how to write a manuscript get your paper accepted

7/31/2019 How to Write a Manuscript Get Your Paper Accepted

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How to write a manuscript

Get your paper accepted

Edanz free manuscript writing educational materialsEdanz Group LtdOctober 2010


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Presentation

Introduction

Section One: Preparations before writing

Section Two: Manuscript structure

Section Three: Tips for getting accepted

Edanz Group Ltd. | 2


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To share your research findings and opinionswith the international research community

Publication success is linked to funding successand career advancement

Many PhD programs require candidates toachieve a set number of peer-reviewedpublications


Why publish?


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FundingBodies

Scientists /Clinicians

GrantWriting

Journal

Publication

Regularly publishing research findings ensures ongoing grantsupport for new research

Publish or perish



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How to identify hot topics

Study design

What do journal editors want?

Choosing an appropriate journal

Ethical issues


Section One Preparations before writing


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Look for clues unexplained findings,controversies

Read the literature,including relatedfields

Attendinternationalmeetings

Greater interest = Greater competition

Identify your advantages and use them

How to identify hot topics



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Have an hypothesis or research questionUse appropriate methods and controlsEnsure sample sizes are large enough

Use appropriate statistical testsRemove investigator/researcher/patient bias

Comply with ethical requirements

Study design Get it right first time



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Good quality scienceRobust to peer review

Well designed and executed original research

Findings of interest to the journals readership

Work in an active research area (=citations!)

Work that advances the field in some wayCompliance with ethical regulations

Clear, concise writing


What do journal editors want?


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Can be the difference between success and rejectionWhat is the main focus of your research and who willbe interested in it?

What are its strengths and weaknesses?How significant are your findings?

Are your findings preliminary or are they sufficient to

make a story?How widely will your research appeal? To researchersin the same field or to the broader scientificcommunity?

Journal Selection



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Publishing frequencyImpact factorTarget audienceAims and scopeRejection rate

Lead times

Access (open or subscriber)Prior publicationsPublication feesPublication types

What should you consider?

How do these relate to your publication needs?


Journal Selection


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Unethical behavior could lead to rejection and a possibleban from a target journal.

Multiple submissionsRedundant publicationsPlagiarismData fabrication and falsificationImproper use of human subjects and animals inresearchImproper author contribution

Publication ethics



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The write orderTitleAbstract and keywordsIntroductionMaterials and Methods

ResultsDisplay itemsStatisticsDiscussion andConclusionsReferences

Section Two Manuscript structure



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IMRaD manuscripts: for maximum clarity andconsistency, write in this order:

Methods

ResultsIntroduction

Discussion

Title

Abstract

Write after selecting your

target journal

Write during the research

The write order



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Hook to catch

readers

Sells yourmanuscriptto the editor

Relevant readersincrease citations

Journal editors like citations


The importance of your title


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Convey the main findings of the research

Be specific and concise without focusing on only

one part of the contentAvoid jargon, non-standard abbreviations andunnecessary detail

Comply with character limits

Some journals also require a short running title

A good title



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Poor

Degeneration of neurons in the CA3 and DG followingOA administration: involvement of a MAPK-dependent

pathway in regional-specific neuronal degeneration

Better

Region-specific neuronal degeneration after okadaicacid administrationMAP kinase-dependent neuronal degeneration afterokadaic acid administration


A good title


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A good title

Development of pharmacotherapies for drugaddiction: a Rosetta Stone approach

Reprogramming bacteria to seek and destroy anherbicide

Stress, memory and amygdala

Tumor-host cell interactions in the bone diseaseof myeloma


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Many researchers will only read the abstract somust be able to stand alone

Must give an accurate summary of your research,

and enough information so that readers canunderstand:

What you did

Why you did itWhat your findings areWhy your findings are useful and important


Abstract


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General rules for abstracts:

Within the word limit

Avoid technical jargon

Avoid abbreviations unless necessary

Avoid references

Structured or unstructured?

Always consult the target journals Guide for Authors todetermine allowable length, style and abbreviations


Abstract


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Abstract Structured Risk factors and mortality in patients with nosocomial staphylococcus aureus bacteremia

BACKGROUND:Infections due to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus have becomeincreasingly common in hospitals worldwide. S aureus continues to be a cause of nosocomial bacteremia.METHODS: We analyzed the clinical significance (mortality) of MRSA and methicillin-susceptible S aureus bacteremia in a retrospective cohort study in a 2900-bed tertiaryreferral medical center. Survival and logistic regression analyses were used to determinethe risk factors and prognostic factors of mortality.

