406 lines
13 KiB
Markdown
406 lines
13 KiB
Markdown
# Nature and Science Writing Style Guide
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Comprehensive writing guide for Nature, Science, and related high-impact multidisciplinary journals (Nature Communications, Science Advances, PNAS).
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**Last Updated**: 2024
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---
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## Overview
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Nature and Science are the world's premier multidisciplinary scientific journals. Papers published here must appeal to scientists across all disciplines, not just specialists. This fundamentally shapes the writing style.
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### Key Philosophy
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> "If a structural biologist can't understand why your particle physics paper matters, it won't be published in Nature."
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**Primary Goal**: Communicate groundbreaking science to an educated but non-specialist audience.
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---
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## Audience and Tone
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### Target Reader
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- PhD-level scientist in **any** field
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- Familiar with scientific methodology
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- **Not** an expert in your specific subfield
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- Reading broadly to stay current across science
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### Tone Characteristics
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| Characteristic | Description |
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|---------------|-------------|
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| **Accessible** | Avoid jargon; explain technical concepts |
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| **Engaging** | Hook the reader; tell a story |
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| **Significant** | Emphasize why this matters broadly |
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| **Confident** | State findings clearly (with appropriate hedging) |
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| **Active** | Use active voice; first person acceptable |
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### Voice
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- **First person plural ("we") is encouraged**: "We discovered that..." not "It was discovered that..."
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- **Active voice preferred**: "We measured..." not "Measurements were taken..."
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- **Direct statements**: "Protein X controls Y" not "Protein X appears to potentially control Y"
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---
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## Abstract
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### Style Requirements
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- **Flowing paragraphs** (NOT structured with labeled sections)
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- **150-200 words** for Nature; up to 250 for Nature Communications
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- **No citations** in abstract
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- **No abbreviations** (or define at first use if essential)
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- **Self-contained**: Understandable without reading the paper
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### Abstract Structure (Implicit)
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Write as flowing prose covering:
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1. **Context** (1-2 sentences): Why this area matters
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2. **Gap/Problem** (1 sentence): What was unknown or problematic
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3. **Approach** (1 sentence): What you did (briefly)
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4. **Key findings** (2-3 sentences): Main results with key numbers
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5. **Significance** (1-2 sentences): Why this matters, implications
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### Example Abstract (Nature Style)
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```
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The origins of multicellular life remain one of biology's greatest mysteries.
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How individual cells first cooperated to form complex organisms has been
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difficult to study because the transition occurred over 600 million years ago.
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Here we show that the unicellular alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii can evolve
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simple multicellular structures within 750 generations when exposed to
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predation pressure. Using experimental evolution with the predator Paramecium,
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we observed the emergence of stable multicellular clusters in 5 of 10
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replicate populations. Genomic analysis revealed that mutations in just two
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genes—encoding cell adhesion proteins—were sufficient to trigger this
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transition. These results demonstrate that the evolution of multicellularity
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may require fewer genetic changes than previously thought, providing insight
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into one of life's major transitions.
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```
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### What NOT to Write
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❌ **Too technical**:
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> "Using CRISPR-Cas9-mediated knockout of the CAD1 gene (encoding cadherin-1) in C. reinhardtii strain CC-125, we demonstrated that loss of CAD1 function combined with overexpression of FLA10 under control of the HSP70A/RBCS2 tandem promoter..."
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❌ **Too vague**:
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> "We studied how cells can form groups. Our results are interesting and may have implications for understanding evolution."
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---
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## Introduction
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### Length and Structure
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- **3-5 paragraphs** (roughly 500-800 words)
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- **Funnel structure**: Broad → Specific → Your contribution
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### Paragraph-by-Paragraph Guide
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**Paragraph 1: The Big Picture**
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- Open with a broad, engaging statement about the field
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- Establish why this area matters to science/society
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- Accessible to any scientist
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```
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Example:
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"The ability to predict protein structure from sequence alone has been a grand
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challenge of biology for over 50 years. Accurate predictions would transform
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drug discovery, enable understanding of disease mechanisms, and illuminate the
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fundamental rules governing molecular self-assembly."
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```
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**Paragraph 2-3: What We Know**
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- Review key prior work (selectively, not exhaustively)
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- Build toward the gap you'll address
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- Keep citations focused on essential papers
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```
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Example:
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"Significant progress has been made through template-based methods that
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leverage known structures of homologous proteins. However, for the estimated
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30% of proteins without detectable homologs, prediction accuracy has remained
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limited. Deep learning approaches have shown promise, achieving improved
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accuracy on benchmark datasets, yet still fall short of experimental accuracy
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for many protein families."
