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How to write a manuscript
Get your paper accepted
Daniel McGowan, PhD
Science Director, Edanz Group Limited
Spring 2010
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Presentation
Introduction
Section One: Preparations before writing
Section Two: Manuscript structure
Section Three: Tips for getting accepted
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To share your research findings and opinions
with the international research community
Publication success is linked to funding successand career advancement
Many PhD programs require candidates to
achieve a set number of peer-reviewed
publications
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Why publish?
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Funding
Bodies
Scientists /Clinicians
GrantWriting
Journal
Publication
Regularly publishing research findings ensures ongoing grant
support for new research
Publish or perish
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Increased competition
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0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008
%
Year
Journal numbersJournal submissions
Relative growth from 100% baseline in 1990
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How to identify hot topics
Study design
What do journal editors want?
Choosing an appropriate journal
Ethical issues
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Section One Preparations before writing
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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
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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
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Good quality science Robust to peer review
Well designed and executed original research
Findings of interest to the journals readership
Work in an active research area (=citations!)
Work that advances the field in some way Compliance with ethical regulations
Clear, concise writing
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What do journal editors want?
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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
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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?
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Journal Selection
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Unethical behavior could lead to rejection and a possibleban 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
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The write order
Title
Abstract and keywords
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Results
Display items
Statistics
Discussion and
Conclusions
References
Section Two Manuscript structure
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IMRaD manuscripts: for maximum clarity andconsistency, write in this order:
Methods
Results
Introduction
Discussion
Title
Abstract
Write after selecting your
target journal
Write during the research
The write order
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Hook to catch
readers
Sells your
manuscript
to the editor
Relevant readers
increase citations
Journal editors like citations
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The importance of your title
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Convey the main findings of the research
Be specific and concise without focusing on only
one part of the content Avoidjargon, non-standard abbreviations and
unnecessary detail
Comply with character limits
Some journals also require a short running title
A good title
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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
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A good title
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Many researchers will only read the abstract somust be able to stand alone
Must give an accurate summary of your research,
and enough information so that readers canunderstand:
What you did
Why you did it
What your findings are
Why your findings are useful and important
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Abstract
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General rules for abstracts:
Within the word limit
Avoid technical jargon
Avoid abbreviations unless necessary
Avoid references
Always consult the target journals Guide for Authors todetermine allowable length, style and abbreviations
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Abstract
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Abstracts are often followed by a list ofkeywords 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.
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Keywords
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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
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Keywords
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Must give the reader enough background informationto 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
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Introduction
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Define technical and non-familiar terms
Present the problem, research question and/or
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
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Introduction
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IntroductionLiver resection has become an increasingly safe procedure, but certainprocedures remain high risk, such as massive liver resection and small-for-
size (SFS) liver transplantation. Massive hepatic resection is the only option
for some patients.
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
impaired regeneration
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 CR2complement component
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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
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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
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Materials and methods What You Did
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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-xL, 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 BiotechnologyInc. 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) 3Overhangs were carried out as twodeoxythymidine 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,
Pennsylvania, 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 mM NaCl, 1 mM EDTA, 1% SDS, 0.5 mg/ml Pronase E (Sigma-Aldrich), and 150 g/mlProtease 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
the human -actin
Statistics. For statistical analysis, 2-tailed Students ttest was used to assess the significance of mean
differences. Differences were considered significant at a P value of 0.05 or less.
Materials
describedfirst
References
to savespace
Clear
subheadings
Detailedinformation
given
Suppliers
Statistical
test
information
The Journal of Clinical Investigation (doi:10.1172/JCI37155; reproduced with permission)
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Assemble your findings in a logical order to make a story
Present your findings in subsections (the same as those in yourmethods 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 thetext
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Results What did you find?
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Proapoptotic signaling induced by RIG-I and MDA-5 results in type I
interferonindependent apoptosis in human melanoma cellsRobert Besch, HendrikPoeck 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 celllines 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 (Figure (Figure1A).1 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 (Figure (Figure1B).1 B). Different pppRNAs were tested, and all
reduced cell viability (Figure (Figure1C).1 C). The 5-triphosphate moiety was required, since synthetic RNAs
carrying a free OH group at the 5 end (e.g., OH-RNA1) had no effect (Figure (Figure1C,1 C, left panel). Strong
dose-dependent reduction of viability was observed for poly(I:C) (Figure (Figure1C,1 C, right panel). Reduced
viability was reflected in an increased number of cells undergoing apoptosis (Figure (Figure1D).1 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 (Figure (Figure1E).1 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- expression in melanoma cells
(Figure (Figure3A).3A). Silencing of RIG-I and MDA-5 confirmed that induction of IFN- by pppRNA andpoly(I:C) required RIG-I and MDA-5, respectively, and that both required
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
(Figure (Figure7A).7A).
