• The text (Abstract, Introduction, Methods and Materials, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, and Literature Cited) is restricted to twelve (12) pages, double-spaced on one side of 8 1/2" by 11" (21.3cm by 27.5cm) paper, including analysis of data and illustrations. When additional data, charts/graphs, or illustrations are desired, they may be placed in . appendices
• When used, Acknowledgments will be considered part of the paper and follows the Liteature Cited.
  
• The paper plus the appendices may not exceed twenty (20) pages.
• This limit does not include the three VJAS cover forms (Pages ONE, TWO, and THREE), Mentor Form, Certification Form or Continuation Project Form..
• Sections of the paper should immediately follow one another on a page, rather than starting on a separate page.
• DO NOT include a title page or student name. The Student Entry Form (Page ONE) will be used in its place.

• Use double-spacing throughout all text. Single spacing may be used in tables, figure captions and each reference citation (double space between individual citations). Type on one side only of 81/2 × 11-inch white paper.
• There shall be no more than twelve characters per inch for monospaced fonts. If a word processor is used, no smaller than 12 point font size using one of the following print fonts - Helvetica, Times, Courier, or Geneva will be accepted.
• Do not use a font larger than 14 point for the title, text or text sections.
• Do not change font size. A change of typeface is acceptable for some cases of emphasis.
• Margins shall be not less than 1" (2.5 cm) on all sides of all pages INCLUDING appendices.
• Dot matrix printers are acceptable if letter quality type is used. Do not use draft mode. All copies must be dark enough to photocopy.

• Even though some journals accept first person writing, we prefer that you do not. Avoid using the first person, I or we, in writing. Keep your writing impersonal, in the third person. Instead of saying, "we weighed the frogs and put them in a glass jar," write, "the frogs were weighed and put in a glass jar."
  
• All scientific names (genus and species) must be italicized. 
  
• Use the metric system of measurements.
  
• Be aware that the word data is plural while datum is singular. This affects the choice of a correct verb. The word "species" is used both as a singular and as a plural.
• Numbers should be written as numerals when they are greater than ten or when they are associated with measurements; for example, 6 mm or 2 g, but two explanations or six factors. When one list includes numbers over and under ten, all numbers in the list may be expressed as numerals; for example, 17 sunfish, 13 bass, and 2 trout. Never start a sentence with numerals. Spell all numbers beginning sentences.  Never start a number with a decimal point. The correct format is 0.002.
  
• Be sure to divide paragraphs correctly and to use starting or ending sentences that indicate the purpose of the paragraph. A report or a section of a report should not be one long paragraph.
• Every sentence must have a subject and a verb.
• Avoid the use of slang and the overuse of contractions.
• Be consistent in the use of tense throughout a paragraph--do not switch between past and present.
• Be sure that pronouns refer to antecedents. For example, in the statement "Sometimes cecropia caterpillars are in cherry trees but they are hard to find," does "they" refer to caterpillars or trees?
• After writing a report, read it over, watching especially for lack of precision and ambiguity. Never use words such as: may, might, could, perhaps, etc. Each sentence should present a clear message. The following examples illustrate lack of precision:
  1. There may have been an error in our temperature measurements.
  2. The sample was incubated in mixture A minus B plus C. Does the mixture lack both B and C or lack B and contain C?
  3. The title "Protection against Carcinogenesis by Antioxidants" leaves the reader wondering whether antioxidants protect from or cause cancer.
  The only way to prevent such errors is to read and think about what you write. Learn to reread and edit your work.

• Define all symbols and spell out all acronyms the first time they are used.
• All weights and measures must be in the metric system, SI units. Abbreviations may be used for units of weight or measurement that describe data.
• A suggestion for conventions and examples of table style, abbreviations, symbols, etc., consult The CBE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers. Chicago (IL): Council of Biology Editors (1994 or more recent). For spelling consult The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (Soukhanov 1992 or more recent).