RESULTS:During the 15-year period, 1148 patients were diagnosed with nosocomial Saureus bacteremia. After controlling potential risk factors for MRSA bacteremia on logisticregression analysis, service, admission days prior to bacteremia, age, mechanical ventilator,and central venous catheter (CVC) were independent risk factors for MRSA. The crudemortality rate of S aureus bacteremia was 44.1%. The difference between the mortalityrates of MRSA (49.8%) and MSSA bacteremia (27.6%) was 22.2% (P < .001). Upon logisticregression analysis, the mortality with MRSA bacteremia was revealed to be 1.78 timeshigher than MSSA (P < .001). The other predicted prognostic factors included age,

neoplasms, duration of hospital stay after bacteremia, presence of mechanical ventilator,and use of CVC.CONCLUSIONS:Resistance to methicillin was an important independent prognostic factorfor patients with S aureus bacteremia.

PMID: 18313513 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]; Am J Infect Control. 2008Mar;36(2):118-22.

2 sentences

2 sentences

5 sentences

1 sentence


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Abstracts are often followed by a list of keywordsselected by the authors

Choosing appropriate keywords is important forindexing purposesYour manuscript can more easily identified,read and citedKeywords should be specific to your manuscriptGeneral terms should be avoidedMany medical journal require MeSH terms


Keywords


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Manuscript title:Region-specific neuronal degeneration after okadaic acidadministration

Poor keywords:

neuron, brain, OA (as an abbreviation), regional-specificneuronal degeneration, signaling

Better keywords:

okadaic acid, hippocampus, neuronal degeneration,MAP kinase signaling


Keywords


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Must give the reader enough background informationto put your work into contextEnough information to understand the rationale foryour study is all that is requiredDo not write a comprehensive literature review of thefieldDo cite reviews that readers can refer to if they wantmore information


Introduction


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Define technical and non-familiar terms

Present the problem, research question and/or

hypotheses to explain the rationale for the studyBriefly explain how you addressed this problemand what was achieved (1 2 sentences for each)

Citations must be balanced, current and relevant


Introduction


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IntroductionLiver resection has become an increasingly safe procedure, but certainprocedures remain high risk, such as massive liver resection and small-for-size (SFS) liver transplantation. Massive hepatic resection is the only optionfor some patients.

The failure of a partial liver to regenerate is considered a critical contributingfactor in postsurgical primary liver dysfunction and liver failure, and minimalviable liver volume required for regeneration, following either massive liver

resection or SFS transplantation, is an important concept...

Thus, although the studies outlined above indicate that complementinhibition represents a potential therapeutic strategy to protect againsthepatic IRI, the important role of complement in liver regeneration wouldappear to be a contraindication for such a strategy in the context of liverresection and SFS liver transplantation, even though IRI is associated withimpaired regeneration

In the current study, we investigated the role of complement in therelationship between hepatic IRI and liver regeneration using 3 murinemodels: a warm total hepatic IRI model (similar to the Pringle maneuver), a70% PHx model, and a combined IRI/PHx model designed to recreate clinicalmassive liver resection under the Pringle maneuver. In these studies, weused the complement inhibitor CR2 complement component


A complement-dependent balance between hepaticischemia/reperfusion injury and liver regeneration in mice

Songqing He, Carl Atkinson, Fei Qiao, Katherine Cianflone, Xiaoping Chen and Stephen Tomlinson

The Journal of Clinical Investigation (doi:10.1172/JCT38289; reproduced with permission)

Statement of the problem

Background

Rationale

What was done


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Clear subheadings for methods/materialsDescribe methods in the past tense

Novel methods must be described in sufficient detailfor a capable researcher to reproduce the experiment

Give manufacturers/suppliers and their locations

Describe any statistical tests used

Established methods can be referenced


Materials and methods What you did


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Proapoptotic signaling induced by RIG-I and MDA-5 results in type Iinterferon-independent apoptosis in human melanoma cells.

Robert Besch, Hendrik Poeck, Tobias Hohenauer et al.

