Science writing tip #1: Read the guidelines

This tip is simple, but effective. You can save a considerable amount of time by starting your article preparation by carefully reading the guidelines provided by your target journal, conference, or funding agencies.

Why does it matter?

Reading the guidelines before you prepare your document will help ensure that you choose an appropriate venue for submission. If the scope of the journal or conference does not cover your research, you can immediately move on and choose an alternative place to submit your work.

As you write and format your document, you will need to make numerous decisions. These decisions relate to matters of style. For example:

• American or British English spelling and conventions, if you are writing for an English language scientific publication?
• US letter or A4 page size?
• Which font and size?
• Single or double line spacing?
• Should pages and lines be numbered?
• How should abbreviations be handled?

These are a subset of the questions that will arise as you prepare your document. The guidelines provided by your target journal, conference, or funding agency may answer some or all of these questions. If you are familiar with the guidelines before you start writing, you will spend less time considering each choice and less time correcting inconsistencies when you edit your work.

Furthermore, some journals will immediately return an article without considering it if their guidelines have not been followed. Although it may seem unfair to be rejected based on formatting guidelines without any consideration for your research, you can optimise your chance of success by adhering to the rules.

How to apply this tip

Look for sections with titles like ‘Author guidelines‘, ‘Instructions for authors‘, and ‘Preparing the manuscript‘ on the website of your target journal, conference, or funding agency.

If the instructions are long or difficult to read, I recommend making a checklist for yourself. You can easily refer to your own checklist as you write and edit. Be sure to thoroughly read over the full instructions again before you submit your article.

If your target journal does not provide detailed guidelines, start the writing process by making these decisions for yourself. Then, as you write, you can apply the guidelines consistently. You may also be able to contact the journal, conference organizers, or funding agency and ask for clarification of their requirements.

How do you prepare to write your scientific documents? Ask questions or share your experience below!