Guidelines for Authors - Issues in Environmental Science and Technology

Additional instructions are available for preparing typescripts on disks

The instructions are ordered in the following way:

The typescript of each article should include:

• Title Page
• Table of Contents
• Text
• Headings
• References
• Display material including:
  • TABLES
  • Structural Formulae
  • Reaction Schemes
  • Figures
  • Captions to Figures                        
• Permissions                        

Note that for references and display material each item is to start on a new page and that, moreover, each individual table is to start on a new page.

The Title Page should give the chapter title of the article and the author's full name and affiliation, and the full postal address to which proofs should be sent. Please add telephone, Email or fax numbers where the corresponding author may be contacted.

The Table of Contents should list all first- and second-level headings. This will help the editor to produce the contents for the whole book.

The Text should be written so as to capture the interest of the general reader as well as of the specialist. Brevity of expression is desirable as long as it is compatible with clarity. It should be typed in double spacing with margins of at least 3cm at top, bottom and left-hand side.

For consistency throughout the book, spelling of words ending in '-ise' or '-ize' should always be used in the '-ise' form (e.g. visualise, not visualize). 

The use of standard IUPAC nomenclature is encouraged, and authors should refer to the list of IUPAC Publications on Nomenclature and Symbolism * for details.

As far as possible authors should use SI units and symbols, as set out in the booklet entitled "Quantities, Units and Symbols in Physical Chemistry, 2nd Edition", published in 1993 for IUPAC by Blackwell Scientific Publications (ISBN-13 978-0632035830). A brief list of SI units and symbols is provided. 

The following common initial letter abbreviations may be used without definition; b.p., CD, ESR, FTIR, GC-MS, GLC, HPLC, IR, i.d., RLC-MS, m.p., NMR, ORD, SFC, SFC-MS, TLC, UV, v/v, w/w. Other such abbreviations should be defined at first mention, as should abbreviations for ligands, reagents, etc . Style for words includes infrared, and derivatisation (s not z). 

Equations should be displayed on a separate line and be numbered consecutively throughout each chapter with arabic numerals in parentheses at the right-hand side of the page. In mathematical expressions the symbols for variables should be italicised as should physical constants, while matrices and vectors should appear in bold face type. 

Punctuation should follow standard English practice - the following conventions are recommended for uniformity of style: 

A colon is used to separate a ratio as in 1:20 - not a solidus as in 1/20

The "nesting" order for parentheses, square brackets, and braces is { [ ( ) ] } .                        

The style of Headings is as follows:

1 First-level Heading 

The first-level should be on a seperate line in bold upper- and lower-case, ranged left and numbered.

1.1 Second-level Heading 

The second-level should be on a seperate line in bold italics, upper- and lower-case, ranged left and numbered .

1.1.1 Third-level heading.   

The third-level should be on a seperate line in italic, upper- and lower-case, ranged left and numbered.                 

References should be numbered sequentially as superscripts in the text and should be collected at the end of each chapter. The practice of mentioning authors' names in the text should be kept to a minimum. It is recommended that, in making a judicious choice of References to cite in the text, preference should be given to scholarly reviews and to key papers and communications, especially in relation to the historical background, publications of high seminal value, and the most recent literature describing highly significant new results. 

The reference list should be double-spaced and the abbreviations to be used for journal titles should follow the Chemical Abstracts Service Source Index  . The actual format employed for listing references should be in accordance with the style indicated by the following examples: 

1. D. O. Bassett, Am. Lab., 1987, 19, 28.
2. E. Yourdon, "Modern Structured Analysis", Yourdon Press, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1989.
3. A. W. Oxford in "Progress in Medicinal Chemistry", G. P. Ellis and D. K. Luscombe (eds), Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1992, 29, 239.
4. B. Lemieux, B. Hange and C. Sommerville, Proceedings of the International Society of Plant Molecular Biology Meeting, Tucson, Arizona, 1991, No. 727.        

