Communicating research findings is an essential step in the research process. Often, peer-reviewed journals are the forum for such communication, yet many researchers are never taught how to write a publishable scientific paper. In this article, the authors explain the basic structure of a scientific paper and describe the information that should be included in each section. The authors also identify common pitfalls for each section and recommend strategies to avoid them. Further, the authors give advice about target journal selection and authorship.