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```
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**Paragraph 4: The Gap**
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- Clearly state what remains unknown or unresolved
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- Frame this as an important problem
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```
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Example:
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"Despite these advances, the fundamental question remains: can we predict
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protein structure with experimental-level accuracy for proteins across all
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of sequence space? This capability would democratize structural biology and
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enable rapid characterization of newly discovered proteins."
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```
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**Final Paragraph: This Paper**
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- State what you did and preview key findings
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- Signal the significance of your contribution
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```
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Example:
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"Here we present AlphaFold2, a neural network architecture that predicts
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protein structure with atomic-level accuracy. In the CASP14 blind assessment,
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AlphaFold2 achieved a median GDT score of 92.4, matching experimental
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accuracy for most targets. We show that this system can be applied to predict
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structures across entire proteomes, opening new avenues for understanding
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protein function at scale."
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```
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### Introduction Don'ts
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- ❌ Don't start with "Since ancient times..." or overly grandiose claims
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- ❌ Don't provide an exhaustive literature review (save for specialist journals)
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- ❌ Don't include methods or results in the introduction
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- ❌ Don't use unexplained acronyms or jargon
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---
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## Results
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### Organizational Philosophy
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**Story-driven, not experiment-driven**
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Organize by **finding**, not by the chronological order of experiments:
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❌ **Experiment-driven** (avoid):
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> "We first performed experiment A. Next, we did experiment B. Then we conducted experiment C."
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✅ **Finding-driven** (preferred):
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> "We discovered that X. To understand the mechanism, we found that Y. This led us to test whether Z, confirming our hypothesis."
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### Results Writing Style
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- **Past tense** for describing what was done/found
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- **Present tense** for referring to figures ("Figure 2 shows...")
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- **Objective but interpretive**: State findings with minimal interpretation, but provide enough context for non-specialists
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- **Quantitative**: Include key numbers, statistics, effect sizes
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### Example Results Paragraph
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```
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To test whether protein X is required for cell division, we generated
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knockout cell lines using CRISPR-Cas9 (Fig. 1a). Cells lacking protein X
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showed a 73% reduction in division rate compared to controls (P < 0.001,
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n = 6 biological replicates; Fig. 1b). Live-cell imaging revealed that
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knockout cells arrested in metaphase, with 84% showing abnormal spindle
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morphology (Fig. 1c,d). These results demonstrate that protein X is
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essential for proper spindle assembly and cell division.
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```
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### Subheadings
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Use descriptive subheadings that convey findings:
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❌ **Vague**: "Protein expression analysis"
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✅ **Informative**: "Protein X is upregulated in response to stress"
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---
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## Discussion
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### Structure (4-6 paragraphs)
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**Paragraph 1: Summary of Key Findings**
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- Restate main findings (don't repeat Results verbatim)
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- State whether hypotheses were supported
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**Paragraphs 2-3: Interpretation and Context**
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- What do the findings mean?
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- How do they relate to prior work?
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- What mechanisms might explain the results?
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**Paragraph 4: Broader Implications**
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- Why does this matter beyond your specific system?
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- Connections to other fields
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- Potential applications
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**Paragraph 5: Limitations**
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- Acknowledge limitations honestly
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- Be specific, not generic
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**Final Paragraph: Conclusions and Future**
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- Big-picture take-home message
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- Brief mention of future directions
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### Discussion Writing Tips
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- **Lead with implications**, not caveats
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- **Compare to literature constructively**: "Our findings extend the work of Smith et al. by demonstrating..."
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- **Acknowledge alternative interpretations**: "An alternative explanation is that..."
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- **Be honest about limitations**: Specific > generic
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### Example Limitation Statement
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❌ **Generic**: "Our study has limitations that should be addressed in future work."
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✅ **Specific**: "Our analysis was limited to cultured cells, which may not fully recapitulate the tissue microenvironment. Additionally, the 48-hour observation window may miss slower-developing phenotypes."
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---
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## Methods
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### Nature Methods Placement
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- **Brief Methods** in main text (often at the end)
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- **Extended Methods** in Supplementary Information
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- Must be detailed enough for reproduction
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### Writing Style
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- **Past tense, passive voice acceptable**: "Cells were cultured..." or "We cultured cells..."
