The 'Jigsaw' Method for Scientific Writing

Is there a right way to put a puzzle together? What about drafting a paper?

Writing a paper or article is much like putting a jigsaw puzzle together, both are composed of many smaller pieces. And like a puzzle, it doesn’t matter how or where you start. What matters is that it gets done.

The jigsaw writing method is an approach to writing that encourages you to break the manuscript down into smaller sections or topics and start where you feel inspired

How does the jigsaw method work?

1. After you’ve created an outline for your manuscript, pick a section or topic of the outline to begin drafting.

2. Write until you finish the section, your writing session, or run out of things to say.

3. Review the outline and pick another place to begin writing.

4. Rinse and repeat until your writing session is over and/or you’ve completed your first draft.

When should I use the jigsaw method for drafting?

Whenever you feel inspired!

Perhaps you’ve been mulling over the implications or limitations of your research. If so, it makes more sense to draft the relevant portion of the discussion instead of forcing yourself to start at the beginning or even where you left off last time.

While the introduction is the first section of the outline, you don’t have to write it first. Drafting the methods or results is often a great place to get your brain working on a new manuscript.

Importantly, the jigsaw method is fractal. That is, it scales to different levels of writing, from the introduction to the concluding paragraph of the introduction; wherever it is, start where you feel inspired.

What about continuity and flow?

Incorporating the jigsaw puzzle method into your writing process can prevent writer’s block that stems from restrictive approaches to drafting a manuscript. But can it affect the overall flow of the manuscript?

It’s possible that starting at different places in the manuscript at different times could make the flow disjointed. But that can also happen even if you write from start to finish because you may choose to change the order or logic during the revision process.

Furthermore, it’s often easier to revise and rework the words that you have on the page than to get the words down in the first place. My suggestion is to get the words first and focus on the flow later.

Resources

• 7 Methods for Writing Your First Draft

The introduction and full list of methods for writing the first manuscript draft.