How To Write A Manuscript Get Your Paper Accepted

How to write a manuscript
Get your paper accepted

Edanz free manuscript writing educational materials
Edanz Group Ltd
October 2010
Presentation
Introduction
Section One: Preparations before writing
Section Two: Manuscript structure
Section Three: Tips for getting accepted
Edanz Group Ltd. | 2
To share your research findings and opinions
with the international research community
Publication success is linked to funding success
and career advancement
Many PhD programs require candidates to
achieve a set number of peer-reviewed
publications
Why publish?
Funding
Bodies
Scientists /
Clinicians
Grant
Writing
Journal
Publication
Regularly publishing research findings ensures ongoing grant
support for new research
Publish or perish
Increased competition
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008
%
Year
Journal numbers
Journal submissions
Relative growth from 100% baseline in 1990
How to identify hot topics
Study design
What do journal editors want?
Choosing an appropriate journal
Ethical issues
Section One Preparations before writing
Look for clues
unexplained findings,
controversies
Read the literature,
including related
fields
Attend
international
meetings
Greater interest = Greater competition
Identify your advantages and use them
How to identify hot topics
Have an hypothesis or research question
Use appropriate methods and controls
Ensure sample sizes are large enough
Use appropriate statistical tests
Remove investigator/researcher/patient bias
Comply with ethical requirements
Study design Get it right first time
Good quality science
Robust to peer review
Well designed and executed original research
l
Work in an active research area (=citations!)
Work that advances the field in some way
Compliance with ethical regulations
Clear, concise writing
What do journal editors want?
Can be the difference between success and rejection
What is the main focus of your research and who will
be 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 researchers
in the same field or to the broader scientific
community?
Journal Selection
Publishing frequency
Impact factor
Target audience
Aims and scope
Rejection rate
Lead times
Access (open or subscriber)
Prior publications
Publication fees
Publication types
What should you consider?
How do these relate to your publication needs?
Journal Selection
Unethical behavior could lead to rejection and a possible
ban from a target journal.
Multiple submissions
Redundant publications
Plagiarism
Data fabrication and falsification
Improper use of human subjects and animals in
research
Improper author contribution
Publication ethics
1
Title
Abstract and keywords
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Results
Display items
Statistics
Discussion and
Conclusions
References
Section Two Manuscript structure
IMRaD manuscripts: for maximum clarity and
consistency, write in this order:
Methods
Results
Introduction
Discussion
Title
Abstract
Write after selecting your
target journal
Write during the research
d
Hook to catch
readers
Sells your
manuscript
to the editor
Relevant readers
increase citations
Journal editors like citations
The importance of your title
Convey the main findings of the research
Be specific and concise without focusing on only
one part of the content
Avoid jargon, non-standard abbreviations and
unnecessary detail
Comply with character limits
Some journals also require a short running title
A good title
Poor
Degeneration of neurons in the CA3 and DG following
OA administration: involvement of a MAPK-dependent
pathway in regional-specific neuronal degeneration
Better
Region-specific neuronal degeneration after okadaic
acid administration
MAP kinase-dependent neuronal degeneration after
okadaic acid administration
A good title
A good title
u pharmacotherapies for drug
8 S
8
S amygdala
Tumor-host cell interactions in the bone disease