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- **Precise and reproducible**: Include concentrations, times, temperatures
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- **Reference established protocols**: "Following the method of Smith et al.³..."
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---
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## Figures
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### Figure Philosophy
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Nature values **conceptual figures** alongside data:
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1. **Figure 1**: Often a schematic/model showing the concept
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2. **Data figures**: Clear, not cluttered
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3. **Final figure**: Often a summary model
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### Figure Design Principles
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- **Single-column (89 mm) or double-column (183 mm)** width
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- **High resolution**: 300+ dpi for photos, 1000+ dpi for line art
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- **Colorblind-accessible**: Avoid red-green distinctions alone
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- **Minimal chartjunk**: No 3D effects, unnecessary gridlines
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- **Complete legends**: Self-explanatory without reading text
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### Figure Legend Format
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```
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Figure 1 | Protein X controls cell division through spindle assembly.
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a, Schematic of the experimental approach. b, Quantification of cell
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division rate in control (grey) and knockout (blue) cells. Data are
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mean ± s.e.m., n = 6 biological replicates. ***P < 0.001, two-tailed
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t-test. c,d, Representative images of spindle morphology in control (c)
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and knockout (d) cells. Scale bars, 10 μm.
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```
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---
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## References
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### Citation Style
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- **Numbered superscripts**: ¹, ², ¹⁻³, ¹'⁵'⁷
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- **Nature format** for bibliography
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### Reference Format
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```
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1. Watson, J. D. & Crick, F. H. C. Molecular structure of nucleic acids.
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Nature 171, 737–738 (1953).
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2. Smith, A. B., Jones, C. D. & Williams, E. F. Discovery of protein X.
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Science 380, 123–130 (2023).
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```
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### Citation Best Practices
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- **Recent literature**: Include papers from last 2-3 years
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- **Seminal papers**: Cite foundational work
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- **Diverse sources**: Don't over-cite your own work
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- **Primary sources**: Cite original discoveries, not reviews (when possible)
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---
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## Language and Style Tips
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### Word Choice
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| Avoid | Prefer |
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|-------|--------|
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| utilize | use |
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| methodology | method |
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| in order to | to |
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| a large number of | many |
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| at this point in time | now |
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| has the ability to | can |
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| it is interesting to note that | [delete entirely] |
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### Sentence Structure
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- **Vary sentence length**: Mix short and longer sentences
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- **Lead with importance**: Put key information at the start
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- **One idea per sentence**: Complex ideas need multiple sentences
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### Paragraph Structure
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- **Topic sentence first**: State the main point
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- **Supporting evidence**: Data and citations
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- **Transition**: Connect to next paragraph
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---
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## Comparison: Nature vs. Science
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| Feature | Nature | Science |
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|---------|--------|---------|
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| Abstract length | 150-200 words | ≤125 words |
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| Citation style | Numbered superscript | Numbered parentheses (1, 2) |
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| Article titles in refs | Yes | No (in main refs) |
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| Methods placement | End of paper or supplement | Supplement |
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| Significance statement | No | No |
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| Open access option | Yes | Yes |
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---
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## Common Rejection Reasons
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1. **Not of sufficient broad interest**: Too specialized for Nature/Science
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2. **Incremental advance**: Not transformative enough
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3. **Overselling**: Claims not supported by data
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4. **Poor accessibility**: Too technical for general audience
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5. **Weak significance statement**: "So what?" unclear
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6. **Insufficient novelty**: Similar findings published elsewhere
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7. **Methodological concerns**: Results not convincing
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---
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## Pre-Submission Checklist
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### Content
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- [ ] Significance to broad audience clear in first paragraph
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- [ ] Non-specialist can understand the abstract
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- [ ] Story-driven results (not experiment-by-experiment)
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- [ ] Implications emphasized in discussion
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- [ ] Limitations acknowledged specifically
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### Style
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- [ ] Active voice predominates
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- [ ] Jargon minimized or explained
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- [ ] Sentences vary in length
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- [ ] Paragraphs have clear topic sentences
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### Technical
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- [ ] Figures are high resolution
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- [ ] Citations in correct format
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- [ ] Word count within limits
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- [ ] Line numbers included
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- [ ] Double-spaced
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---
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## See Also
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- `venue_writing_styles.md` - Master style overview
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- `journals_formatting.md` - Technical formatting requirements
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- `reviewer_expectations.md` - What Nature/Science reviewers seek
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