Quick reference guide to writing

a journal publication
This quick reference guide gives general
advice on how to improve the quality and
clarity of your writing to increase your
chance of being published in a high-quality
journal. It is not specific to any particular
journal, because each journal has its own
style and preferences.
Check the style guide and requirements of
the journal you are targeting before you
start writing, to save time rewriting and
editing the paper later, and to help get
your paper published more quickly.

Back to basics
Eeny, meeny, miny, mo
where to publish?
Ideally, pick the journal that you are
aiming to publish your paper in before you
start writing. That way, you can shape the
language and structure to fit the audience
and journal needs. This saves editing and
rewriting later.
Your work will attract the best and widest
audience if its published in an
international, peer-reviewed journal.
Try to publish your paper in a specialist
journal related to your work.
Opposites dont always attract
Look for journals in your field that regularly
publish papers similar to yours. This will
improve your chances of being published;
mean your paper is reviewed by people
who understand your topic and can give
appropriate feedback; and help you more
easily reach your intended audience.
Quick reference guide to writing a journal publication.

Timing is everything
Check to see how long it takes between
acceptance and publication. You can see
this on most papers published online. This
will give you a guide for how long it may
take for your paper to be published and
how big the journals back log of papers
to publish is.
Quality, not quantity
Aim for high-quality, peer-reviewed
journals with high circulation and
influence. As a guide, look at things like
citation rates and impact factors, and
where papers with the most impact in your
field have been published. Its often better
to publish fewer papers in quality journals
than more papers in less prestigious
journals (quality, not quantity).
Journal Citation Reports and Scimago
(www.scimagojr.com/) are useful tools to
help you evaluate a journals influence,
impact and quality. They rank journals in
a discipline, based on various metrics,
and consider a journals quality when
listing its citations.
A word about open-access journals
Publishing your paper in an open-access
journal can help you make your findings
quickly and easily accessible. However,
many of these journals have hefty charges
associated with immediately publishing
your work. They (and print journals) may
also charge a handling fee for the
submission process. These charges arent
usually covered by Australian research
grants. Check the journals fine print
and your budget before submitting
or signing anything.

Make sure the open-access journal has

a good reputation and is good quality.
Anyone can start an open-access journal
and they dont always prioritise good
science over money. These questionable
journals are called predatory and you
should avoid them.
Scholarly Open Access has a list of
predatory open-access publishers
available at
http://scholarlyoa.com/2014/01/02/list-ofpredatory-publishers-2014.
The AJE Expert Edge website also
has tips on how to identify predatory
open-access journals. It recommends
you look for things like the journal:
asking for a submission (not
publication) fee
trying to keep copyright of your
publication
having a small or non-existent
editorial board
publisher releasing several new
journal titles at once
issues not being released/published
having an unprofessional/poor-quality
website
having American or British in the
title, even though its published
somewhere else
having fundamental errors in its
published abstracts or titles.
Visit the AJE Expert Edge website at
http://expertedge.aje.com/2012/06/07/way
s-to-identify-a-questionable-open-accessjournal/ for more information.

Watch your language

Be as meticulous in writing about your
research as you were when you actually
did it, and keep your writing as simple as
possible. This will help to effectively and
accurately convey what you did, what you
found and what it might mean.
Simple typos or incorrect phrasing can
completely change the meaning of what
you write, and in doing so, change how
people perceive you and your research.
Quick reference guide to writing a journal publication.

It also looks a little unprofessional

and lazy.

It takes two
Its not enough to just write about
your science thats only half of the
communication process. Communication
involves expression and understanding.
You need to write about your science in a
way that non-experts and people whose first
language isnt English can understand it.
Write clearly, using simple, plain English
as much as possible.

Keep it short and sweet

Use as few words as possible to say what
you mean. Keep your sentences short.
Write in the active voice (We/I did
something) as much as possible.
Avoid flowery language, metaphors,
similes and other literary devices. These
not only add unnecessary words to your
writing, but may confuse people whose
first language isnt English.
Remember: you are writing to convey
your work clearly and concisely. Readers
should be paying attention to what you
are saying, not how you are saying it.

