Enhance scientific writing resources with detailed guidelines on field-specific terminology, citation styles, figure and table requirements, and reporting standards. Include venue-specific structure expectations and writing style comparisons to aid authors in adapting their manuscripts for various journals and conferences.

scientific-thinking/scientific-writing/SKILL.md

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ---
 name: scientific-writing
-description: Comprehensive toolkit for writing, structuring, and formatting scientific research papers, manuscripts, and academic documents. This skill should be used when drafting or revising scientific manuscripts, structuring research papers using IMRAD format, formatting citations and references, creating effective figures and tables, applying reporting guidelines (CONSORT, STROBE, PRISMA), writing abstracts or specific paper sections, adhering to journal submission requirements, or improving scientific writing clarity and precision. Supports multiple citation styles (APA, AMA, Vancouver, Chicago), provides field-specific reporting standards, and ensures compliance with academic writing conventions across biomedical, life sciences, engineering, and physical sciences disciplines.
+description: Comprehensive toolkit for writing, structuring, and formatting scientific research papers, manuscripts, and academic documents. This skill should be used when drafting or revising scientific manuscripts, structuring research papers using IMRAD format, formatting citations and references, creating effective figures and tables, applying reporting guidelines (CONSORT, STROBE, PRISMA), writing abstracts or specific paper sections, adhering to journal submission requirements, ensuring proper use of field-specific terminology and nomenclature, or improving scientific writing clarity and precision. Supports multiple citation styles (APA, AMA, Vancouver, Chicago), provides field-specific reporting standards and linguistic conventions, and ensures compliance with academic writing conventions across biomedical, life sciences, engineering, physical sciences, neuroscience, ecology, and social sciences disciplines.
 ---
 
 # Scientific Writing
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ Invoke this skill when:
 - Drafting abstracts that meet journal requirements (structured or unstructured)
 - Preparing manuscripts for submission to specific journals
 - Improving writing clarity, conciseness, and precision
+- Ensuring proper use of field-specific terminology and nomenclature
 - Addressing reviewer comments and revising manuscripts
 
 ## Core Capabilities
@@ -169,7 +170,97 @@ Adapt manuscripts to journal requirements:
 - Adhere to word limits for each section
 - Format according to template requirements when provided
 