Many researchers will only read the abstract so

Must give an accurate summary of your research,
and enough information so that readers can
understand:
What you did
Why you did it
What your findings are
Why your findings are useful and important
Abstract
General rules for abstracts:
Within the word limit
Avoid technical jargon
Avoid abbreviations unless necessary
Avoid references
Structured or unstructured?
A C A
determine allowable length, style and abbreviations
Abstract
Abstract Structured
Risk factors and mortality in patients with nosocomial staphylococcus aureus bacteremia
BACKGROUND: Infections due to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus have become
increasingly 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 tertiary
referral medical center. Survival and logistic regression analyses were used to determine
the risk factors and prognostic factors of mortality.
RESULTS: During the 15-year period, 1148 patients were diagnosed with nosocomial S
aureus bacteremia. After controlling potential risk factors for MRSA bacteremia on logistic
regression analysis, service, admission days prior to bacteremia, age, mechanical ventilator,
and central venous catheter (CVC) were independent risk factors for MRSA. The crude
mortality rate of S aureus bacteremia was 44.1%. The difference between the mortality
rates of MRSA (49.8%) and MSSA bacteremia (27.6%) was 22.2% (P < .001). Upon logistic
regression analysis, the mortality with MRSA bacteremia was revealed to be 1.78 times
higher 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 factor
for patients with S aureus bacteremia.
PMID: 18313513 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]; Am J Infect Control. 2008
Mar;36(2):118-22.
2 sentences
2 sentences
5 sentences
1 sentence
Abstracts are often followed by a list of keywords
selected by the authors
Choosing appropriate keywords is important for
indexing purposes
Your manuscript can more easily identified,
read and cited
Keywords should be specific to your manuscript
General terms should be avoided
Many medical journal require MeSH terms
Keywords
Manuscript title:
Region-specific neuronal degeneration after okadaic acid
administration
Poor keywords:
neuron, brain, OA (as an abbreviation), regional-specific
neuronal degeneration, signaling
Better keywords:
okadaic acid, hippocampus, neuronal degeneration,
MAP kinase signaling
Keywords
Must give the reader enough background information
to put your work into context
Enough information to understand the rationale for
your study is all that is required
Do not write a comprehensive literature review of the
field
Do cite reviews that readers can refer to if they want
more information
Introduction
Define technical and non-familiar terms

hypotheses to explain the rationale for the study
Briefly explain how you addressed this problem
and what was achieved (12 sentences for each)
Citations must be balanced, current and relevant
Introduction
Introduction
Liver resection has become an increasingly safe procedure, but certain
procedures remain high risk, such as massive liver resection and small-for-
size (SFS) liver transplantation. Massive hepatic resection is the only option

The failure of a partial liver to regenerate is considered a critical contributing
factor in postsurgical primary liver dysfunction and liver failure, and minimal
viable 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 complement
inhibition represents a potential therapeutic strategy to protect against
hepatic IRI, the important role of complement in liver regeneration would
appear to be a contraindication for such a strategy in the context of liver
resection and SFS liver transplantation, even though IRI is associated with