Graphics used to
show data with
only brief
descriptions in
text
Clear
subheadings
It is clear what
was compared
with what
The Journal of Clinical Investigation (doi:10.1172/JCI37155; reproduced with permission)
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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
Legends must be able to stand alone: write them in the present tense
(except when describing methods)
Comply with journal guidelines on display items
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Display items Tables and figures
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Tables are a great way to present large amounts of necessarydata 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)
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Display items Tables and figures
Clear concise heading
Data divided into
categories for
clarity
Percentages as well as
absolute values
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Display items Tables and figures
Trend lines
Multi-panel:
different kinds of
data groupedtogether 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 tumorvolume plotted as a
function of time (mean SEM).
Right panel shows tumorweightplotted 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 m.
Clear, stand
alone legend
The Journal of Clinical Investigation (doi:10.1172/JCI37622; reproduced with permission)
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Today, few professional activities are untouched by
statistical thinking, and most academic disciplines use it
to a greater or lesser degree Statistical thinking is a way
of recognizing that our observations of the world cannever be totally accurate; they are always somewhat
uncertain.
Rowntree D (1981). Statistics without tears. A primer for non-mathematicians. Penguin Books Ltd., London,England
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Statistics
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Statistical analysis is at the heart of scientific inquiryConsider statistical analysis when you design yourstudy. Before you start your research.
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Statistics
Datacollection
Dataanalysis
Interpretation
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Reporting statistics in your manuscript:
Indicate the parameters described, e.g., meansS.D
Indicate the statistical tests used to analyze data
Give the numerator and denominator with
percentages, e.g., 40% (100/250)
Report p values, e.g., use p=0.0035 rather than
p
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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 miceSongqing He, Carl Atkinson et al
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The Journal of Clinical Investigation (doi:10.1172/JCI38289; reproduced with permission)
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-tailed Students ttest 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-
treated controls.
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
significant only used forstatistical significance
Significance indicated in figure/table legend
Significance threshold defined
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Restate your research question and/or any hypothesespresented 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 sectionsDescribe inconsistencies with other papers
Describe the limitations of your study
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Discussion What does it all mean?
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Be humble
Dont overstate the importance of your results
Our findings prove that
Our findings show that
Our findings suggest that
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Discussion
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Restate key findings and their significance
Propose future studies that might follow
on from your current study
Give the reader a take-home message
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Conclusions
i h b i i h i i f i
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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 toidentify 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-activating potential.
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-Boyer and colleagues
However, that the growth and metastatic properties of the tumor xenografts were dependent on
the endogenous expression of RCP suggests an oncogene addictionlike scenario, whereby RCP
may play a vital role in the maintenance and potentiation of the malignant and metastatic
phenotype
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.
RCPis a human breast cancerpromoting gene with Ras-activating function
Jinqiu Zhang, Xuejing Liu et al
The Journal of Clinical Investigation (doi:10.1172/JCI37622; reproduced with permission)
Edanz Group Limited | 40
Restate the
question/problem
Restate main findings
Put in context of
previous work
Future research plans
Use suggests and may
Restate main findings
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Your chance to acknowledge anyone who has helped with thestudy:
Individuals who did not qualify for authorship based on
ICMJE criteria
Any researchers that supplied materials or reagentsAnyone 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
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Acknowledgments
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Always format your references: check your target journalsGuide for Authors for the appropriate format
Harvard style or Vancouver style or APA
Formatting is required both in textand in the referencessection
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
target journals Guide for Authors
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References
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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
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Cover letters
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Journal Editors receive hundredsof manuscripts each month
They dont have time to read each
manuscript
Society journal editors are
especially busy they are usually
practicing researchers too
Your cover Letter is an opportunity
to get the journal editors attention
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Competition for publication space and for editors
attention is very high
It is not enough to send a manuscript to a journal editor
like this:
Cover letters
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Dear Editor-in-Chief,
I am sending you our manuscript entitled Large Scale Analysis of Cell Cycle Regulators in
bladder cancer 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
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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
of interest to the journals target audience
Consult the journals Guide for Authors for cover letter
requirements (e.g., disclosures, statements, potential reviewers)
Give corresponding author details
Your cover letter
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Dear Dr Lisberger,
Please find enclosed our manuscript entitled Amyloid-like inclusions in the brains of Huntingtons disease patients, byMcGowan 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 in the brain tissues of Huntingtons disease (HD) patients; however, the role
of these inclusions in the disease process has remained unclear. One suspected disease-causing mechanism in
Huntingtons disease and other polyglutamine disorders is the potential for the mutant protein to undergo a
conformational change to a more stable anti-parallel -sheet structure
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....
.detected inclusions observed in parallel sections, suggesting that only a relatively small proportion of inclusions in HD
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
journal publishing original research on all aspects of neuroscience
We confirm that this manuscript has not been published elsewhere and is not under consideration by another journal. Allauthors 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.
