Examples

Capitalize all words, except articles and prepositions.

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Specific suggestions:

• 2 sentences -- describe the general problem being addressed and then introduce the objectives or hypotheses that your particular study considers.
• 1-2 sentences -- describe the technique(s) used (avoid experimental details).
• 1-3 sentences -- report the most significant results from the experiment.
• Last sentence -- concluding statement.
• References are not cited in an abstract.

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• Start with a relatively broad background of the topic you are investigating. Include relevant citations from primary literature and other appropriate technical references.

 
• Progressively narrow the scope of the ideas considered so that the reader is led to the specific topic that you are studying. Using primary literature, justify how this topic requires additional study.

 
• In the last sentences of the final paragraph, succinctly state 1-3 specific objectives or hypotheses that your study addresses. A crystal-clear statement of objectives/hypotheses is critical. Virtually all material in your manuscript should directly pertain to these objectives and hypotheses. 

Important links -- check these out!

• What is meant by "primary literature and other appropriate technical references"?

 
• Literature citations vs. literature references: Two formatting conventions (name-year vs. citation-sequence). 

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Other pointers:

• Write in third person and past tense.

 
• Describe what you did.

 
• Do not tell the reader how to do the experiment as if you were writing a cookbook or lab manual.

 
• For field studies, include the locations and times that data were collected.

 
• Avoid the use of slang or jargon. 

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• Write with accuracy, brevity and clarity.

 
• Use a good topic sentence for each of your paragraphs.

 
• Avoid discussing the results. Save such comments for the Discussion section.

 
• Summarize statistical analyses. 

• Construct tables and figures before writing the Results section.

 
• Include a summary of each table/figure in the Results section.

 
• Number tables and figures in the same sequence as they are first mentioned in the text.

 
• Figures and tables should be appropriately cited in the text of the manuscript. 

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Key points:

• Key findings should be emphasized first.

 
• Compare your results and interpretation to other studies in the primary literature:

 
Does your data agree with current models or refute them? 
How has your work added to our knowledge of this phenomenon or organism or system?
 
• Provide explanations of any unexpected results and describe any problems encountered during the experiment.

 
• If you had problems during the experiment or if you are not satisfied with your results, tell how the methods could be altered to provide more definitive results.

 
• Describe future experiments or the broad meaning of your results. 

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The format of this section is highly formalized and varies somewhat among journals and organizations. Be sure to determine what format is appropriate for your manuscript and follow it carefully and consistently!

Two general citation options are used in scientific papers -- the "name-year convention" and the "citation-sequence" convention. Review the examples to see how these conventions differ.

Relevant links: 

Primary literature and other appropriate technical references

Literature citations vs. literature references: two formatting conventions (name-year vs. citation-sequence).

Examples

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• Title. Tables are numbered (1, 2, 3...) in order of their being referenced in the text. The title is at the top of the table. It should briefly describe the information presented in the table.

 
• Column and row headings. Column headings contain names of the variables measured in your investigation (and their units of measurement). Row headings identify entries in the table rows. Only the initial letter of words or phrases in column and row heading is capitalized.

 
• Subheadings. Subheadings are sometimes useful for grouping similar variables in a table.

 
• Body (numerical data). Align the columns of numbers by their decimal points using word processor decimal tabs. Also, place a zero before the decimal point of numbers less than 1 (e.g., 0.1, not .1).

 
• Horizontal lines. All tables have at least 3 horizontal lines that separate (1) the table title from the column headings, (2) the column headings from the body, and (3) the body from the footnotes. DO NOT use vertical lines in tables.

 
• Footnotes. Footnotes contain explanatory information.

 
• Double space the entire table. 

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Creating figures with Excel
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Regardless of the type of graph constructed, all contain the following similar elements:

• Axes. A graph consists of a horizontal axis and a vertical axis. Values of the independent variable (the cause or what you manipulated) are plotted on the horizontal axis and values of the dependent variable (the effect or the outcome you measured) are plotted on the vertical axis.

 
• Labels. Both axes should be clearly and briefly labeled. Labels should include variables and units of measure.

 
• Tick marks. The axes should be evenly incremented. They should include the range of data and should be kept to a minimum to avoid cluttering the figure.

 
• Legend. The legend should briefly describe the information in the figure. It should be clear, concise, and informative. The figure legend should be understandable without reference to the text. As with tables, figures are numbered in order of reference in the text. 

When you create figures for a manuscript, avoid using color for any element (bars, lines, symbols, axes, etc.) in the figure. All elements in the figure should be constructed in black or gray-scale. A surprising variety of bars, lines, and symbols may be created without color. (However, when making figures for posters or electronic slide shows, use of colored elements is recommended.)