Comparing the writing styles of highly and rarely cited papers in conservation biology

For the everyday scientist, being published – and henceforth cited – is a major enterprise. An understanding of the components associated with highly-cited conservation papers is therefore of interest to environmental scientists. In this study, we examined common features of scientific writing to examine their relationship with highly-cited conservation papers. We did this by searching the Web of Science database for biodiversity conservation papers and examined the differences between the 500 most-cited papers and the 500 least-cited papers. Highly-cited papers tended to include broad titles, use motivational language, use conceptual images, and included clear explanations of the broader context and relevance of their research. The popularity and reach of the journal also played an important role, as did the proportion of female authors in an authorship team. When writing a paper, environmental scientists can try to ensure their research is both clear and inspiring to a wide range of people using these features so their message is received by a broader readership. • By writing in a way that is both clear and inspiring, writers can help readers understand the value of their work. • Increased citations are linked to providing the broader setting in which the research can be understood. • Increased citations are linked to visual elements which are clearly explained.