Reagents and antibodies. Anti caspase-3, anti caspase-8 (1C12), anti caspase-9, anti Bcl-xL, anti Bcl-w,and HRP-conjugated secondary antibodies were obtained from New England Biolabs. Anti cytochrome c(clone 7H8.2C12) was from BD Biosciences. Anti-Noxa (N-15) antibody was from Santa Cruz BiotechnologyInc. Anti Bcl-2 (Ab-1) and anti-p53 (Ab-6) antibodies were from Merck Biosciences. Anti IPS-1 antibodywas obtained from Bethyl Laboratories Inc. Anti -actin (AC-15) and anti-Puma (bbc3) antibodies werepurchased from Sigma-Aldrich. PCR primers and siRNAs were purchased from MWG Biotech.

Immunostimulatory and siRNAs. Poly(I:C) was purchased from Amersham Biosciences. 5 -Triphosphate conjugated RNAs (pppRNAs) were transcribed in vitro from DNA templates as described in ref. 6. Theycontained a T7 RNA Polymerase consensus promoter sequence followed by the sequence of interest to betranscribed (MEGAshortscript Kit; Ambion). Reactions were treated with DNAse I (Ambion

siRNAs were designed according to published guidelines (48, 49) 3 Overhangs were carried out as twodeoxythymidine residues (dTdT).Sequences of specific siRNAs are listed in Supplemental Table 1.Nonsilencing control siRNAs were designed to contain random sequences that do not match within thehuman genome...

Cell culture. Human melanoma cell lines were a gift of M. Herlyn (Wistar Institute, Philadelphia,Pennsylvania, USA)

Analysis of lung metastasis. For metastasis analysis at day 10, we isolated genomic DNA from lungs.Mouse lungs were reduced to small pieces and digested overnight at 56

C in a buffer containing 10 mMTris, pH 8.0, 100 mM NaCl, 1 mM EDTA, 1% SDS, 0.5 mg/ml Pronase E (Sigma-Aldrich), and 150 g/mlProtease K (Sigma-Aldrich). Genomic DNA was purified by phenol/chloroform extraction. The amount of human and murine DNA was determined by quantitative PCR using the LightCycler TaqMan Master Kit(Roche) together with the Universal Probe Library system (Roche). A 72-bp portion in the second intron of the human -actin

Statistics. For statistical analysis, 2- tailed Students t test was used to assess the significance of meandifferences. Differences were considered significant at a P value of 0.05 or less.

Materials

describedfirst

Referencesto savespace

Clearsubheadings

Detailedinformationgiven

Suppliers

Statisticaltestinformation

The Journal of Clinical In vestigation (doi:10.1172/JCI37155; reproduced with permission)


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Assemble your findings in a logical order to make a storyPresent your findings in subsections (the same as those in yourmethods section)

Present complementary evidence when possible

Describe results in the past tenseRefer to figures and tables in the present tense

Do not discuss implications do that in the discussion sectionDo not duplicate data among figures, tables and text

Show the results of statistical analyses, ( e.g., p values) in thetext


Results What did you find?


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Proapoptotic signaling induced by RIG-I and MDA-5 results in type Iinterferon independent apoptosis in human melanoma cells

Robert Besch, HendrikPoeck et al

pppRNA and poly(I:C) induce apoptosis in melanoma cells.We tested the ability of RIG-I and MDA-5 ligands to induce cell death in human melanoma cell lines. Five celllines derived from advanced melanomas (vertical growth phase or metastatic origin) were analyzed.Activation of RIG-I and MDA-5 by pppRNA1 and poly(I:C) strongly reduced viability from 100% in controls to20% 50% within 24 hours (Figure (Figure1A). 1 A). Viability was reduced due to induction of apoptosis asdetermined by staining with annexin V. Apoptosis strictly required intracellular delivery, as neither pppRNAsnor poly(I:C) without transfection were active (Figure (Figure1B). 1 B). Different pppRNAs were tested, and allreduced cell viability (Figure (Figure1C). 1 C). The 5 -triphosphate moiety was required, since synthetic RNAscarrying a free OH group at the 5 end (e.g., OH -RNA1) had no effect (Figure (Figure1C, 1 C, left panel) . Strongdose-dependent reduction of viability was observed for poly(I:C) (Figure (Figure1C, 1 C, right panel) . Reducedviability was reflected in an increased number of cells undergoing apoptosis (Figure (Figure1D). 1 D).Confirming the onset of apoptosis, caspase-3 was activated in cells transfected with pppRNAs or poly(I:C) butnot in cells exposed to pppRNA or poly(I:C) in the absence of transfection reagent (Figure (Figure1E). 1 E).Together, these results show high sensitivity of human melanoma cell lines toward apoptosis induction bypppRNAs or poly(I:C) when delivered to the cytosol.

