How to Submit the Manuscript to academic journals

1. CHECKING YOUR MANUSCRIPT Before submitting your manuscript, review the instructions to authors from the journal. If the journal provides a manuscript-submission checklist, remem­ber to use it. Make sure you have followed all instructions. If a manuscript deviates substantially from what is required, it may be returned for correction of the problems before it

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The Review Process (How to Deal with Editors) of Scientific Paper

1. FUNCTIONS OF EDITORS, MANAGING EDITORS, AND MANUSCRIPT EDITORS Editors and managing editors have impossible jobs. What makes their work impossible is the attitude of authors. This attitude was well expressed by Earl H. Wood of the Mayo Clinic in his contribution to a panel on the subject “What the Author Expects from the

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The Publishing Process (How to Deal with Proofs)— and After Publication of Scientific Paper

1. THE COPYEDITING AND PROOFING PROCESSES The following is a brief description of the process that your manuscript fol­lows after it has been accepted for publication. The manuscript usually goes through a copyediting procedure during which errors in spelling and grammar are corrected. In addition, the copy editor will standardize all abbreviations, units of

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How to Write a Review Paper

1. CHARACTERISTICS OF A REVIEW PAPER A review paper is not an original publication in the usual sense, though it can be valuable scholarship. On occasion, a review will contain new data (from the author’s own laboratory) that have not yet appeared in a primary journal. How­ever, the purpose of a review paper is

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How to Write Opinion (Letters to the Editor, Editorials, and Book Reviews)

1. WRITING INFORMED OPINION As you become known in your field, editors of journals and other publications may invite you to write pieces expressing your professional judgment. In particular, you may be asked to write editorials and book reviews. Chances to write the latter also may arise earlier in your career. And whatever your

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How to Write a Book Chapter or a Book

1. HOW TO WRITE A BOOK CHAPTER Congratulations! You have been invited to write a chapter in a multiauthored book. Here is one more sign that you have attained visibility in your field. Enjoy the compliment, and accept the invitation if you have the time to prepare the chapter well and submit it promptly.

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How to Write for the Public

1. WHY WRITE FOR GENERAL READERSHIPS? Preparing papers and proposals for peers to read can entail plenty of writing. Why might you write for nonscientists also? Sometimes your academic program or job includes doing some writing for lay readerships. For example, requirements for a graduate degree can include writing a nontechnical summary of your

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How to Present a Paper Orally

1. HOW TO GET TO PRESENT A PAPER The first step in presenting a paper is to obtain a chance to do so. Sometimes, you might receive an unsolicited invitation. For major conferences, however, you normally must take the initiative by submitting an abstract of the paper that you hope to present. Those organi

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How to Prepare a Poster

1. POPULARITY OF POSTERS In recent decades, posters presenting research have become ever more com­mon at national and international meetings. Sessions featuring such posters originated—apparently in the late 1960s through mid-1970s (Waquet 2008)— as follows: As attendance at meetings increased, and as pressure mounted on program committees to schedule more and more papers for

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How to Write a Conference Report

1. DEFINITION A conference report can be one of many kinds. However, let us make a few assumptions and, from these, try to devise a picture of what a more-or-less typical conference report should look like. It all starts, of course, when you are invited to participate in a conference (congress, symposium, workshop, panel

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Use and Misuse of English in your publications

1. KEEP IT SIMPLE Earlier chapters of this book outlined the various components that could and perhaps should go into a scientific paper. Perhaps, with this outline, the paper won’t quite write itself. But if this outline, this table of organization, is followed, the writing might be much easier than otherwise. Of course, you

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Avoiding Jargon in your publications

1. DEFINITION OF JARGON According to Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (11th edition), definitions ofjargon include the following: (1) “confused unintelligible language”; (2) “the technical terminology or characteristic idiom of a special activity or group”; (3) “obscure and often pretentious language marked by circumlocutions and long words.” The first and third types of jargon should be

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How and When to Use Abbreviations in your publications

1. GENERAL PRINCIPLES Many experienced editors loathe abbreviations. Some editors would prefer that they not be used at all, except for standard units of measurement and their Systeme International (SI) prefixes, for which all scientific journals allow abbreviations. Many journals also allow, without definition, such standard abbre­viations as etc., et al., i.e., and e.g.

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Writing Clearly across Cultures and Media in publications

1. READABLE WRITING Earlier chapters have presented principles of writing readably: structuring sentences simply, using proper syntax, deleting needless words, condens­ing wordy phrases, using words accurately, using mainly active voice, avoiding strings of nouns, using verbs rather than nouns made from them, punctuat­ing properly, using short and familiar words, minimizing use of abbreviations, and

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How to Write Science in English as a Foreign Language in publications

1. ENGLISH AS THE INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE OF SCIENCE English is currently the international language of science. By no means does this demand that every scientific paper be written in English. Papers on findings mainly of local, national, or regional interest (for instance, in agricultural sci­ence, social science, or medicine) generally are best published in

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How to Write a Thesis

1. PURPOSE OF THE THESIS A Ph.D. thesis in the sciences is supposed to present the candidate’s original research. Its purpose is to prove that the candidate can do and communicate such research. Therefore, a thesis should exhibit the same type of disciplined writing that is required in a journal publication. Unlike a scientific

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How to Prepare a Curriculum Vitae, Cover Letter, and Personal Statement

1. WHAT’S A CV? WHAT’S IT GOOD FOR? Whereas those in business write resumes, we in the sciences generally prepare curricula vitae (CVs). Both a resume and a CV present key facts about one’s professional background. However, the two differ somewhat in content and structure. Literally, “curriculum vitae” means the course of one’s life.

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How to Prepare Grant Proposals and Progress Reports

1. PREPARING A GRANT PROPOSAL Scientific research costs money. Typically, the needed money comes as grants from government agencies, private foundations, or other sources. Thus, to sur­vive professionally, most scientists must apply successfully for grants. The purpose of a grant proposal, sometimes called a grant application, is to persuade a funding source to fund

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How to Write a Recommendation Letter—and How to Ask for One

Even as graduate assistants, those in the sciences often are asked to write recommendation letters for undergraduate students. Later, scientists also receive requests for recommendation letters for graduate students, postdoc­toral fellows, and peers. Writing recommendation letters can consume much time. However, with a well-organized approach, you can efficiently write good recommendation letters, thus serving

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How to Work with the Media in your publications

1. BEFORE THE INTERVIEW Your scientific paper will be published soon, and a news release about it has attracted reporters. Or an earthquake, epidemic, or policy issue has drawn attention to your topic. Or maybe you are receiving an award. For whatever reason, a reporter calls. How can you work with the reporter to

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