THE SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE

A scientific article is a written report that describes the original results of an investigation
that has been carried out.

The main characteristic of this type of research article is that it must always provoke
advances in knowledge, so it is obvious that it can only fulfill its purpose when it has been
published and made available to the scientific community so that it can be read,
understood and incorporated by their peers.

PARTS OF THE SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE

Title

It is the main factor and determinant in terms of attracting attention. It is also about having
as few words as possible that can adequately describe the content of the article in question.

Authors

To be the author of an article it is necessary to have made a substantial contribution in the

generation of that work and to take responsibility for what it shows and what is concluded.
It is immediately below the article and on the right margin should appear the name of the
author or authors, in alphabetical order, with a superscript that refers to the footer.

Abstract or abstract

It is as short as possible (it must not have more than 150 words), it must allow to identify
in a fast and intelligible way the content of the article. The abstract must be written in
both English and Spanish or in accordance with the requirements of the journal where the
article will be published.

Introduction

It is very important because it focuses the character of the investigation. It should be

worded carefully to stimulate the interest of the reader. Its purpose is to clearly indicate
the problem investigated and to give the reader the events of the case. The introduction
should answer the question What was studied?

Materials and methods

It is the part in which we must relate what has been done to study and solve the problem;
that is, to verify the hypotheses positively or negatively and to achieve the objectives.

It consists in describing the experiments with sufficient details so that any competent
researcher can repeat them and obtain the same or equivalent results.

Results

It is the most important part of the report, it must not contain comments, judgments or
justifications. They are presented in the order in which the objectives were set, from the
most important to the least significant.

The discussion and conclusions

Its purpose is to locate the results of the study that is made known in the context of existing
knowledge. The important points are expressed in terms of conclusions.

The conclusions must be presented clearly in response to the question that arose from the
study and the objectives set, therefore there must be as many conclusions as there are
objectives.

Acknowledgments and acknowledgments

This section is intended to thank the help received by people or institutions.

References or bibliographies

Where appointments are collected. It must include published scientific works avoiding
the incorporation of material not openly available such as unpublished doctoral theses
and conference proceedings or similar. Regarding the procedure, it is necessary to follow
the publication rules specified in each journal. In general, references should include:
author, title, place of publication, editorial and year, in the case of a book; author, title,
name of journal, volume and pages, in the case of a journal.
 THE USE OF COMA IN ENGLISH

In this lesson we will explain the use of the comma in English, a confusing concept for
English learners and even for native English speakers.

ELEMENTS IN A SERIES

A comma is used to separate the elements into a series of three or more things. The comma
before the conjunction (and or or) is optional but it is advised to use it so as not to confuse
the reader.

 I like to eat apples, bananas, and oranges.

 Do you like to read, watch TV, or play video games in your free time?

TWO OR MORE COORDINATED ADJECTIVES

A comma is used to separate two or more coordinated adjectives that describe the same
noun. Coordinated adjectives are adjectives that have the same status. If the adjectives
are coordinated, you can write the word "and" between the words or you can change the
order of the words and the sentence still makes sense.

 He is a funny, cheerful man.

They are coordinated because it makes sense to change the order (He is a cheerful,
funny man.) And you can connect the adjectives with the word and (He is a funny and
cheerful man.)

 She is a little old lady.

The adjectives are not coordinated because you can not change the order (She is an old
little lady.) Or connect the adjectives with the word and (She is a little and old lady.)

DIRECT APPOINTMENTS

The comma is used with direct quotations to separate the quotation from the rest of the
sentence if the quotation is a complete sentence.

o Jill said, "Let's go camping this weekend."

o "Stop," the police officer shouted, "or I'll shoot."
o He said that his mother was "the best mom in the world."
 (No comma is used because the appointment is not a complete sentence.)

TWO INDEPENDENT CLAUSES

A comma and a conjunction (and, but, for, nor, yet, or, so) are used to connect two
independent clauses. Independent clauses are parts of the sentence that could be
independent sentences (they contain a subject and a verb).

 I went to the store, but it was closed.

The two clauses could be independent sentences ("He went to the store." And "It was
closed.")

 I went to the store and bought fruit.

The two clauses could not be independent sentences ("He went to the store." Is
independent but "bought fruit" is not independent.) One subject is missing.)

INTRODUCTORY ELEMENTS

The comma is used to separate introductory elements from the sentence. Many
introductory clauses start with the words after, although, as, because, if, since, when, and
while. Also, the words yes, however, and well are introductory.

 If you go to New York, you need to see the Statue of Liberty.

 Although it was sunny, the air was very cold.

NON-ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS

A comma is used to separate clauses, phrases, and words that are not essential to the
meaning of the sentence (such as the non-restrictive clauses we studied in the grammar
lesson).

 Laura, who is in my class, gave an outstanding presentation.

 His goal, to learn English, is very important for his job.
 Learning English, however, can take a long time.

CONTRAST ELEMENTS
The comma is used to separate elements that indicate a contrast in the sentence with
commas. The "Tag Questions" that we studied in lesson 4 are considered a contrast
element (the second example below).

 The car was red, not blue.

 You did not go to the party, did you?

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES, DATES, TITLES

A comma is used to separate parts of a geographical name (for example, the name of the
city from the name of the state or country).

 He lives in San Francisco, California.

 She visited Bogota, Colombia.

In the United States, the comma is used to separate the month and day of the year. In
Europe the date is written with the first day and a comma is not used.

 June 23, 2012 (United States)

 23 June 2012 (Europe)

The comma is used to separate the title of the person's name.

 William H. Johnson, MD
 Sarah T. Fredericks, PhD