ACIAR GUIDE TO AUTHORS, EDITORS, PROOFERS AND DESIGNERSLast updated 27 November 2013

GeneralACIAR publishes in four main series—monographs, technical reports, proceedings and impact assessment series—and as a general rule both in paper form and electronically at <aciar.gov.au>. All material appearing in these series is ‘edited’ to some extent.

To aid speedy publication authors are asked to present complete manuscripts as Word documents, and simply formatted as though the material was being prepared for a traditional journal. Figures, tables and low-resolution photo scans (thumbnails) should be embedded in the text, and high-resolution, print-quality images (TIFFs or JPGs), and original figure files (Excel etc.), should be provided separately. (See ‘Illustrations/figures’ below for more information.)

Manuscripts should be left-justified (ragged right), with single word spaces between sentences, no indentation of paragraphs, and single line space between paragraphs. Use Word formatting styles to indicate heading hierarchies, and the Table tool to create tables (rather than simply tabbing across the line), to assist the designer in the creation of fully accessible WCAG 2.0-compliant web files. Editors are to suggest alt text (embed in orange type in square brackets below figure captions) and clear with liaising author when checking other editorial queries/changes.

Editors should also ask authors at page-proof (PDF) stage to provide description details in the document properties. This provides the metadata for the document and helps with internet searching.

Authors and affiliationsACIAR prefers to respect the preference of authors and will therefore attribute authorship to given name (or initials) and family name. For those authors from countries with non-European naming conventions (i.e. China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Japan) ACIAR prefers to follow the family name – given name convention without contraction to initials. See also “Referencing Chinese/Vietnamese names” towards the end of this document.

Authors with permanent email addresses are urged to give that address together with a mailing address for correspondence. Do not use abbreviations for states/provinces and countries in addresses, as ACIAR publications have a large foreign audience.

Author contact details can be included in footnotes to multi-authored chapters (e.g. Proceedings and some Technical Reports) or can be included in an "Author contact addresses" section after the Contents.

Review processAll papers and manuscripts must be checked by at least one independent reviewer before submission to ACIAR.

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AbstractsInclude abstracts for individual papers within multi-authored volumnes (especially Proceedings and some Technical Reports). Keep your abstract within 300 words or it will lose impact and will likely be rewritten by abstracting journals. Together with the title, the abstract of a paper reporting experimental work should cover: the objective of the paper and/or the study it reports; the methods used; the main results; and a succinct statement of the conclusions reached, including brief mention of any further work that might be needed to clarify findings. Abstracts of review papers need simply describe the objective of the review and the field covered by it.

Do not cite references in abstracts, or use abbreviations unless first spelt out.

ForewordAll ACIAR scientific publications are to include a 300–600-word foreword signed by the ACIAR Chief Executive Officer. This foreword is to be drafted by the liaising author/editor and submitted with the final manuscript.

Distribution listWith submission of your manuscript (or at least shortly afterwards), authors must also submit a list of people’s names and addresses, to whom a complimentary copy of the publication will be sent. This is probably best prepared in consultation with the relevant ACIAR Research Program Manager. This list is to include all those involved in the project, the contributors of the publication, and anyone who the author believes will benefit from receiving a copy. After all, there is no point publishing unless people get to read it.

Acronyms and abbreviationsTry to avoid the use of acronyms and abbreviations but where they are used, spell them out the first time they appear in the text, followed by their abbreviated form in brackets. (This applies to 'ACIAR' as well.) Abbreviations and acronyms should be spelt out the first time they are used in each chapter or paper. See ‘-ise, -isation’ in the word list (at the end of this document) for acronyms to watch out for. A list of acronyms and abbreviations can be included at the start if necessary (to be determined on a case-by-case basis). If so, do not precede heading with “List of…”; simply use “Acronyms” or “Abbreviations” or “Acronyms and abbreviations”—whatever is appropriate.

GlossaryIf you use technical or other terms that may be unfamiliar to some readers explain what they mean the first time each one appears in the paper. If you need to use many unfamiliar terms, a glossary may be helpful. Only proper nouns etc. to be capitalised.

Spelling/styleACIAR’s spelling style is based on the latest edition of The Macquarie dictionary. ACIAR’s style generally follows that set down in the sixth edition of the Style manual (John Wiley & Sons, 2002). See also ‘ACIAR Style Sheet’ at the end of this document.

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HeadingsTry to restrict the levels of headings/subheadings to three. Please use Word formatting styles to differentiate the levels. (This also facilitates the creation of fully accessible WCAG 2.0-compliant PDF files.) Use lower case letters, except for the initial word and for proper names. Do not use all caps. Headings for “How-to” manuals tend to be numbered (1, 1.1, 1.1.1 etc.), but not for Proceedings and Technical Reports. However, if there are too many numbering systems (for headings, boxes, figures, tables) it can get confusing so take a commonsense approach.

Page numberingACIAR uses arabic numerals (1, 2, 3 etc.), not lower case Roman numerals, for all pages including preliminaries.

Scientific and common namesEnsure accuracy of scientific names (editors should Google them if unsure and query any inconsistencies), and that common names, if used, are used consistently. Genus and species names are to be italicised. It is unnecessary to follow scientific names with ‘L.’, or to give authorship (the authority) of species, unless it is relevant.