Please address all correspondence to.
Give the
background to
the research
Explain what
was done and
what was found
Explain why this
is interesting to
the journals
readership
Conforms tothe journals
requirements
Your cover letter
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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
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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 sureyour manuscript looks perfect
Language
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A senior executive at a large international publishing house
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Introduction of language
screening protocols to
check submissions
Editors dont want to send poorly written manuscripts forpeer review
Editors receive enough well written submissions to reject
poorly written manuscripts
Language screening
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Language
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Some journals are very clear regarding their English requirements,
and about what happens to manuscripts that do not meet their
standards
European Polymer Journal
Language and Style: Manuscripts should bewritten in English in a clear and concise manner.
Manuscripts which are not written in fluent
English will be rejected automatically withoutrefereeing.
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Clarity
Conciseness
Correctness (accuracy)
Good scientific writing possesses the following three Cs:
Key points:Be as brief as possible without omitting essential details
Be as specific as possible
Scientific writing
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Avoid:
Spelling and grammatical errors
Insufficient detail/vagueness
Repetition
Redundancy
Ambiguity
Inconsistency
They annoy editors, peer reviewers and readers
Scientific writing Common problems
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Tense
Articles
Plural or singular
Proper nounsHyphen or dash
That/which
Making comparisons
Respectively
Between or among
Nomenclature
Numbers
PunctuationSuch as/namely
Etc.
Asian fonts
UK or US spelling
Language Common English problems
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Language Dash or hyphen
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Hyphenation: for joining usually separate words
Incorrect use can lead to ambiguity
twenty-four hour reactions
twenty four-hour reactions
is different to
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Language Dash or hyphen
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En dash (): means through.
October 2829; pp. 25. (dont use ~)
Em dash (): Used to break a sentence, introduce
something, or introduce an afterthought.
These two metalsthat is, titanium and magnesium
are very light.
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Language Asian fonts
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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 ?
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Use simple language: it is often clearer, more precise andmore concise than using more complex language
Say what you mean in as few words as possibleDelete unnecessary words
Avoid circular sentences, redundancies and repetition
One sentence: one idea
Simple is best
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Language UK or US spelling
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Be consistent
Check the journals Guide for Authors
Generally, American journals require US spelling and British
journals require British spelling, but many accept either formas long as the spelling used is consistent
fibre or fiber
centre or center
labelling or labeling
colour or color
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Language Comparisons
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Frequently made in the results sections of papersCompare like with like
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.
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Language Comparisons
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Expression levels of p53 in smokers were compared with non-smokers
Expression levels of p53 in smokers were compared with p53levels in non-smokers
Expression levels of p53 in smokers were compared withthose in non-smokers
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62
Language Comparisons
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Relative terms, such as more, higher and greater, require areference for comparison
Use than or compared with
Reactions with the new machine were faster than those with theold machine
Reactions with the new machine were faster. than what?
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Language Between or among
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Use between for comparisons oftwo groups
Use among for comparisons ofmore than two groups
..significant differences were observed in the H values among bio-
, fully- and semi-synthetic
the only difference between the original molecule and the new
molecule is...
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Language Respectively
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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 at85, 7 and 4 mL/min, respectively.
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Language Such as or namely
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such as: to give examples
namely: to define
.there were other factors, such as nutrient status, primary
production, microbial biomass, and coagulation processes.
we used certified reference materials, namely C36 n-alkane and
phenanthrene, obtained from
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Language Colon or semicolon
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The colon : is used to introduce a list or a clause thatexplains what precedes it
Semicolon ; is used to separate the items in a list too long
for commas or where commas could be ambiguous. Useand before the last item in the list.
There are a number of journals for organic chemistry
manuscripts: Organic Electronics, produced by Elsevier; The
Journal of Polymer Science, produced by Wiley; The Journal
of
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Language Minimizing errors
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The internet can help you
Google Scholar to check for word usage
Check your target journals home page for full instructions
MS Word
Track changes functionComment 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
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Is the manuscript sufficiently novel?Is the manuscript of broad enough interest?
Reviewers What do they look for?
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Novelty
Significance
Aims and Scope
Impact Factor
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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
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Reviewers About the manuscript
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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?
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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
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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
collective knowledge as part of the literature
Revisions Post-referee revisions
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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
Revisions Post-referee revisions
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Only 1.5% of papers are immediately accepted withoutneed for any revisions
Journal editor
decision
Complete rejection
Acceptance
Rejection with major revisions
Rejection with minor revisions
Revisions Post-referee revisions
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Revisions Post-referee revisions
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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 yourpaper: 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 letterClearly show the major revisions in the text
Return revised manuscript and response letter within the
requested time period
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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
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