General Notes on the Preparation of Scientific Papers [1 ed.]

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GENERAL NOTES ON THE PREPARATION OF SCIENTIFIC PAPERS

LONDON Published by the Royal Society

Burlington }Iouse London, W.1.

Prine Two Shi,l,linge and, S'i,r Perwe 1

957

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Wiltdat"m I I

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GENER,AL NOTES ON THE PR,EPARATIOI{ OF SCIENTIX'IC PAPER,S

I

LONDON Published by the Royal Society

Burlington Flouse London, W.1.

1

95?

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9 ocT

1959

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CONTENTS Fitst publisbed May

1950

Prelace by Secretaries of The Royal Society

Reprinted August 1950 Reprinted uitb corrections October 1950 Reprinted February \957

IrvrnooucTroN

page

I

Arrangement of Papers Writing a Paper Conventions

I OnrcrNALrrY

3

2 TvposcR,rPT on MeNuscRrPT

4

Footnotes

3 Trrr,r AND I{EADrNcs

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4 NunnarcAL REsur,Ts

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5 R,urunrNcns

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Harvard. system

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6 Tesr,ns

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7 Ir,r,usrR,ATroNg

I l0

Line drawings Graphs

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Other line drawings Half-tono figures

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First printed in Great Bitain at tbe Uniuersity Press, Cambridge Reprinted by Ollset- litbograpby at Tbe Royal Society, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London, W.1.

8 NourNor,ATtrRE, SyilrsoLS AND AssnnvrATroNs Engineering Physics Anatomy Physiology Astronomy Geology Biochemistry Mathematics Statistics Zoology Medicine Botany Microbiology Chemistry

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I Pnoor Conn,ncrtor

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l0 Sylrorsrs

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Style of Writing Contont

Detail of lay-out,

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Booxs ron R,TFERENoE

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PR,EX'ACE

At the Royal Society's Scientific Information Conference in 1948 considerable concern w&s expressed about the quality of scientific papers presented for publication. As a result the Information Seryices Committee of the Royal Society, through a sub-committee under the Chairmanship of Professor G. L. Brown, C.B.E., F.R.S., has had this pamphlet prepared. The Council of the Royal Society, in approving the pamphlet, expresses the hope that it may be useful in helping to attain a better standard of scientific literature. The pamphlet is of a general nature, for it is not intended that it should replace those specific instructions to authors issued by many societies and other publishing bodies, which an author should always follow, but rather it is hoped that it may act as a supplement to them. 'We wish to acknowledge with sincere thanks the considerable amount of care and effort which Professor Brown and members of his sub-committee, Dr R,. K. Callow, Dr W. Klyne and Dr H. R. Lang, have devoted to the preparation of this pamphlet. In particular, we express onr indebtedness to Dr Klyne who prepared the first draft of the pamphlet and has edited the many valuable suggestions mad.e by * number of the Fellows of the Society and Editors of scientific journals.

B: 'r;JJ"1'sBrrBY May l95O

Secretar,i,es,

Rqlal Society

I

INITRODUCTION

These notes should be read in conjunction with any instructions issued by the journal in which the author hopes to publish. When the notes conflict with such instructions, the latter should be followed.

The notes contain much that has been borrowed, consciously or unconsciously, from other pamphlets of suggestions and from books, a list of which is given in $ 11. Typists copying papers ca,n sarre authors and editors much work by attend-irg to details of lay-out; they a,re referred especially to $$ 2, 3, 5,6, 8 and 11 of these Notes. Draughtsmen preparing illustrations are refened. to $ 7. Arrangement of Papers Some journals layd.own a standard arrangement for papers. For other journals the following suggestions ma,y be useful.

The introduction should state the reasons for the work (with brief reference to previous work on the subject), the object of the work and the main achievements. ft should also mention any assumptions on which the work is based. It is convenient in many instances to describe the methods next, and then the experimental results. In many papers the experimental results are best presented in the form of tables or figures-although the arguments and conclusions based on the tables or figures should a,ppea,r in the text. Most journals do not permit tables and figures illustrating the same results. Whilst only representative successful experiments need be described in detail, it is often desirable to mention briefly the unsuccessful experiments and. wrong turnings which form part, of every research. The conclusions drav..n from the experimental results should come next, and care should be taken to indicate fairly the degree of certainty or uncertainty which attaches to the conclusions. It may then be desirable to include a discussion in which the results are considered in relation to other work on the subject.

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Nearly all journals require a, summary or synopsis (either beginning or the end of the paper), which should be comprehensible without reading the paper. A guide for the preparation of synopses is given in $ 10.

at the

Wri,ting a Paper It is wise to start drafting a, paper while the work is still in progress. The author's attention may thus be drawn to experiments which are necessary to complete the work, and might otherwise be overlooked. The writing may also suggest possible side-lines to be followed. When *"iti"g a, pa,per many authors find it best to start, by jotting down headings and arranging them in a suitable order,

although they are not necessarily used in the final paper. It may then be convenient to draft the s5rnopsis or summary (see also $ l0). If the experimental results of the work are to be presented in the form of tables or figures it is often helpful to prepare these at an early stage and build the text around them. When preparing tables or figures it is well worth spending time tryrng several different a,rrangements to find one which will show the results in the best, way. In doing so authors should. consider what will fit the page size of the joumal concemed. ft may seem superfluous to state that the paper should be clear, precise, logical and brief. Many papers submitted to journals &re not, and authors should bear these four essentials in mind at every stage in the preparation of a pa,per. To most authors good writing comes only as a result of much practice. Experience shows that clarity and precision are best achieved by the use of short words and simple