Apoptosis induction by pppRNA and poly(I:C) involves IPS-1 but is independent of IFN signaling.The RNA ligands pppRNA and poly(I:C) both induced IFN- expression in melanoma cells

(Figure (Figure3A).3A). Silencing of RIG -I and MDA-5 confirmed that induction of IFN- by pppRNA andpoly(I:C) required RIG-I and MDA-5, respectively, and that both required

Melanoma cells are more sensitive to RIG-I and MDA-5 induced apoptosis than primary cells.We next compared healthy primary cells of the skin with melanoma cells to evaluate tumor specificity of apoptosis induction by RIG-I and MDA-5. Primary human melanocytes, primary fibroblasts, and primarykeratinocytes were significantly less sensitive to pppRNA and poly(I:C) compared with melanoma cells(Figure (Figure7A).7A).

Graphics used toshow data withonly brief descriptions intext

Clearsubheadings

It is clear whatwas comparedwith what

The Journal of Clinical Investigation (doi:10.1172/JCI37155; reproduced with permission)


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Some readers will only look at the figures and their legendsFigures and tables are the best way to present your resultsData shown in figures and tables must be easy to interpret use separatepanels if necessary

Avoid redundancies or duplication

Clearly label all components

Show trendlines, scale bars and statistical significance

Legends must be able to stand alone: write them in the present tense(except when describing methods)

Comply with journal guidelines on display items


Display items Tables and figures


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Tables are a great way to present large amounts of necessarydata with minimal description required

Part of a table in a paper published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation (doi:10.1172/JCI37622; reproduced with permission)


Display items Tables and figures

Clear concise heading

Data divided intocategories forclarity

Percentages as well asabsolute values


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Display items Tables and figuresTrend lines

Multi-panel:different kinds of

data groupedtogether in a singlefigure

Complicated dataseparated into

simpler components

Scale bars

Figure 5RCP knockdown attenuatestumor formation and metastasis.Effects of RCP inhibition ontumor growth using (A) MCF7cells in nude mice and (B) MB231cells in NOD-SCID mice areshown. (A) Left panel showsmean tumorvolume plotted as afunction of time (mean SEM).

Right panel shows tumor weightplotted at 5 weeks; mean weightindicated by solid line. (B) Leftpanel, tumor weight plotted atindicated number of weeks;mean weight indicated by solidline. Right panel, the averagenumber of lung micrometastasesper section is shown. (C)Representative lung sections andfluorescently imaged whole lungs(right panel) of NOD-SCID miceare shown. Micrometastases are

indicated by arrows. Scale bars:200 m .

Clear, standalone legend



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Statistics

A man has one hand in boiling water

The other hand in freezing water

He is comfortable on average


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Today, few professional activities are untouched bystatistical thinking, and most academic disciplines use it Statistical thinking is a way of recognizing that our

observations of the world can never be totally accurate ;they are always somewhat uncertain

Rowntree D (1981). Statistics without tears. A primer for non-mathematicians. Penguin Books Ltd., London,England


Statistics


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Statistical analysis is at the heart of scientific inquiryConsider statistical analysis when you design yourstudy. Before you start your research.


Statistics

Datacollection

Dataanalysis Interpretation


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Statistics Poor statisticsPoor statistics

Poor studydesign

e.g., samplesize is too small

Poor analysis

Data are valid

Re-analysis or re-interpretation

Revise manuscript

Difficult to recover

Poor interpretation


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Reporting statistics in your manuscript:

Consult a statistical expert about which test to use!Clearly describe the statistical tests used to analyzedataGive the software, version number and makerOnly use the word significant when describing

statistically significant differences Alternatives: notable, substantial, marked P not enough for significant? Describe as a trend


Statistics Basics


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Statistics Questions

Ask yourself these questions during study design:

What are the independent and dependent variables?What is the scale of measurement of the studyvariables?Consider sample number for power analysisi.e., how many samples will you need?

