Barbara Gastel is Professor of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Humanities in Medicine, and Biotechnology at Texas A & M University. She has received awards and recognitions from the American Medical Writers Association, the Board of Editors in the Life Sciences, the Council of Science Editors, and Sigma Xi: The Scientific Research Society.

Preface; A word to international readers; Acknowledgments; Part I. Some Preliminaries: 1. What is scientific writing?; 2. Historical perspectives; 3. Approaching a writing project; 4. What is a scientific paper?; 5. Ethics in scientific publishing; 6. Where to submit your manuscript; Part II. Preparing the Text: 7. How to prepare the title; 8. How to list the authors and addresses; 9. How to prepare the abstract; 10. How to write the introduction; 11. How to write the materials and methods section; 12. How to write the results; 13. How to write the discussion; 14. How to state the acknowledgments; 15. How to cite the references; Part III. Preparing the Tables and Figures: 16. How to design effective tables; 17. How to prepare effective graphs; 18. How to prepare effective photographs; Part IV. Publishing the Paper: 19. Rights and permissions; 20. How to submit the manuscript; 21. The review process (how to deal with editors); 22. The publishing process (how to deal with proofs) - and after publication; Part V. Doing Other Writing for Publication: 23. How to write a review paper; 24. How to write opinion (letters to the editor, editorials, and book reviews); 25. How to write a book chapter or a book; 26. How to write for the public; Part VI. Conference Communications: 27. How to present a paper orally; 28. How to prepare a poster; 29. How to write a conference report; Part VII. Scientific Style: 30. Use and misuse of English; 31. Avoiding jargon; 32. How and when to use abbreviations; 33. Writing clearly across cultures and media; 34. How to write science in English as a foreign language; Part VIII. Other Topics in Scientific Communication: 35. How to write a thesis; 36. How to prepare a curriculum vitae, cover letter, and personal statement; 37. How to prepare grant proposals and progress reports; 38. How to write a recommendation letter - and how to ask for one; 39. How to work with the media; 40. How to provide peer review; 41. How to edit your own work; 42. How to seek a scientific-communication career; Appendix 1. Selected journal title word abbreviations; Appendix 2. Words and expressions to avoid; Appendix 3. SI (Système International) prefixes and their abbreviations; Appendix 4. Some helpful websites; Glossary; References; Index.