Do as youre told
Journals usually have a style they want
you to follow. Look for the journals current
Instructions to authors on their website.
This document will cover everything,
including whether to use American or
English/Australian spelling; how to
reference; what to abbreviate; what font
type and size to use; margin size; how
long the paper and abstract should be;
how to save and submit, figures, tables
and images/photographs; and what file
type to submit your paper in.

Note: journals update their Instructions to

authors regularly, so use the most recent
version available.
Ideally, check the journal style before you
start writing and follow it. If youve
started or finished writing, check your
paper follows the journals preferred style
before you submit it, and change your
paper if necessary.
Check the Instructions to authors again
before you submit your paper to make
sure youve followed everything correctly.
If you cant find what you need in the
Instructions to authors, look at previous
publications in the journal for examples
and/or contact the editor.

Revise, revise and revise again

Once you have written a first draft, revise
it as many times as it takes to get it as
good as you can before submitting it to
the journal.
Look for things like:
Have you included everything you
need to?
Have you included things you dont
need to (including ideas, paragraphs,
sentences, tables, figures and
individual words)?
Is everything accurate?
Is everything consistent (including
abbreviations, naming conventions,
font style, lay out)?
Is the order of information logical?
(Tip: break each paragraph down into
a sentence describing what its about
do these descriptions flow on from
each other?)
Is the language as short, simple and
straight forward as it can be?
Are there typos, or grammatical or
punctuation errors?
Are the figures and tables clear and in
the same font and style? Do they
follow the journals style?

Does your paper follow the journals

style (e.g. writing/language,
presentation/layout, paper type, paper
length, section order, headings,
abstract style, references, file type,
image preparation and so on)?

Ask other people to look at your paper.

People dont have to be experts in your
field to tell you if you are communicating
your research well. In fact, its better if
they arent subject matter experts. You
may not agree with all of their feedback,
but keep it in mind. For example, if they
misunderstand or query something, you
probably didnt write it clearly enough to
start with and should improve it.
The Health Innovations Research Institute
and the Colleges of Business; Design and
Social Context; and Science Engineering
and Health each have a Senior Advisor,
Research Development who can check
your publications and grant applications
before you submit them.
Your paper may not be perfect, but the
main thing is to revise it, and get other
people to revise it, until you have a version
to submit that is as clear, concise and
error free as possible.

The essentials
Title
The title of your paper is probably the first
thing people will see, and will be the thing
that draws them to it or turns them away
from it. A good title will also help your
paper be indexed and searchable in
online databases.
So, what is a good title?
Its direct, clear and concise (just like the
rest of your paper!). It says exactly what
your paper is about in as few words as
possible. And those words should be real
words no room for jargon, acronyms or
initialisms here, IYKWIM*?
*If you know what I mean.

Quick reference guide to writing a journal publication.

Its not so long that it waffles or confuses

readers (or would make a good abstract
by itself). It isnt so short that it leaves
readers still wondering what the paper
is actually about.
Its words appear in the correct order,
so it is accurate. Examples of past
errors include:
Isolation of antigens from monkeys
using complement-fixation techniques
(smart monkeys!)
Preliminary canine and clinical
evaluation of a new antitumour agent,
Streptovitacin (smart dogs!)
Mechanism of suppression of
nontransmissible pneumonia in mice
induced by Newcastle Disease Virus
(was it the mice who were induced..?)
Multiple infections among newborns
resulting from implantation with
Staphylococcus aureus 502A (are the
newborns a humanStaph hybrid..?).
Finally, some journals like a play on words
or quirkiness to keep things light and
engaging. Others dont. Make sure you
know what the journal you have in mind
likes before submitting your article.
A quick scroll through previous papers
will tell you.

Authorship
Agreeing on authorship and name order
can be tricky. There isnt a right or wrong
way to do it, but its important that you
check and comply with the National Health
and Medical Research Councils
Australian Code for the Responsible
Conduct of Research. The Authorship
chapter has good guidelines for deciding
authorship and outlines the related
responsibilities of individual researchers
and institutions.
Try to agree on authorship before starting
a paper, or ideally, even before starting
a study. This will help prevent any
confusion and disagreement. The
research team may need to revise
authorship and order later, but at least
you have a base from which to work.
Quick reference guide to writing a journal publication.