If it is necessary to give details of the person who described the species, separate the surname from the year of description with a comma (to distinguish it from a reference citation) and include in brackets if originally described in a different genus. (This is probably only useful for species checklists etc.)

Spell out genera and species names at the start of sentences, e.g. "Dioscorea alata grows in PNG." (not "D. alata grows in PNG.")

Some taxonomic rank conventions:

tribes (end in –ae in botany, –ini in zoology), Roman (ie not italics) font, capital letter

sections in italics, capital letter varieties, hybrids, races, groups in Roman, capital letter (e.g. rice variety Indica) plant cultivars in Roman, capital letter.

Plant disease names: According to Scientific style and format: the CSE manual for authors, editors and publishers (Council of Science Editors, 7th ed., 2006, p. 390): all words are lower case unless the English language requires it (e.g. place names); and, if a scientific name of a plant pathogenic organism forms part of the disease name, write the scientific name in italics, and use an initial capital if it is a genus name. So it is Fusarium rot, Pythium rootrot etc.

Common names of species are lower case unless a proper noun is involved (e.g. red gum, Sydney blue gum, white-faced heron, Antarctic beech).

Soil names (e.g. Alfisol, Mollisol) are capitalised (see Scientific style and format: the CSE manual for authors, editors and publishers for more info on soil taxonomy.)

Names of planets, including Earth, capitalised.

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ACIAR project numbersACIAR project numbers start with a 2–4-letter program area code, followed by the year in full and a 3-digit number, each separated by a forward slash (e.g. FST/1994/016; not project 9416). If citing projects in text, provide the project number and, if necessary, the title in italics and brackets. (That way the reader knows how far to skip along to normal text if they choose not to read the sometimes laboriously long title!)

Mention the relevant project number and title in Acknowledgments section (avoid citing project number in Foreword).

Commas, dot points and colonsPlease follow the rulings as set out on page 105 (commas) and pages 142–144 (dot points) in the Style manual (6th ed.). ACIAR does not believe in the ‘Oxford comma’ (comma before 'and') unless it is required for sense. Use a lower-case letter after a colon (e.g. for subtitles, lists etc.)

Units of measurementUse the metric/SI (Système International d’Unitès) system throughout for units of measurement, and use the abbreviation (m, kg, km, ha, °C, mL etc.), except for units of time (year, month etc.), which should be spelt out. There should be a space between the number and the unit of measurement (e.g. 1 kg, 35 ha, 28 °C). Note also L and mL (cap L) for litre and millilitre (to avoid typographic confusion with ‘l’ and ‘I’).

NumeralsSpell out one to nine, except when followed by a measurement, in which case use the numeral (e.g. 1 year, 3 kg, 4 m). Use numerals when expressing numbers that are not whole (e.g. 3.5).

Use a comma in all 4+-digit numbers (e.g. 1,984; 23,420) to avoid possible confusion with calendar years. (Note: this is different from the Style manual.) However, do not use the comma in 4+-digit page numbers in references (see "Reference list – journal articles").

Abbreviate last year in a span (e.g. 2003–04, 1996–97), except when spanning centuries (e.g. 1998–2006).

In spans of page numbers, repeat all units (e.g. 930–933).

CurrenciesACIAR tends not to use the three-letter international codes for currency (e.g. USD, AUD, SBD). Instead use US$, A$, SI$, ¥15,000, Rp650, with the symbol preceding the dollar sign. Chinese currency is the yuan (not Renminbi). Use the following conventions for Vietnamese (55 dong) and Lao (55 kip).

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FootnotesAvoid using footnotes in the text (except for authors’ addresses on first page of papers in multi-authored works). Footnotes in text are given superscript numbers (1, 2, 3 etc.); footnotes in tables are given superscript lower-case letters (a, b, c etc.).

EquationsIf equations or formulas occur in the manuscript, number them in sequence. Please give special care to the setting out of equations, which often cause problems for typesetters and proofreaders and therefore are more likely to be printed incorrectly. If any unusual or special symbols are used, spell out what they are in the margin of your manuscript next to where they appear. Refer to equations within text as “equation (1)” (i.e. lower case ‘e’ and the number in brackets). Italicise variables in the equation and in the text, but do not italicise the subscript, e.g. kcat.

DatesUse the following style: 30 May 2006.

Latin expressionsLatin expressions, such as in situ, in vitro, ex ante, ex post, inter alia, et al. etc., in Roman type (not italics).

Split infinitivesACIAR supports splitting infinitives (‘to’ and the verb) when it makes the text more readable. For example, “Exporting countries will need to quickly convert to the new system.”

TablesNumber tables consecutively and be sure to refer to all of them in the text. Provide a brief title for each table.

Do not provide tables as embedded graphics because they cannot be edited. Instead, simply include them as part of the Word document.

Keep column headings and descriptive matter in tables to a minimum. Ensure that all abbreviations are explained. Cite source of tables, where appropriate, in the following style: Source: Nigram et al. (2004). Designers should put the table source in smaller font beneath the table. Table legend should sit above table (not below as for figure captions).

Figures in tables should be lined up vertically beneath decimal points, or like units (designers and proofers to check).

