FORM AND CONTENT OF THE REPORT 

Besides the report title itself, the title page of a 

Survey book report carries the name(s) of author or 

authors, series and number, volume title if applicable, 

a statement of cooperation if applicable, and a brief 

descriptive statement characterizing the report. The 

title and authorship also appear on the first page of 

text above the abstract, about 2 inches from the top 

of the manuscript page to allow space for directions 

to the printer and for volume title if needed. Check 

several recently published papers for examples of 

format. 

Use great care in choosing an informative title. It 

may be the only reference a reader will have to the 

report. Most literature and subject searches start 

there, and nothing will better catch the reader's eye. 

The title should be as brief and clear as possible; it 

should give the reader a clear idea of your paper's 

content, but it should not serve as a summary of the 

report. Long titles do not necessarily indicate scholarship, and they are seldom quoted in their entirety 

anyway, but do not attempt to shorten the title 

through the use of multiple compound modifiers, 

or through a pyramid of prefixes. 

Avoid beginning the title with insignificant words 

or needless words such as "The," "A," "Notes on," 

"Report on," and "On." These words can be effective 

in text headings, but in a book title a more meaningful word is better. The first word should be an 

important one. 

For some Survey reports there are no guidelines, 

and the author must devise an informative title, but 

many Survey reports have fairly standardized titles: 

Mineral Resources of the North Absaroka Wilderness Study 

Area, Park and Sweet Grass Counties, Montana 

Environmental Geology of the Front Range Urban Comdor 

and Vicinity, Colorado 

Stratigraphy and Structure of the Western Kentucky Fluorspar 

District 

Geologic Map of Dinosaur National Monument and Vicinity, 

Utah and Colorado 

Geologic Map of the Ripley Quadrangle, Jackson County, West 

Virginia 

Ground Water in North Monterey County, California 

Titles of standard quadrangle reports customarily 

include the county name or names involved; county 

names may be appropriate for other reports also. 

Authorship is an extension of the responsibility 

of seeing a research project through to completion. 

When more than one investigator has participated, 

the project chief or supervisor ordinarily decides how 

authorship is to be divided, after having evaluated the 

relative contributions of the collaborators and their 

abilities to deliver segments of the joint manuscript. 

For any research project that involves more than one 

scientist, all workers should clearly understand at the 

outset what parts of the research are their responsibility, what parts of the final report they are to 

prepare, and where their names will fall, if at all, in 

the order of authorship. The person in charge of the 

investigation, or the one who prepares the report or 

map, will naturally be author or coauthor. Other 

coauthorship is restricted normally to participants 

who contribute substantially to the results of the 

investigation. Administrators and supervisors are not 

normally included, nor are individuals who contribute 

only routine technical assistance. 

Seniority, grade, and like distinctions are not 

criteria for deciding authorship or coauthorship, nor 

should such distinctions influence the choice of names 

on the title page, in the section on acknowledgments, 

or in a table of laboratory results. Credit should be 

based on responsibility for the finished product and 

for the work and thought that went into it. Laboratory assistants and other support personnel are more 

commonly credited in text or tables, but a participant 

who has shared greatly in the outcome of a research 

investigation might be listed as coauthor or, more 

rarely, as senior author. 

Survey reports seldom warrant more than four 

principal authors. The form "by A.B. Brown, C.D. 

Smith, E.F. Jones, and others" is sometimes used, 

but if so, contributors not named as authors should be 

given due credit in the text or in a preface. A supAuthorship 19 
plemental contribution on a related phase may be 

credited by adding, to the main title and authorship, 

the words "With a section on (subject), by (author)." 

The author of each separately titled report will be 

named regardless of whether the report is published 

as an individually numbered publication or as a separate chapter under a more inclusive general title. 

Multiple authorship of a single report can cause 

problems for supervisors, editors, librarians, bibliographers, and even promotion boards, as well as the 

authors themselves. In today's times of increased 

specialization and multidisciplinary research, many 

reports are prepared jointly by several persons whose 

shared responsibility should be credited; acknowledgment in the text will generally suffice. A listing of 

more than four authors for a short article or a journal 

abstract suggests a lapse of judgment on the part of 

the principal investigator. 