Tidy presentation often brings to light errors and omissions in the work which may be hidden if writing is careless. If a paper is obscurely written the reader is apt to doubt the scientific value of the work, or even to pass over the paper as not worth his attention. Most journals prefer papers written for the rnoderate specialist, that, is to sa,y, an author should write, not for the half-dozen people in the world specially interested in his line of work, but for the hundred or so who mey be interested in some aspect of it if the pa,per is well written. Conaentions

Authors are advised to pay strict attention to the conventions of the journal in which they propose to publish. These may be stated in a pamphlet of 'Suggestions to Authors' (see $ 8), or it may be necessary to study recent numbers of the journal. In particular, authors should be consistent in the uso of na,mes and symbols. The author is responsible for putting a pa,per into correct form. If he does not, do this many alterations have to be made, with consequent delay in publication. Many editors of journals are working scientists, and time spent on editing is time taken away from research. Correct form is not a fad of the printer and the editor; an author c&n best, ensure that his results and conclusions are easily accessible and comparable with those of other workers by following the conventions in presentation which have been found suitable by others.

If a draft of the paper is read by one or more colleagues who are not familiar with the details of the work, they will usually point out omissions or irrelevant matter and illogical, obscure or verbose statements. The draft should then be rewritten until it is satisfactory. When a, pa,per is completed, it is often helpful to leave it aside for a short time, and then to reconsider it. Particular care should be taken over the s5rnopsis, since it is the only part of the paper which many workers will read.

I. OR,IGINALITY Submission of a paper to a journal normally implies that it presents the results of original research not previously published (this does not, of course, apply to reviews); that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, and that, if accepted, it will not be published otherwise in the same form, either in English or in any other language, without the consent of the editors. Problems corulected with official secrecy or with patent applications should be considered before a, paper is submitted. It, is often possible to deposit a sealed manuscript with an

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sentences.

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editor or society with a request that it be released on lat'er notification. If a preliminary note has been published or if related papers have been or are about to be published elsewhere, these facts should be mentioned in the introduction to the paper.

journals, however, give references in footnotes. It is particularly important to avoid footnotes containing complicated mathematical formulae. Each footnote should be inserted in the typescript under the line to which it, refers, and marked off by rules above and below; thus, to show an imaginary reference:

2. TYPESCRIPT OB MANUSCRIPT Papers shouldnormallybe typedindouble spacing on one side of the paper only and. on sheets of uniform size, numbered consecutively; the top copy or copies should be submitted to the journal. Some journals like to have two or more copies (each

complete with illustrations), so that editors and referees ma,y consider them simultaneously. Any complicated mathematical expressioru or chemical formulae should be inserted very clearly in manuscript. Special care should be taken with mathematics, since the compositor has no context to guide him. Some suggestions on the presentation of mathematics are given onp. 19. Where Greekletters or unusual s5rmbols are used it may help the printer if they are distinguished by writing or underlining in coloured ink, and a key provided for the compositor. Alternatively, each unusual letter may be spelt out, in the margin at the first mention (e.9. ' p: Greek mu' ; ' Rr:italic capital .E and subscript italic capital -F'). Good margins (about 4 cm. or 1$ in.) should be left at the side, top and foot of each page for editorial corrections. Tables (except very small ones), figures, and legends for them should be on separate sheets of paper, since they are not set

'Brown & Jonesl have shown that the absorption coefficient, 1

Brown, A. & Jones, W. (1949). Nature, Lonil,.164,200L.

of A is the same as that of B.' 3. TITLE AND HEADINGS Ti,tle. The title should be specific and, if possible, brief. A general title followed only by 'Part, no. X'is not, helpful. Many journals require a short title for a page heading. The full name and address of the institution in which the research has been carried out should be stated; if an author has subsequently moved to another institution, the name and ad.dress of this should also be given in a footnote. X'or details such as order of authors' names, uso of initials

X'ootnotes should be avoided as far as possible, since they break the reading of the text and a,re expensive. Some

or Christian names, degrees, etc., a recent issue of the appropriate journal should be consulted. Some journals like to have all the above information on a, separate sheet at the front ofthe paper. The name and address of the person to whom proofs are to be sent should be given. It is often convenient for authors resident abroad to arrange for someone in the country in which their paper is to be published to read the proofs for them. Head,ings. The pattern of headings should be as simple as possible-usually no more than three classes are needed. In style and punctuation of headings and in the numbering of sections, paragraphs, equations and formulae, authors should follow the recent, practice of the journal concerned. A table of headings is helpful both to authors and editors in arranging the paper. (Some journals require a contents sheet, which

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up at the same time as the body of the text. Words or letters in the text which are to be printed in itali,cs, sMALL caprrar,s, or heavy black type may be underlined in pencil thus, &, L, A, if authors are absolutely certain that, such marking is in accordance with the practice of the journal. It is far more trouble to an editor to delete unwanted underlines than to add them where they are missing. Authors should not mark headings by underlirirg. Eootnotes

serves the same purpose.) Too ma,ny headings are better than too few, since it is easier for an editor to take out redundant

headings than to invent additional ones.