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Illustrations/figuresNumber figures consecutively and refer to them in the text. For Proceedings and other publications, where papers/chapters are written by different authors, number sequentially within each chapter Fig. 1, 2, 3 etc.

Graphs, figures, illustrations etc. may be copy-and-pasted into the Word document, however, please also submit the original files from which they were created (e.g. Excel, Illustrator, EPS etc.) so that we can edit the words if necessary.

Digital photos need to have a resolution of 300 dpi (dots per inch). As a general rule, anything under about 600 kb will be unprintable. Please aim to provide digital images that are over 1 MB in size (the bigger the better). Please do not crop photos yourself. We require the full-sized image—whatever comes straight off the camera.

For composite figures containing several images, please provide the individual high-resolution images separately. Do not compile them yourself and submit as a single image.

Large files may need to be copied to a disc or memory stick, rather than emailed. Please label images clearly so that they can be married up with captions. Please also provide photographers’ names or source of images.

If reproducing figures or photos from other sources, it is the responsibility of the authors to obtain permission to reproduce. Without such permission ACIAR is unable to proceed with publishing.

When submitting photos of people/farmers, it is the photographer’s responsibility to gain permission from the subject to publish the image. Wherever possible, please include farmers’ names in the captions.

Captions for figures and headings for tablesDo not use autonumbering (in Word) when numbering tables and figures. This creates problems when typesetting.

The figures and tables, together with their captions, headings and legends, should make sense on their own, without referring to text. For this reason, avoid abbreviations unless spelt out. Captions should make a point. This may require an additional sentence to make them relevant to the manuscript.

Make sure you clearly associate the figure/photo label with the caption.

Use a fullstop only at the end of a full sentence. However, please try to be consistent with captions—either all full sentences or fragments of sentences.

Captions for figures appear below figures; headings for tables appear above tables (for designers and proofers to check).

When referring to multi-part figures (a, b etc.) in the text, please do not use brackets, even if (a), (b) etc. are used on the actual figure. E.g. “(see Figure 24a and b)”; not “(see Figure 24(a) and (b))”. This convention avoids the awkward use of double brackets.

Consider including a list of abbreviated figures and tables at end of Contents (figures, then tables). In some less technical publications this may not be necessary, and should be determined on a case-by-case basis.

If you need to cite a source for figures, use the same convention as for tables, i.e. "Source: Nigram et al. (2004)", but include after the caption (not in a smaller font below figure, because this may interfere with the caption).

For photo credits, use the following convention after the caption: "(Photo: John Smith)".

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AppendixesWhen more than one, appendixes are to be numbered consecutively (use numerals, not letters).

Appendixes to appear after main text and before the references, as per Style manual. For publications such as Proceedings that contain discrete, stand-alone papers, the appendixes should come at the end of the chapter they are relevant to.

Reference listMake sure all references cited in text are listed in the Reference section at the end of the document. Every reference in the list must be cited (if not, delete it).

ACIAR publications use the author–date system, with references listed alphabetically, according to the authors’ surnames. Except for authors’ initials or directly quoted material, do not use abbreviations in references. Spell out the names of journals in full, because abbreviated journal titles may be unfamiliar to readers in developing countries. Do not underline or type in italics the names of journals or titles of books.

For long lists of authors (more than six), give only the first six, followed by 'et al.'

Appropriate setting out for several common types of references is as follows:

Journal articles

Akram M., Ahmad S. and Forgash A.J. 1978. Metabolism of etrimfos in bean and corn plants. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 26(2), 1925–1931. [Note: do not use a comma in 4+-digit page numbers when used in journal and other references, to avoid confusion with too many commas.]

Books

Snelson J.T. 1987. Grain protectants. Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research: Canberra.

RSPO (Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil) 2007. [Title]. RSPO: [Place of publication].

Conference proceedings

Champ B.R. and Highley E. (eds) 1986. Pesticides and humid tropical grain storage systems. Proceedings of an international seminar, Manila, 27–30 May 1985. ACIAR Proceedings No. 14. Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research: Canberra.

Articles in books

Sieper H. 1972. Residues and metabolism of lindane. Pp. 79–112 in ‘Lindane–monograph of an insecticide’, ed. by E. Ulmann. Verlag K. Schillinger: Berlin.

Articles in numbered conference proceedings (no need to include subtitle info)

Magallona E.D. 1986. Developing-country perspectives and use of pesticides. In ‘Pesticides and humid tropical grain storage systems’, ed. by B.R. Champ and E. Highley. ACIAR Proceedings No. 14, 125–130. Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research: Canberra.

Articles in unnumbered proceedings (provide subtitle info about the proceedings)

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Miller C. 1980. Pesticides. Pp. 12–33 in ‘Agricultural practices. Proceedings of the 15th International Conference of Farmers, Brisbane, 5 June 1980’, ed. by S. Masters. University of Oxford Press: London.

Articles in current proceedings being edited (see below)

In press references

Smith L.P. in press. Title...

For URLs, include within less than and more than symbols (<aciar.gov.au>) at end of reference.

If publication is print and also available online, you could (but not essential) add "Accessible at <URL>."

If only available online, include date of access: e.g. Smith L.P. All you want to know about pigs. At <URL>, accessed 10 February 2010.