The general title page of a collection of several 

chapters by named authors omits any authorship if 

the chapters have only a general topical or geographic 

relationship. Such chapters are commonly issued separately, but if the chapters are closely related, authorship is shown on the general title page in accordance 

with currently existing policies. For example: 

Data of Geochemistry 

Sixth Edition 

Michael Fleischer, Technical Editor 

Chapter T. Nondetrital Siliceous Sediments 

By Earle R. Cressman 

Authors of Survey reports are assumed to be 

Survey employees, and no affiliation is shown unless 

some coauthors are not. In that event, affiliations of 

all authors are shown on the title page or on the first 

page of text. For most Survey reports, the senior 

author must be a Survey employee. For reports prepared in the Survey for outside publication, affiliations are shown for all authors, and if the Survey is 

to pay page charges, the senior author must be a 

Survey employee. 

Some Survey products are sponsored jointly with 

cooperating Federal, State, or other governmental 

agencies. If so, statements of cooperation must 

appear on the title pages and covers of book reports 

and on the margins of separately published maps. You 

as author are responsible for ascertaining the exact 

title of the cooperating agency for such statements. 

Some examples: 

Report prepared jointly by the U.S. Geological Survey and the 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

Cooperating organization: Colorado Geological Survey 

Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers, Mobile District 

Jointly supported by the U.S. Geological Survey and the 

Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of 

Policy Development and Research 

Prepared in cooperation with the States of Illinois, Indiana, 

Kentucky, and Tennessee, and with other agencies 

The work on which this report is based was performed in 

accordance with a cooperative agreement between the U.S. 

Geological Survey and the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral 

Resources, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 

You as author should follow the wishes of a sponsor 

or cooperator who desires a particular form of 

acknowledgment. 

A brief statement characterizing the report should 

appear on the title page of the manuscript. The editor 

will know if it should be italicized. Examples from 

recent Survey reports: 

The Figuera Lava and the overlying Fajardo Formation are 

redescribed and assigned to the Lower Cretaceous Series 

A stratigraphic-paleontologic study of rugose corals as aids in 

age determination of Great Basin Devonian rocks 

A descriptive summary of geologic conditions in a region of 

varied physiography and rapid urbanization 

A study of the problems associated with fission-track dating of 

glass 

Modal and chemical data on plutonic rocks of the Mariposa 

quadrangle 

FOREWORD AND PREFACE 

A foreword is written and signed by, or carries the 

name of, someone other than the author; a preface is 

by the author. Both precede the table of contentsthe preface after the foreword if a report has bothbut most Survey publications have little need for 

either. Carefully prepared introductory material 

generally eliminates the need for a preface, and few 

20 Affiliations 
reports need any comment other than the author's 

text. Prefatory statements may be appropriate, however, if (1) publication is unusually important, (2) a 

report has an overall title but consists of a collection 

of related papers, each having its own author and 

title, or (3) a report is a result of a cooperative investigation with another governmental agency. Such 

publications may benefit by a foreword that is written 

and signed by an appropriate official who cites the 

importance and circumstances of the investigation. 

A preface can be a prominent place for bibliographic information, such as the relationship of a 

report to earlier editions or to other reports on the 

same subject, or for certain credits and acknowledgments not included on the title page. In reports 

authored by an organization, such as those on surfacewater supplies of the United States, the preface can 

credit suppliers of data who would be recognized as 

authors in other types of reports. A preface may be 

unsigned or it may carry the name or initials of the 

author. 

