SMCE

Technical Paper Writing Guidelines

These guidelines will help you prepare a comprehensive review paper (a technical paper) on your chosen topic.

1. General Instructions

Click here to download Technical Paper Template.
Paper type: Comprehensive Review Paper (not experimental work).
File format: Word (.docx) + PDF.
Use Mendeley (or Zotero/EndNote) to insert in-text citations and automatically generate the reference list.
Length: 4000–6000 words (8–12 pages).
Plagiarism: Must be below 10%.

2. Paper Structure

(a) Title

Concise, specific, informative.
Avoid abbreviations.

(b) Authors & Affiliation

Full name, department, institute, Email Id.

(c) Abstract (200–300 words)

One paragraph summary (scope, key findings, gaps).

(d) Keywords (4–6)

Comma separated.

(e) Introduction (1–2 pages)

Define problem and relevance.
State objectives.
Give background with recent citations (APA style).

(f) Literature Review (Main Body)

Organized in themes or chronology.
Compare studies (methods, results, limitations).
Use captioned tables, figures, and equations.
Example captions:
- Table 1. Summary of corrosion-related studies in RC beams.
- Figure 2. Crack propagation in concrete under load.
- Equation 3. Flexural strength equation for RC beams.

(g) Suggested Headings after Literature Review

Choose relevant subsections to extend the review:

Applications
Challenges & Limitations
Recent Advances
Case Studies
Codes & Standards
Sustainability Aspects
Future Trends

(h) Conclusion / Concluding Remarks / Recommendations

Summarize findings.
Provide recommendations or future directions.
Examples of section titles:
- Conclusion
- Concluding Remarks
- Recommendations for Practice
- Future Research Scope

(i) References (APA style)

Use APA 7th edition.
Generate references with Mendeley.
All references must appear in the text.

APA Examples:

Journal article:

Berrocal, C. G., Löfgren, I., & Lundgren, K. (2017). Corrosion of steel bars embedded in fibre reinforced concrete. Cement and Concrete Research, 89, 138–151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2016.08.016
Book:

Neville, A. M. (2011). Properties of Concrete (5th ed.). Pearson.
Conference Paper:

Kim, J., & Park, Y. (2018). Advances in seismic design of concrete bridges. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Civil Engineering (pp. 45–52). ASCE.
Website:

American Concrete Institute. (2020). Building code requirements for structural concrete (ACI 318-19). https://www.concrete.org

3. Formatting

A4 size, 1 inch margins.
Times New Roman, 12 pt, 1.5 spacing.
Headings: bold and numbered.
Figures/Tables/Equations: captioned and referenced in text.
References: APA 7th edition.

4. File Naming

Submit as:

ReviewPaper_Name_RollNo_Title.docx ReviewPaper_Name_RollNo_Title.pdf

5. Word Template

👉 Download Word Template

The template includes:

Predefined APA reference style.
Auto-caption fields for tables, figures, equations.
Section placeholders (Title, Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Literature Review, Discussion, Conclusion, References).