The conventions of writing are a bit different in the natural sciences. Quotations are common in the humanities and social sciences, but fairly uncommon in the sciences. The usual style is not to quote sources but to cite them:

This makes sense when you think about it, because papers in the natural sciences often cite hundreds of sources.

As with every area of academic inquiry, there is no universally accepted format for formatting and documenting citations in scientific writing. But one of the most influential writing and documentation styles in the natural sciences is that of the Council of Science Editors (CSE), formerly known as the Council of Biology Editors (CBE). Since the style is generally referred to as CBE style, we'll stick with that.

CBE document formats

Nuts and Bolts presents here a concise guide to CBE style. The full CBE format is available in a book, Scientific Style and Format: The CBE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers, 6th ed. (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1994), $45. The book covers every major scientific discipline from astronomy to zoology. It may be ordered directly from the CSE (http://www.councilscienceeditors.org/pubs_catalog.php3).

Paper and binding

Use sturdy white, unlined 8.5" by 11" paper. Essays should be stapled or paper-clipped in the upper left corner. Don't use binders or plastic covers unless your teacher wants them, nor should you hold your paper together by folding or tearing pages.

Margins, line spacing, and paragraphs

Except for page numbers (see below), use margins of one inch on all sides. The essay or report should be double-spaced throughout (including quotations, notes, and list of references). You may mark new paragraphs either by indenting the first line of each new paragraph a half-inch on the left (or five spaces if you use a typewriter), or by putting a blank line between paragraphs. Set-off quotations are indented one inch on the left.

Printing and fonts

Type or print; don't turn in handwritten formal work. Print on only one side of the page, in black ink. Use a plain serif or sans-serif font—no cursive fonts, for instance. Good serif choices are Times Roman and Palatino; good non-serif choices are Arial and Helvetica.

Use italics for emphasis if your printer can handle it; otherwise use underlining.

Page numbers

Starting with the first page, put page numbers a half-inch from the top edge of the paper, flush with the right margin. Type your last name before the page number (Harvey 1), in case the page comes loose. Word processors automate this process, so make sure you know how to use the pagination command.

Title

Place a centered title at the top of the first page of the essay, centered right below the top margin. separated from the heading by a blank line. If the title extends to a second line, double space between the lines and again to the first line of the essay (with no blank line). Don't italicize or underline the title (though if you use a book title in your paper's title, you should italicize or underline it)

Make sure your essay has a meaningful title that is more than a bare-bones identifier (not Essay #1 or Essay on Biology). It should signal to the reader what your essay is about.

Heading

Flush with the left margin and below the title place (and preceded by a blank line) place your name, your professor's name, the course name or number (including section number if the course has multiple sections), and the date you're turning in the paper, each on a separate line with double-spacing throughout.

References

Begin the references immediately at the end of the paper, with the header References in bold, flush left, and preceded by a blank line.

The two CBE citation styles: citation-sequence and name-year

The CBE manual describes two documentation systems: the citation-sequence system and the name-year system. Both consist of short in-text citations keyed to references in an list of works at the end of the paper. A complete citation thus has two parts: an in-text citation in the body of the paper, and a bibliographic reference in the list of works cited.

The first CBE documentation style we look at is citation-sequence documentation.

Citation-sequence (C-S) documentation

The basic format of citation-sequence (C-S) documentation is straightforward: in the body of a paper, sequential superscript numbers (or sometimes numbers in square brackets). The numbers refer to a list usually entitled "References" at the end of the document.

A. C-S Citation details

Multiple references in one citation

For multiple references use commas and no spaces between citation numbers.

Significant progress has been made in tracing the gene's survival in the environment outside the human body.

For three or more numbers in a sequence, join the first and last numbers of the sequence with a hyphen: 11, 13-16.

Citing a reference more than once

Sources may be referred to as often as needed, using the original number.

B. C-S Reference details

C-S 1. Book by a single author

List all names.

C-S 2. Book or article by two or more authors

List all names.

C-S 3. Book with editors

C-S 4. Translated book

C-S 5. Book published in a new edition

C-S 6. Book published in several volumes

C-S 7. Chapter in an edited book

C-S 8. Article in an encyclopedia

Note the volume and page numbers at the end of the reference.

C-S 9. Article in a scholarly journal

Note the format of year, volume, and pages. Many journal titles in different fields have standard abbreviations: for help study other published works or consult the CBE manual.

C-S 10. Article in a monthly periodical

C-S 11. Article in a newspaper

Note the information on section, page, and column.

C-S 12. Article without an author

C-S 13. Letter to the editor

Note that a letter to the editor is cited by title, not author (the author's name appears after the descriptive phrase).

C-S 14. Editorial

C-S 15. Personal communication

Caveat: some instructors frown on citing unpublished sources.

C-S 16. Government publication

C-S 17. Dissertation

C-S 18. Abstract

Name-year (N-Y) documentation

Name-year (N-Y) style is akin to APA style. The basic format consists of a citation in the body of paper that includes the name of author(s) and year of publication.

Et al. is short for the Latin et alii ("and others").

A. N-Y Citation details

You may find it convenient to mention the author in the text, in which case the year and any other information goes in the parenthetical:

If you are citing a specific page in the source, note that in the citation, not the reference: (Attridge et al., 1996, p 3371).

Multiple references in one citation

Arrange citations chronologically from earliest to latest. Within the same year, alphabetize by author. Separate entries by semicolon.

Authors with same last name

No problem if the source years differ: (Johnson, 1999; Johnson, 1998). But if the names and years are the same, give each author's initials, ordering alphabetically: (Perkins S 1999, Perkins SP 1999). If listing additional authors will clear up the ambiguity, list as many as necessary: (Wilson, Eakins, Pravab et al., 1995; Wilson, Eakins, Searle et al., 1995).

Work by two authors

Cite both names: (Issleib and Hohlfeld, 1961).

Work by three or more authors

In the first citation list all the names. In subsequent citations, cite the first name followed by et al.

B. N-Y Reference details

N-Y 1. Book by a single author

N-Y 2. Book or article by multiple authors

See the examples in N-Y citation details above.

N-Y 3. Book with editors

N-Y 4. Translated book

N-Y 5. Book published in a new edition

N-Y 6. Book published in several volumes

N-Y 7. Chapter in an edited book

N-Y 8. Article in an encyclopedia

Note the volume and page numbers at the end of the reference.

N-Y 9. Article in a scholarly journal

Note the format of year, volume, and pages. Many journal titles in different fields have standard abbreviations: for help study other published works or consult the CBE manual. If the title is not abbreviated, do not put a period after it and before the volume number.

N-Y 10. Article in a monthly periodical

N-Y 11. Article in a newspaper

Note the information on section, page, and column.

N-Y 12. Article without an author

N-Y 13. Letter to the editor

Note that a letter to the editor is cited by title, not author (the author's name appears after the descriptive phrase).

N-Y 14. Editorial

N-Y 15. Personal communication

Caveat: some instructors frown on citing unpublished sources.

N-Y 16. Government publication

N-Y 17. Dissertation

N-Y 18. Abstract

CBE Internet references

In general, CBE references to Internet sources follow CBE format with the addition of information about the source's URL and the retrieval date (important because web documents are by their nature dynamic). For formatting the examples below, I have followed Andrew Harnack and Eugene Kleppinger, Online! A Reference Guide to Using Internet Sources (New York: Bedford / St. Martin's, 2000).

E1. Web site

Reference

E2. Article in an online journal

Reference

E3. Abstract

Reference

E4. Newspaper article

Reference

E5. Government publication

Reference

E6. Forum or conference posting

Reference

E7. Email

Reference

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