Journal of Athletic Training 201 Structure of a Scholarly Manuscript: 66 Tips for What Goes Where

Objective: To share with potential authors tips for constructing a scholarly manuscript and for organizing information in various types of scholarly manuscripts: experimental reports, literature reviews, case reports, and clinical techniques. Description: The goal of writing a scientific/technical / medical article is to communicate new information that hopefully has clinical relevance and will improve health care. This information must be organized and presented clearly and logically. We present 66 tips for organizing a scholarly manuscript. We tell not only what goes where in the manuscript but also how to construct each of the elements so as to logically communicate the author’s message. The tips are numbered to facilitate referencing. Conclusion: by becoming familiar with these tips, potential authors can avoid making mistakes that may hinder publication of their manuscripts. There are three major elements to a journal manuscript:content, structure, and clarity of presentation. A manuscriptmay have Nobel Prize caliber content, but if it is not presented logically and with clarity, readers may not understand the content. Logical delivery enhances completeness (ie, all information is there) while avoiding redundancy. There are many different types of scholarly manuscripts, each with a slightly different structure or format. In this article, we will address the structures of the four types of manuscripts most commonly published in the Journal of Athletic Training