Medical and Scientific Style Guides

Which Style Guides Do You Require?

As a medical or scientific author, you may need your documents to conform to a specific style before publication.

Let me help you format and style your document by using any of the following manuals used in various disciplines.

If your preferred style manual is not listed here, just ask—I will be happy to work with your chosen style or to recommend someone who can.

Biology and Other Sciences

CSE style: Council of Science Editors, Style Manual Committee. Scientific Style and Format: The CSE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers. 7th ed. Reston, VA: The Council; 2006.

Chemistry

ACS style: Coghill AM, Garson LR, eds. The ACS Style Guide: Effective Communication of Scientific Information. 3rd ed. Washington, DC: American Chemical Society; New York, NY: Oxford University Press; 2006.

Medicine

AMA style: Iverson C, Christiansen S, Flanagin A, et al. AMA Manual of Style: A Guide for Authors and Editors. 10th ed. New York, NY: Oxford University Press; 2007.

   Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals (Vancouver style referencing): International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals: Writing and Editing for Biomedical Publications. http://www.icmje.org. Updated October 2008. Accessed November 9, 2009.

Psychology

APA style: American Psychological Association. Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. 6th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association; 2009.

Other Styles

• Chicago style: The Chicago Manual of Style. 15th ed. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press; 2003.
• House style: On request, I will apply the style and format set out in your company's internal guidelines.
• Consistent style: If you do not require a specific style, I will ensure that your document is styled consistently.

If you have prepared a manuscript for a specific journal, the journal's author instructions often indicate which style to use.

Many science manuscripts can be edited in ACS or CSE style. Most psychology manuscripts can be edited and formatted in APA style. Most medical manuscripts can be edited in AMA style and formatted to conform with Uniform Requirements (Vancouver style referencing).

Some style guides prescribe which dictionary to use as a spelling reference. APA, for instance, identifies Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary as the standard reference.

If you are not required to use a particular dictionary for your writing project, simply tell me which dictionary you prefer or which consistent spelling style to use: American, British, or Canadian.

For information on other aspects of medical and scientific writing, please visit the following pages:

• Editing Tips (including proofreading marks)
• English Grammar Tips
• Writing Tips

Do you need science or medical editing services to help style your journal manuscript? Please contact me online or visit Science Editing Services for more information.