CONTENTS, ILLUSTRATIONS, AND TABLES 

The manuscript should include lists of "Contents," 

"Illustrations," and "Tables." Suggestions for formatting are given in the section on "Formatting Survey 

Manuscripts for Review and Editing," page 250. To 

get an impression as to how your headings should be 

organized, scan recently published examples of similar 

reports. The "Contents" consists of the headings in 

the manuscript, except that repeated minor headings 

are omitted. The rank of headings is indicated by 

appropriate indention, and few manuscripts require 

more than three or four; excessive ranking confuses 

the reader. The "Page" column shows final manuscript page numbers. Illustrations should be listed as 

figures in the manuscript; they will eventually be separated into plates and figures, if necessary, by the 

illustrators and editors, who will then make the 

needed changes in the manuscript. An exception is 

the paleontologist's preparation of plates on which 

groups of figures show photographs or drawings of 

individual fossils. "Contents" is a de facto outline of 

the report. 

ABSTRACT FOR THE WRITTEN REPORT 

An abstract for a written report may differ significantly in purpose and content from one for an oral 

presentation, so the two are discussed separately 

here. Except for certain statistical reports, such as 

streamflow records, and composite group efforts that 

may be unsuitable for abstracting, any but the briefest scientific paper is preceded by an informative 

abstract. A proposal to present a paper orally must 

have one also. 

Early rough-draft summaries should not be made 

over into abstracts; they might be helpful in planning 

a report, but the final abstract should be a concise 

summary of the completed manuscript. Preparation of 

a good abstract-one that summarizes the important 

content of the report and nothing more-deserves as 

much thought, rewriting, and polishing as any other 

part of the report. Your abstract is a digest of your 

report, and its adequacy determines much of the 

report's impact and usefulness. Used by abstract 

journals and indexing services, moreover, an informative abstract will increase potential readership 

and the reference value of the report in the literature. 

Busy readers may even ignore the report unless the 

abstract provokes their interest. For an oral presentation, the adequacy of the written abstract 

probably will determine whether a paper is accepted 

or rejected and, if accepted, whether it will draw an 

audience. To assist reader comprehension, avoid 

abbreviations and acronyms. 

The abstract should be informative rather than 

descriptive. Some water-resources reports, by their 

nature, require a descriptive abstract, but abstracts 

for most Survey reports should spell out the results of 

the research and state briefly the conclusions. Inappropriate phrases, commonly in the passive voice, 

include "are discussed," "is described," "were investigated," or "conclusions are given." The abstract 

should relate what the report tells, not what the 

report is about. For example: 

Write "A gravity high of 25 milligals suggests that * * *l? 

, not "The gravity anomalies in the area are 

discussed." 

Write "The Cretaceous rocks yield 50-150 gallons per 

minute of moderately mineralized water to wells 800- 

1,200 feet deep," not "Ground water in the Cretaceous rocks is described and its depth is given." 

An author's conclusions are the most valuable part 

of a report or abstract, but within space limitations 

the abstract should also indicate the method of attack 

and the type of data used and should clearly orient 

the paper in place and function. It should supplement 

the title, not duplicate it, and it should not be a mere 

expansion of the table of contents. It should contain 

no information that is not discussed in the report. The 

Abstract fot the written report 21 
abstract should stand by itself, independent of the 

text; references to text tables and illustrations should 

be avoided. Reference to a published work is rarely 

needed and should also be avoided. 

The Survey sets no specific limits on lengths of 

abstracts in its publications, but short abstracts are 

more likely to be read than long ones and are more 

apt to be included in their entirety in abstract journals. 

Few abstracts are long enough or complex enough 

to need center headings, except for monographic 

treatises, and few need to be amplified by examples. 

Abstracts offered to scientific meetings generally 

must meet rigid limits on words or space; exceeding 

those limits risks rejection of the proffered paper. For 

still-timely advice on abstract preparation, the classic 

counsel of Landes (1966) is reprinted in full as follows: 

A SCRUTINY OF THE ABSTRACT, I1 

KErnKrnEs 

Ann Arbor, Michi= 

ABSTRACT 

A partial biography of thc writer is given. The inadequate aktmet is discussed. What should be 

covered by an abstract is tollsidered. The importance of the abstract is dncribed. Dictionary definitions 

of "abstract" am quoted, At the conclusion a revid abstract is prmnted. 