Have I met the assumptions of the statistical testselected?


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Statistics Details

Reporting statistics in your manuscript:

Indicate the parameters described, e.g., means S.DGive the numerator and denominator withpercentages, e.g., 40% (100/250)Report p values, e.g., use p=0.0035 rather thanp


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Statistics A few rules

Use appropriate amount of precision:Life expectancy of 22.085 years 22 yearsData should be rounded when presented NOT when analyzedAlways give numerator and denominator. E.g., 25% (650/2958)Avoid using percentages to summerise small samplesBe very clear with percentages within subgroups:Of the 1000 patients, 800 (80%) were women; (31%) had a BMIof

BookAs a full guide see the excellent book:How to report statistics in medicineby Thomas A. Lang and Michelle Secic (ACP Press, Second Edition)

Of the 1000 patients, 800 (80%) were women; of these, 250 (31%)

had a BMI of

A complement dependent balance between hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury


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Figure 7Opposing effects of high- and low-dose complement inhibition on hepatic injury and regeneration in a model incorporating both IRIand PHx. Mice were treated with normal saline or CR2-Crry at a dose of either 0.25 mg or 0.08 mg immediately after surgery. C3 /

mice received no treatment. All determinations made 48 hours after I/R and PHx. ( A) Mouse survival. ( B) Serum ALT levels. ( C)Histological quantification of hepatic necrosis and injury determined on a scale of 0 4. (D) Assessment of regeneration by BrdUincorporation. ( E) Restitution of liver weight. ( F) MPO content in liver samples . #P < 0.05, ##P < 0.01 versus WT group; ** P < 0.01versus WT group (similar to WT normal saline group); P < 0.01 versus all other groups; * P < 0.05, ** P < 0.01 versus WT group.Results are expressed as mean SD; n = 6 10.

A complement-dependent balance between hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injuryand liver regeneration in mice

Songqing He, Carl Atkinson et al



Statistics. Data are expressed as mean SD. Significantdifferences between groups were determined by ANOVA, witha Bonferroni correction for continuous variable and multiplegroups. Two- tailed Students t test was used for thecomparison of a normally distributed continuous variablebetween 2 groups. For the survival studies, Kaplan-Meier log-rank analysis was performed. P values of less than 0.05 were

considered statistically significant.

ALT levels were significantly lower at 24 and 48 hours after PHx inlow-dose CR2-Crry treated mice compared with those in saline-treated controls.Compared with WT mice, surviving C3 / mice had significantlyincreased hepatic injury and an impaired proliferative response(Figure 7, B E)...

Methods Results

Data type defined Statistical tests clearly described

significant only used forstatistical significance

Significance indicated in figure/table legend

Significance threshold defined


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Restate your research question and/or any hypothesespresented in the introductionSummarize your main findings make it clear how yourstudy has advanced the field

Begin with your most important findingPast tense to describe results (current and published)Present tense to describe their implications

Minimize repetition with other sectionsDescribe inconsistencies with other papersDescribe the limitations of your study


Discussion What does it all mean?


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Be humbleDont overstate the importance of your results

Our findings prove that

Our findings show that

Our findings suggest that


Discussion


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Restate key findings and their significance

Propose future studies that might follow on from yourcurrent study

Give the reader a take -home message


Conclusions

we can now conduct quantitative and functional genetic studies in naturalpopulations ( Science )

Hopefully, more prospective, randomized, clinical trials will address theseconcerns and reinforce the efficacy of tropical antimicrobial therapy (CurrInfect Dis Rep)

further, the structures reported here highlight the complex network of protein -protein and protein- DNA interaction (Nature )

RCP is h m n bre st c ncer promoting gene ith R s cti ting f nction


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DiscussionGenome-wide microarray analysis of primary tumors has enabled the discovery of novel, clinicallyrelevant tumor subtypes defined by unique patterns of gene expression. More recently, however,

the inverse of this concept has been explored through bottom-up analytical strategies that seek toidentify gene subtypes with functional roles in tumorigenesis

In the present work, we have built on this concept of data integration and functional discovery andidentified RCP, located on the 8p11 12 recurrent breast cancer amplicon, as a novel breast-cancerpromoting gene with Ras- activating potential.

