Many researchers find writing review articles more challenging than writing research papers — and I agree! My online course (the Researchers’ Writing Academy) is focused on writing research papers and that’s why I interviewed a review article expert: Dr Richard Kelly who is the Executive Editor of Chem Soc Rev, one of the most prestigious review journals in the field of Chemistry.
Find out how to write a review article and see examples of good review articles.
How to write a review article
Hello Richard! What are the most common mistakes you see authors make in review articles?
For a journal like Chem Soc Rev, where we ask authors to provide a synopsis for their proposed article, it’s important for the author to provide all the information requested. We appreciate this takes a little extra time, but all of the information helps editors determine whether the proposed article is likely to appeal to the journal’s audience.
Good point. Structuring a review article is often a little more difficult compared to a research paper. How should information be organised in a review article in your opinion? Is there a certain structure you recommend review articles to adhere to?
All reviews should start with a scene-setting introduction and end with a summing-up, but beyond that authors have a lot of flexibility in how they structure a review. It’s important for a review to be broken up into sections to aid readability, but that can be done in many different ways. Often the best way to approach this is to think about the intended audience and what structure would make sense to them.
What are the characteristics of a good review article?
I’d say a good review is one that leaves the reader feeling that they have learned something that they couldn’t have found by other means, perhaps going away with a new perspective that could influence their research. Reviews should certainly be critical, with the author selecting what they feel are the most relevant pieces of research to include, explaining why they are important and how they have contributed to the development of the field. Ideally the author should also identify the future potential and challenges in the field.
So, would you say it’s important to tell a story in a review article?
It’s extremely important. A review is not simply a collection of previously published research results. It’s the story of how that field has developed and why, from the perspective of the author. For example, why has the field evolved in the way it has? What are the potential future directions? What challenges have been overcome, or are still to be tackled?
Speaking of the author’s perspective, can a review article reflect the author’s opinion by e.g. choosing a certain angle?
I’d certainly encourage authors to include their own opinions, perspective and insight, where supported by the literature. This is often one of the most valuable parts of a review article.
Example of a review article
Can or should a review article include predictions, ideas and suggestions for the field? How much space should such outlook take up?
Definitely. Again, these have to be supported by the literature, but this is a great way to stimulate discussion in the community. Even a short outlook section at the end of the review can be of great value to readers.
Here are three examples of well-written review articles published in Chem Soc Rev:
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“DNA-inspired oligomers: From oligophosphates to functional materials” by Mykhailo Vybornyi, Yuliia Vyborna and Robert Häner
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“Enzymatic self-sufficient hydride transfer processes” by Erika Tassano and Mélanie Hall
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“Cyclometallated tridentate platinum(ii) arylacetylide complexes: old wine in new bottles” by Ashanul Haque, Linli Xu, Rayya A. Al-Balushi, Mohammed K. Al-Suti, Rashid Ilmi, Zeling Guo, Muhammad S. Khan, Wai-Yeung Wong and Paul R. Raithby
Thank you! Is there an optimal length for a review article?
Journals will often have guidelines on article length for shorter review types, e.g. mini reviews or opinion articles; however, there is usually more flexibility with longer reviews.
The amount of space needed to tell the right story varies by topic, and so we are always happy to allow authors space to include information that is important to the story.
In many cases, a review article is written by more than one author. Is it a problem if the writing style changes throughout a review article?
Consistency across sections – in aspects such as structure, depth of analysis and selection criteria for research included – is important. Consistency in writing style is helpful but not as essential; however, to help with this, authors often discuss writing style before preparing the manuscript, or have one author who knits all the sections together.
Get a review article published
What are the criteria journal editors use to decide whether to send out a review paper to peer reviewers?
In some cases, journal editors decide to reject articles without peer review. For example, the topic may be outside the scope of the journal, or has been largely covered in other recent reviews, or there may have been little new research published since the previous review, or (for journals with broader scopes such as Chem Soc Rev) the review may focus on a very specialised area and be more suited to a more topic-specific journal.
How do journals decide that a review article is needed for a certain topic?
At Chem Soc Rev we have experts from across the chemical sciences on our Editorial and Advisory Boards, who advise us on topics where a review would be timely, and editorial staff also identify potential topics. We’re always happy for researchers to contact us with their suggestions too.
And how should researchers choose a journal for their review article?
There are many different criteria that authors can look at to decide suitability, but one of the most important is audience. Identify the communities that your review will be of most interest to, and then look for journals which serve those communities.
For example, Chem Soc Rev is a broad scope review journal covering all of the chemical sciences, so reviews which appeal to a broad range of people in one chemical discipline, or researchers across several disciplines, are best suited. Reviews on more specialised topics are often better suited to journals which have a more focussed audience.
As well as review-only journals, primary research journals in many fields publish reviews, so there’s plenty of choice of venue for your review article. A journal’s website will usually have information to help you decide if your review is right for the journal, and editors are always happy to answer questions about suitability.
When submitting papers, cover letters are extremely important. What makes a strong cover letter accompanying a review article?
Cover letters aren’t essential for many journals, but they can provide additional information and context to editors and referees. For example, you can include additional information on why the topic is important and which communities the review will appeal to. You can also highlight how your review differs from any others recently published in the field.
Thank you for all of these insights, Richard!
About Richard Kelly
Richard Kelly carried out his undergraduate and post graduate education at University of Liverpool, UK, obtaining his PhD studying lanthanide catalysis under Professor Helen Aspinall. He joined the Royal Society of Chemistry’s editorial staff in 2004 and became Executive Editor of the RSC’s organic chemistry journals – including Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry and Natural Product Reports – in 2010. He is now Executive Editor of ChemComm and Chem Soc Rev.
