Increasing Your Chances of
Manuscript Acceptance
The University of Tokyo
Kashiwa International Office
9 September 2015
Andrew Jackson, PhD
Eri Kinoshita, PhD
Your goal is not only to be published,
but also to be widely read and cited
Be an effective communicator
 Understand academic publishing
S
 Effectively communicate your
ideas in English
 Logically present your research in your manuscript
 Choose the right audience
 Communicate clearly with journal editors/reviewers
Section 1
Academic publishing
Academic
publishing
The submission process
Peer review
Results novel?
Topic relevant?
Clear English?
Properly formatted?
Author
Revision
• New experiments
• Improve readability
• Add information
Editor
Reject
Accepted—
publication!
Academic
publishing
How long does it take?
• Evaluation
• Finding reviewers
~1 week
Submission
4–6 weeks
Peer
review
3–12 months
?
Revision
0–8 weeks
Publication
How can I make the process quicker?
• Follow author guidelines
• Prepare a cover letter
• Recommend reviewers
• Fully revise manuscript
• Respond to all comments
Academic
publishing
Broad vs. narrowfocused journals
Types of journals
Broad (General)
Findings have implications across fields
Narrow (Specialized)
Findings have field-specific implications
International
International vs.
regional journals
Findings have worldwide implications
Regional
Findings are restricted by geographical
or ethnic boundaries
Academic
publishing
Publication models
Subscriptionbased
• Mostly free for the author
• Reader has to pay
Open access
• Free for the reader
• Author usually has to pay
Hybrid
• Subscription-based journal
• Has open-access options
Academic
publishing
What do journal
editors want?
High quality
research
Increase
impact
Original and
novel research
Practical applications
Well-designed study
clearly reported
Well-written manuscript
Interesting to
readership
Publication success =
Academic success
Academic
publishing
Publication Metrics and Success on the Academic Job Market
van Dijk et al. Current Biology. 2014; 24: R516–R517.
• >25,000 researchers in PubMed
• Determined which factors positively correlated
with academic success
S
•
•
•
•
•
Number of publications
Impact factor of the journal
Number of citations
University ranking
Gender
Academic
publishing
What is the
Impact Factor?
Average number of citations a journal has
from articles published in the previous 2 years
Formula for the 2014 Impact Factor:
Number of citations in 2014 to items published in 2012 + 2013
Articles and reviews published in 2012 + 2013
Example:
120 citations in 2014 (to items published in 2012 + 2013)
80 Articles and reviews published in 2012 + 2013
= 1.5
Academic
publishing
Publication ethics
No fabrication
or falsification
No plagiarism
or redundancy
Clear author
contributions
State conflicts
of interest
Consequences of
unethical behavior
• Unable to publish
• Loss of employment
Always follow ethics guidelines
Section 2
Effective writing
Effective writing
Reader expectations
Information is easier to understand when it is
placed where readers expect to find it
Good writers are aware of these expectations
Effective writing
Subject-verb placement
Readers expect verbs to closely follow the subject
Subject
Verb
Verb
Effective writing
Subject-verb placement
Readers become confused when the subject and verb
are separated by too much content
The smallest nanocrystals that were formed during the
low temperature solvothermal synthesis under aqueous
conditions were found to be composed of cadmium
sulfide with a wurtzite structure.
Effective writing
Subject-verb placement
Readers become confused when the subject and verb
are separated by too much content
The smallest nanocrystals that were formed during the
low temperature solvothermal synthesis under aqueous
conditions were found to be composed of cadmium
sulfide with a wurtzite structure.
Effective writing
Subject-verb placement
Readers become confused when the subject and verb
are separated by too much content
The smallest nanocrystals that were formed during the
low temperature solvothermal synthesis under aqueous
conditions were found to be composed of cadmium
sulfide with a wurtzite structure.
Effective writing
Avoid reader confusion
The smallest nanocrystals that were formed during the low temperature solvothermal synthesis
under aqueous conditions were found to be composed of cadmium sulfide with a wurtzite structure.
The smallest nanocrystals were found to be composed of cadmium
sulfide with a wurtzite structure. These nanocrystals were formed
during the low temperature solvothermal synthesis under aqueous
conditions.
Active voice
We found the smallest nanocrystals were composed of cadmium
sulfide with a wurtzite structure. These nanocrystals…
Effective writing
Active voice
Sentences written in the active voice are:
simple
direct
clear
easy to read
Passive
The mechanisms regulating substrate rigidity were investigated.
Active
We investigated the mechanisms regulating substrate rigidity.
Effective writing
Journals prefer
the active voice
ACS Style Guide
“Use the active voice when it is less wordy and more
direct than the passive”. (3rd ed., pg. 42)
APA Style
“Use the active voice rather than the passive voice…”.
Chicago Style
Guide
“As a matter of style, passive voice is typically, but not
always, inferior to active voice”. (15th ed., pg. 177)
AMA Manual of
Style
“In general, authors should use the active voice…”.
