Scientific Style and Format: The CBE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers (review)

The data have been analyzed; the project has been completed; and it is time for a manuscript to be submitted to a peer-review journal. Once a journal has been targeted, the instructions to the author(s) for an acceptable format are followed in preparing the manuscript. Questions of jargon, redundancy, symbols, abbreviations, acronyms, and newly coined terms are almost always raised. These questions can be decided only by referring to an authoritative source and not opinion. The usual proofreading precedes the mailing. Some journals offer appropriate symbols, abbreviations, acronyms, and newly coined terms, while others emphasize only the format. Many dictionaries often do not provide much information. There is an accepted authority: Scientific Style and Format. The Manual is divided into five parts and three appendices. Part 1 is an interesting introduction. Part 2 considers General Style Conventions in 1 1 chapters. Chapter 6, "Prose Style and Word Choice," is a gem and should be closely examined by authors, reviewers, and editors. Part 3 presents "Special Scientific Conventions" in 1 4 chapters covering the physical and life sciences and astronomy. "Journals and Books" form Part 4 with four chapters. Finally, "The Publishing Process" is covered in Part 5 with two chapters. Scanning the Manual can be an education. Every science department should have at least two copies for circulation; editors and prolific laboratories should have one copy. The price is reasonable. The coverage is extraordinary.