Writing and Publishing Scientific Articles Course Workbook

Checklists for Writing a Scientific Manuscript 14- 15

Checklist for a Good Review

This checklist is adapted from the guidelines presented in the chapters of this notebook on writing sections of a scientific art icle. The items followed by an asterisk were taken from “Review Criteria for Research Manuscripts,” Academic Medicine 76:9, 2001. Use this checklist when you review a manuscript for a co-author or another colleague (and when you write a manuscript of your own). Make sure your suggestions are specific, thorough, and constructive. Depending on your role in the collaboration and your agreed-upon responsibilities as a co-author, some of the items in the checklist will be beyond the scope of your review.

Overall Manuscript

▪ Clearly and completely tells “story” of research and findings.

▪ Is written in clear, grammatically correct language.

Title

Is clear and informative.*

Reflects importance of study.*

States study’s main findings.

Names main factors studied.

Uses key terms for indexing.

States species studied and type of study.

Abstract

Summarizes entire paper.

▪ Is consistent with manuscript and contains no additional information.*

▪ Gives basic background information that led to development of study.

States gap in knowledge study will fill.

States specific purpose of study.

▪ Mentions experimental approach used and identifies important tests performed.

▪ Mentions most important results and states a result for each method described in abstract.

▪ States conclusion that can be drawn from most important results and how it relates to study’s purpose.

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