• All figures and tables should be able to stand alone, i.e., have descriptive titles and should include a legend explaining any symbols, abbreviations, or special methods used.
• Figures and tables should be numbered separately and should be referred to in the text by number. The numbers should be in order as they appear in the text., For example, do not refer to table 2 before you refer to table 1. 
• Black-and-white figures, photographs, maps, line drawings, and graphs must be high quality, camera-ready, black-and-white prints, photostats, or original art.
• Captions should allow the figure to be stand by itself without additional explanation.
• When labeling figures, make sure to use large enough letters so that they will be no smaller than 12 points. In drawings and graphs, please capitalize only the first letter of the first word of each label; please use a typeface without bold or italics (unless genus, species, or gene names).
• All figures and images must be within the typing area of the paper. They may be any size, but under no circumstances may they extend into the one inch margin.

• Each column must have a descriptive heading. Lower case letters should be used to indicate table footnotes.
• The table caption should allow the table to be stand by itself without additional explanation.

• Presenters are required, at the time of presentation, to submit a high-density floppy disk or CD (PC compatible ) containing a word processing file of the text (Abstract through Literature Cited) from their manuscript.
• Acceptable file types are Corel Word Perfect, Microsoft Word or ASCII text file.
• DO NOT include kin the text figures, graphs, images, or any embedded files or macros. The only exception is a table created by the word processor's "Insert Table" function.  Figures, Graphs, images, etc.,  should be included as separate files appropriately titled (examlpes--fig2.tif, table3.xls )
  

Written reports exist for a long time and yield long-term benefits for the author and others. Learning to write effectively can only be learned by writing. For this reason, most papers submitted by new scientists receive many comments and usually require rewriting. Papers submitted by senior scientists usually require few corrections.

Scientific research is a group activity. Individual scientists perform experiments to test hypotheses about physical phenomena. After their experiments are completed and duplicated, these researchers attempt to persuade others to accept or reject their hypotheses. The scientific paper is the vehicle of persuasion and an archival record for future generations. When it is published, it is available to other scientists for review. If the results stand up to criticism, they become part of the accepted body of scientific knowledge unless later disproved.

A scientific report usually consists of the following:

1. Title
2. Abstract
3. Introduction
4. Materials and Methods
5. Results
6. Discussion & Conclusion
7. Literature Cited
8. Acknowledgments

Title
The title should be less than ten words and should reflect the factual content of the paper. Scientific titles are not designed to catch the reader's fancy. A good title is straightforward and uses key words in the field.

• Why was this study performed? Answers to this question may be derived from observations of nature or from the literature.
• What knowledge already exists about this subject? The answer to this question must review the literature, showing the historical development of an idea and including the confirmations, conflicts, and gaps in existing knowledge.
• What is the specific purpose of the study?
• The specific hypotheses and experimental design pertinent to investigating the topic should be described.

• What materials were used?
• How were they used? 
• Where and when was the work done? (This question is most important in field studies.)

This section of your report should enable the reader to develop an appreciation of the general trends in your data and the degree of variability in the results. Concentrate on general trends and differences and not on trivial details. Many authors organize and write the results section before the rest of the report.

This section should not just be a restatement of the results, but should stress interpretation of the data, relating it to existing theory and knowledge. Speculation is appropriate if it is so identified. Suggestions for the improvement of techniques or experimental design may also be included here. In writing this section, you should explain the logic that allows you to accept or reject your original hypotheses.

• The listing is alphabetical by the last name of the first author of a citation.
• Literature citations soley from computer sources are unacceptable and can be reason for disqualification. [Computer sources when allowed by some journals should be archived (library digital archives, files, databases, books, etc. which are available for inspection but are digitized and put on-line for easy access and convenience) or refereed on-line journals.]

• In-text citations
  In-text citations must take the form: (Author, date). For example:
  1. Fox, in 1978, investigated the effects of hormones on the nest-building behavior of catbirds.
  2. Hormones are known to influence the nest-building behavior of catbirds (Fox, 1978).
• Multiple citations should be listed by year of publication, earliest first: (Author, date; Author, date).
• Use the first author's name and "et al." for in-text citation of works with more than two authors or editors (Author et al., date); list every author or editor in the "Literature Cited" list unless there are more than 10 authors.
• All works cited in the text must be listed alphabetically in Literature Cited; works not cited must not be listed. Provide the full names of all journals.

Stærkeby, Morten. 2000.  Introduction to forensic entomology
<http://www.uio.no/~mostarke/forens_ent/introduction.shtml> (21 August 2000)

• The appendix could include data tables, graphs, charts, illustrations, and pictures.
• All materials in this section must meet the same requirements as the text of the paper.
  
• Do not include any identification of the student researcher.