Ten Prompting Strategies for Better Research Paper Drafts

A good research prompt is a contract with the model. The more precise the contract, the more usable the draft. Here are ten strategies that consistently raise draft quality from usable to publishable with edits.

First, state the venue. 'An IEEE conference submission' produces different prose than 'a Nature Methods paper.' Venue implies length, formality, and citation density.

Second, name the audience. 'Graduate students new to the field' pulls explanations toward first principles. 'Senior reviewers' pulls them toward nuance and caveats.

Third through fifth, specify sections, word counts, and citation style. 'Abstract of 200 words, APA 7th, in text citations as (Author, Year)' eliminates three rounds of cleanup.

Sixth, hand the model your raw materials. Your thesis sentence, three bullet point findings, and two competing papers you want to position against. The more material, the less hallucination.

Seventh through tenth, ask for structure before prose (outline first, expand second), force a limitations paragraph even if you did not ask for one, request a version with and without figures, and always ask for a plain language summary at the end. That summary is the fastest way to catch an argument that does not actually hold together.