After you! No, after you!

There are several ways you can order the
list of authors.
Often, the first author listed is the senior
researcher: the person who did the most
research for the study. After the senior
researcher, people may be listed in order
of greatest to least importance/contribution
to the research. The last person listed may
be the head of the group.
However, in some fields of research, like
biological sciences, the senior researcher
is usually listed last, and the first author is
chosen for other reasons.
Another option is to simply list the authors
alphabetically, or from most to least senior
in the field or place of research.
Some authors who frequently publish
together may take it in turns to be first
or last author.
The more the merrier?
Generally, you should only include people
who made an important/substantial
contribution to the studys design and
completion. Note: important here refers
to parts of the study that helped to
produce new information.
But, again, this varies. Some papers list
everyone who was remotely linked to
the study (e.g. all laboratory researchers
and staff, regardless of whether or not
they actually worked on the study), while
others are more selective (e.g. only the
researchers and staff who worked on the
project, plus the laboratory director).
Journals may also ask you for a list of
the authors names and their specific
contribution to the paper. Make sure
you have this information available.
Who am I?
Journals will usually specify in their
Instructions to authors how to present
your name in their publication.
However, if you have a say in how your
name is presented, be consistent. If your
name is Benjamin Edward Roberts, use
4

your preferred presentation (e.g. Benjamin

E Roberts) all of the time. Dont mix and
match (e.g. Benjamin E Roberts one time,
then BE Roberts or B Edward Roberts
another time).
Being consistent makes it easy for people
to view your track record and find your
other papers and research in online
databases.
To reduce any confusion about your
identity and improve your professional
recognition, the Australian Research
Council and National Health and Medical
Research Council recommend that
researchers register with ORCID and
get a personalised digital identifier.
For more information, visit
https://orcid.org/content/initiative.

Abstract
After the title, the abstract is the thing that
will entice readers to or deter them from
your paper. Abstracts are usually freely
available online, for example, on PubMed.
A good abstract will help readers decide
if the paper/research is relevant to their
interests or not. Sometimes people will
only read or use the abstract, not your
entire paper, so its important to make
abstracts clear, concise and stand alone.
Write your abstract in past tense the
research is complete.
Abstracts should summarise the paper.
Each of the introduction, materials and
methods, results and discussion sections
need to be summarised in a sentence or
two. Make sure your abstract contains the:
1. research context the question or
reason behind why you are doing the
research
2. main objectives and scope of research
3. research methods used
4. research results
5. main conclusion and how this relates
back to the why (point 1).

Quick reference guide to writing a journal publication.

Dont include in the abstract:

new information, ideas or conclusions
that arent covered in the paper
references
acronyms, abbreviations or initialisms
tables
figures.
Check and follow the journals style
guide for abstract length and structure.
As a guide, most abstracts are limited to
250 words and written in one paragraph,
but some are shorter or longer than this
and like you to break abstracts up with
headings or bullet points.

Introduction
Introductions set the scene for, and help
to engage readers with, your work. They
generally have five main elements.
1. A question or problem
What prompted you to research what
you did? What is the rationale behind
your work? Why is this question/
problem important to society? This
information can capture your readers
attention and get them interested in
your solution.
2. A brief literature review
Summarise what research has been
done to answer this question/address
this problem, and what the knowledge
gap is that youre trying to fill. This
helps to give your research
importance, relevance and context,
and saves readers from having to
research this information for
themselves (unless they want to).
Note: you dont need to do a
comprehensive review only cite
relevant articles.
3. How and why you did it
Outline your overall research method,
and perhaps why you did it in that way.
You dont need to include details here
just a sentence or two, a paragraph
at most. You can give all the nuts and
bolts in the Materials and Methods
section. However, mentioning your
5

