SciWrite Tip of a day (27/12/2019)

Post date: Dec 27, 2019 4:40:15 AM

SciWrite Tip of a day: Tables and Figures are integral parts and standalone objects of a paper, and hence they should be presented completely and comprehensively. Readers should make sense of a paper, and should capture the entire “story” by observing Tables and Figures. Below are essential rules of presenting these objects in a paper:

1. Terminate the captions with a full-stop. For example, “Figure 5: Image degradation model.”

2. Reference Tables and Figures in the main text with exactly the same names of labels. For example, if the label is Figure 5, then a typical reference in the main text can be “……..(Figure 5)” and NOT “……(Fig. 5).

3. Use the three-line horizontal rule to present information in a Table, and avoid the grid lines.

4. Ensure that ALL Tables and Figures are referenced in the main text, and are seated nearer to their comments.

5. Label Figures and Tables sequentially, in ascending order of labels.

6. Do not present Tables and Figures with the same information. And, understand when to use Tables and when Figures should be used.

7. Add references to Tables and Figures in the main text, and NOT in the Tables/Figures themselves. For instance, if the Figure was adapted from the work by Hamza et al., then this reference should appear in the text. We usually avoid external links because Tables and Figures are standalone objects that should make a complete “story” independent of the text.

8. Ensure that the captions are informative, and can easily be understood even without referring to the main text.

9. Ensure high quality Tables and Figures (DPI 300 and above, or as recommended by the journal). Avoid unclear and uninformative Tables and Figures.

10. Avoid complex Tables and Figures that are hard to interpret.

11. Avoid using copyrighted Figures without consent from the Journal or from the relevant authorities.

How to Write Guide: Making Tables and Figures

http://abacus.bates.edu/~ganderso/biology/resources/writing/HTWtablefigs.html