Manuscript writing advice from Science Magazine

At the 2009 AAAS meeting seminar “How to publish in Science”, Pamela Hines, Senior Editor, gave some general advice on manuscript writing:

• Organize and simplify.
• Write for multiple audiences.
• Write an outline.
• Fill in specifics and details.
• Have someone else read it.
• Rewrite, repeat as needed.
• Decide on where to send it.
• Stick to requested formats.
• Introductions can be short.
• Present results, don’t just repeat what the figures show.
• Provide conclusions and context.
• Account for other research,
• Be reasonable with your use of figures.
• Watch the presentation (smooth readability, neatness, etc).
• Abstracts should present the background, results, objective or method if important, and conclusions.

Most of this is of course applicable to any manuscript. Ultimately all the advice Dr. Hines gave, and which I have reported on in previous posts, goes toward understanding the process of publishing in Science Magazine, because “there is no easy answer” to how to get in.

Here’s some more advice from Science Magazine:

Part 1: What Science wants

Part 2:  Brevia

Part 3: Science cover letters

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