Writing for OCEAN 220

Goal: write a clean, concise manuscript that is:

• easy for your reader to understand• introduces your topic• explains thoroughly what you did (so someone can repeat it)• presents results cleanly without interpretation, then…• interprets the data and places it within the frame of other

things that are known about your subject, both locally and globally.

Don’t let writin misteaks lead you two a lo grade.

Scientific Papers are…

• Of a unique genre– Convey new, original information– Unlike other writing, you can never have much

experience with your topic because it is all new

Try to:• Avoid cliches like the plague – they’re old hat.• Be more or less specific about it.• Never ever use repetitive redundancies, ever.• Remember that exaggeration is a million-trillion

times worse than understatement.

Common Mistakes:

• Journal articles are not narratives.• Data are plural. What about phytoplankton?• North is not up, south is not down.• Proofreading is important to your success.• Misplaced and dangling modifiers should

be avoided– Lowering the CTD, the salinity was measured.

4

Remember:

• Verbs has to agree with subjects.• Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually)

unnecessary.• Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.• One word sentences? Eliminate.• Use words correctly irregardless of how others use

them.• Puns are for kids, not groan readers.• Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.• Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.• And don’t start a sentence with a conjunctive.

Limnology and Oceanography

• One of the premiere journals in our field• Has a fairly normal style with a few little

quirks

7Published Paper – This is not what you will be turning in!!!

Paper organization

• Title page• Acknowledgements• Abstract• Introduction• Materials and methods• Results• Discussion• References• Tables• Figure legends• Figures

Title page

• Choose a short, informative title• Name and scientific address of author

Mark J. WarnerUniversity of Washington

School of Oceanography, Box 355351 Seattle WA 98195-5351

warner@u.washington.edu

• Running header• Page numbers start here

Acknowledgements

• This is your chance to say thanks to those who helped you. Many funding agencies mandate that you acknowledge their financial support here.

• Separate page from other sections

Abstract• Summarizes the major aspects of the paper in one

paragraph– The question you investigated– Brief description of methods– Major findings including key quantitative results

or trends– Brief summary of interpretations and conclusions

• Describes the results rather than announcing them.

“Growth rates ranged between 3.4 and 6.2 mg C L-1 d-1”

-vs-

“Growth rates were measured”.

• Separate page from other sections

Introduction

• Identify and limit the problem. Start with the general description and work to the specific problem.

• Motivate the reader and review the pertinent literature.

• State the principle result and interpretation at the end of this section (optional).

• Briefly explain your rationale and approach.• Materials and methods can start on the same page as

this section – no need for a page break.

Materials and methods

• Describe your methods for reproducibility.• Be precise and accurate.• If using a standard method, reference it. If not,

spell it out in paragraph form.• Lists of instructions are not acceptable.

Results• What are your principle findings?• Hint: if this section isn’t relatively short, you might be

mixing results and discussion together.• This section should be organized around a series of

Tables and Figures sequenced to present your key findings.

• The text follows this sequence and highlights answers to your questions

• Use the number of significant figures that matches the precision of your findings.

• No: Table 1 shows…• No: 1-sentence paragraphs

Discussion

• Describe what your findings mean. • How do your findings relate to what is known about the

region or the topic?• Do your findings imply anything for other studies?

Perhaps for future studies?• Reference to the appropriate literature.• Compare your data to what others have seen before.• Extrapolate to other seasons or places.

References

• On a separate page from discussion• Listed alphabetically• Comply with L&O format:

In text:(Baker et al. 1983; Brandes and Devol 1997) In References:Baker E.T., G.A. Cannon and H.C.J. Curl. 1983. Particle transport processes in a small marine bay. J. Geophy. Res. 88: 9661-9669.Brandes J.A. and A.H. Devol. 1997. Isotopic fractionation of oxygen and nitrogen in coastal marine sediments. Geochim. Cosmochimm. Acta 61: 1793-1801.

• (NOTE:, all authors other than the first one are listed initials first (this is an L&O quirk, most journals are not like this), the use of capitol letters in the title is limited to the first letter of the title and proper nouns only, the journal title is abbreviated but not italicized, and the issue is in bold). May also use

Tables

• The legend is with the table.

• Tables have only three lines:

Table 1. Some results based on the stuff I did on the boat.station depth salinity

1 43 28.5436733

2 52 29.4599832

3 126 31.9541645

4 203 30.1741478

5 14 26.3428540

       

No.

      

Station Depth (m) Salinity

1 43 28.53

2 52 29.45

3 126 31.95

4 203 30.17

5 14 26.34

Yes

Figure legends

• Complete sentences or at least clear clauses.• Go on a separate piece of paper from the

actual figure.• All the Fig. legends can be on the same page.• Symbols used in the figure (e.g., circles,

squares, ...) are explained in a key on the figure itself rather than in the legend.

Figures

• A common cause of trouble…

Figures

Figures

• Black & white vs. color• 1 figure per page, 1 page per figure.

– Note: a figure can have more than 1 panel in it.

• Limit of 7 figures (or less) per manuscript• Figures are submitted at ~twice the size that they will

appear when printed and lines are of proper thickness to be successfully reduced.

Things to ponder

• Avoid making yourself plural:‘we’ or ‘our’• Resist the temptation to string boxcars• Get informal review before submission

– We are here for you

– Peer review

• When in doubt, leave it in• Avoid pronouns ‘this, that’• If there are weak points, don’t try to hide them

Good Luck!