Utilize the spell checking, thesaurus and grammar checking capabilities found with most current word processing software. However, keep in mind that many scientific terms are not found in the software s dictionary. Also, the grammar checking algorithms do not always recognize correctly written sentences. Verbs and Nouns A verb must agree in number with the sense and usually the form of its subject. Mechanical Conventions Use periods and commas correctly.
Good style requires less punctuation than poor style.
Do not put a period between the end of the prose part of a sentence and a literature citation that ends a sentence. The citation is part of the sentence and the period must go after the citation. Underline genus and species names or put them in italics. The genus name begins with an upper case letter while the species name begins with a lower case letter. For very large numbers, substitute a word for part of the number.