4. NUMEBICAIJ R,ESUIJTS

Units must always bo stated. If imperial or local units aro used, motric equivalents should also be given at least once in each pa,per. Percentages may require definition, e.g. in describing solutions, where % bV weight and l, by volume must be distinguished. For values less than l, 0 should be insorted before the docimal point (e.g. 0.25 not .25). Numerical values involving many zeroes may be abbreviated thus : 3.92 x l0? instead of 39 200 000; 2.5 x 10-5 or 0.25 x 104 instead of 0.000025. Vulgar fractions should not be used with metric units (e.g. 2.5 cm. not 2$ cm.). Numerical oalculations should be carried out with sufficient care to onsure freedom from materialorrors. Insufficient attention is ofben paid to this aspoct of numerical work. The numbor of significant figures grven in the published results should. be related to the accura,cy of these results. This rule applies for instance to 0's at the end of a series of digits; thus 8, 8.0, 8.00 indicate differont degrees of precision. Obsorvations of continuous variables are usually expressed with ono estimated digrt. In general, the publication of all the individual results of a large number of replicated tests is not necessary. A statement of the number of indiyidual rosults, their me&n value, and somo appropriate measuro of their variability, i. usually suffi cient. It is often desirable also to give the range (maximum and minimum values). Where the variation between replicates is more or less constant over a long series of experiments, it may be suffi cient to make a genoral statement such as, for example : ' All rosults given are mean values for triplicate determ in ations.

fndividual determinations varied from the mean values by not more than 2o/o.' Extonsive sets of observations may be condensed in tho form of frequency distributions. The terminology given in modern statistical toxt-books 'Where should be followod. doubt oan ariso the meaning 6

of terms should be indicated. In particular, clear distinction must be made between the standard deviation or standard error of a single observation or unit, and the standard error of an estimate, such as the mean or total, the words 'per unit', 'of mean', etc., being added when necessary. The symbol '+ 'before a numerical quantity is currently used. to indicate standard error, but in view of its past use to

indicate probable error the meaning should be stated. It must notbe used to indicate limits of error. If limits of emor are given their method of calculation and the level of probability on which they are based must be indicated, In general, standard errors are preferable to limits of error calculated directly from these standard errors by means of a normal probability distribution. Convenient forms for expressing sets of results are '263 + 2'5

(standard error of mean of 10 observations)' at the first mention, subsequently '263 + 2.5 (10)'-or in tables thus: 263 + 2.5

(10)

257-268 A note should be inserted in the first table stating that the figures represent the mean * standard error of mean, mrmber of observations (in parentheses) and range.

The methods used in a statistical analysis should be indicated, but details, such as analysis of variance tables, need not be given unless they are relevant to the discussion. Estimates of the magnitudes of effects or differences which are of interest, together with estimates of their standard errors, should in general be reported, whether or not they reach significance. A statement that an effect or difference is statistically significant should be accompanied by an indication of the level of significance attained. 5. REX'ERENCES

Two main systems of giving references aro in common use, viz. (i) the Harvard system-in which authors' names and dates are given in the body of the text and the references at the end of the paper-and (ii) a system in which numbers are 7

inserted

in the texL-thus 3 or (3)-and

references

to these

are given at the foot of the page or at the end of the paper. Authors should make sure that all references given in the text are in the list at the end of the pa,per (or thefootnotes) and

yissvslsa-also thatnames and dates giveninbothplaces agree. The system of references used in a particular journal should be studied and followed carefully. It is unreasonable to expect an editor to do the drudgery of putting references into the conventional form. If no system is laid down by * journal, authors are advised to use the Harvard system, which is as follows: Haruard, system. References are collected at the end of the paper in alphabetical order, each giving: Name(s), followed by initial(s), of author(s). Year of publication in brackets. If several papers by the s&me authors in one year are cited, a, b, c, etc., are placerl after the year of publication. Journal's title, abbreviated in accordance with hhe Worl,il, Li,st of Scientifi,c Perioilim,ls (1934, 2nd ed. London: Oxford Ifniversity Press) and underlined to indicate italics. A selection of abbreviations from t}rie World, List entitled A List of Abbrea,tatione of the Titlas of Biol,ogical Journals has been published

recently by the Biological Council (this is obtainable from Mossrs H. K. Lewis and Co. Ltd., 136 Gower Street, London, W.C. 1, prico %. 8d. post free). Volume number in arabic numerals underlined with a, wavy lino to indicate black type, without prefix 'vol.'. The number of the first page in arabic numerals, without prefix 'p.'. Thus, references will appear in print in the following form: Fleming, A. (1929). Bri,t. J. erp. Path. 1O,226. Langmuir, I. (1919o). J. A'mer. chem. Soc. 41, 868. Langmuir, I. (l9l9b). J. Amer. chem. Soc.4l, 1543. Il,utherford, E. & Geiger, H. (1908). Proc. Roy. Soc. A,81,

l4l.

When reference is made to a book, the title should be underlined; the edition, volume number (vol.) and the page (p. or pp.) should be given, followed by the town of origin and the publisher, thus: Romanis, W. H. C. & Mitchiner, P. H. (1948). The Science and, Pract'i,ce oJ Surgery,

8th ed., voI. 8

l, p. 491. London: Churchill.

References to authors at second hand should appear in the list of references in the following form:

Ilering, E. (1915). a. Ifecht, S. in

GraeJes

Arch. OTththal. 90,

l.

Cited by

Phys,iol,. Reu. 1937, 17, 239.