For many yean I have been annoyed by the 

inadequate abstract. This became acute wbiIe I 

was serving a term as editor of the B&tin of 

The American Association of Petroleum Gmlogists. In addition to returning manuscripts to authors for rewriting of abstracts, I also took 30 

minutes in which to lower my ire by writing, "A 

Scrutiny of the AGstmct."l This little squib has 

had a fantastic distribution. If onIy one of my 

scientific outpourings wouId do as well! Now the 

editorial board of the Assaciation has requested a 

revision. 'This is it. 

The inadequate abstract is illustrated at tbe 

top of the page. The passive voice is positively 

screaming at the reader! It is an outline, with 

mh item in the outline expanded into a sentence. 

The reader is told what the paper is about, but 

not what it contributes. Such abstracts are merely overgrown titles. 'They are produced by miters 

who are either (1) beginners, (2) Iq, or (3) 

have not written the paper yet. 

To many writers the preparation of an abstmkt 

is an unwanted chore required at the last minute 

by an editor or insisted upon even before the 

paper bas been written by a deadline-bedwiled 

program chairman. However, in terms of market 

reached, the abstract is the most iabportml Port 

of the #afm. For every individual who reads or 

listens to your entire ppet, from 10 to 500 will 

read the abstract. 

If you are presenting a paper before a learned 

society, the abstract done may appear in a preconvention issue of the society journal as well as 

in the convention program; it may dm be run by 

trade journals. The abstract which accompanies a 

published pavr will most certainly reappear in 

abstract journals in various languages, and perhaps in company internal circulars as well. It is 

much better to please am to antagonize this 

geat audience. Papers written for oral presentation should be completed +r i% tohe deadline 

for the abstract, so that the abstract can be prepared from the written paper and not from raw 

ideas gestating in the writer's mind. 

My dictionarp describes an abstract as "a summary of a statement, document, speech, etc. . . ." 

and that which concentrates in itself the essendial injomtim of a paper or article. The 

definition I prefer has been set in italics. May all 

writers learn the art (it is not easy) of preparing 

an abstract containing the essential jnfomtwn 

in their compositions. With this goal in mind, I 

append an abstract that should be an improvement over the one appearing at the beginning of 

this discussion. 

AB3TRACT 

The abstract is of utmost importance, for it is read by 10 to SM) times more people than hear or the entire article. It should not be a mere recital of the subjefts coverd. Expressions such as "is md" and "is described" should ~sw be included! The abstract should be a condensation and 

concentr;ttion of the exs&id infomrotiorr in the pitper. 

22 Abstract for the written report 
ABSTRACTS FOR TALKS AT 

Abstracts for talks at scientific meetings differ from 

abstracts of written reports because those for talks 

may be supported by fewer data, are generally more 

temporal and less archival, and may be based on tentative hypotheses. Such abstracts are useful, however, 

because they commonly are the first published results 

of an investigation and, historically, are sometimes 

the last. 

Most abstracts are printed in a prescribed format 

that allows space for about 250 words. Commonly 

they are printed as received with little or no further 

review or editing. The Survey, however, requires 

technical review, editing, Division approval, and 

Director's approval. 

You might consider this kind of abstract writing 

as a 250-word contest to win listeners for your talk, 

professional acclaim, and subsequent endorsement for 

your project-maybe even funding. With such scientific prizes at stake, such abstracts must be precise, 

scientifically sound, and skillfully written. The abstract should be informative, even though its results 

and conclusions may be preliminary when submitted 

months before the meeting. Abstracting a talk that 

won't be delivered for several months is a challenge, 

and you as author must distill a wealth of ideas into 

one or two exciting concepts, despite incomplete data. 

Try to write the abstract as if there were no talk, as 

if the abstract were the only vehicle to convey the 

findings of your research. 

A few guidelines may help you use the available 

space most effectively: 

The title. The title must balance length against 

content. A short title may be vague and a long one 

cumbersome. At the very least, it should state the 

topic and any geologic/geographic fix. Ideally, the title 

expresses the essence of the talk, and perhaps outlines the talk as well. Such a title calls for strong, 

precise words (a dictionary and a thesaurus may 

help); avoid prepositions and strings of unit modifiers. 