Nature
“Nature journals prefer…the active voice…”
www.apastyle.org/learn/faqs/effective-verb-use.aspx
(10th ed., pg. 320)
(http://www.nature.com/authors/author_resources/how_write.html)
Effective writing
What’s wrong with this?
The scaffold with the highest porosity, fabricated from a
mixed biocompatible polymer system consisting of
polyethylene glycol and chitosan, was also found to be
among the least thermally stable samples prepared.
Effective writing
Too long
What’s wrong with this?
Subject-verb placement
Passive voice
The scaffold with the highest porosity, fabricated from a
mixed biocompatible polymer system consisting of
polyethylene glycol and chitosan, was also found to be
among the least thermally stable samples prepared.
Effective writing
Short sentences
Reading once…
4% of readers can understand a 27-word sentence
75% of readers can understand a 17-word sentence
Pinner and Pinner (1998) Communication Skills
Goals to aim for:
One idea per sentence
15–20 words per sentence
Effective writing
Short sentences
The scaffold with the highest porosity, fabricated from a mixed
biocompatible polymer system consisting of polyethylene glycol
and chitosan, was also found to be among the least thermally
stable samples prepared.
31 words
Effective writing
Short sentences
The scaffold with the highest porosity, fabricated from a mixed
biocompatible polymer system consisting of polyethylene glycol
and chitosan, was also found to be among the least thermally
stable samples prepared.
31 words
Effective writing
Short sentences
16 words
We found the scaffold with the highest porosity was among the
least thermally stable samples prepared. These scaffolds were
fabricated from a mixed biocompatible polymer system
consisting of polyethylene glycol and chitosan.
16 words
One idea per sentence
Activity 1:
Effective writing
Please see Activity 1 in your Workbook
Activity 1:
Effective writing
1. Which of these two sentences is clearer? What is wrong
with the other sentence?
A. Economists considered Apple Inc., a company that was founded by
Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak and incorporated in 1977 in Cupertino,
California, to be one of the leaders in the development of modern
electronic appliances.
B. Economists considered Apple Inc. to be one of the leaders in the
development of modern electronic appliances. This company was
founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak and incorporated in 1977
in Cupertino, California.
Activity 1:
Effective writing
1. Which of these two sentences is clearer? What is wrong
with the other sentence?
A. Economists considered Apple Inc., a company that was founded by
Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak and incorporated in 1977 in Cupertino,
California, to be one of the leaders in the development of modern
electronic appliances.
• Too long (35 words)
• Two ideas in the same sentence
– First idea is split
Activity 1:
Effective writing
1. Which of these two sentences is clearer? What is wrong
with the other sentence?
A. Economists considered Apple Inc., a company that was founded by
Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak and incorporated in 1977 in Cupertino,
California, to be one of the leaders in the development of modern
electronic appliances.
• Too long (35 words)
• Two ideas in the same sentence
– First idea is split
Activity 1:
Effective writing
1. Which of these two sentences is clearer? What is wrong
with the other sentence?
B. Economists considered Apple Inc. to be one of the leaders in the
development of modern electronic appliances. This company was
founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak and incorporated in 1977
in Cupertino, California.
 Two 17-word sentences
 One idea per sentence
Writing exercises
2. Active or passive voice
1.
The rigidity of the scaffold increased four-fold after UV O3 treatment.
Active
2.
The catalytic activities were investigated before and
after surface modification.
We investigated the catalytic
Passive
activities before and after
surface modification.
Writing exercises
2. Active or passive voice
3.
Manufacturing increased after the introduction of the
new assembly line.
Active
4.
Manufacturing was increased by the introduction of the
new assembly line.
Passive
Writing exercises
4. Active or passive voice
5.
The semiconductor analysis was performed before and
after the annealing the completion of the annealing
step.
Passive But would be ok in
methods section
We performed semiconductor analysis before and
after the annealing the annealing step.
Effective writing
Use strong verbs
We made a…
Subject
Verb
Still no idea what this
sentence is about!
…decision?
…confirmation?
…estimation?
…cake?
Effective writing
Use strong verbs
We made a…
Subject
Verb
Still no idea what this
sentence is about!
We decided…
We confirmed…
We estimated…
Clear and direct
Effective writing
“I should use complex words to make my
writing more impressive.”
Nature’s guide to authors:
Nature is an international journal covering all the
sciences. Contributions should therefore be written
clearly and simply so that they are accessible to
readers in other disciplines and to readers for whom
English is not their first language.
www.nature.com/nature/authors/gta/index.html#a4
Effective writing
Complex words
To ascertain the efficaciousness of the program, we
interrogated the participants upon completion.
Effective writing
Complex words
To ascertain the efficaciousness of the program, we
interrogated the participants upon completion.
To determine the success of the program, we
questioned the participants upon completion.