In the current study, we investigated the role of complement in the
relationship between hepatic IRI and liver regeneration using 3 murine
models: a warm total hepatic IRI model (similar to the Pringle maneuver), a
70% PHx model, and a combined IRI/PHx model designed to recreate clinical
massive liver resection under the Pringle maneuver. In these studies, we
used the complement inhibitor CR2
A complement-dependent balance between hepatic
ischemia/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
Clear subheadings for methods/materials
Describe methods in the past tense
Novel methods must be described in sufficient detail
for 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
Proapoptotic signaling induced by RIG-I and MDA-5 results in type I
interferon-independent apoptosis in human melanoma cells.
Robert Besch, Hendrik Poeck, Tobias Hohenauer et al.
Reagents and antibodies. Anticaspase-3, anticaspase-8 (1C12), anticaspase-9, antiBcl-x
L
, antiBcl-w,
and HRP-conjugated secondary antibodies were obtained from New England Biolabs. Anticytochrome c
(clone 7H8.2C12) was from BD Biosciences. Anti-Noxa (N-15) antibody was from Santa Cruz Biotechnology
Inc. AntiBcl-2 (Ab-1) and anti-p53 (Ab-6) antibodies were from Merck Biosciences. AntiIPS-1 antibody
was obtained from Bethyl Laboratories Inc. Anti-actin (AC-15) and anti-Puma (bbc3) antibodies were
purchased 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. They
contained a T7 RNA Polymerase consensus promoter sequence followed by the sequence of interest to be
transcribed (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 two
deoxythymidine 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 the
human genome...
Cell culture. Human melanoma cell lines were a gift of M. Herlyn (Wistar Institute, Philadelphia,
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 56C in a buffer containing 10 mM
Tris, pH 8.0, 100 mMNaCl, 1 mMEDTA, 1% SDS, 0.5 mg/ml Pronase E (Sigma-Aldrich), and 150 /ml
Protease 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
-actin
Statistics. For statistical analysis, 2- S t test was used to assess the significance of mean
differences. Differences were considered significant at a P value of 0.05 or less.
Materials
described
first
References
to save
space
Clear
subheadings
Detailed
information
given
Suppliers
Statistical
test
information
The Journal of Clinical Investigation (doi:10.1172/JCI37155; reproduced with permission)
A
Present your findings in subsections (the same as those in your
methods section)
Present complementary evidence when possible
Describe results in the past tense
Refer to figures and tables in the present tense
Do not discuss implications do that in the discussion section
Do not duplicate data among figures, tables and text
Show the results of statistical analyses, (e.g., p values) in the
text
Results What did you find?
Proapoptotic signaling induced by RIG-I and MDA-5 results in type I
interferonindependent apoptosis in human melanoma cells
Robert Besch, Hendrik Poeck 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 cell
lines 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 to
20%50% within 24 hours l lA1 A). Viability was reduced due to induction of apoptosis as
determined by staining with annexin V. Apoptosis strictly required intracellular delivery, as neither pppRNAs
nor poly(I:C) without transfection were active l l81 B). Different pppRNAs were tested, and all
reduced cell viability l lC1 C) 1 -triphosphate moiety was required, since synthetic RNAs
CP CP-RNA1) had no effect l lC1 C, left panel). Strong
dose-dependent reduction of viability was observed for poly(I:C) l lC1 C, right panel). Reduced
viability was reflected in an increased number of cells undergoing apoptosis l lu1 D).
Confirming the onset of apoptosis, caspase-3 was activated in cells transfected with pppRNAs or poly(I:C) but
not in cells exposed to pppRNA or poly(I:C) in the absence of transfection reagent l lL1 E).
Together, these results show high sensitivity of human melanoma cell lines toward apoptosis induction by
pppRNAs 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-
l lAA S 8lC-I and MDA-5 confirmed that induction of IFN- pppRNA and
poly(I:C) required RIG-I and MDA-5, respectively, and that both
Melanoma cells are more sensitive to RIG-I and MDA-5induced 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 primary
keratinocytes were significantly less sensitive to pppRNA and poly(I:C) compared with melanoma cells
l lAA
Graphics used to
show data with
only brief
descriptions in
text
Clear
subheadings
It is clear what
was compared
with what
Some readers will only look at the figures and their legends
Figures and tables are the best way to present your results
Data shown in figures and tables must be easy to interpret use separate
panels if necessary
Avoid redundancies or duplication
Clearly label all components
Show trendlines, scale bars and statistical significance
L
(except when describing methods)
Comply with journal guidelines on display items
Display items Tables and figures
Tables are a great way to present large amounts of necessary
data 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)
Clear concise heading
Data divided into
categories for
clarity
Percentages as well as
absolute values
Trend lines
Multi-panel:
different kinds of
data grouped
together in a single
figure
Complicated data
separated into
simpler components
Scale bars
Figure 5
RCP knockdown attenuates
tumor formation and metastasis.
Effects of RCP inhibition on
tumor growth using (A) MCF7
cells in nude mice and (B) MB231
cells in NOD-SCID mice are
shown. (A) Left panel shows
mean tumor volume plotted as a
function of time (mean SEM).
Right panel shows tumor weight
plotted at 5 weeks; mean weight
indicated by solid line. (B) Left
panel, tumor weight plotted at
indicated number of weeks;
mean weight indicated by solid
line. Right panel, the average
number of lung micrometastases
per section is shown. (C)
Representative lung sections and
fluorescently imaged whole lungs
(right panel) of NOD-SCID mice
are shown. Micrometastases are
indicated by arrows. Scale bars:
200 .
C

Statistics
A
1
He is comfortable
Today, few professional activities are untouched by
statistical thinking, and most academic disciplines use it
S
observations of the world can never be totally accurate;

Rowntree D (1981). Statistics without tears. A primer for non-mathematicians. Penguin Books Ltd., London,
England
Statistics
Statistical analysis is at the heart of scientific inquiry
Consider statistical analysis when you design your
study. Before you start your research.
Statistics
Data
collection
Data
analysis
Interpretation
Statistics Poor statistics
Poor statistics
Poor study
design
e.g., sample
size is too small
Poor analysis
Data are valid
Re-analysis or re-interpretation
Revise manuscript
Poor interpretation
Reporting statistics in your manuscript:
Consult a statistical expert about which test to use!
Clearly describe the statistical tests used to analyze
data
Give the software, version number and maker
Only
statistically significant differences
Alternatives: notable, substantial, marked
u
Statistics Basics
Statistics Questions
Ask yourself these questions during study design:
What are the independent and dependent variables?
What is the scale of measurement of the study
variables?
Consider sample number for power analysis
i.e., how many samples will you need?
Have I met the assumptions of the statistical test
selected?
Statistics Details
Reporting statistics in your manuscript:
l meansS.D
Give the numerator and denominator with