In the text references are made by giving in brackets the name of the author and the year of publication, e.g. (Tay1or, 1931), except when the author's n&me is part of the sentence, o.g. "Iaylor (I931) showed that. . .'. When a pa,per written by two authors is quoted, both names are given, the ampersand (&) being used in place of 'and', o.g.Taylor & Smith (1931). If there are more than two authors all names should be given when cited for the first time, and thereafter the first n&me ody, adding et al. Russian names should be transliterated according to the rules laid down in the annual authors' index to Chemical, Abstracts, published by the American Chemical Society.

6. TABIJES

Each table should normally be typed on & separate page. (Some journals, however, print smaller tables as part of the text.) Tables should be comprehensible without reference to the text. The approximate position of each table should be marked in the text, thus: Table

I near here

The headirg should state briefly the nature of the facts assembled in the table, and should not include experimental details. Details which refer to the whole or a large part of a table (e.g. conditions for a series of experiments) are best given in a subheading; details referring to one or more isolated items (e.g. an abnormal feature of a single experiment) are best given in a footnote to the table. I)nits should be stated for every quantity in a table, usually at the head of each column.

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A series of values involving a, power of 10, e.g. ca,n bo shown thus:

lc

:

2.

5

x 1F5,

making sketches for reproduction, it is better for him to got a good draughtsman to do the work or to ask the editor of the journal to have it done for him. untidy figures can easily spoil a good paper. Duplicate figures (e.g. blue prints or photographic copies) should if possible be supplied as well as the original figures, which need not be handled until blocks are made. It is most important that no mistake should be made in any part of an illustration. Whilst errors in the text can usually be coruected without much labour or expense, corrections to a line drawing or half-tone block may involve the preparation of & new block. Most journals require an author to pay for the preparation of such a block if the fault lies with him.

l.2x lF6, 34.2x l0-5,

105

t

(at head of column)

?" 34.2

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Margins of about 4cm. (llin") should be left on all sides of tables, since editors usually have to annotate them for the

I

printer. fn the following matters authors should follow the practice of recent numbers of the journal to which the paper is to be submitted. Nu,mber. Roman or arabic. Si,ze and, oha,pe. Authors should consider what will fit into the \ridth of ono colurnn or one page. Strtnture. This should not make unreason&ble demands on the compositor. Rules, The journal may have its tables 'boxed in' or not. Headi,rrys. Subheadings, column headings, cross-headings (i.o. headings which divide a table into several parts horizontally). Ni,l, resulte. It is necessa,ry to distinguish betweon a, nil result (shown 0, nil, or somotimes - in contrast to + ) and an entry to

Line d,rauings Theso should be drawn in black waterproof ink on a smooth hard surface (Bristol board is recommended). 0.6

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indicato that a particular experimont or observation was not earried out (best shown ... with an explanatory note).

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7. ILLUSTBATIONS Illustrations are expensiye and should be kept

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to

the minirnum. The author's name, the short, title of the paper and the numbor of the figure should be written on the back of

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each illustration.

The approximate position of each illustration should be marked in thetypescript. The legends, descriptions or captions for all figures should be typed well-spaced on a separate sheet of paper, fastened to the end of the typescript and not attached to the drawings. Lettering a,nd numbering on a figure should not be drawn in ink by the author or draughtsm&n, but should be inserted lightly and clearly in soft pencil. If an author is not really proficient in dra*ing figures or

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+

-{

+

+

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02468 Fig.

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Example of figure as reproduood in a printed text. (The Iotterg a,nd numbers have bee.n inserted by the printer.)

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Some reduction usually improves a figure, and drawings should generally be of such a size that, when reduced to onehalf or one-third, they will be of the size and shape customary for the journal. The illustrations on pp. 12 and 13 show

standards for reduction to one-half and one-third.

It is convenient to editors and printers if a margin of about 4 cm. (t| in.) is left on all sides of a drawing.

figure as they would be drawn for red.uction to one-half and one-third respectively. These figures indicate the thickness of lines and size of points required. Each line should be drawn of uniform thickness. The axes (drawn about, three-quarters the thickness of the curves) must, be graduated at suitable intervals and units

+

+ +

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/

/

/

/

/ /

/

/ / /

/

/ /

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/ / / / /

Fig. 2. Part of Fig. I as it should be drawn by the author for re' to one-half size by the blockmaker. (Lptters and numbers would be inserted by the author in pencil.) duction

Graphs. If graph pa,per is used it must be feint blue-lined. The use of red-lined graph paper, for example, involves additional cost in screening before engraving; grey-lined graph paper is even more unsatisfactory and usually involves the expense of redrawing. The use of graph paper for the final drawing'can be avoided by copying through a curve on to Bristol board, using blue carbon pa,per and a hard pencil. Fig. t (p. tl) shows a typical figure as it would appear in the text. X'igs. 2 and 3 (pp. 12 and t3) show parts of this

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X'ig. 3. Part of Fig. I as it should be drawn by tho author for reduction to one-third size by the blockmaker. (Letters and nurnbers would be inserted by the author in pencil.)

If a power of 10 has to be indicated, the following form is convenient: must, be stated.

048 l0ao (cm./sec.)

meaning that the values of a reprosonted aro 4 x 104, 8 x 10-4, etc., cm./sec. Grid lines (drawn about, half the thickness of the curves) need be added only when & curvo is given for the purpose of t3

measurement and not when it is given for illustration. They should not be less than I cm. apart in the printed figure.

