O. A. Abraham’s Writing Excellent Articles for Conferences (4) Manuscript Writing

Guide to Manuscript Writing

Writing articles can be very easy if you know the simple steps to take. It may also be difficult if you have a good topic but have no proper idea of the steps to take. There could be differences in requirements for writing articles, from research to research, journal to journal, conference to conference and specific directives, as the case may be. However, commonly followed requirements may be useful; guiding you on steps to be taken, in preparing or writing your manuscripts.

There are thousands of journals, disciplines and profession the world over; calling for papers round the clock, to publish. With my experience in role as Contributing Editor to papers, Editorial Board Member and Peer-Reviewer for journals including American and South American Journals, I will recommend that writers follow one of the best – Texila International Journal, as a useful guide of instructions for existing and intending authors who would like to write acceptable articles:

In preparing your manuscript, the first thing you have to consider is the order of the sections for the manuscript.

Length of the Manuscript: 10-15 Pages

1. Compose a short and descriptive title
2. Write the abstract
3. Select keyword for indexing
4. Write a compelling introduction
5. Write the methods
6. Write up the results
7. Write the discussion
8. Write a clear conclusion
9. Prepare the figures and tables
10. Write up the references

General Instructions

1. Page Layout: 8.5 x 11-inch paper; for A4 paper
2. Use Times News Roman font
3. Capitalize only the first word in all the section level headings
4. First-level headings
5. Times New Roman 13-point boldface, initially capitalized, flush left, with one blank line before, and one blank line after.
6. Second-level headings 
   Times New Roman 11-point boldface, initially capitalized, flush left, with one blank line before, and one blank line after.
7. Third-level headings: Times New Roman 11-point boldface, initially capitalized, flush left, with one blank line before, and one blank line after.
8. Footnotes: Use Times New Roman 9-point type, single-spaced.
9. Acknowledgements should be brief and placed at the end of the text before the references.
10. All paragraphs should be indented 1 pica (approximately 0.17-inch or 0.422 cm).
11. Author names and affiliations are to be centered beneath the title and printed in Times New Roman 12-point, non-boldface type. Multiple authors may be shown in a two or three-column format, with their affiliations below their respective names. Affiliations are centered below each author name, italicized, not bold. Include e-mail addresses if possible. Follow the author information by two blank lines before main text.

Specific Instructions

1. COMPOSE A SHORT AND DESCRIPTIVE TITLE

The Manuscript Title must explain broadly what the paper is about. Keep the title in clear, descriptive and in concise manner – not too long. Avoid Abbreviations and critical technical words.

20 words, Times New Roman 14-point, boldface type, centered. Capitalize the first letter of nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs; do not capitalize articles, coordinate conjunctions, or prepositions

2. WRITE THE ABSTRACT

Abstract should not be more than 250 words. It should describe the important findings in your research. It provides the short description and purpose of your paper.

Use the word “Abstract” as the title, in 12-point Times New Roman, boldface type, centered relative to the column, initially capitalized. The abstract is to be in 11-point, single-spaced type.

3. SELECT KEYWORD FOR INDEXING

The purpose of Keywords is used for indexing your paper. The keywords are the label for your manuscript.

6 words in 11- point Times New Roman

4. WRITE A COMPELLING INTRODUCTION

In this part, state the purpose of the study. The following should be stated clearly: 

• Problem to be solved?
• Any existing solutions for the problems?
• Which is the Best one?
• Limitations?
• Achievements?

11-point Times New Roman, text justified

5. WRITE THE METHODS

In this section, describe the methods followed and responds to the question how the problem was studied. The order is as follows: 

• Description of the Site
• Description of the Experiments done
• Description of the laboratory methods
• Description of statistical methods used.

11-point Times New Roman, text justified

6.  WRITE UP THE RESULTS

In this section, responds to the question what have you found. The result should be essential for discussion.

11-point Times New Roman, text justified

7. WRITE THE DISCUSSION

In this section, should have discussion corresponding to the results. To achieve good think: 

• How do the results relate to the objectives outlined in the Introduction section?
• Are the results are consistent with other researchers?
• What further research would be necessary to answer the questions raised by your results?

11-point Times New Roman, text justified

8. WRITE A CLEAR CONCLUSION

In this section, you should provide clear justification for your work and indicate the uses and extension if appropriate.

11-point Times New Roman, text justified

9. PREPARE THE FIGURES AND TABLES

Figure and the tables are the efficient way to present your results of the study. The legend for the figures and the tables should be self-explanatory.

Figure Label: 10-point Times New Roman, text centered, below the Figure

Table Label: 10-point Times New Roman, text centered, above the Table

10. WRITE UP THE REFERENCES

In this section, References for the work which is done by you has to list out. Avoid unpublished references. Check the author names, Year of Publications, usage of et al, punctuation etc.

9-point Times New Roman, text justified with number.