If several L.P. Smith publications in reference list, order by publication date, using date of access as the publication date for online-only references.

For multiple references with the same authorship/organisation: after the first instance use a long dash instead of repeating the same set of authors/organisation.

References cited within text If citing a paper from the current proceedings being edited, cite as you would any

other paper (i.e. author and anticipated year of publication), and then list in references as for numbered conference proceedings, followed by "[These proceedings]"

Unpublished data and personal communications should only be cited in the text (not reference list), as in the following examples: “…R. Smith (unpublished data)”; “…W. Jones (pers. comm.)”.

Do not cite ‘in prep.’ references; only ‘in press’ references to be cited as “Smith (in press)” or “...(Smith, in press)”, and these must be included in reference list.

Give author’s surname and date; if more than one reference, arrange chronologically and separate with semicolons; do not italicise ‘et al.’. Example: …(White and Brown 1982; Cameron 1998a, b, 1999, 2010; Brown et al. 1992). List references in order of date (then alphabetical, if dates of two papers the same).

When citing a title of a paper or book in the main body text, use lower case letters and put in single quotes.

If citing an organisation with an accepted acronym, use the acronym and date; and, in reference list, start with acronym and include full name in brackets.

Referencing Chinese/Vietnamese and other namesChinese and Vietnamese names consist of three elements, the family name being first (e.g. Ngo Dinh Diem, Vo Nguyen Giap), but people are politely referred to by the last part of their given name (e.g. Professor Diem, or Giap). As in English, the family name is used in alphabetising (so, in a reference list, Ngo Dinh Giap 2008 precedes Vo Nguyen Dien 2008). Text citations use either the full name or just the family name (Ngo Dinh Diem 2008 or Ngo 2008).

Cambodian names are similar to Chinese and Vietnamese names (surname followed by given name), however Lao and Thai names follow the English tradition (given name followed by surname).

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Indigenous Australian terminologyUse Aboriginal (not Aborigine) as both noun and adjective.

Always spell out Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (do not abbreviate to ATSI).

'Myths' and 'legends' are inappropriate terms; use Dreamtime stories for Aboriginals and creation stories for Torres Strait Islanders.

'Country', in an Indigenous Australian context, is a term that conveniently abbreviates all the values, places, resources, stories and cultural obligations associated with a particular area.

Use capital I for Indigenous when referring to people or communities (for Australians and other nationalities), but lower case otherwise.

The terms 'traditional' and 'contemporary' should be avoided in an Indigenous Australian context, because many Indigenous people continue traditional practices in contemporary situations.

The term 'tribe' is not to be used in the context of Indigenous Australians. Use groups, peoples or communities instead.

Use English version of foreign place names in English documentsUse the English version of foreign place names in English documents. For example, use East Nusa Tenggara (not Nusa Tenggara Timur) and West Nusa Tenggara (not Nusa Tenggara Barat) for the Indonesian provinces.

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ACIAR STYLE SHEET (formatting, spelling, numbers)Formattingaccents for foreign words Avoid use of accents when anglicised, e.g. Noumea

(not Nouméa), beche-de-mer (not bêche-de-mer).

ACIAR project numbers LWR2/1988/013, FIS/1992/005 (include 2–4-digit program code, full year and 3-digit project number separated by slashes); use sentence case for full project titles

Australian Act names italicised, including the year; non-Australian Acts in Roman type (as per p.225 of Style manual)

e.g. Forestry Act 1991

appendixes Appendix 1, 2, 3 etc. (not A, B, C). Appendixes to precede references.

apostrophes, in expressions of time

Only use when reference is in the singular, e.g. a day's journey, the year's cycle. Do not use when plural (six weeks time, ten years experience).

commas either side to separate country from region

e.g. Aiyura, PNG, and…

capitalisation minimal (e.g. disease names lower case), but capitalise names of plant cultivars, planets (including Earth)

colons to be followed by a lower-case letter

Contents not Table of contents; include a list of abbreviated figures and tables at end for the more technical publications

dot or dash points; one level preferably

first level dots, second level dashes (spaced en rules); formatting as per Style manual, full stop at end of last point only, except full punctuation for complete sentences

email addresses Put < and > either side, e.g. <hickey@aciar.gov.au>

em rules—unspaced em rules to indicate pause, explanation, abrupt change etc. (not spaced en rules)

e.g. houses—bungalows and mansions (not houses – bungalows and mansions)

en dash (unspaced) in simple ranges or equivalent terms

e.g. 5.3–8.5 mm; Australia–China agreement; nb: en rules should be used as a substitute for 'to', or to show an association between words that retain their separate identities.

en dash (spaced) in not-simple e.g. 50 mm – 1.5 m; South Australia – New South

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ranges or equivalent terms Wales agreement

footnotes in text 1, 2, 3

footnotes in tables a,b,c except where confusion with superscript numbers (statistical significance annotations)

headings Caps for first word in heading only

hyphenate compound adjectives unless ending in –ly, or consisting of a comparative or superlative (see pp.91–92 of Style manual)

hyphenate north-eastern, south-western etc.

numbered lists 1., 2., 3. Follow style manual, i.e. lower case for sentence fragments.

page numbers arabic (1, 2, 3 etc.) for all; do not use Roman numbers for preliminary pages

single quote marks not double quote marks, unless dialogue within quotation

single space after fullstops not double space

slash (/) without spaces unless separating non-simple terms; also, use / in expressions such as kg/ha (not kg ha-1). Nb: a slash should only be used when separating alternatives (yes/no; male/female), as a substitute for 'per' when units of measurements are abbreviated, and in web addresses.

time: 7 am, 10.02 pm no dots, space after numerals

no space between initials, full stops

e.g. R.W.

vertical type read from bottom to top on LHS, top to bottom on RHS; spine type top to bottom.