Effective writing
Avoid
Adequate
Apparent
Ascertain
Endeavor
Magnitude
Retain
Sufficient
Terminate
Utilization
Complex words
Preferred
Enough
Clear
Determine
Try
Size
Keep
Enough
End
Use
Effective writing
Unnecessary words
28 words
In the first place, in order to determine the critical
point of the material, we incubated it at a
temperature of 95°C until it became black in color.
Effective writing
Unnecessary words
28 words
In the first place, in order to determine the critical
point of the material, we incubated it at a
temperature of 95°C until it became black in color.
18 words
First, to determine the critical point of the material,
we incubated it at 95°C until it became black.
Effective writing
Unnecessary words
“It is well known that most of the intense diffraction peaks...”
“As a matter of fact, such a This
low-temperature
low-temperature
reaction…”
reaction…”
“A number of studies have shown that the charged group...”
“That is another reason why,
why Therefore,
we believe…”
we believe…”
“...as described previously
in our previous
in ourstudy.”
previous study.”
“...at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min.”
Effective writing
Unnecessary words
Avoid
Preferred
At a concentration of 2 g/L
At a temperature of 37C
At a wavelength of 340 nm
In order to
In the first place
Four in number
Green color
Subsequent to
Prior to
At 2 g/L
At 37C
At 340 nm
To
First
Four
Green
After
Before
Effective writing
Comparisons
 Compared with is for comparing similar things
 Compared to is for comparing different things
The toxicity of the new scaffold was reduced
compared to that of the previous scaffold.
The toxicity of the new scaffold was reduced
compared with that of the previous scaffold.
Effective writing
Comparisons
The efficiency of the new membrane was increased
compared with the previous membrane.
Comparing efficiency with the membrane?
Parallel structure:
A of B compared with A′ of B′.
The efficiency of the new membrane was increased
compared with the efficiency of the previous membrane.
The efficiency of the new membrane was increased
compared with that of the previous membrane.
Effective writing
Sentence structure
Which sentence suggests that you
will get a raise?
1. Although you deserve a raise, the budget is tight.
Stress position
2. Although the budget is tight, you deserve a raise.
Readers focus at the end of the sentence to
determine what is important.
http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/flow/
Effective writing
Sentence structure
The stress position also introduces
the topic of the next sentence
Although the budget is tight, you deserve a raise. Your salary
Stress position
Topic position
will increase at the beginning of next year.
The topic position introduces the idea of the current sentence
http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/flow/
Effective writing
Academic English
writing style
sentence
idea
idea
idea
idea
Topic link
TiO2 surface modification of the scaffold considerably
improved its catalytic efficiency. The increased efficiency was
prominent early in the reaction but decreased over time. The
lack of long-term effects of TiO2 surface modification was likely
due to the reaction being conducted in an aqueous
environment. Evaluating additional solvents to improve the
catalytic efficiency over time is currently being investigated.
Activity 2:
Effective writing
Please see Activity 2 in your Workbook
Activity 2:
Effective writing
1. Simple language exercise: Draw a line from the complex phrase
a majority of
to the simpler one(s).
a majority of
rapidly
rapidly
a number of
many, several, some
a number of
at a rapid rate
because of
at a rapid rate
as a consequence of
based on
consequence
of
on as
theabasis
of
most
on the basis of
many, several,
some
because of
based on
most
Activity 2:
Effective writing
1. Simple language exercise: Draw a line from the complex phrase
a majority of
to the simpler one(s).
at this point in time
although
rapidly
a number of
many, several, some
based on the fact that
to
at a rapid rate
because of
completely filled
currently
despite the fact that
filled
in order to
because
as a consequence of
based on
on the basis of
most
Activity 2:
Effective writing
2.
Can you improve these sentences?
To determine whether our hypothesis was correct, we carefully analyzed
the
data.
determine
were
To ascertain whether our hypothesis was correct, the data was carefully
analyzed with the appropriate methods.
passive
We triedtried
to conduct our study with a smaller sample size.
We endeavored to conduct our study with a smaller sample size that
contained fewer participants. Use ‘fewer’, not ‘less’, for plural nouns
It was clear that the drug was
more effective compared with the control.
clear
As a matter of fact, it was apparent that the drug was more effective
compared to the control.
with
Activity 2:
Effective writing
2.
Can you improve these sentences?
To decide if the statistical test was appropriate, we assessed the normality
To decide
of the data
distribution.
In order to make a decision if the statistical test was appropriate, we
conducted an assessment of the normality of the data distribution.
assessed
We ended the experiments
once enough data were
collected.
enough
ended
were
The experiments were terminated once a sufficient amount of data was
collected. passive
Our results show that this new method is more efficient compared with
using?
current methods.
Our results show that the utilization of this new method is more efficient
compared to currently utilized methods.
with
used
current
Any questions?
Break
Andrew Jackson:
Eri Kinoshita:
[email protected]
[email protected]
edanzediting.co.jp/tokyo150909
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