Your study is done. Now you have to write it.
The blank document is the hardest part of the whole degree. You have the data, the analysis, a supervisor who says "just write it up", and no clear idea of where to start, what goes where, or how strong a claim you are allowed to make.
Experienced authors do not write a paper top to bottom. They write it backwards, from what they found: figures and methods first, the introduction near the end, the abstract last. The Manuscript Kit teaches you that order, walks you through each move, and checks the two faults that sink revisions: an aim the paper never answers, and a claim your design cannot support.
It is built for someone capable and new. It never talks down, and it never writes your science for you.
What you walk away with
- A manuscript outline built section by section and arranged in reading order, with your reporting guideline and your write-order noted: the shape of the paper, ready to fill with prose.
- An accessible flow diagram of your study, exported as a vector figure that already carries a screen-reader description and a colour-blind-safe palette.
- A one-line argument (the single sentence you want a reader to leave with), pinned at the start and checked against your conclusions at the end, so you never discover your real argument too late.
- A clear answer to "is this good enough to send?" A readiness check tells you when a draft has the structure a supervisor can read, so you send it instead of polishing alone past the deadline.
- The judgement to keep results and interpretation apart, to match every aim with a conclusion, and to tell an association from a cause.
How it teaches: what, why, how
Every step of every tool, and every section of the guide, gives you three things: what the move is, why it matters (a journal requirement, a defensibility point, the reader), and how to do it. You are shown the reasoning, not handed a rule. An expert can skip the explanations; a beginner can open them.
For the parts people actually get stuck on
Two of the most common things doctoral writers say are "I'm staring at a wall and can't write" and "how finished should this be before I send it to my supervisor?" The kit answers both.
Start
Your one-line argument, early
You name your take-home sentence at the start and keep it in view. It heads off the most expensive rewrite in a doctorate: realising your real argument a month before the deadline and rewriting everything around it.
Send
"Good enough to send"
At the last step, a readiness check shows what a first draft your supervisor can respond to has in place, and what is still open. A draft is for feedback, not perfection. You send it once the structure holds.
The frame
The next small move
The blank page is the normal starting line. You do not need inspiration or a finished argument to begin. You need the next small move, and the tool is a list of them in the easiest order.
The two checks that save a revision
Most revisions fail on one of two faults. The Manuscript Builder catches both while you draft.
Check 1
An orphaned aim
The introduction promises to examine something the paper never answers. The tool pairs your aims and your conclusions and flags the one with no partner, the first thing a reviewer notices.
Check 2
An unearned claim
A causal verb ("reduced", "led to", "caused") under a design that supports only association. The tool warns you, names the honest alternative, and reminds you that over-generalising a small sample is the same error in another form.
The rule
Only what it supports
This is the discipline the whole kit rests on: record what your evidence supports, and no more.
What's inside: 7 files
- Manuscript writing guide MarkdownThe reasoning behind every section: structure and write-order, argument, aims and conclusions, the claims boundary, tenses, reporting guidelines, accessibility, each with a template, the common mistakes named, and the quantitative / qualitative split.
- Manuscript Builder HTMLThe hero tool. Offline, in any browser. Holds your one-line argument, walks the write-order, shows your reporting guideline, runs the coherence and claims checks, ends with a "good enough to send" readiness check, and exports a reading-order outline. Nothing you type leaves your computer.
- Flow Diagram Builder HTMLBuild your participant-flow figure (PRISMA, CONSORT, participant flow, qualitative sampling) and export an accessible SVG or high-resolution PNG, with alt text drafted from your numbers.
- Quick start PDFThe write-order, the one-line argument, the two checks, the "good enough to send" readiness list, and how to use the kit.
- Quantitative worked example PDFAn observational cohort study through the six moves that most often go wrong in quantitative writing (the causal aim, Table 1 p-values, a p-value with no effect size, an over-claimed discussion), each shown before and after, with the reason.
- Qualitative worked example PDFOne qualitative interview study through the five moments that most often go wrong, each shown before and after, with the reason.
- LicensePersonal license; group / facilitation license on request.
Who it's for
PhD students and clinician-researchers writing up a first or second empirical study, quantitative or qualitative. Supervisors and doctoral programmes who want one teachable path from a finished study to a submittable draft.
Format & updates
Two builders are single HTML files that open in any browser, online or offline. The guide is Markdown (Word, Notion, Obsidian); the quick start and the two worked examples are PDFs. Version 1.1, with worked examples for both quantitative and qualitative work. Buyers get all 1.x updates free. Personal license; facilitation license on request.
Get the Manuscript Kit
7 files, two local-first tools, all 1.x updates free. €49 launch price (regular €79). Instant download after checkout.
Questions
Is it for quantitative or qualitative work?
Both, equally, and quantitative is the default. You pick your paradigm and design at the start, and the tools and guide show the right prompts, the right reporting guideline (CONSORT, STROBE, PRISMA for quantitative; COREQ, SRQR for qualitative), and the conventions that differ. The Manuscript Builder carries a full worked example for each, a randomised trial and a qualitative interview study, so you can load either and see every step filled in.
How do I know when a draft is ready to show my supervisor?
The last step runs a "good enough to send" readiness check: it shows what a first full draft your supervisor can respond to has in place (a one-line argument, the fixed sections drafted, aims matched to conclusions, no over-claim, a scoped abstract), and what is still open. You send it once the structure holds, well before it is finished. It checks the skeleton is there; it does not judge quality or say the draft is ready to submit. That reading stays with your supervisor and you.
Does it write the paper for me?
No. It gives you the order, the moves, and the checks, and it builds your outline and your figure. You write the science. It will not invent a result, a citation, or a claim you did not make.
Will it work with my tools?
The two builders are single HTML files that open in any browser, online or offline. The guide is Markdown (Word, Notion, Obsidian). The quick start and the two worked examples are PDFs.
Is it tied to medicine?
No. The method is field-neutral. The worked examples are clinical because that is the author's field, but the guide, the builders, and the checks are general.
Can I use it to teach or supervise?
The personal license is for your own manuscripts. For a writing course, a thesis boot camp, or a supervision group, ask about the facilitation license at hello@vahtian.com.