Curves based on experimental results should bear clear

indications of the experimentally determined points. It is pecked often convenient to distinguish curves by full for exdifferent Iines, or by symbols or dotted "'' -, perimental points. The symbols O, O, +, X, n, f, A, A, O, i, V, Y are most suitable, sinco these are available to the printer &s type to be included in legends. Symbols in the figure itseH should be true circles, squ&res, etc., drawn with instruments. Authors shouLd remember that these will be reduced for printing as well as the lines. If graphs are drawn through points, each of which represents the mean of several observations, the error may be shown by rectangles enclosing the range corresponding to + the standard error or ra,nge of each variable plotted. If the error or range of one variable is negligible the rectangle becomes a straight line. Deseriptions of curyes, if brief, may be written alongside the curves. If lengthy, the descriptions should be given in the legend and the curves should be numbered or lettered Authors should not, put too many currres on one figure. Other line ilraw'i,ngs. Many of the preceding remarks apply also to drawings of apparatus, biological d.rawings and sketches. Instead of written description on a sketch, key lettering should generally be used and the reference inserted on the legend to the figure. Both key letters and indicating &rrows should be inserted in pencil. The scale of the drawing must, be indicqted. This may be done by including e scale of centimetres or millimetres in the drawing itself, by marking the lengths of a few important, dimensions, or by stating the reduction or magnification in the legend. If the last course is chosen, authors should check the statement when they read. the proofs, since their drawings will probatrly have been reduced in scale for printing. Shading and hatchittg are difficult to do by hand. They can bo added mechanically by the engraYer when the block is being made. The area to be shaded or hatched should. be indicated on the drawing in pencil and the appropriate instruction given in the margin.

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Half-tone fi.gures Half-tone figures and plates are very expensive compared. with line drawings and should be avoided unless absolutely

necessary. Even the best half-tone reproduction will not show as much detail as the original photograph. A good line and dot diagram commonly illustrates what the author means far more r-:learly than does a photograph, and thereforo whereyer possible a good diagram should be used. When sending photographs for reproduction, authors should supply unmounted glossy prints numbered and marked lightly on the back with the author's n&me and with top and bottom indicated, together with a key diagram showing how they should be arranged on the plate. When lettering has to be inserted a second rough set should be provided with lettering written on a,s a guide for the engraver. The scale of every photomicrograph must be indicated on the photograph, and the scale of every other photograph should be indicated if possible, either on the photograph or in the legend. 8. NOMENCT.,ATURE, SYMBOLS AND ABBREVTATIONS Authors should not, introduce new systems of nomenclature or new symbols unless they a,re un&voidable. If two or more accepted systems exist, authors should state clearly which system they are following. Most journals issue their own lists of abbreviations peculiar to their subject. All unlisted abbreviations must be defined. in each paper. Authors should avoid symbols and abbroviations in the text (as distinct from tables, figures and formulae) as far as possible. For each branch of science the recommendations of the specialist societies or of the British Standards Institution should be followed. Some sources of information on nomenclature and symbois are listed below, with notes on certain matters which require frequent reference. Wherever possible the address from which each document may be obtained, and the price, post free, are stated in brackets [ ].

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ANATO MY

X'inal Report of the Committee appointed by Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland on 22 Jurre f 928 to consider proposals to the Society for the revision of the Basle l{om'i,na Anatomica, with the view of bringing the matter before the next meeting of an International Congress of Anatomists. [Printed for the Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland by Robert, Maclehose and Co. Ltd. at the University Press, Glasgow, 1933.] Names of bones, muscles and other parts of the body are printed in roman not it'alrc type. the

ASTRON OMY

Notations anil Symbols. Trans. int. a,str. Un. (1939),6, 345Abbreaiations for Constellntion l{ames. The three-Ietter or four-letter abbreviations given inTrans. i,nt. astr. Un. (1933), 4, 221, and by Schlesinger, F. & Jenkins, L. F. (1940), Catalogue of Bright Stars,2nd ed., p. 196 (Yale: University Observatory), should be used. The four-letter abbreviations are to be preferred except where space is limited (e.g. in a narrow column of a star catalogue). B

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CHE MIS TR,Y

Biochemical J ournal. Suggestions to Authors. Abbreaiations and, Symbots $9a\. [Editorial Office, Biochemlcal Journal, Postgraduate Medical School, Ducane Road, London, W. 12, 1s.l See also Chemistry. B

OTANY

International Rales of Botantcal l{omenclature (1935), edBriquet, J., 3rd ed. Jena: n'ischer. The scientific names of plants &re Latin binominals (binomials) and are printed in italics. The first or generic name has an initial capital; the second name (the specific epithet) has a small initial letter, but if it is derived from the name of a, person or is taken from a generic name a capital letter may be used. The full name includes the authority as Hel'i,anthus annuus L. (L.:Linnaeus), Sedum

l6

Iorsterianuzra Smith. Tho scientific n&me with the authority should be given when the plant is first referred to in the text. Subsequently, if the name is repeated many times the generic n&me mey be contracted (e.g. H. annuus) if there is no risk of confusion with other plant names. The scientific names of higher groups (orders, classes and families) are printed in ordinery romarr type with a oapital if in Latin form, but without if in English or if used adjectively, e.g. Coniferae, conifers, coniferous. See also Stati,eti,cs. CI{EMISTR,Y

