Manuscript Preparation Guidelines
These guidelines are to aid authors in preparing manuscripts for publication by the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station and the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences. The basis for the department's style is the Council of Biology Editors (CBE) Style Manual, "The Elements of Style" by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White is a good, easy-to-use writer's guide.
Publications include the Research Report, Research Series, and College Series.
All authors should plan for — in addition to their own total hard-copy book and CD needs — a standard total of 153 extra hard copies (whether hard copy books or CDs or a combination of the two) of every publication produced through the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station. Agricultural Communication Services distributes the 153 copies for the AAES.
Research Series publications are for annual or periodic reports on research and test results. Examples include reports on research progress in a commodity, such as rice or cotton, or a program area, such as soil fertility or animal science, with articles compiled by a faculty editor. Variety trials and herbicide tests results are published as Research Series publications.
The Research Report series is for non-periodic publications, typically on significant research results and related information of interest to an Arkansas audience.
The College Series records important writings and public addresses associated with the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences.
The format of publications is flexible to allow for publications that do not adhere to a standard research journal format as outlined in Item 4. This is to allow for presentation of research results in a manner that more directly relates to issues of interest to readers who may not be scientists.
Review and Submission of Manuscript for Publication
All manuscripts must be reviewed within the principal author's department by two faculty members with selection of reviewers and other details determined by departmental policy. The manuscript must be submitted for publication by the department head. Reviewers and department head must sign and date a "Request for Publication Review and Approval" form attached to a copy of the manuscript. Send manuscripts directly to Communication Services, not the Director's office. Additional details are provided on the Request for Publication Review and Approval form (attached). Additional copies are available in departmental offices.
1. Planning the Publication
Contact Camilla Crone, research publications editor, to discuss details such as format, audience and quantity.
2. Preparing the Manuscript
Manuscripts submitted for review, editing and publication should be double-spaced with pages numbered sequentially and printed by a laser or letter-quality printer. An electronic copy in MS Word only must be provided on disk or as an e-mail attachment (unless electronic file size prohibits e-mail attachment) after manuscripts are accepted for publication. A spell-check should be run on the full document prior to submission and after revisions.
3. Title Page
The title page should include:
The authors' complete names as they are to be printed. Authors' title (assistant, associate, etc.) and affiliation (university, department, city, and state) when the paper was written. Current information for authors who have changed positions.
4. Table of Contents
Label this page as CONTENTS. Use the following major subdivisions as a general format:
- Introduction
- Methodology
- Results and Discussion
- Conclusions
- Literature Cited
- Appendix
5. Impact Statement
Provide a statement of 150 words or less that summarizes the purpose of the research, important results and conclusions, and the potential impact of the new information provided. The statement serves purposes similar to those of an executive summary or abstract. It should be written for an average reader who is not a scientist.
6. Key Words
List key words after the impact statement: usually three or four words or phrases.
7. Standard Footnotes
Two unnumbered footnotes will be added on the introductory pages:
Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture. Milo J. Shult, Vice President for Agriculture and Director; Mark J. Cochran, Associate Vice President for Agriculture-Research.
The Division of Agriculture follows a nondiscriminatory policy in programs and employment.
8. Citation of Sources in the Text
Preferred: Author's name followed by year of publication in parentheses (Smith, 1981) or (Smith and Jones, 1974) or (Jones et al., 1965). Acceptable: A number corresponding to the position of the reference in the Literature Cited section. Use this method when the preferred method would be cumbersome.
9. Figures and Tables
Figures and tables must be submitted as electronic PDF or TIFF files. Shoot all photo figures at 300 dots per inch (dpi) and 1200 pixels wide. All figures should be generated by authors in the original charting software at 300 dpi at a standard figure width of 4 inches (select "constrain proportions" and height will default proportionally), and exported or saved as either grayscale picture or grayscale TIFF files, if the original charting software offers a TIFF file format. If not, save all figures as TIFF files out of Adobe PhotoShop or other similar software. Select the "Save for Mac" byte order option if available in the original charting software "Save as" function. If saving as TIFF files out of Adobe PhotoShop, select the "Save as" function to access the TIFF file format and select the "Save for Mac" byte order option in the dialogue box.