Strong punctuation-such as a dash-can supplant 

connecting words. 

Note the varied titles possible from the following 

simple abstract, depending on what finding is most 

significant: 

Recent geologic mapping of the Great Silver Gulch Formation 

in Montana provided evidence that ore deposits in the formation 

were structurally controlled and that the formation is older than 

reported previously by Q.R. Smith. The structures are such that 

new deposits may be found, although exploration will be costly 

because the geology is complex. 

Here are three examples of an informative title: 

The Great Silver Gulch Formation, Montana-Evidence 

indicates Cretaceous age 

The Cretaceous Great Silver Gulch Formation, Montana-New 

ore deposits possible 

Structure controls ore deposits-Great Silver Gulch Formation, 

Montana 

By contrast, here is a short, vague title: 

The Great Silver Gulch Formation 

The beginning. Begin the abstract by putting 

the "news" up front. In the first sentence or two say 

what you did, why you did it, and what you learned 

or expect to conclude. Stress what you did now, 

rather than what others did earlier, and distinguish 

your results from your conclusions. Then use the 

remaining text space to expand on these subjectsperhaps in the same order as they appear in the title. 

A conventional scheme is to state the problem, list 

results, and draw conclusions. Try to adapt this 

scheme to your material. 

Voice. Strive for the active voice. It is stronger 

and takes fewer words than the passive voice. 

Style. Write an informative abstract-one that 

presents ideas rather than one that merely says what 

you're going to talk about. The two styles are contrasted in the following examples. 

Informative abstract: 

Recent geologic mapping in the Great Silver Gulch Formation, 

Montana, indicates that the ore deposits are structurally 

controlled. 

Uninformative abstract: 

The Great Silver Gulch Formation will be discussed and the 

genesis of the ore deposits will be reported. [Note passive 

voice.] 

References. Avoid citing references (most societies prohibit them). They are generally unnecessary in 

an abstract, they use up words, and they may frustrate your reader, who won't know what you're referring to if you say, for example, "* * * Cretaceous, 

an age older than that reported by Smith (1975)." 

If acknowledgment of previous work is essential, 

however, choose one of the following models: 

1. Incorporate the full name(@ and time(s) into the 

text. 

* * * Cretaceous, an age older than that reported by Quentin 

R. Smith and colleagues in 1975. 

Abstracts for talks at scientific meetings 23 
2. Abbreviate the reference in parentheses without 

the title. 

* * * reported by Q.R. Smith and others (1975, GSA Bull., 

v. xx, p. yy-zz). 

3. Give a conventional reference at the end of the 

abstract. 

Smith, Q.R., Prinze, Olga, and North, L.M., 1975, Age of the 

Great Silver Gulch Formation, Montana: Geological Society of 

America Bulletin, v. xx, p. yy-zz. 

The trick is to use the available block of space on the 

abstract form as effectively as possible. 

Abbreviations and Acronyms. Avoid abbreviations and acronyms (p. 104), particularly those contrived to save space. They are unnecessary and just 

interrupt the reader, who must try to remember what 

they mean. Some shortcuts are available, however, 

and formation names are an example. If, for example, 

you are going to discuss only the Great Silver Gulch 

Formation in the abstract, write it out in the title and 

first sentence, then refer to it subsequently as the 

"Silver Gulch" or "the formation." 

If a series of items, such as various rock units in a 

formation, might be too lengthy to state repeatedly, 

try numbering each item in the sentence rather than 

abbreviating each one. This device tells the reader 

precisely what you are talking about. 

The Great Silver Gulch Formation contains (1) massive biotite 

and two-mica granite, (2) hornblende-biotite tonalite and biotite 

granodiorite, (3) the Gold Creek unit (an informal name for the 

massive, rusty granite), and (4) massive pink granite. The contact between 1 and 2 is obscure. 