Bymbols. Report of a Joint Cotnmittee of the Chemi,cal Society, the Uarad,ay Society, a,nil the Physiu,l Society anl Symbols for Thermod,ynamical, and, Physico-chernical, Quantities anil, Conuentions relnting to their Use (1937). [General Secretary, Chemical Society, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London, W. 1, 6d. For members of any of the three Societies, on application to the Secretary of the appropriate Society,4d.f British Standard 813:1938, Chemical Symbols anil Abbreaiations. This standard, which is in course of revision, is based on the above-mentioned Report. [British Standards Institution, 28 Victoria Street, London, S.W. l, 4s.] Nomenclature. Smith, C., 'Modern Chemical Nomenclature', J. chem. Soc. 1936, p. 1067. [Available as & separate

from the Chemical Society, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London, W. l, 2d.) Mitchell, A. D., British Chemical l{omencl,ature, 1948. London: Edward Arnold. Principles of Abstra,cti,ng, 1948. [Bureau of Abstracts, 9-10 Savile Row, London, W. l, 2s.] The rules laid down by these three authorities, although generally similar, show considerable differences in detail. Authors are generally allowed to choose between intelligible alternative names for a compound when it is desired to bring out structural relationships. It is wise to refer difficult problems of nomenclature to the Editor of the journal concerned.

?ormulae. The chemical. journals have their own rules about the use of formulae. In non-chemical journals the names of

t7

elements and compounds should generally be written

Ind,i,ces anil suffires. Single indices, single suffixes and accents following letters (primes) &re convenient, for the printer. Examples: 02, at, a?, fr' , fr". Double indices or suffixes &re inconvenient,; therefore avoid eo', frnrby writing exp (q2), frn,, or using other symbols. Symbols with horizorutal, bars. These generally require hand composition and should be avoided if possible. Thereforo write nl@r'*b) not ^l1i|l;6; nl not ln. Iractions. X'or simple algebraic fractions in the body of the text the solidus / should be used and not the horizontal

in full

and not replaced by formulae, except in tables. For complicated compounds it is desirable to give both name and structural formula at the first, mention. DNGINEERING

British Standard

560: 1934, Engineering Symbols

a,nd,

Abbreuiations. This is in course of revision. [British Standards Institution, 28 Victoria Street, London, S.W. l, 4s.] Other more specialized lists of symbols and abbreviations

and glossaries are published by the British

Standards

Institution.

bar. Thus write (ar-b)l(cr-d,)

C[EOLOGY

together onlythe two groups of symbolsimmediately adjacent

nottr=--. The solidus links

U!;

Stratigrapft,y. Names of a geological system always take a capital letter even when used adjectively thus: Jurassic. Petrology. Names of minerals and rocks are always spelt with a small letter (e.g. hornblende, granite, etc.). Where one or more mineral constituents are specified, the words are hyphenated thus : muscovite-biotite-granite. Palaeontology. The rules of nomenclature given under Botany and Zoology arc generally followed.

to it. Thus e * r ls means may be written (q + r) ls.

MATIIEMATICS

The solidus may be used conveniently for secondary fraction signs in complicated expressior-rs, thus

n

*:

no1

the last expression

If an expression contains more than one fraction sign, it should be 'displayed', i.e. set on a separate line clear of text, and the bar should be used for the principal fraction sign: a,fr+b pfi+q

cfi+d rfr*s

The London Mathematical Society, I{otes on the Preparati,on of Mathematical Papers (L932). [Messrs C. X'. Hodgson

alb+c

and Son, Ltd., 23 Pakenham Street, London, W.C. 1, ls.] British Standard 560 : 1934,'referred to under Engineering, contains information on mathematical symbols. Presentation of mathemat'ics. Authors should wherever possible use those forms of expression which can be set up in type mechanically, and thus offer least difficulty to the printer. Intelligibility should not, however, be sacrificed to convenience in printing. Most mathematical symbols are printed in italics, and it would be confusing to the printer if these were all underlined. ft is therefore better not to underline such symbols, but to make a note on the typescript saying 'all symbols in equations are to be italics except. . .'. The followi*g notes may be useful to those who are not mathematicians.

d+elf' The solidus is useful also in simplifying the printing of fractional indices and the like; thus write

I andl e -rr,,tc

"-ruralt

,od.

l"'" ,*t

Jo

r;

Jo

The common numerical fractions are available as single pieces of type; +, +, *, *, t. Other numerical fractions &ro

: 29184 '84not\. sign x is used in numerical products

usually best presented, thus The multiplication

(except in factorials), because the full-stop may be takon for

I9

l8

I

a d.ecimal

point. If any mutrtiplication sign is needed in other

products, the full-stop is used. The Jt - l) is represented by i (i in electrical papers). . and ( replaced have and { a symbols ) MED ICIN E

The Nomencl,ature of Disease (1948), 7th ed. London:

H'M'

stationery office. tH.M. Stationery offrce, York llouse, Kingsway, London, W.C. 2, 9s. 3d.] See also Anatomy arcrd Miuobiology.

PHYSIOLOGY The Journal of Physiology. Su4gestions to Authors (1945). [Cambridge University Press, Bentley House, 200 Euston B,oad, London, N.W.

l, ls. ld.]