Foreword to precede Contents

Preface (if applicable) to follow Contents

variables italicise in equations, footnotes etc.

Websites and email addresses Enclosed in <>, e.g. <xyz.com.au>. Not necessary to include "http://" in web addresses, but include ‘www’ if part of the address.

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Spelling, capitalisation, hyphenation etc.Aboriginal Not Aborigine; see main text for more on Indigenous

Australian terminology.

above-ground, below-ground, in-ground

adj. hyphenated; 2 words otherwise

academic degrees Do not capitalise when used generally, e.g. a bachelor of science degree, a master of arts degree, a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, but abbreviate when used after the full name to PhD, BA, BSc etc. without spaces and fullstops.

acid-sulfate soils

acknowledgment

adaptation not adaption

adviser (not advisor)

aetiology not etiology

Afghan adjective for native of Afghanistan

afghani Afghan unit of currency, lower case, plural afghanis abbreviated ‘afs’

African regions eastern, northern, western, southern Africa (not East Africa, North Africa, West Africa – to avoid confusion with South Africa the country).

agriculture sector not 'agricultural sector'

agroecological, agroecosystems, agroenterprise

airfreight, airtight one word

air-dry hyphenated

although not 'though' (unless preceded in the expression 'even though')

among not amongst

Appendix 1, 2, 3 (not A, B, C) Appendixes (not Appendices) pl.

Asia–Pacific region with en rule, lower case ‘r’ for region; note: ‘Asia–Pacific’ is a compound adjective (not a compound noun), and so expressions such as “He works in the Asia–Pacific” are not acceptable. It should be “He works in the Asia–Pacific region, or in Asia–Pacific countries”.

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ASLP Australia–Pakistan Agriculture Sector Linkages Program (1 & 2). Note: use of en rule, and 'Agriculture' (not Agricultural)

Attorney-General’s Department Hyphenated

AusAID As of November 2013, AusAID became integrated within DFAT. So only mention AusAID if in reference to the past; otherwise replace with Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade – Australian Aid, the Australian Government, Australia, an Australian aid initiative, Australian aid project. If you need to acknowledge an identity, use ‘Australian Aid’ or ‘Australian Government’.

Australian aid program, Australia’s aid program, Australia’s overseas aid program

lower case used

Australian Government not Federal or Commonwealth Government. Nb: use of 'Commonwealth of Australia' may still apply when used to describe the entity established by the constitution or in a geographic sense.

Australian International Food Security Research Centre (AIFSRC)

Spell out in full at first mention, then refer to it with the acronym or as ‘Food Security Centre’. Note the original url for the Centre remains <aciar.gov.au/aifsc> (ie no ‘r’).

avocados (plural)

baseline noun / adj.

backcross one word

BBP2TP Indonesian Institute for Agricultural Technology Assessment and Development (the national parent institution for the BPTPs)

beche-de-mer To describe dried sea cucumber; note that the circumflex above the first 'e' is not used.

BPTPs Assessment Institutes for Agricultural Technologies (BPTPs)

benefit:cost ratio not benefit to cost ratio; note benefit comes before cost. See also cost–benefit analysis.

benefiting

bilateral (not hyphenated)

biocontrol, biodiesel, bioeconomic, biofuel, biolubricant, biotechnology, bioinsecticide

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-borne (e.g. soil-borne, leaf-borne, tick-borne)

hyphenated when used as adj.

brackish water / brackish-water noun / adj.

brassica(s) (lower case, not italics) common name for members of the family Brassicaceae; Brassica (cap B, italics) is one of the many genera in the family

break-even adj.

broadacre, broadleaf

broodstock one word; takes plural verb

brussels sprouts

buffalo (singular) / buffaloes (plural)

build-up

Burma/Myanmar See Myanmar/Burma

bycatch

by-product

C3/C4 plants Use subscripts (not C3/C4).

Canarium nuts Italicise genus name

capacity building / capacity-building

noun / adj.

carbon-sequestration potential hyphenated (when used as compound adjective)

carcass not carcase

CD-ROM not CD-Rom

Central Plain (of Thailand) Not Central Plains

CGIAR Never spell out what CGIAR stands for; do not use 'the' in front of CGIAR; never abbreviate CGIAR Research Programs to CRPs.

chapter/paper For Proceedings, refer to them as papers. For single-authored volumes, refer to them as chapters or sections.