Figures or Tables. Extraordinarily complex data 

may require a wordier explanation than space permits. A small sketch or table may be an appropriate 

substitute if the society allows one in the abstract. 

Many societies print abstracts from camera-ready 

copy submitted on their required form, and a sketch 

or table that fits within the boundaries of the form 

and that can stand the required reduction to publication size may be an ideal alternative to words. 

General Advice. Carefully follow the instructions 

in the society's announcement of the meeting and call 

for papers-instructions as to length, format, style, 

and acceptability of artwork. Start your abstract 

through Survey processing as early as possible so as 

to easily meet the deadline and avoid the last-minute 

crush that usually develops for typists, reviewers, and 

editors when many authors submit abstracts for the 

same meeting. Meticulous planning and attention to 

detail will impress a society's program chairman who 

despairs of abstracts that are late, carelessly written, 

or poorly typed on the wrong form (Lucchitta, 1986). 

Lucchitta further suggests a few simple rules for 

keeping program committees and abstract coordinators happy and effective, to the benefit of everyone 

involved: 

Submit abstract on time. 

Submit abstract on correct abstract form. 

Scrupulously follow instructions attached to the 

form and fill in all blanks. 

Be sure abstract is well written, well typed, and 

complete. 

Make no revisions and changes after abstract is 

submitted either before or after the deadline. 

Aim abstract at the proper meeting and at a wide 

audience. 

Limit contribution to one volunteered abstract 

unless multiple abstracts are explicitly welcome. 

Do not request confirmations unless you provide 

stamped, self-addressed return envelopes. 

Check the appropriate publication frequently for 

information and registration forms for the 

meeting of interest. 

Do not bother the program chairman for information and forms that are routinely printed in the 

society's publications. 

Introductions in Survey books and articles vary 

greatly in size and content, depending mostly on the 

length and subject matter of the report. In lengthy 

reports, several subheadings are appropriate; for 

shorter reports, a single heading may suffice. Like 

abstracts, introductions are generally best written 

after the body of the report. Nearly all introductions 

should mention the purpose of the study and the 

approach taken. Most should cite acknowledgments of 

assistance and cooperation. You should consider the 

advisability of discussing other topics such as location 

and access, geographic setting, previous work, and 

your fieldwork. Some of these topics may be unneeded, but some may be important enough to 

warrant separate headings outside the introduction. 

If an area is well known, you need say little about 

the location, access, topography, climate, or vegetation, all of which may be relevant only insofar 

as they bear on geologic or hydrologic problems or 

on fieldwork. Detailed information on these subjects is rarely necessary. 

24 The text 
The introduction may mention your conclusions on 

local or regional issues, on further development of 

current theories, or on differences between your 

conclusions and those of earlier workers. 

One introduction and one summary generally 

suffice for a single report, but if a summary of 

one of the report's subdivisions is desirable, its 

heading should indicate the subject discussed, 

such as "Summary of Conditions Affecting 

Streamflow." 

All technical and professional help from non-Survey 

personnel should be acknowledged, usually in the 

introduction. General help given by members of the 

Survey usually need not appear. Further suggestions 

regarding acknowledgments are on page 12. 

BODY OF THE REPORT 

Most reports, in their presentations and discussions, 

have headings, footnotes, illustrations, tables, geologic 

and geographic names, significant figures, and so on. 

All these aspects of the report warrant detailed attention as to style and expression. All are discussed further on the pages that follow and are listed in the 

index. Beginning writers should take these pages to 

heart. Experienced writers might profit from occasional reviews. 

Headings 

Headings indicate the topics described in the text. 

They offer cues for the reader's train of thought and 

convenient landing places for rapid skimming. Long 

discussions need occasional headings if only as restand-recovery places for the reader. They provide 

starting and stopping places, and they enhance reader 

comprehension of the text. 

The text, however, should be self-contained and 

independent of the headings. In general, headings 

should be noun phrases, though short sentences may 

be effective in nontechnical publications. Phrases such 

as "Discussion of," "Statement of," and "Table 

Showing" are superfluous. "General Features" is 

more appropriate than "General Statement." Avoid 

inserting a perfunctory secondary heading where a 

brief general statement precedes a detailed discussion 

that requires its own heading. 