MIC RO BIOLO GY

STATISTICS

Topley & Wilson's Princi,ples ,f Bacteri,ology and, Im' *unity (to+o;, 3rd ed. revised by Wilsotr, G. S. & Miles, A. A. London: Edward Arnold. Bergey's Manual of Determi,natiae Bucteri,ology (1948), 01tt ed. by Breed., R,. S., Murray, E. G. D. & Hitchens, A' P' London: Bailliere Tindall and Cox. These two authorities differ considerably, and if confusion is like1y to occur, authors should state which authority they

[British ), 'W. L, 7d.) tion, Burlington House, London,

are following. Medical Research council (1948), Li,st of species maint'aineil

collection of Type cultures, Memorandum no. 2L. tH.M. Stationery Office, York lIouse, Kingsway,

in the Nati,onal,

London, W.C. 1, 10d. Post free.] Microfungi. Ainsworth, G. C. & Bisby, G' R'. (1945), A Dicttonary of ine lungi,2nd.'ed.. Kew: Imperial Mycological Institute. Plant, Pathogenic x'ungi and Plant, Diseases. List of com,mon British Plant Diseases (194a). cambridge university Press. [5s. 3d.] Plant Yiruses and Yirus Diseases. Reu. appl. Mycol. (1946), 24, 5t3-56. The rules of nomenclature stated briefly under the heading Botany hold. for micro-organisms, althoughthemeaning of the terms 'genus' and 'species' is not, as precise as in dealing with higfrer organisms. Single-letter abbreviations for . generic'-names should not, be used as ambiguity might arise tJ.g. not S. pyogenes which might mean Staphylococcus pyogenes or Streptococcus pyogenes). 20

Biological M easur ements ( I I

35

revised ed.

Associa-

ZOOLOGY

Zoological nomenclature is regulated by the Regles Interd,e la Nomencla,ture Zoologi,que which were adopted by the International Congress of Zoology at' Berlin in f 901 and were revised and extended by the Congress in Paris in 1948. A revised edition of the Regles will be published by nationales

the International Trust for Zoological Nomcnclature of 41 Queen's Gate, London, S.W.7, but, until this edition is available, authors should refer to the Bulletin of Zoolog'ical Nomenclature, 4. The scientific names of animals are Latin binominals. The rules about these are similar to those about the names of plants (see Botany), except that the specific epithet never has a capital letter. See also Statistics.

9. PROOX' CORRECTION Proofs are submitted so that authors can make sure that the printers have reproduced the typescript faithfully. Authors should not insert, new matter into proofs or correct faults in the style or arra,ngement of their papers at this stage. Errors of fact or logic must,, of course, be corrected. If galley proofs are submitted, it is usually permissible to add a few lines for this purpose. If page proofs are submitted, however, it

may be difficult to make any additions without deleting a 2L

TII'roof] l. c,

4. 5, 7.

[The same conected] s. c.

Results

, 3. 9l= ;/ 6. 4rlo, luf. #' '

8.

Llagnituile of action potential. (I) Coniluction alorug the d,istal nonnarcotised, segrnent. In view of the

tude of actioh pglentiaL

&rl o'

9, 10. I l. t2. frlrr.4,

the distal

t/ls

non

view of at the

finding of lth"l o:tj" Iectric response along the distal region

fr^,

14.

Most of the experiments in the present investigation were carried out with cocaine, and the results to be described below were obtained. with this unless special mention is made.

specialmention is made.

,fr'L

r3.

RESULTS

Most of the experiments in the present inr,@tigation were carried out *&h cocaineT and the results to be described slery- w@ obtained with this unless

finding of Woronzow that the

size

crem

beyond the interesting, first

depressed ar.ea, it is t6. SEL/ of all, to Sr+C- whether the same XPERI 17, l8 would occur underf present c. t9. conditions fkl/L ow MENT 20. IS purpose dd leads were first For ail 2t. employed. Records f of Lpropagated crq stofr disturbances were taken .b€++? before and 23. at varying intervals dt',fiiE narcosis and X 24. recovery. fWitt ND leads diphasic reru.P, 15.

a*lt

l-a *

25-

cords ..

7

.

Smith (1940)

stated,

f The following

a:fiootffi]

gener al equation may be used

26,27,28.t

7

Q,_

size

of the electric response suffers most decrement along the distal region beyond the depressed area, it is interesting, first of all, to see whether the same would occur under the present experimental conditions. For this purpose DD leads were first employed. Records of propagated disturbances were taken both before and at varying intervals during narcosis and recovery. With ND leads diphasic records. . . Smith (1940) stated, 'The following general equation may be used

p+q1

6.*J

Meani,ng of marlcs

t. Change to small caPitals. 2. Invert lettor. 3. Closo-up. 4. Substif,uto cornma,. (Similarly for somi'colon') 5. Roplaco by word in margin. 6. Wr:ong fo-unt. Replace by lotter of correct

15. 16. 17. 18. 19.

Meaning of marks (continued,) Straighten lines. Replace by word in margin. Insort word or lettors in margin. Chango

to lower-case.

No frosh paragraph here. 20. Cha^ngo to capital lotters.

fount.

21.

7. fnsert spa,co.

8. Change to italics. 9. Doleto (tako out).

a

10. Insert hyphen. ll. fnsort full-stop. (Similarly for colon.) 12. Change to roman t54Po. Tiansposo. W-ttoir sovoral words aro badly ig.- f+. --*i=ua rp'thuy may be numbored, the mark 'trs' being written in the margin.

Roduco Bp&co.

22. Loavo as printocl. 23. Roplace by similar but undamagod character.

24. Bogin & now paragraph. 25. Insert singlo quotation mark. 26. Symbols ovor which this sign is placed to '

bo

inferiors' (subscripts).

