After your study is complete, scientific writers and support staff from Scientific Writing will:

  • Assist with literature searches, manuscript preparation, and identifying appropriate venues for submission
  • Provide substantive developmental, stylistic and/or content editing of manuscripts in draft form
  • Verify references and citations using PubMed
  • Format manuscripts to comply with individual journal submission requirements and provide cover letters
  • Complete copyright transfer forms as applicable and obtain signatures
  • Proofread for grammar, spelling and punctuation of final manuscript
  • Prepare final submission package for mail or electronic delivery
  • Assist with manuscript revisions and address reviewers' comments as required

Preparing Your Manuscript

Writing an effective scientific paper is not easy. Before you write your paper read some scientific papers that have been written in the format you plan to use. In addition to the science, you will need to adhere to principles not only of layout but also of style. Scientific journals generally require that you follow the ICMJE Uniform Requirements for Manuscript Submitted to Biomedical Journals.

The Uniform Requirements style is based on a standard style from the National Library of Medicine.

Once you have prepared a draft of your paper, you will want to check the instructions for authors of the journal to which you intend to submit your manuscript. You will need to know and adhere to the word limit and organizational structure of that journal. Click here to access a general guide to writing scientific papers.

Some Useful Resources:

NIH Policy on Public Access to Publications

The NIH has issued a revised policy on enhancing public access to archived publications resulting from NIH-funded research. The policy is found at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-08-033.html. Briefly, the requirements are:

  1. Effective for manuscripts accepted for publication on or after April 7, 2008, an electronic version of any manuscript that arises from an NIH-funded project must be submitted by the funded investigator to the National Library of Medicine's PubMed Central. The final manuscript must be submitted upon acceptance for publication.
  2. Beginning May 25, 2008, any investigator submitting an application, proposal or progress report to NIH must include the PMC or NIH Manuscript Submission reference number when citing applicable articles that arise from their NIH-funded research.