Chapter 1, Section X, Table 1, Figures 1 and 2

initial caps (singular or plural) when referring to figures within the publication; lower case (singular or plural) when referring to figures in another publication

chickpea one word

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chilli (singular), chillies (plural)

CIP International Potato Center (Peru)

clear-cut hyphenated

close-up

co-author, co-ancestry hyphenated

cocoa pod borer 3 words, no hyphens, can be abbreviated to CPB

colouration

co-integrat/e/ation etc.

common names for species lower case, unless they include a proper noun, in which case that word only is upper case

Commonwealth see Australian Government

compare with/to use ‘with’ if highlighting differences; ‘to’ if highlighting similarities

cooperate, coordinate

cost–benefit analysis Use en rule (not hyphen)

cost-effective

country names If applicable, use the name used by UN (see www.un.org/en/members/index.shtml)

cowpea one word

crossbreed

cross-section, cross-disciplinary, cross-fertilise

cut-and-carry

data plural

database, dataset

decision-making, decision-makers

denutting

development assistance program No hyphens; but if the expression is longer, e.g. international development assistance program, you may have to hyphenate to avoid confusion (so the reader doesn't read it as 'international development', as opposed to 'international development-assistance program')

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director-general hyphenated; plural director-generals

direct seeding, direct-seeded rice

disease names lower case, except for proper names used in the disease name, e.g. Newcastle disease, infectious bursal disease virus, Gumboro disease, Fusarium rot, fasciolosis

district not District (same rule as for province)

dryland

dry-season / dry season hyphenated when used as adjective; 2 words otherwise

Earth / earth cap E for the planet / lower case e for soil

East Timor See Timore-Leste

eco-forestry

economic v. economical use 'economic' when relating to income, wealth or the economy; 'economical' only when you mean thrifty

efficiencies water use efficiency, nitrogen use efficiency, fertiliser use efficiency—no hyphens used, despite being compound adjectives

e.g. comma before in text (but not after)

email lower case e, not hyphenated

end-grain panels

end user

equation (1) not Equation (1), Equation 1

erodible (not in Macquarie dictionary)

et al. not italics

etc.

ex-ante, ex-post (adj) / ex ante, ex post (adv)

not italics; hyphenated when used as adjective; not hyphenated when used as adverb

faba bean two words

farmer field schools

farm gate / farm-gate noun / adj.

faeces, faecal Not feces, fecal

Federal See Australian Government

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fenceline

fieldwork

Fiji islands lower case ‘i’; Fiji is the name of the country and Fiji islands should only be used when discussing the islands specifically

fingerprinting

firsthand

fisher / fisherman Generally fisher, rather than fisherman, but depends on context. If the fishers are only men, then fisherman/men can be used. If in doubt, use fisher.

fishery/fisheries Use plural in terms such as Fisheries Commission, aquaculture and fisheries management – except when the fishery refers to one stock, one species, e.g. Bluefin Tuna fishery in PNG.

fishmeal

flood plain / floodplain noun / adjective

floodwater(s)

focused/focusing one s

focuses (plural) not foci

foetus, foetal not fetus, fetal

-fold words rather than numerals for numbers, e.g. fourfold

follow-up (adj., noun), to follow up (verb)

foot-and-mouth disease

freeze-dry/dried/drying hyphenated

fresh water / freshwater noun / adj.

fruit fly, but fruit-fly bait, fruit-fly research

hyphenate fruit-fly only when used as a compound adjective

fuelwood

full-time hyphenated

further/farther use ‘farther’ with distance; ‘further’ with concepts

gastrointestinal

gene bank, gene pool

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germplasm one word

government/Government

Use cap G if part of formal title (e.g. Vietnamese Government, South Australian Government) but lower case when used generally (state government, Australian and NZ governments).

grasspea

grassroots

greenhouse gases

groundcover, groundwater for both noun and adj.

groundnut Use peanut instead

grow-out hyphenated, for both noun and adj.

guinea grass lower case ‘g’

halfway

handline (fishing), handtool, handwoven

health care (n) / healthcare (adj) two words as a noun; one word as adjective

hemispheres Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere (caps)

highlands lower case h, e.g. PNG highlands

high-value product not high-valued product

the Hon. ACIAR uses the fullstop in abbreviations, including titles, in all its publications, even though PM&C doesn't.

honey bee

i.e. comma before in text

hp abbreviation for horsepower (not HP or H.P.)

IARCs International Agricultural Research Centres (use caps when spelling out)

in-country

index, indexes plural not indices

Indigenous/indigenous use cap I when referring to native human inhabitants of a country, but lower case otherwise

Indochina

Indonesia thin tail sheep lower case for common names of animal breeds

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infection/infestation internal/external

infra-red hyphenated

in-situ, in-vitro (adj.) in situ, in vitro (adv.) (no italics)

internal rate of return to be abbreviated IRR once first spelt out

International Agricultural Research Centres (IARCs)

capitalised

internet lower case i

-ise / -isation endings not –ize / -ization endings (note world organisations WHO, WTO, FAO are spelt with a ‘z’; but OECD, OIE are spelt with ‘s’)

jerib Afghan unit of area (not jarib, jareb or jirib)

joint-venture noun

judgment

Kharif cap K (season)

ladybird/ladybug Australian term is ladybird, but in PNG they call them ladybugs.