-### 8. Common Pitfalls to Avoid
+### 8. Field-Specific Language and Terminology
+
+Adapt language, terminology, and conventions to match the specific scientific discipline. Each field has established vocabulary, preferred phrasings, and domain-specific conventions that signal expertise and ensure clarity for the target audience.
+
+**Identify Your Field's Linguistic Conventions:**
+- Review terminology used in recent high-impact papers in your target journal
+- Note field-specific abbreviations, units, and notation systems
+- Identify preferred terms (e.g., "participants" vs. "subjects," "compound" vs. "drug," "specimens" vs. "samples")
+- Observe how methods, organisms, or techniques are typically described
+
+**Biomedical and Clinical Sciences:**
+- Use precise anatomical and clinical terminology (e.g., "myocardial infarction" not "heart attack" in formal writing)
+- Follow standardized disease nomenclature (ICD, DSM, SNOMED-CT)
+- Specify drug names using generic names first, brand names in parentheses if needed
+- Use "patients" for clinical studies, "participants" for community-based research
+- Follow Human Genome Variation Society (HGVS) nomenclature for genetic variants
+- Report lab values with standard units (SI units in most international journals)
+
+**Molecular Biology and Genetics:**
+- Use italics for gene symbols (e.g., *TP53*), regular font for proteins (e.g., p53)
+- Follow species-specific gene nomenclature (uppercase for human: *BRCA1*; sentence case for mouse: *Brca1*)
+- Specify organism names in full at first mention, then use accepted abbreviations (e.g., *Escherichia coli*, then *E. coli*)
+- Use standard genetic notation (e.g., +/+, +/-, -/- for genotypes)
+- Employ established terminology for molecular techniques (e.g., "quantitative PCR" or "qPCR," not "real-time PCR")
+
+**Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences:**
+- Follow IUPAC nomenclature for chemical compounds
+- Use systematic names for novel compounds, common names for well-known substances
+- Specify chemical structures using standard notation (e.g., SMILES, InChI for databases)
+- Report concentrations with appropriate units (mM, μM, nM, or % w/v, v/v)
+- Describe synthesis routes using accepted reaction nomenclature
+- Use terms like "bioavailability," "pharmacokinetics," "IC50" consistently with field definitions
+
+**Ecology and Environmental Sciences:**
+- Use binomial nomenclature for species (italicized: *Homo sapiens*)
+- Specify taxonomic authorities at first species mention when relevant
+- Employ standardized habitat and ecosystem classifications
+- Use consistent terminology for ecological metrics (e.g., "species richness," "Shannon diversity index")
+- Describe sampling methods with field-standard terms (e.g., "transect," "quadrat," "mark-recapture")
+
+**Physics and Engineering:**
+- Follow SI units consistently unless field conventions dictate otherwise
+- Use standard notation for physical quantities (scalars vs. vectors, tensors)
+- Employ established terminology for phenomena (e.g., "quantum entanglement," "laminar flow")
+- Specify equipment with model numbers and manufacturers when relevant
+- Use mathematical notation consistent with field standards (e.g., ℏ for reduced Planck constant)
+
+**Neuroscience:**
+- Use standardized brain region nomenclature (e.g., refer to atlases like Allen Brain Atlas)
+- Specify coordinates for brain regions using established stereotaxic systems
+- Follow conventions for neural terminology (e.g., "action potential" not "spike" in formal writing)
+- Use "neural activity," "neuronal firing," "brain activation" appropriately based on measurement method
+- Describe recording techniques with proper specificity (e.g., "whole-cell patch clamp," "extracellular recording")
+
+**Social and Behavioral Sciences:**
+- Use person-first language when appropriate (e.g., "people with schizophrenia" not "schizophrenics")
+- Employ standardized psychological constructs and validated assessment names
+- Follow APA guidelines for reducing bias in language
+- Specify theoretical frameworks using established terminology
+- Use "participants" rather than "subjects" for human research
+
+**General Principles:**
+
+**Match Audience Expertise:**
+- For specialized journals: Use field-specific terminology freely, define only highly specialized or novel terms
+- For broad-impact journals (e.g., *Nature*, *Science*): Define more technical terms, provide context for specialized concepts
+- For interdisciplinary audiences: Balance precision with accessibility, define terms at first use
+
+**Define Technical Terms Strategically:**
+- Define abbreviations at first use: "messenger RNA (mRNA)"
+- Provide brief explanations for specialized techniques when writing for broader audiences
+- Avoid over-defining terms well-known to your target audience (signals unfamiliarity with field)
+- Create a glossary if numerous specialized terms are unavoidable
+
+**Maintain Consistency:**
+- Use the same term for the same concept throughout (don't alternate between "medication," "drug," and "pharmaceutical")
+- Follow a consistent system for abbreviations (decide on "PCR" or "polymerase chain reaction" after first definition)
+- Apply the same nomenclature system throughout (especially for genes, species, chemicals)
+
+**Avoid Field Mixing Errors:**
+- Don't use clinical terminology for basic science (e.g., don't call mice "patients")
+- Avoid colloquialisms or overly general terms in place of precise field terminology
+- Don't import terminology from adjacent fields without ensuring proper usage
+
+**Verify Terminology Usage:**
+- Consult field-specific style guides and nomenclature resources
+- Check how terms are used in recent papers from your target journal
+- Use domain-specific databases and ontologies (e.g., Gene Ontology, MeSH terms)
+- When uncertain, cite a key reference that establishes terminology
+
+### 9. Common Pitfalls to Avoid
 
 **Top Rejection Reasons:**
 1. Inappropriate, incomplete, or insufficiently described statistics