Marine Pollution Bulletin xxx (2014) xxxxxx

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Marine Pollution Bulletin

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/marpolbul

Editorial

Scientic papers should not be boring

Did the title of this Editorial catch your eye? Why was that do
you think? Was it because it sounded interesting? Or was it
because you would like to learn more about how to write nonboring scientic papers for this or other journals? Either way,
you now know that a short, interesting title attracts attention
(and readers).
The technical content of your paper is of course of paramount
importance. But if the paper does not attract readers and is not
read it will have no impact.
Titles can be intriguing and make readers curious to learn more.
Here are 3 example of such titles from this journal:
 The coral reef crisis: The critical importance of <350 ppm
CO2
 The Gulf: A young sea in decline
 Ballast water: A threat to the Amazon Basin
Titles can also be tantalizing/catchy/cool, again making readers
want to learn more. Here are 2 examples of such titles from this
journal:
 Famines, food insecurity and coral reef Ponzi sheries
 Polluting to pollute or polluting to protect?
But titles only attract readers. Titles are not enough, no matter
how interesting your subject matter, if you do not present it well.
The next most important component of a paper is the Abstract.
Abstracts need to be short, easy to read, and informative. More
importantly, they need to answer ve key questions, not necessarily in the order shown:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

What did you do?

Why did you do it?
How did you do it?
What did you nd?
What does it mean (i.e., why should anyone else care; so
what)?

non-technical relatives cannot understand the Abstract, Introduction, or Conclusions, rewrite them until they can; get them to help
you in rewriting.
Note that when we speak we tend to do so in short, simple sentences. However, we too often write in long, complex sentences.
Which sentences would you rather read?
If you cannot write simply, talk into a voice recorder and
transcribe what you said. You will be surprised at how short and
simple your sentences now are. Winston Churchill is a great
example of an author who wrote in short, simple, easily read and
understood sentences.
When preparing your paper avoid the LPU (Lowest Publishable
Unit). LPUs do not lend themselves to interesting titles or Abstracts
and do no credit to authors reputations.
Methods should be provided in sufcient detail that your work
could be independently repeated. Methods sections should be kept
short, using Supplementary Information. Reference the methodology without unnecessary repetition.
Results will be based on your gures and tables, which must be
fully understandable on their own. Again, use Supplementary
Information to keep your Results section short and focused.
The rst sentence of each paragraph in the Discussion should
summarize the contents of that paragraph. In the Discussion, as
in the Abstract, Introduction, and Conclusions, create interest and
awareness of the importance and relevance of your work. Answer
the so what? question.
Choose the journal you want to publish in with care; it
should be reputable and well-respected, as is this journal. Make
sure your paper will appear before the right audience and t the
scope of the journal. Impact factors are unfortunately important,
particularly for academic advancement. Also important is speed
of publication.
Arguably, if your paper deals with stressors (climate change,
habitat change, invasive species, nutrients, chemical contaminants) in the marine environment and their management, this
journal, Marine Pollution Bulletin, has all the above qualities. We
look forward to receiving your interesting, reader-attractant,
reader-friendly, and high impact papers.

Answer these ve questions not just in the Abstract but in the

paper. Answer these questions simply, in short sentences that a
layperson can understand.
Remember, you are telling a story. That story needs to be
reader-friendly, with no unnecessary words.
After the Abstract, the next most likely parts of your paper to be
read are the Introduction and Conclusions. If your parents or other

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.08.020
0025-326X/ 2014 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/).

Peter M. Chapman
Golder Associates Ltd., Vancouver, BC, Canada
E-mail address: pmchapman@golder.com
Available online xxxx