The Handbook for Authors of Papers in the Journals of the American Chemical Society was first published in 1967 and was 127 pages in length (1). It was mostly devoted to what I would characterize as technical information: lists of symbols and units, the proper style for citation of references, and the like. It also contained detailed instructions for the hand drawing of chemical structures and figures including the proper use of the Leroy lettering set. My copy cost $2. The second edition, titled The ACS Style Guide: A Manual for Authors and Editors, appeared 30 years later in 1997 and was nearly four times as long: 460 pages (2). The bulk of the book was still technical information, much more than in the first edition, but the revision included a good chapter on Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling; a chapter on Communicating in Other Formats, especially poster presentations; and a chapter on Peer Review, which was a collection of short essays on approaches to reviewing. Increasing concern with copyright led to a chapter on that subject. With these additions, The ACS Style Guide became a comprehensive guide to effective communication for chemists.
Ten years later we have a third edition with new editors and a new subtitle. The changes in scientific publication, due in large part to the existence of the Internet, have required major revisions. Appropriately, this new volume begins with a chapter on ethics, outlining the obligation of authors and reviewers to maintain the integrity of the scientific literature. The chapters on effective writing have been updated, and a new chapter on electronic submission of manuscripts, increasingly the norm, has been added. This chapter contains both an overview of the Web-based manuscript submission process and detailed tables of the kinds of software used by various journals and the acceptable formats for both text and figure submission. Also new to this edition is a chapter on mark-up languages used to display articles on the Web. The middle of the book contains the technical information on style that every author needs at hand. The chapter on references has been expanded to cover references to electronic resources. Finally, there are chapters on the preparation of figures, tables, and chemical structures including details on the image file formats appropriate for various kinds of figures. Gone are all references to hand-drawn chemical structures, which have been replaced by discussions of software packages.
The ACS Style Guide is an essential reference for anyone who writes for the chemical community. This new edition is designed to meet the needs of authors in the ever-changing world of Web-based publication. It is certainly more than worth the purchase price. I am certain that mine will soon become well-worn through constant use.
Literature Cited
Handbook for Authors of Papers in the Journals of the American Chemical Society; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1967.
The ACS Style Guide: A Manual for Authors and Editors, 2nd edition; Dodd, Janet S., Ed.; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1997.
More Information
Citation
Kovac, Jeffrey. J. Chem. Educ.2006 83 1603.
Keywords
Communication / Writing; High School / Introductory Chemistry; Textbooks / Reference Books
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