methods here helps readers develop

trust in your work and rationale, and
gives your work some credibility.
4. Research findings or outcomes
Youve set a great scene, with a
question/problem in dire need of
resolution, so its natural for readers to
want to know how you went and what
the outcome is right up front. Dont
leave them hanging include a couple
of sentences outlining your results.
Again, there is no need for details here
youll include that in the Results
section later.
5. A conclusion
Heres where you tie it all together and
tell your readers if your research was
successful (or not). Include a sentence
or two telling them what your research
findings or outcomes mean for the
original question or problem, and if
your research answered the question
or resolved the problem.
Like with the research methods and
findings, youll go into more detail
about your research conclusions
later in the paper (in the Discussion
section). But summarising it here
makes the introduction a nice, neat,
stand-alone package.
While this is a good guide, not all
introductions include these five elements.
For example, some dont include research
results and conclusions. Or they use a
more journalistic funnel style, starting
with a broad question or problem and
narrowing it down to a more specific one
about a particular aspect of that problem
by discussing current knowledge and past
research. Look at past articles published
in your target journal, or check the
journals Instructions to authors, to find
out what their preferred style is.
Write your introduction in the present
tense, because you are talking about the
current problem and existing knowledge.
If you are using special terms and
abbreviations, define them here.
Quick reference guide to writing a journal publication.

If you have done other research in this

area, including publishing abstracts or
preliminary notes or other articles on this
particular research, mention it in the
introduction preferably towards the end.

Materials and Methods section

In your papers Materials and Methods
section, you must give enough detail
about your research for people to
reproduce it. This section also helps
readers judge if your research is
appropriate for the question/problem,
if your research answers the
question/addresses the problem, and
if your findings come from valid and
well-conducted research.
Overall, you should write in the active
voice (We/I did something) it helps to
keep things succinct and clear. However,
you can write this section in the active or
passive voice (Something was done).
Some journals have a preference though,
so check the journals Instructions to
authors or past issues.
If you write in the passive voice, especially
in this section of your paper, its easy to
omit important words, like the subject, in
a sentence. For example:
Having completed the study, the
bacteria were (suggesting the
bacteria not the researcher
completed the study)
To determine its respiratory quotient,
the organism (suggesting the
organism determined its own
respiratory quotient).
Make sure all important words are
included and your sentences are correct
and read well.
Do
Write this section in the past tense,
because the research has been done
and is complete.
Use headings to break up the
information. Try to match these
headings with headings in the Results

section, so readers can link

information quickly and easily.
Carefully check your writing for
omissions or punctuation errors, and
make sure your writing is clear and
accurate. Its more important for this
section to be error free than any other
section of your paper. Errors or
confusion may mean people cant
understand and reproduce your work.
Ask a colleague or outsider to read
this section. If they can follow what
youve done and reproduce it, youve
done well. If they cant, you need to
review this section.
Discuss the data more than statistics.
However, if a difficult or an unusual
statistical analysis was done, include
a brief description or reference for
readers to check.

Dont
Dont include any results in this
section.
Materials
Be precise. State the exact technical
specifications; quantities; source; method
of preparation; chemical and physical
properties of reagents; temperatures;
times; materials containers were made
from; genus, species and strain of any
plant or animal; and age, sex, genetic
and physiological status of any animal
or human.
Avoid trade names they may not be
known internationally. If you have to use
a trade name, make sure its capitalised
and that the name of the manufacturer
and place of manufacture is listed.
If animals or humans were used in your
research, put the ethics approval
statement here. If humans were used,
also note here that they gave informed
consent (presuming they did, or you
have a serious problem!).
If your content is complicated, for
example, you used many different strains,
mutants or chemicals, use tables and
figures to summarise and clarify
information.

Quick reference guide to writing a journal publication.

Methods
Describe your research chronologically.
However, if similar experiments (e.g.
assays) were done at different times,
describe them together, rather than in
separate parts of this section.
If the methods you used in your research
have been used before, include
references to publications that describe
the method, so you dont have to describe
it again. However, if the method is new or
unpublished, you will need to describe it
in enough detail for people to reproduce it.
If the method is published but unusual or
recent, you could briefly describe it and
include a reference.
Consider using flow charts (as figures)
to help to explain complicated or long
processes.
If your research involved animals, look
at the ARRIVE guidelines and checklist
for reporting on animal research at
https://www.nc3rs.org.uk/arrive-guidelines.
They include useful tips and things to
remember when discussing animal
research in your paper.

Results section
Your papers Results section should
contain:
a general big picture description of
your research, without repeating the
Methods and Materials section
data from your research.
Do
Write this section in the past tense
the research and data are
complete/from the past.
Keep this section short, direct and
clear. If the Materials and Methods
and Discussion sections are well
written, the Results section should
be the shortest section of your paper.
Use tables, figures or graphs to
present data more clearly if you need
to include a lot of it.
Refer to tables, figures and graphs
in the text.
7

Mention what you didnt find/prove.

Give statistics context. For example,
dont just use a percentage figure
without stating the number of animals
or people.

It should also clearly discuss the

significance of the findings why are they
important and what do they mean for the
original questions/problems? Why should
the reader (or anyone) care?

Dont
Include all of the data from your
research only include data that
is relevant, important, meaningful
or affects your findings or story.
Repeat information in tables and
graphs that is already in the main text
(and vice versa).
Use words like its clear, clearly
or obviously when referring to tables
and graphs in the main text. Youll
come across as verbose and rude.
For example, dont say:
Its clear in Table 2 that,
say Table 2 shows that
Graph A obviously shows,
say Graph A illustrates

Tie it up with a statement about the big

significance of your research and findings.
How will this benefit/what does this mean
for society?

Discussion section

In this section, thank anyone who helped

you with your research, be it with technical
skills or by sharing their time, advice,
equipment or materials.

Many papers are rejected because

their Discussion section is badly written,
so you need to get this section right.
A good Discussion section explains
the relationship between observed
facts/findings. It should discuss:
the results (their principles,
relationships and generalisations)
dont repeat the Results section
any exceptions or problems with
correlation, and anything else that
doesnt quite fit
how the results and your interpretations
of them agree (or disagree) with other
published research
the practical and theoretical
implications of your research
and findings
each conclusion briefly, including
evidence to support it.
The Discussion section should answer
the questions/problems raised in the
Introduction, and state how your findings
address them. It shouldnt just restate
the data.
Quick reference guide to writing a journal publication.

Make sure that your data supports your

claims dont become too extravagant,
ambitious or abstract.
Like with the rest of the paper, keep it
short, simple, direct and clear. Avoid
waffle, flowery wording and repetition.

Acknowledgments
Its good manners to say thank you when
someone helps you.

Show whomever you are mentioning what

youve written about them. They may feel
your wording is too general, too specific,
over the top or inadequate. Make any
necessary changes and get their approval
before submitting your paper for
publication.
This is where you also acknowledge any
financial support that helped you conduct
your research, for example, grants,
scholarships, fellowships, loans or
donations. Some funding bodies like to be
acknowledged in a particular way, so
check and follow their instructions for
correct wording and references.
Keep it short and direct. Theres no need
to say I/We wish to thank it leaves
people wondering why you cant just thank
them. A simple I/We thank... or Thanks
to is better.

Tables
Good tables are a clear and effective way
to display data and can help to explain
research findings. They make comparing
and understanding data easy for readers.
But tables can be used too much or in the
wrong way.
Use tables to clearly and easily display:
relevant repetitive data
significant data
numerical data that needs detailed
comparison (use a figure if you need
to show a trend or picture/overview)
exact numbers (e.g. you can use
a graph to show a trend or general
numbers, but decimal points are better
presented in tables than graphs).
Dont use tables:
if data is not significant (it confuses
readers and takes up valuable space)
for only a couple of pieces of data
just include the data in the main text
if data can be easily outlined in a
sentence or two in the main text
if data has already been discussed
in the main text or a figure (it is rarely
necessary to display data in a table
and figure)
for lists of words put them in the
main text.
Titles
Like the main title of your paper, make
each tables title short and sweet,
but clearly state what it is about.
Footnotes
Dont go overboard with footnotes.
Keep them short and make sure they
are relevant and important to the
table/data.
If you need to define the same
abbreviations in more than one tables
footnotes, you can define them in the
footnote of the first table in which they
appear, then in the footnote of later
tables, refer readers to the first table
for the definitions (e.g. See Table 1
for definitions.). However, check the
journals Instructions to authors to
see if this is acceptable.
Quick reference guide to writing a journal publication.

Its all about style

As with all of your papers elements,
follow the journals style for formatting
and displaying tables. Check the
journals Instructions to authors or
past issues, or ask the editor, for the
preferred style.
Check how the journal would like you
to give them the tables. For example,
you may need to include tables in
a particular place in the main paper,
in a separate file from it or with each
table as its own file. Also check and
use the journals preferred file type.
Make sure you refer to each table
in the main text using the journals
preferred style (e.g. in bold or italics,
bracketed or not).
Remember
Only include repetitive or full data if its
essential to your findings or story.
Sometimes you can include data that
is relevant, but not essential to the
story, in a supplementary file. Check
if this is an option with the journal.
Put data in a table or discuss it in the
main text dont do both.
Organise data so that similar elements
(e.g. types of bacteria or cells,
temperature, amounts) read down,
not across. This makes it easier
for readers to compare data.
Abbreviations are generally allowed in
tables, because its so hard to fit long
words or information into them, but
check the journals preferred style.
Make the font large and clear enough
to read. Using Times New Roman font,
12-point size, 1.5- or double-spacing
between lines is a good guide, but
check the Instructions to authors
for the journals preferred style.
Use consistent font, size and style
across all tables in your paper.
Use en dashes (not hyphens) for
minus symbols and to indicate
numerical ranges.
Refer to each table in the main text
of your paper.
Before you submit your completed
paper, check the number order for
each table is accurate on the tables
and in the main text.
9

Figures

Figures are another way to clearly and

effectively display data so readers can
easily compare and understand it. But
figures can also be used too much or
in the wrong way.
Use figures to clearly and easily
display:
relevant repetitive data
significant data
a trend or picture/overview of data
(use tables if you want to compare
detailed numerical data).
Dont use figures:
if data is not significant (it confuses
readers and takes up valuable space)
for only a couple of pieces of data
just discuss the data in the main text
if data can be easily outlined in
a sentence or two in the main text
if data has already been explained in
the main text or a table (it is rarely
necessary to display data in a figure
and table).
Graphs
Use graphs to show an interesting
trend in data. (Use tables to present
data where theres no interesting
trend or the trend isnt relevant.)
Keep graphs as simple and clear
as possible.
Dont try to include too much
information in a graph.
If you include two or more graphs
(or figures) that complement or
connect with each other, consider
including them as one figure, one
graph on top of the other, and each
graph the same size as the width of
a column in the journal to which you
are submitting your paper.
Use consistent font, size and style
across all graphs in your paper.
Keep ranges close to the data range.
For example, if the data goes from
0 to 78, make the data range 0 to 80
rather than 0 to 100.

Quick reference guide to writing a journal publication.

Make data points even and clear.

For example, 0, 20, 40, 60 and 80,
with large lines where these numbered
points are and small lines between
them (to indicate 10, 30, 50 and 70).
This gives you room to use font that is
large enough to easily read, but keeps
the graph clear and uncluttered.
Avoid using different types of lines
and different symbols on the lines
in the one graph use just lines
or just symbols, to keep it clear
and uncluttered.
Use simple, clear and well-known
lines (e.g. dotted, dashed or solid)
or symbols (e.g. clear or solid squares,
triangles or circles) in your graph.
Dont use too many lines or symbols
in your graph five or six should be
enough. If you need more than this,
review the amount of data you are
presenting in the graph and consider
removing some data or splitting it into
two graphs.
If you have space, include the key to
the symbols inside the graph/figure.
If you dont, include it in the footnote.
Include a legend for each graph. The
legend should describe the graph, and
perhaps how you achieved the results
in it. Dont state your conclusions in
the legend.

Its all about style

As with all of your papers elements,
follow the journals style for formatting
and displaying figures. Check the
journals Instructions to authors or
past issues, or ask the editor, for the
preferred style.
Check how the journal would like you
to give them the figures and legends.
For example, you may need to include
figures or legends in a particular place
in the main paper, in a separate file
from it, or with each figure and legend
as its own file. Also check and use the
journals preferred file type.
Make sure that you refer to each figure
in the main text using the journals
preferred style (e.g. in bold or italics,
bracketed or not).