Web pages are rarely permanent publications, and their citation is discouraged. Wherever possible, the author or organisation responsible for the page and the year of publication should be quoted, along with the last date the website was visited by the author, using the following format:

    5.   DEFRA, Local Environmental Quality: Fly-tipping, www.defra.gov.uk/environment/localenv/flytipping/index, 2004, accessed 17/04/2007     

Display Material

Each Table should be presented on a separate page and provided with a brief heading. If necessary, the tabulated data can be single-spaced in order to keep the whole table on a single sheet. Tables should be numbered, Table 1,2,3  , etc., using arabic numerals, consecutively throughout each chapter and should be referred to as such, rather than by such words as "above" or "below". References and Footnotes in Tables should be self-contained, labelled with superior lower-case letters, and listed as a block of text beneath the Table. The recommended location of a Table in the text should be indicated thus:

[Table 5 here]                         

Structural Formulae and Reaction Schemes should be numbered with arabic numerals (1), (2), etc ., Scheme 1, Scheme 2, etc. in independent sequences self- contained to each chapter. They should be mentioned in the text by key number and not by such words as "above" or "below". They should appear on sheets separate from the main body of the typescript containing the text, but their preferred positions in the latter should be clearly indicated thus: 

[Structural Formula (11) here]                         

[Reaction Scheme 6 here]                         

Reference should be made to the Society's Journals Information for Authors and Referees for details of the preferred conventions for formulae. 

Figures - Diagrams, graphs, and photographs should be presented on separate pages as Figures, which are numbered consecutively, Figure 1,2,3, etc., throughout each chapter using arabic numerals. They should be mentioned in the text by these numbers, rather than by "above", "below" etc. 

Captions to Figures should comprise a separate list.

All Illustrations should be suitable for direct reproduction without further retouching or redrawing. These may be either computer-generated drawings, or original inked drawings drawn approximately twice the required final size, keeping in mind that the maximum area available in the printed book will be approximately 20 x 12 cm and that no figure can exceed these final dimensions. 

Drawings should be adequately lettered. The lettering must be large enough to remain legible after reduction. The final height of numerals and capital letters should be not less than 2 mm. 

Photographs should be supplied as black and white glossy prints obtained from the original negative. Each illustration or photograph must be identified (the name of the author and Figure number should be written directly on the illustration or typed on a strip of paper which is then glued on, preferably on the reverse so that it will not be reproduced) and, in appropriate cases, the top and bottom indicated, If necessary, magnification should be indicated by means of scale bars on photomicrographs. 

The recommended location of a Figure in the text should be indicated thus: 

[Figure 7 here]                     

Permissions - If any of the material to be included (illustrations, tables, quotations of more than a few words) is taken from another publication, you must obtain  both from the original authors of the work and from the publisher of the journal or book in which it appeared. An acknowledgement should be included in the typescript in the form prescribed by the copyright owner. The Permission Request Form (available at the bottom of this page) can be printed out, completed and then sent or faxed to the copyright owner to request permission.

When submitting your typescript you should enclose a completed Permissions Confirmation Form to confirm that all permissions have been received. It is your responsibility to ensure all permissions have been granted.

For instructions on how to estimate the length of your typescript please view the file at the bottom of this page.

When the typescript is complete TWO copies (printouts or legible photocopies), with disk(s), should be securely packaged and sent to either Professor Hester or Professor Harrison as directed. All printed copies should be supplied on good quality 30 x 21cm (A4) paper. You are advised to retain an electronic and printed copy of your typescript.

The following information should accompany the disk(s):

1. Name
2. Address with postcode
3. Telephone number (daytime and evening)
4. Fax
5. Email
6. Manuscript title
7. Format, operating system and wordprocessing package/version
8. Filename list                     

When supplying the typescript on disk please observe the following rules: 

1. The hard copy must exactly match the disks.
2. The author should retain a copy of exactly the submitted disk.
3. Each chapter should be saved as a different file to speed computer handling.
4. Filenames should be self-explanatory, with a list of filenames for each disk submitted.
5. The disk itself should be clearly labelled.                     

You will receive a PDF file of your proof, via email from the RSC production office. All the proof reader's queries, including those marked by the Editorial Staff on the typescript, should be answered on the marked set of proofs on which you should also make your corrections and highlight keywords that may be used to construct a subject index. The marked set of proofs should be returned within 7 days along with the edited typescript to the Editor. Please retain the unmarked set of proofs as a record of the corrections that you have made.

Please note that the proofing stage is to correct typographical errors. Simple errors in the original typescript can of course be corrected, but it is not possible at this stage to accommodate large insertions or other major revision of the text.

Each Author will receive a complimentary copy of the Issue in which their article has been published and is entitled to buy further copies of that Issue and any other Issues at a preferential price. In addition Authors may buy reprints of their article at a rate set by the Society, please contact the RSC production office for details.

Questions concerning the content of your article should be addressed to either Professor Hester or Professor Harrison while any questions concerning the mechanics of typescript preparation should be directed to the Editorial Office: