Tools for the Scientific Writer

Geopen George, Swan Judith.The Science of Scientific Writing. American Scientist 1990; Nov-Dec. http://www.americanscientist.org/template/AssetDetail/assetid/23947?fulltext=true

The authors of this valuable article make the claim that "complexity of thought need not lead to impenetrability of expression." They approach scientific writing from an understanding of the reader's expectations and point out the most common mistakes of structure and syntax made by scientific writers. ANY writer would benefit from a careful reading of this article.

Style Manuals

A style manual is a guide to writing and formatting for publication. Some style manuals, such as the Chicago Manual of Style (see below), will answer questions of grammar and punctuation as well. Some, such as the AP Style Manual, are intended for use by journalists and should not be used by scientfic writers.

Authors should consult the Instructions for Authors for the journal to which they are submitting their paper. They may specify their style requirements. Frequently, these instructions are terse; a call to the editorial office may be needed to clear up specific questions.

Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals: Writing and Editing for Biomedical Publication http://www.icmje.org/

First developed in 1976 by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and last updated in 2006, this is the style used by the majority of biomedical journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, and the American Journal of Epidemiology. It is also known as the "Vancouver Style." It addresses both the ethical and practical considerations for writing, evaluating, and publishing of biomedical research. Sample references cited by the NIH's National Library of Medicine use the Uniform Requirements format.

AMA Manual of Style ISBN: 978-0-683-40206-3 There is no available link to this manual.

This style manual is the second-most common style reference used by biomedical journals. It is the style manual used by JAMA, and other AMA-sponsored journals, and Cancer. Like the Uniform Requirements, this manuals also deals with issues of authorship, conflicts of interest, and duplicate publication.

The Chicago Manual of Style http://lib11.library.vanderbilt.edu/diglib/eres.pl?action=detail&RC=54782&Resource=DB

This is available through the Vanderbilt University Main Library's website. This is the standard style manual in the publishing world.
Topic revision: r8 - 08 Aug 2007, PeggySchuyler
 

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