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Remember
Only publish repetitive or full data if
its essential to your findings or story.
Put data in a figure or discuss it in
the main text dont do both.
Make the font large and clear enough
to read. This is especially important
because the published version of your
figure will be smaller than the one you
submitted. The font must be large
enough to read when the figures size
is reduced. To check your figures
readability, photocopy it to the size
it will be published.
Use consistent font, size and style
across all figures in your paper.
Use en dashes (not hyphens) for
minus symbols and to indicate
numerical ranges.
Refer to each figure in the main text
of your paper.
Before you submit your completed
paper, check the number order
for each figure is accurate on the
figures and in the main text.

Images and photographs

A picture tells a thousand words.
Sometimes images/photographs will be
just as important, if not more important,
than the words in your paper. So make
sure they are clear, accurate and well
presented.

Use equipment that lets you take or

create and save high-resolution
images/photographs as TIFF or JPG
files. This makes it easier to read, crop
and adjust the size of
images/photographs.
If you need to enhance an image,
enhance the whole image/photograph
not just a particular area of it.
Otherwise, it will look odd.
Try to submit your paper to journals
that publish good-quality
images/photographs.
Crop images to draw focus to and
enhance the relevant part of the
image/photograph.

Quick reference guide to writing a journal publication.

If the image/photograph is of a high

enough quality, you can enlarge and
crop it further to make the relevant
area larger and clearer.
Add arrows, letters, circles or other
highlights to draw the readers
attention to the relevant part of the
image/photograph.
Check the journals Instructions
to authors for their preferred
image/photograph format, size and
file type, and way to submit them.
Refer to each image/photograph
in the main text of your paper,
using the journals preferred style.
Before you submit your paper, check
the number order for each image/
photograph is accurate on the images/
photographs and in the main text.
Some journals publish colour
images/photographs at an additional
cost to the author. If you are
considering using colour
images/photographs, check if the
journal publishes in colour, if there is
an extra cost for it and if you have
funds for it in your budget. Also decide
if it will add to your paper to have colour
images (i.e. is it worth the cost?).
Consider asking RMITs Creative
Services or other professional
designers to help you prepare
images/photographs, and any
illustrations, so they look professional,
and are clear and well put together.
Check Creative Services webpage for
more information and contact details.
Make sure you own copyright of the
images/photographs before you
submit them with your paper to
a journal. If you dont own copyright
of an image/photograph, ask for
permission to reproduce it and make
sure copyright ownership is
acknowledged in your paper. Note:
some journals ask you to give them
copyright of your paper, including
images/photographs. If this is the
case, make sure the owner of each
image/photograph is happy to sign
over copyright to the journal.

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References
There are three main rules for references.
Only use significant published
references not unpublished data,
theses, abstracts or secondary
materials.
Check that each reference accurately
represents the original publication,
then check it again.
Make sure references in the
Reference section are listed in the
paper, and vice versa.

Acknowledgements
Written by Louise Pobjoy, Senior Advisor,
Publications and Grants, and adapted from Day, RA
and Gastel, B 2009, How to write and publish a
th
scientific paper, 6 edn, Cambridge University
Press, Cambridge. With input from Professor David
Adams, Professor Peter McIntyre and Dr Fraser
Rogerson.

In-text referencing
Reference specific ideas or content only.
Dont make a general statement about an
authors/researchers discovery, idea or
conclusion without telling the reader what
it actually is.
Put references directly after the relevant
information, not at the end of the sentence
or paragraph. This might mean you have
two or more reference points in a
sentence.
Be kind to past researchers/authors.
Its ok to say if they didnt do something
in a study, but avoid critical wording like
Roberts (2000) ignored or Roberts
(2000) totally overlooked
Its all about style
There are dozens of different referencing
styles that you can use in your paper,
and each journal has a preferred style.
Follow it.
The Instructions to authors for the journal
that you are submitting your paper to will
outline its preferred reference style. If it
doesnt, check past journal issues and/or
ask the editor.
Programs, like Endnote, format references
to suit different journal styles quickly and
relatively easily. You might find it useful to
keep your references in one of these
programs libraries and use it to format
your reference list to suit different
publications.

Quick reference guide to writing a journal publication.

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