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Open in new tab Elements of Style for Writing Scientific Journal ArticlesStephen M. Griffies NOAA/Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, Princeton, NJ, USA and Associate Editor, Ocean ModellingWilliam A. Perrie Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, NS, Canada and Editor-in-Chief, Ocean ModellingGaëlle Hull Elsevier, Oxford, UK[December 2013] ContentsIntroductionWhy you cannot ignore manuscript language Section IBasic rules of manuscript languageSection IIClassic errors to avoidSection IIIAlways remember your readersSection IVCross-references and figure captionsSection VWriting and rewriting: Playing the peer-review “game”About this documentWe offer some rules for writing scientific journal articles.We focus less on the structure of an article, and more on styles and practices helping transfer scientific information, ideas, and understanding from the author to reader. Some material is borrowed from the classic Elements of Style by Strunk and White (1918, available at http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Elements_of_Style) supplemented by experience from Editors of the journal Ocean Modelling.Further material is borrowed from the essay: The Science of Scientific Writing by Gopen and Swan, published in American Scientist in 1990. It is freely available at http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/pub/the-science- of-scientific-writing.••••••••We thank the following people for many useful comments and suggestions on drafts of this document: Venkatramani Balaji, Maria Benito-Herrero, Carolina Dufour, Blair Greenan, Bill Li, Joe Majkut and Liuqian YuThe most important ruleMost readers have little time to penetrate the full contents of an article.Readers will use almost any excuse to put down the paper, particularly when encountering poor writing that leads to reader fatigue and frustration. Make each sentence, paragraph, subsection, section, figure, derivation, etc. coherent and easily digestible nuggets of information. Your job as a writer is to communicate information and knowledge in a compelling and well written manner.Write for the busy reader who is easily distracted. INTRODUCTION
Why you cannot ignore
manuscript language
Why is language important?
PPoooorr llaanngguuaaggee qquuaalliittyy ccaann ddeellaayy oorr bblloocckk ppuubblliiccaattiioonn..
It is important to take seriously the presentation of your manuscript, especially the
language you use to communicate results. Clarity in writing reflects on clarity in
thought. Science is far more than mere fact recording. Written communication is key
to transmitting knowledge and rendering an impact on the field.
Without clear and proper language, readers will not grasp the full message or impact of
your work. Even though the findings you report might be cutting edge, poor language
quality, including errors in grammar, spelling or language usage, could delay
publication or lead to outright rejection of the paper.
AAllwwaayyss uussee pprrooppeerr EEnngglliisshh..
Use proper English throughout the entire manuscript, and do not forget the captions
and headings in figures, charts, graphs, and photos.
Do publishers correct language?
NNoo;; iitt iiss tthhee aauutthhoorr”ss rreessppoonnssiibbiilliittyy…… bbuutt rreessoouurrcceess aarree aavvaaiillaabbllee..
Often authors assume that the publisher will correct the language of their manuscript
after it has been accepted, but this assumption is not correct. It is actually the author’s
responsibility to make sure a paper is in the best form possible.
Doing so means correcting the rudimentary issues related to grammar and spelling, as
well as providing a clear, logical, and connected story-line.
Though publishers do not correct language, they do often provide resources for
authors who are less familiar with the conventions of international journals. Please
check your publisher’s Guide for Authors website for more information.
Some publishers may also perform technical screening prior to peer review. If the
quality of the language of your paper does not meet a journal’s minimum standards, it
can be returned to you for improvement.
Elements of Style for Writing Scientific Journal Articles
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SECTION I
Basic rules of manuscript language
Manuscript language: overview
Manuscript language should be:
➞ Accurate ➞ Concise ➞ Clear ➞ Objective
Prevent spelling errors by using a spellchecker in English. Additionally, other common
language errors involve:
■ Tenses
■ Grammar
■ Sentences
■ Paragraphs
You should always read the journal’s Guide for Authors to check for any additional language
specifications.
Manuscript language: tenses
Take care to use the proper tenses when describing your work and findings. Being consistent
and correct in your use of tenses makes your paper easier to understand.
PPrreesseenntt tteennssee::
Use the present tense for known facts and hypotheses, for example, “the average life of a
honey bee IS 6 weeks…”
PPaasstt tteennssee::
Use the past tense for describing experiments that have been conducted and the results of
these experiments, for example “The average life span of bees in our contained environment
WAS 8 weeks…”
RReemmeemmbbeerr::
Avoid shifting tenses within a unit of text: paragraph, sub-section or section.
Manuscript language: grammar
UUssee tthhee aaccttiivvee vvooiiccee ttoo sshhoorrtteenn sseenntteenncceess..
The passive voice can be used in the Methods section of a paper but otherwise, the active
voice will usually shorten sentences and make them more dynamic and interesting for the
reader.
Use the active phrase “we found that…” freely, which is a quick signal to the reader that you are
describing one of your results. This expression is also much more concise and to the point than
writing in the passive voice, as in, for example, “it has been found that there had been…”
Elements of Style for Writing Scientific Journal Articles
4
AAvvooiidd aabbbbrreevviiaattiioonnss aanndd aaccrroonnyymmss..
Avoid contractions such as “it’s”, “isn’t”, or “weren’t” which are not often used in professional writing.
■ Avoid abbreviations/acronyms except for very well-known ones.
■ Avoid acronyms as replacement for citations.
■ Avoid acronyms in the abstract and conclusion.
EElliimmiinnaattee rreedduunnddaanntt wwoorrddss oorr pphhrraasseess..
■ due to the fact that ➞ because or since
■ immediately apparent ➞ apparent
■ in the case that ➞ in case
DDoouubbllee–cchheecckk uunnffaammiilliiaarr wwoorrddss oorr pphhrraasseess..
■ and also ➞ and
■ in order to determine ➞ to determine
■ to try and determine ➞ to determine
Manuscript language: sentences
To write a successful manuscript, first be aware of the sseenntteennccee ssttrruuccttuurree you use.
WWrriittee ddiirreecctt aanndd sshhoorrtt sseenntteenncceess..
The average length of sentences in scientific writing is only about 12-17 words.
IInncclluuddee oonnllyy oonnee ppiieeccee ooff iinnffoorrmmaattiioonn ppeerr sseenntteennccee..
Sentences should be constructed in short, factual bursts. Long and complicated sentences
tend to confuse readers.
AAvvooiidd mmaakkiinngg mmuullttiippllee ssttaatteemmeennttss iinn oonnee sseenntteennccee..
Convey only a single idea per sentence. Link sentences together within a paragraph to
provide a clear story-line.
KKeeeepp rreellaatteedd wwoorrddss ttooggeetthheerr..
Closely place the subject and verb to allow the reader to understand what the subject is
doing.
PPaayy aatttteennttiioonn ttoo tthhee oorrddeerr iinn wwhhiicchh yyoouu wwrriittee aa sseenntteennccee..
The “stress position” within a sentence contains new information to be emphasized. The
“topical position” contains “old” information leading up to the point of emphasis. The topical
position comes before the stress position.
AAvvooiidd:: “This ocean basin was warmer during 2012 than any period found in the observational
database, based on our analysis of recent ship-based measurements.”
WWrriittee:: “Based on our analysis of recent ship-based measurements, this ocean basin was
warmer during 2012 than any period found in the observational database.”
PPuutt ssttaatteemmeennttss iinn aa ppoossiittiivvee ffoorrmm..
■ Positive: “He usually came late.”
■ Negative: “He is not very often on time.”
Elements of Style for Writing Scientific Journal Articles
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