish. The author explores six common dilemmas and offers guidance on how to deal with them: a) why we should write at all; b) which language to choose-English, the national language or another suitable language; c) how to credit resources in times of resource abundance; d) how to deal with authorship disputes; e) whether to write clearly and concisely or to represent the “messy reality” as closely as possible; and f) which journal to choose.