8
Do you have a correction for multiple testing?

Check target journal for P, P, p or p.
Statistics A few rules
Use appropriate amount of precision:
Life expectancy of 22.085 years 22 years
Data should be rounded when presented NOT when analyzed
Always give numerator and denominator. E.g., 25% (650/2958)
Avoid using percentages to summerise small samples
Be very clear with percentages within subgroups:
C 8Ml
Book
As a full guide see the excellent book:
How to report statistics in medicine
by Thomas A. Lang and Michelle Secic (ACP Press, Second Edition)
C
8Ml
Figure 7
Opposing effects of high- and low-dose complement inhibition on hepatic injury and regeneration in a model incorporating both IRI
and 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 04. (D) Assessment of regeneration by BrdU
incorporation. (E) Restitution of liver weight. (F) MPO content in liver samples.
#
P < 0.05,
##
P < 0.01 versus WT group; **P < 0.01
versus 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 = 610.
A complement-dependent balance between hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury
and liver regeneration in mice
Songqing He, Carl Atkinson et al
Statistics. Data are expressed as mean SD. Significant
differences between groups were determined by ANOVA, with
a Bonferroni correction for continuous variable and multiple
groups. Two- S t test was used for the
comparison of a normally distributed continuous variable
between 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 in
low-dose CR2-Crrytreated mice compared with those in saline-

Compared with WT mice, surviving C3
/
mice had significantly
increased hepatic injury and an impaired proliferative response
(Figure 7, BE)...
Methods Results
Data type defined Statistical tests clearly described

statistical significance
Significance indicated in figure/table legend
Significance threshold defined
Restate your research question and/or any hypotheses
presented in the introduction
Summarize your main findingsmake it clear how your
study has advanced the field
Begin with your most important finding
Past tense to describe results (current and published)
Present tense to describe their implications
Minimize repetition with other sections
Describe inconsistencies with other papers
Describe the limitations of your study
Discussion What does it all mean?
Be humble
u overstate the importance of your results
Our findings prove that
Our findings show
Our findings suggest
Discussion
Restate key findings and their significance
Propose future studies that might follow on from your
current study
C -home
Conclusions

Science)
P
concerns and reinforce the efficacy of tropical antimicrobial therapy Curr
Infect Dis Rep)
-
protein and protein-unA (Nature)
Discussion
Genome-wide microarray analysis of primary tumors has enabled the discovery of novel, clinically
relevant 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 to
identify gene subtypes with functional roles in tumorigenesis
In the present work, we have built on this concept of data integration and functional discovery and
identified RCP, located on the 8p1112 recurrent breast cancer amplicon, as a novel breast-cancer
promoting gene with Ras-
Amplification of the 8p1112 locus has been observed in approximately 10%25% of breast tumor
cases and 15% of breast cancer cell lines and has been associated with poor patient survival and
short 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-8
However, that the growth and metastatic properties of the tumor xenografts were dependent on
the endogenous expression of RCP suggests oncogene addiction 8C
may play a vital role in the maintenance and potentiation of the malignant and metastatic
In conclusion, through integrated genomic analysis, we identified RCP as a candidate oncogene at

the 8p1112 amplicon, with expression levels significantly correlated with aggressive breast
cancer behavior
The broader involvement of RCP in the pathogenesis of human cancers and the mechanisms
underlying its oncogenic effects will be the focus of future investigations.
RCP is a human breast cancerpromoting gene with Ras-activating function
Jinqiu Zhang, Xuejing Liu et al
Restate the
question/problem
Restate main findings
Put in context of
previous work
Future research plans
u
Restate main findings
Your chance to acknowledge anyone who has helped with the
study:
Individuals who did not qualify for authorship based on
ICMJE criteria
Any researchers that supplied materials or reagents
Anyone who provided technical assistance
Anyone who helped with the preparation of the manuscript
or provided a critical assessment of it
Funding bodies
State why each individual is being acknowledged
Acknowledgments
Always format your references: check your
Guide for Authors for the appropriate format
Harvard style or Vancouver style or APA
Formatting is required both in text and in the references
section
Use a reference manager like Endnote. Makes it easy to
edit, reformat, add or remove references
Some journal limit the number of references: check your
C A
References
Your cover letter
Recommending reviewers
Language
Good writing
Common language problems
What do reviewers look for?
Submission
Final checks
Post-referee revisions
Checklist
Section Three Tips for getting accepted
Cover letters
Journal Editors receive hundreds
of manuscripts each month
1
manuscript
Society journal editors are
especially busy as they are usually
practicing researchers too
Your cover Letter is an opportunity