landcare lower case l, one word

landholders, landmass, landowners

one word

Lao PDR / Laos / Lao / Laotian Use “Lao PDR” (not “the Lao PDR” or “Laos”) when used formally and in titles; otherwise “Laos”. Adjective: use “Lao” (not “Laotian”)

land use / land-use noun / adj.

leaf spot two words

learned not learnt

life cycle; life span; lifestyle

liver fluke two words (when used as a compound adj. and noun)

liveweight one word (n. and adj.)

longline(r) two words

longstanding one word

Luang Prabang (a province in Laos), not Luang Phabang.

macro-economic

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Maldives Use (the) Republic of Maldives in first instance, then abbreviate to (the) Maldives. Include 'the' if it sounds better (in most cases).

mandate / mandated noun / adj.

mangoes

mega/million abbreviated M, no space between M and unit, e.g. Mha (millions of hectares), Mt (megatonne). See million...

merino lower case for names of animal breeds

marketplace

Mekong Delta caps

meta analysis

microclimate, microcredit, microfinance, micronutrient

one word

micro-organism hyphenated

mid 1990s

mid-summer / mid summer adj / noun

million dollars $2 million; or $2m (unspaced) in tables etc. Abbreviation only to be used with monetary units (otherwise can be confused with metres).

modelling

mollusc not mollusk

monocropping

motorbike, motorcycle

multidisciplinary, multidonor, multifaceted, multilateral, multipurpose, multisite, multistage, multitrace

mungbean one word

Myanmar/Burma The Australian Government no longer refers to Burma and Myanmar interchangeably. Use Myanmar (not Burma) and Yangon (not Rangoon). Note, when referring to the inhabitatnts of Myanmar, use “Myanmar people” or “people of Myanmar” (not Myanmarese). When referring to the main language of Myanmar, use “Burmese”. When referring to the largest ethnic group in Myanmar, use “Bamar”.

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Title: Numbers

National Agricultural Research Institute (PNG)

not National Agriculture Research Institute

natural resource management no hyphens

net present value to be abbreviated NPV once first spelt out

NGO non-government organisation (spell out first time expression used). Nb: this diverges from Macquarie Dictionary treatment (= non-governmental organisation).

nitrogen use efficiency

nonlinear (one word)

North-East Thailand a designated geographic entity

no-one

north-west

number (the/a) 'A number' takes plural verb; 'the number' singular verb.

Nusa Tenggara Use 'East Nusa Tenggara' and 'West Nusa Tenggara' for the Indonesian provinces (not the Indonesian spelling, Nusa Tenggara Timur and Nusa Tenggara Barat)

on-farm, ongoing, online, onshore

on-site / on site adj. / adv.

outcompete

overestimate, overexploitation, overfishing, oversupply, overripe, overmature, overuse

% not per cent

P < 0.05 italicised P for probability

Pacific islands, Pacific islanders, Pacific island countries

lower case ‘i’

Pacific region Use 'Pacific region' instead of 'the Pacific' (see notes for Asia–Pacific region) to refer to countries in the Pacific Ocean; only use 'the Pacific' if it's clumsy to repeat 'region'.

Pan-Africa(n) Cap P and hyphen

Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs; Parliamentary Secretary for

Mr Richard Marles – use both titles spelt out in full (not Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs and Foreign Affairs).

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Title: Numbers

Foreign Affairs

partner-country / partner country hyphenated when used as a compound adj. (e.g. partner-country researchers), but not otherwise (research carried out by partner countries…)

parts per million to be abbreviated ppm once first spelt out

part-time hyphenated

Pashto Afghan language (not Pashtu or Pushto)

pawpaw one word

pay-off hyphenated

Peninsular Malaysia

people's lives

pers. comm., pers. obs.

per se not italics

pH

PhD, MSc no dots

the Philippines Include ‘the’ (unlike in the case for Solomon Islands), except if it's the first word in a heading or table entry. Note: Philippine is the adjective (but Philippines program, ie the program in the Philippines). Use Filipina and Filipino for female and male Philippine nationals.

planthopper

plateau (singular), plateaus (plural)

not plateaux

policymaker, policymaking

postgraduate

postharvest, preharvest / post-harvest

one word for the adjective / hyphenated for the noun

postlarvae, postlarval

post-mortem noun / adj.

present-value terms

proactive

program not programme

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province(s) lower case ‘p’, e.g. Punjab province, except when 'Province' is part of the province name, e.g. Eastern Province and Northern Province in PNG

pulp mill

purebred

purse seine

quality not to be used as an adjective without a qualifier. Need to define the quality, e.g. high-quality

Qinghai–Tibet Plateau

Queensland, New South Wales etc.

in text

Qld, NSW etc. in tables

R&D no spaces; also note that it is treated as a singular concept, even when spelt out (e.g. Agricultural research and development is considered important.)

Rabi cap R - Indian dry (winter) season

rainfed, rainwater

reef-fish noun AND adj.

region lower case (e.g. Mekong region)

real-life adj.

re-create to create again, not recreate

reinfest, reinvent

Republic of South Africa spell out in titles and first-time use in text, but then abbreviate to RSA or simply South Africa

resource use

respecification

re-treat to treat again, not retreat

re-use

rhizobia common name for species of Rhizobium and other genera of soil bacteria

right-hand adj.

