1) Sentences that include findings from another study should be followed
by a citation of that work.
2) Text taken verbatim from another source must be in quotes and followed
by a citation.
3) Avoid quotations as much as possible. Use your own words.
4) Begin each paragraph with a topic sentence. All sentences
in that paragraph should be related to that topic.
5) Peer-reviewed literature includes scientific journal articles and
books. It does not include magazine articles, government
reports, web pages and other literature that has not be reviewed by peers.
6) An abstract should include a brief summary of the finding for a
study. Never state "results will be discussed."
7) Scientific studies should be written in the past tense. Exceptions
may occur when discussing the implications of the study in the discussion.
8) Give the scientific name of all species at least once. If you prefer
to use common names, only give the scientific name when the species is
first mentioned. Common names of fish species are not capitalized unless
the begin a sentence.
Example: 1st mention "Gizzard shad (Dorosoma cepedianum)
is abundant in Tuttle Creek reservoir." Second mention "Detritus
and algae are the dominant food items of gizzard shad."
9) Scientific names can refer to one or more individuals.
10) There is usually no need to describe the physical features of species
(e.g., "red shiner have 8 anal fin rays").
11) The introduction must include a statement of study objectives.
12) 1950s instead of 1950's
13) Always double space
14) Metric units only. Even if you have to break out the calculator!
15) Fish = one or more individuals of the same species; Fishes = more
than one species
16) Know your audience. This is a scientific paper, don't use
slang terms.
17) Make a pronoun refer unmistakably to its antecedent.
18) Use a semicolon before a conjunctive adverb (e.g., "I really like
to hunt; however, I'd rather be fishing).
19) Avoid using phrases like "I determined". In science, we work
with probabilities and never really determine anything.
20) Table captions go directly on the table, Figure captions should
be listed on a separate page. Table and Figure captions should be
descriptive enough that a reader can interpret the table without reading
the text.
21) Don't use reference lines or color backgrounds for graphs (i.e.,
the defalt for Excel graphs).