C
attention is very high
It is not enough to send a manuscript to a journal editor
like this:
Cover letters
Dear Editor-in-Chief,
I am sending you our manuscript entitled L S A C C 8
by A. Honda, K. Tanaka, J. Suzuki, and myself. We would like to have the
manuscript 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
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 be

C Guide for Authors for cover letter
requirements (e.g., disclosures, statements, potential reviewers)
Give corresponding author details
Your cover letter
Dear Dr Lisberger,
Amyloid- P
McGowan 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 portion
of the mutant huntingtin protein and ubiquitin P Pu
of these inclusions in the disease process has remained unclear. One suspected disease-causing mechanism in
P polyglutamine disorders is the potential for the mutant protein to undergo a
conformational change to a more stable anti-parallel -
To confirm if the immunohistochemically observed huntingtin- and ubiquitin-containing inclusions display amyloid
features, we performed Congo red staining and both polarizing and confocal microscopy on post-mortem human brain
tissues obtained from five HD patients, two AD patients, and two normal controls. Congo red staining revealed a small
number of amyloid-like inclusions showing green birefringence by polarized microscopy, in a variety of cortical regions....
Pu
adopt an amyloid-like structure.
We believe our findings would appeal to a broad audience, such as the readership of Neuroscience. As a wide-reaching

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

Give the
background to
the research
Explain what
was done and
what was found
Explain why this
is interesting to

readership
Conforms to

requirements
Your cover letter
Recommend
Your work supports their hypotheses and ideas
Your research builds on their work
International collaborators in the same field
Exclude
Researchers working on the same research question
Your study refutes their work
The findings in your manuscript are are opposite to their
findings or ideas
Reviewers Recommendations and exclusions
Journal editors are overloaded with quality manuscripts.
They may make decisions on manuscripts based on
formal criteria, like grammar or spelling.
Don't get rejected for avoidable mistakes: make sure
your manuscript looks perfect
Language
A senior executive at a large international publishing house
Introduction of language
screening protocols to
check submissions
L
peer review
Editors receive enough well written submissions to reject
poorly written manuscripts
Language screening
Language
Some journals are very clear regarding their English requirements,
and about what happens to manuscripts that do not meet their
European Polymer Journal

Language and Style: Manuscripts should be
written in English in a clear and concise manner.
Manuscripts which are not written in fluent
English will be rejected automatically without
refereeing.
Clarity
Conciseness
Correctness (accuracy)
Good scientific writing C:
Key points:
Be as brief as possible without omitting essential details
Be as specific as possible
Scientific writing
Avoid:
Spelling and grammatical errors
Insufficient detail/vagueness
Repetition
Redundancy
Ambiguity
Inconsistency
They annoy editors, peer reviewers and readers
Scientific writing Common problems
Tense
Articles
Plural or singular
Proper nouns
Hyphen or dash
That/which
Making comparisons
Respectively
Between or among
Nomenclature
Such as/namely
Etc.
Asian fonts
UK or US spelling
Presenting numbers
Language Common English problems
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
Language Dash or hyphen
En dash ():
October 2829; pp. 2
Emdash (): Used to break a sentence, introduce
something, or introduce an afterthought.
These two metalsthat is, titanium and magnesium
are very light.
Language Asian fonts
Be careful of Asian fonts such as MS Mincho and SimSum
Do not use Asian fonts in your manuscripts
For example:
Why not?
Because they look like this on some computers: or ?

