Category Archives: writing

Nature bibliography style bst-file with no URLs

If you ever went through the grueling process of re-formatting your LaTeX manuscript to match Nature style, you would appreciate this  little trick.

A typical LaTeX distro includes nature package with nature.bst file included. *.bst files govern how the BibTeX bibliographies are formatted. The nature.bst file does not handle URLs well and Peter Komar  has hacked the original nature.bst file to remove URLs from the bibliography.

Peter has generously agreed to share his hack with the community.  The file naturemag_noURL.bst can be downloaded here.

The easiest solution is to place this file into the directory with your manuscript files and  to add  \bibliographystyle{naturemag_noURL} to your tex document.

Happy TeX-ing!

Update: Link updated - simply rename downloaded file to naturemag_noURL.bst

Related posts:

  1. Setting working directory in mathematica
  2. Collaborative tools of the trade
  3. Algorithmic approach to scientific writing style: the structure of a paragraph

Algorithmic approach to scientific writing style: the structure of a paragraph

With three of my students writing their theses this year, I decided to formalize some advice on a clear writing style. Yes, writing is an art form, yet I find that following these simple rules would produce understandable technical writing - a vast improvement over not following rules at all.

Here are my notes on how to make a paragraph flow.

  1. Pick a keyword/phrase/concept/idea that you would want to focus in the paragraph. This keyword should remain the focus of individual sentences throughout the paragraph.  This simple trick helps the paragraph “flow”.
  2. The first sentence of a paragraph should announce what you intend to communicate in the paragraph. For example, “Below we show that …”. Remember you are writing to be easily understood.
  3.  The last sentence should summarize the paragraph and possibly pre-announce what would happen in the following paragraph tying the paragraphs together.
  4. "Square" rule - typically a paragraph should not occupy more than a "square" on a printed page, i.e., the height of the paragraph should not exceed the column width. Shorter paragraphs are fine. If longer, strongly consider breaking the paragraph in two.
  5. Read  the paragraph ALOUD - even a non-native speaker would be able to tell if the writing "feels" right.

Additional notes: Do not mix passive and active voice in a paragraph.

Related posts:

  1. Nature bibliography style bst-file with no URLs