Writing Impactful Review Papers

This presentation provides a comprehensive guide to writing impactful review papers, emphasizing their role in synthesizing existing knowledge, identifying gaps, and guiding future research. It explains how a review paper goes beyond mere summarization to integrate findings, clarify trends, and unify fragmented research for deeper insights. Key topics include defining the purpose and structure of a review, strategies for comprehensive literature coverage, and crafting effective titles and abstracts to engage readers. The talk highlights best practices in reference management, including the use of citation matrices, and outlines common pitfalls to avoid. Special attention is given to the ethical and responsible use of AI in scholarly writing, covering authorship responsibilities, disclosure, fact-checking, and bias mitigation. Guidance is also offered on selecting the most suitable journal, improving manuscripts through informal peer review, and responding to rejections constructively. By following these principles, authors can produce review papers that are authoritative, forward-looking, and influential in shaping the direction of their field.
Tarasankar DebRoy is a Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, a journal editor, a YouTuber, and a former Fulbright-FACAPE Distinguished Chair holder. He authored "Innovations in Everyday Engineering Materials" (More than 11,000 downloads, Springer), "Theory and Practice of Additive Manufacturing" (Wiley, more than 100 worked examples), and the forthcoming "Digital Twins of Advanced Materials Processing" (Academic Press, Elsevier, Fall 2025). His papers have been well cited (more than 44,000 times). He earned the Arata Award (IIW, France), the Easterling Award (University of Graz, Austria, and IIW), the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Distinguished Visiting Fellowship (Cambridge), and the American Welding Society’s Irrgang, Spraragen, Savage, Jennings, Honorary Membership, and other awards. He has held the Distinguished Visiting Professorship at IIT Bombay, the Aditya Birla Chair at IISc Bangalore, and visiting professorships at KTH Stockholm, University West (Sweden), and AUST (Nigeria).
This talk was presented at the International Seminars in Materials Science and Engineering at Federal University of São Carlos, Brazil, Professor Piter Gargarella, host.