River/rivers Murray River, Murray and Darling rivers (lower case r when used in the plural)

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Title: Numbers

rootrot, rootstock

Rp Indonesian rupiah

runaway, run-off

Saint and Street, both abbreviated to St

no fullstops

salt water / saltwater noun / adj.

sandfish one word; refers to Holothuria scabra

Savu (Islands, Indonesia) not Sabu

seabass

sea cucumber two words; refers to the live animals (cf. bêche-de-mer, which is dried)

sea-farming

sea level / sea-level noun / adj.

sea water / seawater noun / adj.

seedbank, seedlot

seed stock / seed-stock noun / adj.

self-aware, self-concept, self-employed, self-esteem, self-sufficient, self-worth

sensu not italics

set-up hyphenated for both the noun and adjective

shelf life / shelf-life noun / adj.

short-term (adj.) but ...in the short term

shrimp/prawn; shrimps/prawns (plural)

shrimp (general term), black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon), white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei). In Australia ‘shrimp’ refers to freshwater spp. and ‘prawn’ only for edible marine spp. and a few large freshwater species. In most of Asia the opposite terminology is used.

side-by-side

Simbu province (PNG) not Chimbu (a former name)

sizeable not sizable

smallholder Nb: refer to 'smallholders' or 'smallholder farmers', not

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Title: Numbers

'small farmers'

sp., spp. (pl), sp. nov., subsp. (subspecies)

socioeconomic, sociocultural

Solomon Islands (not the Solomon Islands, and cap I for Islands)

South-East Asia

South-East Sulawesi, South Sulawesi

(provinces)

soybean

spillover

state/territory generally lower case, unless an abbreviation for the NT (the Territory)

stemborer

stingray

sub-basin

subequal, subcommittee, subcontinent, subdistrict, subdivision, subfamily, subprogram, subproject, subregion, subspecies, subtropical

Sub-Sahara, Sub-Saharan Africa May be abbreviated to SSA after first being spelt out.

sundry (v), sundrying (n), sun-drying (adj), sun-dried (adj)

sugarcane

sulfur, sulfate f (not ph)

surface water

sweetpotato one word (unlike Macquarie Dictionary)

t-test

targeted

test tube two words

the University of Queensland etc. lower case t for 'the'

Tibet Autonomous Region

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Title: Numbers

Tibetan Plateau

Tibet province

tilapia lower case t for the common name

time frame

timescale

Timor-Leste/East Timor Use Timor-Leste (following practice of referring to a country by the name it uses at the UN). Adjective “Timorese”. If necessary East Timor can follow in parentheses. Note, it is correct to use East Timor for references before 20 May 2002 (date of independence).

tine not tyne

trade-off, tradeable

trans-boundary, trans-disciplinary hyphenated

tranship not transship

travelled

trialled

tuber v. root Sweetpotato is not a tuber, but a modified root. Use ‘root’ or ‘storage root’ when referring to sweetpotato.

turnaround

underdeveloped, underused

underway always one word

up-front adj. / adv.

usable not useable

value-add

value chain (two words as noun) value-chain (hyphenated as compound adj.)

versus if abbreviated, use ‘vs.’

Vietnam not Viet Nam, even though it is listed as such on UN website; AusAID & DFAT haven’t changed yet either!

wastewater

water bodies

waterbirds, watercourse, waterlogged, watertable

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Title: Numbers

water resource management

water use efficiency See also ‘efficiency’

wellbeing

well-developed adj.; but ...is well developed

wet season / wet-season noun / adjective

whale shark

which/that Use ‘which’ in a clause separated with commas when info is not necessary for sense of sentence (parenthetical situations); use ‘that’ with no comma when info is essential for sense of sentence.

while not whilst

woodchip(s)

workplace

WorldFish Center

worldwide one word

WWF World Wide Fund for Nature

year-round adj.

year's / years' See Formatting section, 'apostrophes in expressions of time'

zero till, zero-till system, zero tillage

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Title: Numbers

Numbersarithmetic symbols = ; > ; + spaces either side

numbers spelled out nine and under, except when followed by a measurement (1 year, 3 kg, 4 m); 10 and over as digits

large numbers with commas, before last 3 digits, e.g. 4,000; 25,000

2000–01 and 1998–99 but 1999–2000

en dash, not hyphen; not 2000–1

ordinals (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th) no superscripts, but spell out in general text for numbers up to 100 and for large round numbers

page number spans, e.g. 930–933

Repeat all units

30 June 2000 in general text not 30 June, 2000 or June 30th 2000 etc.

1990s; 2000s

5-year-old boy

three-fifths; one-half; one-quarter

twofold

time do not abbreviate units (year, month); use "am" and "pm" (no dots, preceded with a space)

units as 0.5 m, with non-breaking space

currencies US$, A$, SI$ (not USD, AUD, SBD etc.)

21st century, 23rd, 19th ordinals not with superscripts

% always use % with numbers (e.g. not 70 per cent)

For further advice and assistanceContact Georgina Hickey, ACIAR Publications Manager, GPO Box 1571, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.

Phone +61 2 6217 0534; fax +61 2 6217 0501; email: hickey@aciar.gov.au

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