Amplification of the 8p11 12 locus has been observed in approximately 10% 25% of breast tumorcases and 15% of breast cancer cell lines and has been associated with poor patient survival andshort interval to distant metastasis. Recently, this amplicon has been the focus of several

functional genomics investigations involving primary breast tumors and cell lines. Using a high-resolution BAC microarray specific for chromosome 8p, Gelsi- Boyer and colleagues

However, that the growth and metastatic properties of the tumor xenografts were dependent onthe endogenous expression of RCP suggests an oncogene addiction like scenario, whereby RCPmay play a vital role in the maintenance and potentiation of the malignant and metastaticphenotype

In conclusion, through integrated genomic analysis, we identified RCP as a candidate oncogene atthe 8p11 12 amplicon, with expression levels significantly correlated with aggressive breastcancer behavior

The broader involvement of RCP in the pathogenesis of human cancers and the mechanismsunderlying its oncogenic effects will be the focus of future investigations .

RCP is a human breast cancer promoting gene with Ras-activating functionJinqiu Zhang, Xuejing Liu et al



Restate the

question/problem

Restate main findings

Put in context of

previous work

Future research plans

Use suggests and may

Restate main findings


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Always format your references: check your target journalsGuide for Authors for the appropriate format

Harvard style or Vancouver style or APA

Formatting is required both in text and in the referencessection

Use a reference manager like Endnote. Makes it easy toedit, reformat, add or remove references

Some journal limit the number of references: check yourtarget journals Guide for Authors


References


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Your cover letterRecommending reviewers

LanguageGood writingCommon language problems

What do reviewers look for?Submission

Final checksPost-referee revisionsChecklist

Section Three Tips for getting accepted



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Cover letters


Journal Editors receive hundredsof manuscripts each monthThey dont have time to read eachmanuscriptSociety journal editors areespecially busy as they are usuallypracticing researchers too

Your cover Letter is an opportunityto get the journal editors attention


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Competition for publication space and for editorsattention is very highIt is not enough to send a manuscript to a journal editorlike this:

Cover letters


Dear Editor-in-Chief,

I am sending you our manuscript entitled Large Scale Analysis of Cell Cycle Regulators inbladder cancer by A. Honda, K. Tanaka, J. Suzuki, and myself. We would like to have themanuscript considered for publication in Pathobiology.

Please let me know of your decision at your earliest convenience.

With my best regards,Sincerely yours,Shinsuke Izumi, PhD


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General rules for cover letters:Address to the editor personally

Begin by giving your manuscript title and publication type

Give a brief background, rationale and description of results

Explain why your findings are important and why they would beof interest to the journals target audience

Consult the journals Guide for Authors for cover letter

requirements ( e.g., disclosures, statements, potential reviewers)Give corresponding author details

Your cover letter



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Dear Dr Lisberger,

Please find enclosed our manuscript entitled Amyloid- like inclusions in the brains of Huntingtons disease patients, byMcGowan et al., which we would like to submit for publication as a Research Paper in Neuroscience .

Recent immunohistochemical studies have revealed the presence of neuronal inclusions containing an N-terminal portionof the mutant huntingtin protein and ubiquitin in the brain tissues of Huntingtons disease (HD) patients; however, the roleof these inclusions in the disease process has remained unclear. One suspected disease-causing mechanism inHuntingtons disease and other polyglutamine disorders is the potential for the mutant protein to undergo aconformational change to a more stable anti-parallel -sheet structure

To confirm if the immunohistochemically observed huntingtin- and ubiquitin-containing inclusions display amyloidfeatures, we performed Congo red staining and both polarizing and confocal microscopy on post-mortem human braintissues obtained from five HD patients, two AD patients, and two normal controls. Congo red staining revealed a smallnumber of amyloid-like inclusions showing green birefringence by polarized microscopy, in a variety of cortical regions.....detected inclusions observed in parallel sections, suggesting that only a relatively small proportion of inclusions in HDadopt an amyloid-like structure.

We believe our findings would appeal to a broad audience, such as the readership of Neuroscience . As a wide-reaching journal publishing original research on all aspects of neuroscience

We confirm that this manuscript has not been published elsewhere and is not under consideration by another journal. Allauthors have approved the manuscript and agree with submission to Neuroscience . We have read and have abided by thestatement of ethical standards for manuscripts submitted to Neuroscience . The authors have no conflicts of interest todeclare.

