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This guide is based on articles published in The Plant Cell and a webinar by Nan Eckardt, their features editor.
Vignette articles
Vignette articles comprise a collection of diverse perspectives on a scientific topic or a topic on science as a social endeavor.
Vignettes combine segments written by different authors, each sharing their own perspective. These segments are book-ended by a general introduction stating the topic and purpose of the vignette, and a general conclusion describing main takeaways.
This format is particularly suitable for
reporting out discussions from panels and workshops that generated and shared ideas (example vignettes from The Plant Cell cited below), and
illuminating a scientific or science-and-society issue from multiple perspectives.
ICB invites articles arising from panel discussions and workshops that identified emergent topics, new research directions, and areas of action. These events are typically related to SICB annual meetings and their symposia.
Vignette articles often are forward looking and provide multiple perspectives, generate multiple ideas, identify multiple areas of action, share multiple case studies, or call for a range of new initiatives. Topics that fall within this scope are, for example, open questions at the cutting edge of a research area, disciplinary discussions of core concepts or best practices, intersectionality of equity and inclusions issues, research ethics, educational case studies.
Manuscript preparation
Manuscript preparation
Manuscripts should follow the same general guidelines as Perspective papers concerning scope, and follow the general author guidelines for formatting manuscripts for ICB, including length requirements (manuscripts should not exceed print 12 pages, including figures; as a guide, one page is roughly 850 words).
This format works best for author teams led by a coordinator who facilitates the ideation and writing process. The coordinator typically acts as the corresponding author and takes the lead in writing the opening and closing sections.
Opening
The vignette article should start with a brief paragraph introducing the topic and the need for a vignette paper and the rationale behind the choice of contributors or range of vignette topics; it should tie together the multiple perspectives provided by the vignettes, highlighting synergies between the vignettes.
Main body
The vignette article should contain multiple vignettes. Each vignette has its own header and list of authors; the author list of the vignette will list all author names of the vignettes in alphabetical order (see example vignette articles listed in the references below).
Closing
The vignette article should end with a conclusion section providing a synergistic summary of the vignettes.
Example vignette articles
Example vignette articles
Eckardt, N. A., Ainsworth, E. A., Bahuguna, R. N., Broadley, M. R., Busch, W., Carpita, N. C., ... & Zhang, X. (2023). Climate change challenges, plant science solutions. The Plant Cell, 35(1), 24-66.
Verslues, P. E., Bailey-Serres, J., Brodersen, C., Buckley, T. N., Conti, L., Christmann, A., ... & Wigge, P. A. (2023). Burning questions for a warming and changing world: 15 unknowns in plant abiotic stress. The Plant Cell, 35(1), 67-108.
Roeder, A. H., Otegui, M. S., Dixit, R., Anderson, C. T., Faulkner, C., Zhang, Y., ... & Messina, C. (2022). Fifteen compelling open questions in plant cell biology. The Plant Cell, 34(1), 72-102.
ICB has experience with running ideation workshops and can provide playbooks for organizing and running such events.
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