Prepare tables using tabs rather than spaces between columns. Important: If possible, use MS Word tables format.
Tables and figures should stand alone. The reader should not have to refer to the text for pertinent information. Therefore, subject, location, date, etc., need to be provided in table headings and figure captions. However, table headings and figure captions should be succinct. Capitalize only the first letter of the first word in the caption and the first letter of any proper nouns. Confirm, prior to submission, that all tables and figures have headings and captions. Tables should be single spaced, Helvetica 9-point plain type and only table titles bolded and centered. Figure titles only should be 9-point Helvetica, bolded and centered. Use only .5 rules; do not use “hairline“ commands.
Use units of measurement that are appropriate for the intended audience. Provide an English/metric conversion table as the final page of the submitted manuscript. The table may be printed either as an appendix or inside the back cover. Reference the table in the text at the site of the first measurement unit used. The Communication Services editor can provide a metric conversion table.
11. NumbersSpell out numbers one through nine in the text unless the number is a numerical value.
Examples:
The treatment was replicated three times. The flavor was given a rating of 3. Plate waste was 3% of total intake.
12. Abbreviations and Symbols
Use the abbreviation or symbol for a unit of measurement in the text only if the unit is preceded by a number; the same abbreviation symbol is used for the singular and for the plural form of the unit.
Examples:
Plate waste was measured as a percentage of total intake (not "plate waste was measured as a % of total intake"). Cattle weights were measure in pounds (not in "lb"). The wire was: 1 in. long... 3 ft long... 15 cm long. One liter was added.
Most abbreviations do not take periods unless they fall at the end of a sentence. However, use a period with any abbreviation that could be confused with a word (in. for inch is an example), and always spell out liters to avoid confusion.
Use degree symbols when reporting temperatures.
Example: Room temperature is 25ûC (77ûF).
13. Serial Comma
In a series of three or more terms with a single conjunction, use a comma after each term except the last.
Example: The American flag is red, white, and blue.
14. Hyphens
Use hyphens in compound modifiers. The following examples will demonstrate the difference in meaning a hyphen can make:
- 100 cow herds (100 herds of cows)
- 100-cow herds (herds of 100 cows each)
- light transmission instrument (a transmission instrument that doesn't weigh much)
- light-transmission instrument (an instrument that transmits light)
Some examples of CORRECT usage of hyphens are as follows:
- spur-of-the-moment decision
- a two-thirds ownership
- two 30-mm rods
- a six-year-old child
- a 7.1-m row
- a high-yielding cultivar
- within-breed effect
- a one-minute exposure
15. Literature Cited Format
Provide all of the needed information such as author(s), date of publication, title, publisher, place where published, editor(s), etc. For conference proceedings, provide author(s), location and dates of the conference, place where proceedings were published and the publisher, date of publication and applicable paper numbers, page numbers, etc. Lower case the article and book titles except for the first word and proper nouns, and do not use underline or italics for book titles. Please use the standard acceptable abbreviation for journal titles, and spell out titles of obscure journals.
Example: Journal articles
McKenzie, A.J., W.F. Spencer, K.R. Stockinger, and B.A. Krantz. 1963. Seasonal nitrate-nitrogen content of cotton petioles as affected by nitrogen applications and its relationship to yield. Agron. J. 55:55-59.
Example: Books
Brody, S. 1945. Bioenergetics and growth. Reinhold Publishing Co., N.Y.
Example: Unpublished master's theses
Reitmeier, C.A. 1975. Physiological studies of brown-end discoloration in snap bean pods. Unpublished Master's thesis, Department of Horticultural Food Science, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.
Example: Conference proceedings Frans, R., R. Talbert, and R. Rogers. 1982. Influence of long-term herbicide programs on continuous cotton. pp. 228-229. In: Proc. Beltwide Cotton Production Research Conference, Las Vegas, Nev. January 1982. National Cotton Council of America, Memphis, Tenn.