Excessive refinement in subdividing the text confuses the reader; three or four ranks of headings, plus 

paragraph sideheads where applicable, should suffice. 

The sidehead has no specific rank; it is a subordinate 

heading used for terms or phrases that may be 

repeated under higher ranking headings, as "Age," 

"Composition," and "Chemical Analysis." 

Headings should preferably be typed on separate 

lines set off from text with space above and below. 

The rank of headings is indicated by indention in the 

"Contents." As a further convenience to the editor, 

you might also indicate the rank of headings by penciling circled numbers in the manuscript. The copy 

editor may decide that ranks of certain headings 

should be changed. This decision is better made by 

the editor than the author. 

Footnotes 

Footnotes break the reader's train of thought. They 

are seldom needed in scientific writing except, perhaps, in tables or in short papers that have few 

references and no bibliographic list. Disclaimers and 

addresses generally are footnoted. A well-constructed 

paragraph needs no explanatory footnote, nor should 

you as author make a footnote of a thought that came 

late and that should have been woven into the text. A 

rare footnote may be justified when relevant contradictory or supplementary information becomes available after a manuscript is finished or in proof stage. 

Otherwise, footnotes are generally more appropriate 

to literary than to scientific writing. The Survey style 

of footnoting is given on pages 252 and 255. 

Concluding Section 

The concluding section should be a concise statement of the main points covered by the report. In a 

short report the section may need no separate heading; it may be just the last paragraph of the text. In a 

longer report it may be a "Conclusion(s)," a "Summary," an "Application to Field Problems," a "Need 

for Further Study," a "Summation of Petroleum 

Potential," or some other appropriate heading. In 

some expository reports a concluding section is unneeded, though the reader may feel left in limbo 

unless some suitable phrasing clearly marks the 

ending. 

Reference List 

Nearly all Survey book reports have a list of references or a bibliography that follows the conclusion of 

the text and precedes the appendix, the list of tables 

or basic data, if any, and the index. Survey bibliographic style is discussed in the section on preparing 

references @. 234). 

Few Survey publications need an appendix. If long 

tables of basic data, analyses, well logs, measured 

stratigraphic sections, or other such information 

would interrupt the reader's train of thought by 

The aooendix 25 
intruding into the body of the text, these data may 

instead be placed after the references. If used at all 

in a Survey report, however, an appendix should be 

limited to specialized data needed only by a few 

potential readers. If a report contains more than one 

appendix, each should be numbered for ease of reference. Nowadays, material that might once have been 

appended is often placed in open files. 

Indexing is a technical and tedious editorial function, but no part of a report is more useful than a 

full, well-prepared index, or is more time saving to a 

busy reader. The index is not part of the manuscript 

but is prepared from the page proof. Few authors are 

trained in index preparation, but the basic principles 

are easily mastered. Software for indexing, moreover, 

is available in many computer packages. If an index is 

planned for your report, adequate time should be 

budgeted in the printing schedule. While you are still 

writing, you can compile a list of terms that should 

not be missed. Consider the feasibility of hiring the 

services of a professional indexer who is used to 

working more efficiently and rapidly than you yourself as author-indexer, and under a specific deadline 

(Mulvany, 1986, p. 66). 

Survey indexes are alphabetized word by word, then 

letter by letter. Thus the order of precedence in 

Survey indexes is: 

East End 

East Indies 

Eastern time 

Easternmost exposures 

Authors of papers that are to be listed in a computer data bank may be asked to furnish a list of 

"descriptors" as selected from the index thesaurus of 

the agency operating the bank. Most data-bank agencies welcome additional "identifiers" or "key terms" 

that an author believes are needed for adequate 

indexing. See, for example, any issue of the semimonthly "Selected Water Resources Abstracts" and 

the "Water Resources Thesaurus," both published by 

the USGS. 

26 Index