# Conbio Writing Style > Use when drafting or polishing a Conservation Biology manuscript so it reads accessibly for a broad conservation audience, follows the journal Style Guide, and fits the per-type word caps (e.g., Contributed Papers ~6,000–7,000; abstract <= 300 words). Tightens prose and format; it does not invent content. - Skill: `thedixitjain/conbio-writing-style` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds add thedixitjain/conbio-writing-style` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/thedixitjain/conbio-writing-style/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Docs & Writing - Author: thedixitjain (https://skillmd.com/u/thedixitjain) - Updated: 2026-09-08 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/thedixitjain/conbio-writing-style --- # Writing Style (conbio-writing-style) A *Conservation Biology* paper must be readable by conservation scientists and practitioners beyond the author's own system, formatted to the journal **Style Guide**, and disciplined to the per-type word cap. This skill is about clarity, accessibility, and format — not about generating claims. (Verify the current per-type caps; they drift between Style Guide versions — see `resources/official-source-map.md`.) ## When to trigger - Drafting the introduction, framing the contribution, or final polish - Over the word cap and needing to cut without losing the argument - Writing the **≤ 300-word abstract** - Aligning citations/headings/format to the Style Guide before submission ## Reach a broad conservation audience 1. **Front-load the conservation contribution.** By the end of the introduction the reader knows the problem, the question, the approach, and **why it matters for conserving biodiversity.** Don't make a generalist dig for the "so what." 2. **Minimize system jargon** or define it on first use; a practitioner should follow a population-model paper, and a modeler should follow a field study. Spell out acronyms; use accepted species names. 3. **Argument-first prose.** Lead with claims; use evidence to support them. Avoid "the data show…" without saying what they show and why it matters for conservation. 4. **Signpost and follow IMRAD.** Contributed Papers, Research Notes, and Practice & Policy follow Abstract → Introduction → Methods → Results → Discussion; do not combine Results and Discussion, and do not add a separate Conclusion (conclusions belong in the Discussion). ## Format to the Style Guide - **Citations**: author-date per the journal Style Guide; keep one consistent style (manage with Zotero/BibTeX). Literature Cited is included in the word count. - **Title**: clear and concise; avoid hanging (colon/dash) titles, full-sentence titles, and interrogative titles per the Style Guide. - **Anonymize**: the journal is **double-blind** — no author names/affiliations in the manuscript, and neutralize obvious self-references; strip identifying file metadata (see `conbio-submission`). - **Abstract**: **≤ 300 words**, stating problem, approach, and finding (no abstract for Letters, Comments, or Diversity). ## Fit the word cap (count runs from first word of Abstract through last word of Literature Cited) - Note: the count **excludes tables, figure legends, and text inside tables.** Move full model output, balance tables, and extended robustness to **Supporting Information**. - Cut throat-clearing and literature dumps; engage the debate, not every paper (see `conbio-literature-positioning`). - Prefer one decisive figure to three redundant tables (and respect the ~one-exhibit-per-four-pages rule). ## Worked micro-rewrites (Conservation Biology house style) **Title.** The Style Guide bars hanging, full-sentence, and interrogative titles, so recast the question or clause as a declarative noun phrase that names taxon, mechanism, and conservation stake. - Interrogative (rejected): *"Do restored hedgerows recover farmland birds?"* - Hanging colon (rejected): *"Farmland birds: hedgerow restoration and occupancy."* - Declarative (accepted): *"Restored hedgerows recover farmland-bird occupancy within five years across a fragmented region."* — states the finding, the guild, and the transferable scale in one line. **Abstract compression.** When the ≤ 300-word abstract runs long, cut in this order: delete method-brand phrases first ("using a Bayesian implementation"), collapse background to one clause, and protect the finding-with-direction and the conservation payoff last. A sentence such as *"We conducted a study in which we surveyed sites and subsequently fitted models to the resulting data"* becomes *"We surveyed 60 farms and modeled occupancy"* — same content, roughly a third of the units. **Discussion, not Conclusion.** Because there is no separate Conclusion section, the implications land in the Discussion. Do not close with an "In conclusion" paragraph; end on the scope-bounded conservation recommendation instead, and route the so-what through `conbio-conservation-relevance-and-implications`. ## Cutting to the cap without losing the argument The count runs Abstract → Literature Cited, so trim where units are cheapest to lose: - Move full model tables, balance diagnostics, and sensitivity runs to Supporting Information; the legend and in-table text do not count, but a wall of in-text numbers does. - Replace three redundant tables with one decisive figure (honor ~one exhibit per four pages). - Prune the literature review to the papers you actually argue with; a citation dump inflates Literature Cited, which *is* counted, for no argumentative gain. - Delete throat-clearing ("It is well known that…", "has been studied extensively") on sight. ## Anti-patterns - A system-insider intro that never states conservation relevance - Burying the contribution in the middle of the paper - An abstract over 300 words or one that hides the finding - Hanging/interrogative/full-sentence titles; mixed citation styles - A stray "In conclusion" paragraph duplicating the Discussion - Self-references that break the double-blind; padding a Research Note toward Contributed-Paper length ## Output format ``` 【Conservation contribution stated by end of intro?】[Y/N] 【Reads past the system?】jargon defined / acronyms spelled? [Y/N] 【Abstract】word count (≤300) 【Word count】within the article-type cap (Abstract→Literature Cited)? 【Style Guide + anonymized + title style】[Y/N] 【Next】conbio-conservation-relevance-and-implications ``` ## Supplementary resources - [`../../resources/external_tools.md`](../../resources/external_tools.md) — reference managers and typesetting - [`../../resources/official-source-map.md`](../../resources/official-source-map.md) — word/abstract caps, Style Guide, IMRAD, title rules --- **Source:** [`brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills`](https://github.com/brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills) → `Conservation-Biology-Skills/skills/conbio-writing-style/SKILL.md`