Please address all correspondence to.

Give thebackground tothe research

Explain whatwas done andwhat was found

Explain why thisis interesting tothe journalsreadership

Conforms tothe journalsrequirements

Your cover letter



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RecommendYour work supports their hypotheses and ideas

Your research builds on their work

International collaborators in the same fieldExclude

Researchers working on the same research question

Your study refutes their workThe findings in your manuscript are are opposite to theirfindings or ideas

Reviewers Recommendations and exclusions



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Journal editors are overloaded with quality manuscripts.They may make decisions on manuscripts based onformal criteria, like grammar or spelling.Don't get rejected for avoidable mistakes: make sureyour manuscript looks perfect

Language


A senior executive at a large international publishing house


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Introduction of languagescreening protocols to

check submissions

Editors dont want to send poorly written manuscripts forpeer reviewEditors receive enough well written submissions to rejectpoorly written manuscripts

Language screening



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Language


Some journals are very clear regarding their English requirements,and about what happens to manuscripts that do not meet theirstandards

European Polymer Journal

Language and Style: Manuscripts should bewritten in English in a clear and concise manner.

Manuscripts which are not written in fluent

English will be rejected automatically withoutrefereeing.


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Clarity

ConcisenessCorrectness (accuracy)

Good scientific writing possesses the following three Cs :

Key points:Be as brief as possible without omitting essential details

Be as specific as possible

Scientific writing



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Avoid:Spelling and grammatical errors

Insufficient detail/vagueness

Repetition

Redundancy

Ambiguity

Inconsistency

They annoy editors, peer reviewers and readers

Scientific writing Common problems



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TenseArticlesPlural or singular

Proper nounsHyphen or dashThat/whichMaking comparisonsRespectivelyBetween or among

NomenclatureSuch as/namelyEtc.

Asian fontsUK or US spellingPresenting numbers

Language Common English problems



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Language Dash or hyphen


Hyphen (-): for joining usually separate words

Incorrect use can lead to ambiguity

twenty-four hour reactions

twenty four-hour reactions

is different to


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Language Dash or hyphen


En dash ( ): means through.October 28 29; pp. 2 5. (dont use ~)

Em dash (): Used to break a sentence, introducesomething, or introduce an afterthought.These two metals that is, titanium and magnesium are very light.


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Language Asian fonts


Be careful of Asian fonts such as MS Mincho and SimSumDo not use Asian fonts in your manuscripts

For example:

Why not?

Because they look like this on some computers: or ?


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Use simple language: it is often clearer, more precise andmore concise than using more complex language

Say what you mean in as few words as possible

Delete unnecessary words

Avoid circular sentences, redundancies and repetition

One sentence: one idea

Simple is best



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Language UK or US spelling


Be consistent

Check the journals Guide for Authors

Generally, American journals require US spelling and British journals require British spelling, but many accept either formas long as the spelling used is consistent

fibre or fiber

centre or center

labelling or labelingcolour or color

Exceptions: Ministry of Health, Labo ur and Welfare; your references


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Language Comparisons


Frequently made in the results sections of papersCompare like with like

Do not be vague

Use with , not to

The material from the river bank was compared with thelandfill.

The material from the river bank was compared with thatfrom the landfill.


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Expression levels of p53 in smokers were compared with non-smokers

Expression levels of p53 in smokers were compared with p53levels in non-smokers

Expression levels of p53 in smokers were compared withthose in non-smokers


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Relative terms, such as more, higher and greater, require areference for comparison

Use than or compared with

Reactions with the new machine were faster than those with theold machine.

Reactions with the new machine were faster. than what?


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Language Between or among


Use between for comparisons of two groups

Use among for comparisons of more than two groups

..significant differences were observed in the H values among bio-, fully- and semi- synthetic

the only difference between the original molecule and the newmolecule is...


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Language Respectively


Use to refer to two corresponding lists, but not moreFor example:

Oxygen detector flow Nitrogen detector flow Hydrogen detector flow

85 mL/min 7 mL/min 4 mL/min

Oxygen, Nitrogen and Hydrogen detector flows were set at85, 7 and 4 mL/min, respectively.