Use simple language: it is often clearer, more precise and
more 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
Language UK or US spelling
Be consistent
C C A
Generally, American journals require US spelling and British
journals require British spelling, but many accept either form
as long as the spelling used is consistent
fibre or fiber
centre or center
labelling or labeling
colour or color
Exceptions: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare; your references
Language Comparisons
Frequently made in the results sections of papers
C
Do not be vague
Use with, not to
The material from the river bank was compared with the
landfill.
The material from the river bank was compared with that
from the landfill.
Expression levels of p53 in smokers were compared with non-
smokers
Expression levels of p53 in smokers were compared with p53
levels in non-smokers
Expression levels of p53 in smokers were compared with
those in non-smokers
69
Relative terms, such as more, higher and greater, require a
reference for comparison
u
Reactions with the new machine were faster than those with the
old machine.
Reactions with the new machine were faster. than what?
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-

molecule is...
Language Respectively
Use to refer to two corresponding lists, but not more
For 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 at
85, 7 and 4 mL/min, respectively.
Language Presenting numbers
AMA Manual of Style is a good guide:
Spell out numbers one through nine, numerals for 10 and up
EXCEPT
Units of measurement, times, and dates: 2 mL; 1996
Beginning of a sentence
l nC1
A mixture of numbers in one sentence:
The sample included 34 men with type A blood, 15 with type B
and 3 with type AB.
Differentiating consecutive numbers:
Five, 50- nC1 -kg women
Large numbers in general expressions:
A
Language Presenting numbers
Spacing
No 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 fractions
Use the virgule (/) for proportions, colon (:) for ratios
A
1 BUT
Spell out noun-modifying fractions:
P -
Language Such as or namely
such as: to give examples
namely: to define

production, microbial biomass, and coagulation processes.
C -alkane and
phenanthrene
Language Colon or semi-colon
1 :
explains what precedes it
S ;
for commas or where commas could be ambiguous. Use

There are a number of journals for surgery manuscripts:
Surgery, produced by Elsevier; Journal of Surgery, produced
by NMS; 8 ! S
Language Colon or semi-colon
Use a semicolon to join two sentences that are not independent
In previous sediments of all salinities, MeHg production was
highest at previous sediment depths just below the oxic/anoxic
transition; that is, depths where microbial sulfate reduction was
present, but where sulfide, which inhibits methylation, was
relatively low.
One sentence is too long; but the two sentences must be connected
Language Minimizing errors
The internet can help you
Google Scholar to check for word usage
C
MS Word
Track changes function
Comment function
Find (and replace) to check for consistency
Word Count function
Spell Check (but be careful)
Custom Dictionaries (provided by some academic societies for
specific fields)
Online glossaries provided by academic societies
Is the manuscript sufficiently novel?
Is the manuscript of broad enough interest?
Reviewers What do they look for?
Novelty
Significance
Aims and Scope
Impact Factor
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
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?
Critically self-evaluatecould anything be done better?
Double check the Guide for Authors
Are all files in the correct file format and of the appropriate
resolution 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 copies
plus CD?
Have you written a persuasive cover letter?
Submission Final checks
Rejection from journals is an important part of the
publication process
It is not a negative experience
It exists to ensure that your paper is as scientifically
robust and complete as possible before joining the

Revisions Post-referee revisions
Reasons for rejection:
Inappropriate target journal
Poor study design
Poor written language
Inappropriate or incompletely explained methodology
Inappropriate statistical tests
Incorrect description or overstatement of results
Lack of balance or detail in introduction and/or discussion
Lack of novelty
Only 1.5% of papers are immediately accepted without
need for any revisions
Journal editor
decision
Complete rejection
Acceptance
Rejection with major revisions
Rejection with minor revisions
When revising your manuscript:
Address all points raised by the editor and/or reviewers
Describe the revisions in your response letter
Perform any additional experiments or analyses requested
(unless you feel that they would not add to the strength of your
paper: explain why not in your response letter)
Provide a polite and scientific rebuttal to any points or comments
you disagree with
Differentiate comments and responses in your letter
Clearly show the major revisions in the text
Return revised manuscript and response letter within the
requested time period
Appropriate study design
Compliance with ethics guidelines
Appropriate statistical tests
Novel and interesting results
Clear, concise, accurate writing
Compliance with the Guide for Authors
Significance of findings explained
Appropriate choice of journal
Summary Checklist for acceptance

How To Write A Manuscript Get Your Paper Accepted

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How To Write A Manuscript Get Your Paper Accepted

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How to write a manuscript

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