Suggestions from the editorial board of PR

I find it potentially useful for fresh scholars in writing and preparing their manuscripts. The following are excerpts abridged from the website of APS. Actually, I resonate much with what they say.

Editorial: The Aim of a Good Introduction (October 21, 2005)

A primary goal of Physical Review Letters is to keep a broad spectrum of physicists informed about current research findings in areas outside their specializations. To accomplish this, a Letter needs clearly written introductory paragraphs that are understandable by nonexperts. Communication to a general readership is, however, an ongoing challenge for PRL editors and authors. To aid in this effort, we offer some guidelines to authors for writing the introduction:

1. The introduction should interest people outside the subfield in reading the article. Because it is directed at nonspecialists, it should have a minimum of jargon and acronyms.

2. It should describe the background and history of the problem or research goal addressed in the article. It should explain the importance of this research and of the results being reported, as well as any relevance they have to other areas of physics ("The work described here is motivated by...").

3. A well organized introduction starts with the general discussion described in point (2) and ends with a brief description of the specific results presented ("In this Letter we show..."). Discussions of technical details should be reserved for the main text.

4. In our experience, a good introduction requires a minimum of 1 double-spaced manuscript page, i.e., 32 single-column published lines, and may range up to 2 such pages, or 64 published lines.

Good writing is difficult and requires thought and effort; this is especially true when one attempts to communicate technical results to people outside the field. It would be a useful practice if, before submitting a manuscript to PRL, the authors asked colleagues in other areas to comment on its readability, with particular emphasis on the introduction. Authors who do not feel comfortable writing in English may find it helpful to consult colleagues more experienced in this regard.

[And the following are the criteria for PRL acceptance]

Acceptance Criteria

Physical Review Letters publishes Letters of not more than four journal pages and Comments of not more than one journal page. Both must meet specific standards for substance and presentation, as judged by rigorous review by editors and referees. The Physical Review and Physical Review Letters publish new physics. Thus, prior publication of the same results will preclude consideration of a later Letter. In addition, the findings must not be a marginal extension of previously published work; they must not be a repetition of prior results on a similar system, without additional physical insight.

Substance

Validity.— Work is valid if it is free of detectable error and is presented in sufficient detail that this may be determined. Papers that advance new theoretical views on fundamental principles or theories must contain convincing arguments that the new predictions and interpretations are distinct from existing knowledge and do not contradict experiment.

Importance.— Important results are those that substantially advance a field, open a significant new area of research or solve–or take a crucial step toward solving–a critical outstanding problem, and thus facilitate notable progress in an existing field. A new experimental or theoretical method may be a suitable basis for a Letter, but only if it leads to the significant advances presented above. Mathematical and computational papers that do not have application to physics are generally not suitable. Papers that describe proposed experiments must provide compelling evidence that the proposal is novel and feasible, and that it will lead to valuable new research.

Broad Interest.— Work is of broad interest if it is a major advance in a field of physics or has significant implications across subfield boundaries. A manuscript may also be of broad interest if it is exceptionally pleasing science, aesthetically.

Presentation

The diversity of the readership of Physical Review Letters places special demands on style. A Letter must begin with an introduction that states the issues it addresses and its primary achievements in language understandable across physics subfields. Each Letter should present a complete discussion within the constraints of a short communication. Letters must be clearly written, devoid of unnecessary jargon, with symbols defined, figures well drawn, and tables and figures thoroughly captioned. When appropriate, a Letter should be followed by a more extensive report in the Physical Review or elsewhere.

Importance of Introductory Paragraphs

Physical Review Letters is unique in its commitment to keep broadly interested readers well informed on vital current research in all fields of physics. This is achieved with introductory paragraphs that state, for each article, the issues addressed and the primary achievements. It is essential that these paragraphs be clearly written and comprehensible to nonexperts. To assure compliance, the referees are instructed to pay particular attention to the introductory section. In addition, the editors will make an independent evaluation of the adequacy and clarity of the introduction.