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Language Presenting numbers


AMA Manual of Style is a good guide:Spell out numbers one through nine, numerals for 10 and up

EXCEPTUnits of measurement, times, and dates: 2 mL; 1996

Beginning of a sentence

Fifteen days previouslyNOT: 15 days previouslyA mixture of numbers in one sentence:The sample included 34 men with type A blood, 15 with type Band 3 with type AB.

Differentiating consecutive numbers:Five, 50- kg women.NOT 5, 50 -kg women

Large numbers in general expressions:A hundred; several thousand.


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Language Presenting numbers


SpacingNo space between numeral and percent sign: 48%Space between numeral and unit of measurement: 178 mm

Decimals

Use zero before decimal: 0.28 mL BUT Not when reporting P values: P= .04

Rates, proportions and fractionsUse the virgule (/) for proportions, colon (:) for ratiosAbout 1/3 of samples the ratio was 3:4.5The rate averaged 40/100,000 people BUT Spell out noun-modifying fractions:Half the cases showed..; a two -thirds majority


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Language Such as or namely


such as: to give examples

namely: to define

.there were other factors, such as nutrient status, primaryproduction, microbial biomass, and coagulation processes.

we used certified reference materials, namely C36 n -alkane andphenanthrene , obtained from


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Language Colon or semi-colon


The colon : is used to introduce a list or a clause thatexplains what precedes it

Semicolon ; is used to separate the items in a list too longfor commas or where commas could be ambiguous. Useand before the last item in the list.

There are a number of journals for surgery manuscripts :Surgery, produced by Elsevier ; Journal of Surgery, producedby NMS; British Journal of Surgery


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Language Colon or semi-colon


Use a semicolon to join two sentences that are not independent

In previous sediments of all salinities, MeHg production washighest at previous sediment depths just below the oxic/anoxic

transition ; that is, depths where microbial sulfate reduction waspresent, but where sulfide, which inhibits methylation, wasrelatively low.

One sentence is too long ; but the two sentences must be connected


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Language Minimizing errors


The internet can help youGoogle Scholar to check for word usageCheck your target journals home page for full instructions

MS Word

Track changes functionComment functionFind (and replace) to check for consistencyWord Count functionSpell Check (but be careful)Custom Dictionaries (provided by some academic societies forspecific fields)Online glossaries provided by academic societies


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Is the manuscript sufficiently novel?Is the manuscript of broad enough interest?

Reviewers What do they look for?


NoveltySignificance

Aims and ScopeImpact Factor


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Are the methods used appropriate?Are any additional experiments/analyses necessary?

Are the statistical tests used appropriate?Are all possible interpretations of the data considered?

Reviewers About the research



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Reviewers About the manuscript


Are the rationale and objectives defined?Is enough background given to understand the rationale?Could a capable researcher reproduce the experiments?Are the results clearly explained and in the best format?Are the findings described in context?Are the limitations discussed?Are the conclusions supported?

Is the literature cited appropriate?

b


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Critically self-evaluate could anything be done better?Double check the Guide for Authors

Are all files in the correct file format and of the appropriateresolution or size?

Is your spelling/grammar correct?Do you have contact information for all authors?

Have you completed online registration?

Or have you prepared the requested number of print copiesplus CD?Have you written a persuasive cover letter?

Submission Final checks


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Rejection from journals is an important part of thepublication processIt is not a negative experience

It exists to ensure that your paper is as scientificallyrobust and complete as possible before joining thecollective knowledge as part of the literature

Revisions Post-referee revisions



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Only 1.5% of papers are immediately accepted withoutneed for any revisions

Journal editordecision

Complete rejection

Acceptance

Rejection with major revisions

Rejection with minor revisions



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When revising your manuscript:

Address all points raised by the editor and/or reviewersDescribe the revisions in your response letterPerform any additional experiments or analyses requested

(unless you feel that they would not add to the strength of yourpaper: explain why not in your response letter)Provide a polite and scientific rebuttal to any points or commentsyou disagree with

Differentiate comments and responses in your letterClearly show the major revisions in the textReturn revised manuscript and response letter within therequested time period

S


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Appropriate study designCompliance with ethics guidelinesAppropriate statistical tests

Novel and interesting resultsClear, concise, accurate writingCompliance with the Guide for Authors

Significance of findings explainedAppropriate choice of journal

Summary Checklist for acceptance

how to write a manuscript get your paper accepted

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