27. Symbols undor which this sign is placed to

bo

insertod as'superiors' (suporscripts, indices). 28. Noto to printer to explain an unusual character a

22

or expressron. 23

I

corresponding amount, of material from the text which lies as close as possible to the addition. Authors are advised to pay particular attention to checking scientific and proper names, numerical data, formulae, tables and illustrations. Whilst printers'readers are most competent in correcting proofs dealing with subjects of which they know little, the ultimate responsibility for the correction rests with the author. The proofs should be compared with the original

tylescript, and it is helpful to have the proofs read by * colleague, since it is very difficult for an author to see mistakes in his own work, especially at the end of a sentence. Marks for proof corrections are given in British Stand.ard 1219:1945, Printers' and, Authors' Proof Coruections, 2s. 6d,. The tables of symbols from this standard are available printed on stout card as British Standard I2l9C;L945, 6d,.

Corrections should be in ink. Incorrect use of printers' symbols can be extremely misleafirg, and when a complicated correction has to be made it is better to write a note in the margin explaining in plain English what is wanted. Directions to the printer which are not to be set up in type should be encircled. The use of the more common printers' marks is illustrated bv the examples on pp. 22-23. 10. sYNoPsas

Authors should find out the requirements of a journal with regard to synopses, summaries and abstracts, by examining recent issues. As a general rule it is desirable that each paper be accom.panied by, s;rnopsis, preferably appearing at the beginoirg. This sSrnopsis is not part of the paper; it is intended to convey briefly the content of the paper, to draw attention to all new information and to the main conclusions. It should be factual.

Content

The title of the paper is usually read as part of the

sJrnopsis. The opening sentence should be framed accordingly and repetition of the title avoided. rf the title is insuffici""Ity

comprehensive the opening should indicate the subjects covered. usually the beginning of a synopsis should ,tut" the objective of the investigation. rt is sometimes valuable to indicate the treatment of the subject by such words as: brief, exhaustive, theoretical, etc. The synopsis should indicate newly observed. facts, cont'ltrsions of an experiment, or argument and, if possible, the ttssontial parts of any new theory, treatment, apparatus, I'rrt:l11inoe, etc.

I t should contain the names of any new compound, mineral xp.cies, etc., and a,ny new.numerical data, such as physical r:rrwtants; if this is not possible it should draw attention to l,lrorn. is important to refer to new items and observations, -rt .v()n though some are incidental to the main purpose of the such inform_ation may otherwise be hidden though l)rrl)or; il, is often very useful. When giving experimental results the sy.nopsis should inrlir:ate the methods used; for new methods the basic principle, nrnge of operation and degree of accuracy should. 6e given.

Detail of lay-out

The synopsis should be written concisely and in normal rather than abbreviated English. It is preferable to use the third person. Where possible use standard rather than proprietary terms, and avoid unnecessary contracting. It should be presumed that the reader has some knowledge of the subject but has not, read the paper. The synopsis

rt is impossible to recommend a standard length for a synopsis. rt should, however, be concise and should not normally exceed 200 words. rf it is necessary to refer to earlier work in the summary, the reference should always be given in the same manner as in the text. otherwise references should be left out. Wlu-rrr rr syrrol)sis is cornpleted, the author is urged to revise it- carefully, rorn.ving redu,dant words, clarifying obscurities and rectitying errors in coJrying Irom the paper- particular attention should bc paid t,yiii- io scientifi. urri propernames, numerical data and chemical and mathematicai formulae.

21

25

Style of Writing

I

should therefore be intelligible in itself without reference to the paper; for example, it should not cite sections or illustrations by their numerical references in the text.

E

1I. BOOKS FOR R,EFER,ENCE X'urther references are given in the books listed. below. DICTIONAR,IES AND SIMII,AB WORK.S Conc'ise Orford Dicti,onary (1934), 3rd ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press. This is accepted as a standard for spelling by most journals. Fowler, H. W. (1926). A Dictionary of Mod,ern English Usage. Oxford: Clarendon Press. This is a valuable work on

idiom, punctuation, etc. Collins, F. H. (1946). Autluors' & Printers' Dictionary, 9th ed.. London: Oxford University Press. Hart, H. (1948). Rules for ComTtositors & Read,ers at the Un'i,aersity Press, Orford,, 34th ed. London: Cumberlege. These two books deal with many questions which arise in preparing papdrs, o.g. abbreviations other than scientific, hyphens, and conventions about words to be italicized. Chambers's Technical Dictiona,ry (1948), revised ed. Edinburgh: Chambers. This lists terms used in a1l branches of science and technology, including many trade names.

gEr{ERA} mEES .On..Tltg,. .

II0..1r

9_r_'.-

PHEPAXA

-

SSIE}III!rIq, PAmEg

I

BOOKS ON WBTTING IN GENER,AIJ

Partridge, E. (1947). Usage and, Abusage. London: Hamish Hamilton. Gowers, E. (1948) . Plai,n Worils. London: H.M. Stationery Office.

BOOKS ON T}IE WRITING OX' SCIN]NTIN'IC PAPER,S Allbutt, T. C. (1925). Notes onthe Composition of Scientifi"c Papers. London: Macmillan. Krpp, R,. O. (1948). The Presentation of Technicul In-

format'ion. London: Constable. Nuttall, G. H. f'. (1940) . I{ otes on the Preparat'ion of Papers for Publiaation in The Journal of Hygiene anil, Parasitology. Cambridge : University Press. This is one of the most thorough books of instructions issuedbyany journal and contains much that is worthy of study by all writers of scientific papers. Williams, G. B. (1948). Technical, L'tterature. London: AIIen and Unwin. 26

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