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Writing 116 (Toconis)

Science Writing in Natural Sciences

Style by Discipline

CSE / Science style is usually used in the Sciences. CSE stands for Council of Science Editors.

Key Characteristics

Big Picture

There are three different types of CSE / Science style. These are citation-sequence; citation-name; and name-year. The names of the style types correspond to their organization. The version you use will depend on your assignment, class, professor's preference, or publication need.

Writer's Handbook, University of Wisconsin - Madison

In-Text Citations

In citation-sequence, references should be indicated by a number that corresponds to the number of the reference in the bibliography. The in-text citation "1" directs the reader to the first reference in the reference list.

In citation-name, references are listed alphabetically in the reference list, but then referred to by number in the text. [Example: Gopher snakes can be found in a variety of habitats (68); and will hunt frogs on occasion (14).]

  • See example in article.  Look for the numbers in the introduction.  They do not start at one and move sequentially.

In name-year, use author last name and date of publication in in-text citations. [Example: Some studies have shown that dogs experience love (Weingarten and Pierce 2007).] Items in the reference list should be listed alphabetically.

Reference List...

  • Should be named "References" or "Cited References"
  • Include additional list of items that were consulted but not cited; this should be called "Additional Resources" and should be organized alphabetically by author last name.
  • Generally article  information is listed in this order: Author. Name of article. Journal title Date; Volume(Issue): page number(s). See examples on the side. More examples can be found here.

For more detailed examples, see

 

CSE / Science Examples