Length - 8-20 pages, double-spaced

Font - Palatino 12 pt.

Format - 2 paper copies and 1 electronic copy

Software - Microsoft Word for PC (.doc file, not .docx)

Images - Submitted as separate .tiff or .jpeg files; at least 300 dpi with dimensions of at least 4x6; including captions, credit, and copyright information if applicable

Figures/Tables - Labeled clearly with captions and included at the end of the document, with one figure or table per page

Style - Scientific American (direct questions to Managing Editor)

Sections - As described in the attached formatting instructions

Contact Info - MUST BE INCLUDED WITH ALL SUBMISSIONS

All submissions must also include a completed Mentor Approval Form.

Manuscripts that do not adhere to the general guidelines will be returned to the author for revision.


Required Formatting

• Title Page

The title page must include the title of your project, your name and your home university, and the name, department, and school of your faculty mentor and grad student or postdoctoral mentor(s).

• Abstract

Include a one-paragraph (4–5 sentences) abstract that describes your project’s purpose and results. Your abstract should address the importance of your project, the project goal, a brief explanation of method and results. Your abstract should be written last, which will allow you to come up with a clear, concise description. There should be no references in the abstract.

• Introduction

Include a clear statement of the problem and why it is important or interesting. Include the central problem/question/hypothesis to be addressed in the report.

• Background

Provide a review of literature. What research set the precedent for your investigation? Always site your sources. If you are including an idea or statement that you did not think of entirely on your own, you must include a reference.

• Approach

Describe your approach to the problem ( do not provide step-by-step experimental protocols). Where did you begin researching and why? What are the advantages and powers of the techniques you used or the design you proposed? What are the disadvantages or controversies involved, if any? (This should not emulate a “materials and methods” section of a standard technical report.)

• Results

Explain your results and discuss their implications. Rather than detailing every aspect of your statistical analysis or your STEM image, stress the actual implications of your results. Remember that your audience is most interested in the conclusions that you draw and the relevance of your project to a larger purpose.

• Discussion

Provide an analysis of your results. What do the results of your work mean? Were there limitations of the data or problems with the methodology? Are there questions left unanswered?

• Conclusion

Briefly summarize and reiterate your research study and major findings. Did you answer the question you were investigating? What are the directions for future work (if applicable)?

• References

How to cite your sources in your text

• Number your sources in text.
  
• Begin with 1 and number each reference consecutively. When citing a reference two or more times, do not give it a new number. Simply refer to the number used the initial time the source was cited. Do not combine numbers and letters (1 and 2, not 1a and 1b).
  
• Occasionally you may need to cite more than one reference at a time. In this case, include the reference numbers in increasing order separated with commas (no spaces in superscript, spaces on line). Use a dash if the numbers are part of a continuous series of 3 or more references.

results indicated ^3,7,8
were found ^5-7,9

• The end of a sentence is the most common place to cite a reference. However, you may also include a citation at a natural breaking point within the sentence, for instance before a comma or a conjunction (and, but, or). Citations should not interfere with the readability of the text.

Making a reference list

• Put a reference list at the end of the paper in numerical order.
  
• Include complete and accurate information. The minimum amount of information required for book and journal sources varies.
  
• Minimum information for journals: author, abbreviated journal title, year, publication, volume number, and initial page of cited article, though complete pagination is possible).
  
• Minimum information for books: author or editor, book title, publisher, city of publication and year of publication.
  
• Use only numerals in page numbering:
  1934-1936
  265-276

Examples

Journals

• Abbreviated journal names and volume numbers appear in italics. The ACS Style Guide (1997) provides a list of journal title abbreviations.
  
• The year of the article should be in boldface.
  
• Most scientific journals are paginated continuously. That is, page numbering continues from issue to issue. For instance, if one issue ends on page 706, the next issue begins on page 707. Occasionally a scientific publication may be paginated separately with every issue starting on page 1. If the journal is paginated continuously, include only the volume number. If the journal is paginated separately, include the volume number followed by the issue number in parentheses.

Journal with Continuous Pagination
Woodbridge, E.L.; Fletcher, T.R.; Laufer, A.H. J. Phys. Chem. 1988 , 92 , 4938.

Journal with Individual Pagination
Freemantle, M. Chem. Eng. News 1998 , 76 (28), 15-16.

• It is not necessary to include words like "Company," "Inc.," "Publisher," and "Press" in publishers' names.
• Book titles should be in italics.
• The ACS Style Guide (1997) provides a list of abbreviations commonly used in book references (Vol., No.).

Books without an Editor
Calvert, J.G.; Pitts, J.N. Photochemistry ; Wiley: New York, 1966; pp 156-186.

Books with an Editor
The Carbohydrates: Chemistry and Biochemistry ; Pigman, William W., Ed.; Academic Press: New York, 1970; p 45.