Checklist – Research Manuscript	Author: _____________________________

	Comments:
Title	  	
Concise & descriptive		
All words capitalized except articles and prepositions		
Abstract (suggested number of sentences indicated)		
Describes problem & states objectives/hypotheses (2)		
Describes technique(s) used & avoids experimental detail (2)		
Reports most significant results (1-3)		
Concluding statement (1)		
Introduction		
Demonstrates good biological insight, understanding, & accuracy		
Reviews & interrelates relevant scientific literature		
Cites literature correctly using name-year or citation-sequence convention		
Flow of ideas -- starts broadly, then leads to specific topic		
Ends with clearly & concisely stated 1-3 hypotheses/objectives		
Well-constructed paragraphs & sentences, no writing errors, etc. (see Strategies - pg 2)		
Methods		
Written in third person and past tense		
Concise but complete		
Accurately describes what was done, without giving instruction		
Stats and quantitative methods explained		
Literature cited (if appropriate)		
Well-constructed paragraphs & sentences, no writing errors, etc. (see Strategies - pg 2)		
Results		
Results clearly and accurately explained		
Statistical output appropriately noted		
All relevant tables and figures cited appropriately (Fig. 2, Table 1)		
Well-constructed paragraphs & sentences, no writing errors, etc. (see Strategies - pg 2)		
Discussion		
Clearly addresses each hypothesis/objective -- supported or rejected?		
Demonstrates good biological insight and mastery of relevant ideas		
Compares results to previous studies (cite relevant literature)		
Explains unexpected results (e.g. provides alternative hypotheses)		
Describes or suggests future experiments		
Well-constructed paragraphs & sentences, no writing errors, etc. (see Strategies - pg 2)		
Acknowledgements		
Be professional (avoid being "gushy" or overly flip)		
Literature Cited		
Precisely and consistently follows name-year or citation-sequence convention		
All citations noted in the manuscript are included in Literature Cited list		
Each reference listed has been cited at least once in the manuscript		
Tables		
Tables appear after Literature Cited section		
Tables numbered consecutively, starting with Table 1		
Titles sufficiently clear and concise		
Double-spacing used throughout the table		
Three horizontal lines used (see examples)		
Columns of numbers aligned by decimal point using decimal tabs		
Zeroes placed before the decimal points of numbers less than 1 (e.g., 0.1, not .1)		
Figures		
Horizontal axis = independent variable, vertical axis = dependent variable		
Axes clearly labeled		
Legend placed below the figure		
Legend is understandable without reference to the text		
Research paper: lines, bars, fonts, etc. are in black or gray-scale (not color)		
Poster/slide show: figure elements may be in color		
Strategies for Scientific Writing
(From UWL’s Department of Biology Scientific Communication web site)

Guideline	Comments	
1. Become technically competent in your subject area
	Carefully read relevant reference materials (journal articles and other technical references). Take notes and clarify important points of confusion.	
2. Use a working outline	Continue using (and revising) this outline as you complete your project.	
3. Consistent focus on hypotheses or objectives	All material in your document should logically lead to, or follow from, your hypotheses or objectives.	
4. Well-written paragraphs	The topic sentence introduces the general topic to be covered in the paragraph.  The following sentences should be logically connected to the topic sentence and maintain a logical flow of ideas.	
5. Use of key technical words and phrases	Key words and phrases include those found in technical literature and journal articles.  Avoid using terminology that sounds good to you but is not used in technical references	
6. Glib superlatives, colloquial expressions and awkward phrases	Avoid!  Examples:  fantastic, very, terrific, since the dawn of history ... etc.	
7. Common writing errors	Avoid!  See examples below (Dirty Dozen …)	

Reference list of common writing errors.  For more detailed explanations, see the Department of Biology’s “Dirty Dozen and Then Some” scientific web site.

Incomplete sentences	Writing numbers	Irregardless	
Subject-verb agreement	Writing species names	Significant	
Misspelled words	Since vs. because	Use of colons	
Affect vs. effect	When to use et al.	Perform vs. preform	
Data vs. datum	e.g. vs. i.e.	That vs. which	
Use of quotes	Misplaced modifiers	Among vs. between	
Use of contractions	Stacked modifiers	Nuclear vs. nucular	
Writing numbers less than 1.0	Very	Unthinking use of spell checkers