Writing matters

For papers to have scientific impact, they need to impress our peers in their role as referees, journal editors, and members of conference committees. Does better writing help our papers make it past these gatekeepers? In this study, we estimate the effect of writing quality by comparing how 30 economists judge the quality of papers written by PhD students in economics. Each economist judged five papers in their original version and five different papers that had been language edited. No economist saw both versions of the same paper. Our results show that writing matters. Compared to the original versions, economists judge edited versions as higher quality; they are more likely to accept edited versions for a conference; and they believe that edited versions have a better chance of being accepted at a good journal.

Automated summary

This study suggests that writing quality plays a significant role in the scientific impact of papers. By comparing the judgments of 30 economists on edited and original versions of papers, it was found that the edited versions were perceived as higher quality, more likely to be accepted for conferences, and more likely to be accepted by reputable journals.