The Art of Scientific Writing by 
Scientific Writing = Thinking in Words by 
Writing for Earth Scientists by
The time has come. You are an Earth scientist. You've spent weeks, months, years working on this project - now is the time to pull it together for publication. You might be writing an undergraduate or graduate thesis, a research paper for a leading journal, a note for the newsletter of the local amateur scientific society, a book review or an abstract for a specialist geological conference. How do you make the transition from promising unpublished researcher to established academic author? Of course, the phrase 'academic publishing' covers a multitude of sins; monographs, research papers, book reviews, conference abstracts or whatever each requires a different approach. You have to decide what it is you are going to write and where to publish it. There are co-authors, supervisors of your degree, peer reviewers and editors to deal with on the way. But the only way to write like an academic is to write like an academic. . . where do you start? You could do much worse than start here. There are many books on how to write and be published aimed at research students and other aspiring academics. Many of these are readable, comprehensive and provide good advice. This book is composed of numerous short chapters on this subject, all directly relevant to one or more aspects of academic publishing and aimed particularly at the Earth scientists in the broadest sense. Geologists will be encouraged to use the book as much as a reference as a reader, 'dipping in' to the chapters that contain relevant tips, hints and comments to enable them to improve the paper that they are currently writing. The book is intended to be informative, readable and, above all, of practical application for all readers. In summary, the volume will be a readable compilation investigating many facets of academic publishing relevant to the Earth sciences. It will be of particular interest to postgraduate students, postdocs and new academics
The citation style you use depends on a variety of factors. Many disciplines tend to use one particular style over another. Your instructors may require you use a certain style, so ask about which manual to use before you start your research. If you are publishing one of your works, your editor may require that you use a certain style.
If you aren't required to use a specific style, use one that you are comfortable with and that best fits your needs. Just follow the guidelines and be consistent.
Web resources offering a variety of format styles
