Ten simple rules for an effective mentor–mentee writing partnership
Fig 3
Process and timeline for co-producing a scientific manuscript.
Panel A depicts the collaborative process for a single section of a manuscript or a small-scale project such as a conference abstract. The cycles of drafting, reviewing and revising all take time and effort for both partners and multiple exchanges are required to get to a final document. For an abstract, if both parties are focused it may take 2-3 days to get to a final product, but a larger project like a thesis chapter could take a month or more. Panel B shows how this process is repeated to complete a manuscript. Progress can be expedited if each of you work on different sections at the same time (e.g., the mentee starts on the Methods section while the mentor reviews and comments on the Outline), but this requires clear communication about the status of each section and feedback needed. Panel B also highlights how the process becomes more efficient as you become more adept at working together (compare green, early partnership, to gold, mature partnership).