Instructions for the Preparation of Division Abstracts

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Division meeting abstracts must be submitted on diskette to facilitate rapid posting to APSnet. This posting method ensures that Division meeting abstracts can be published online well in advance of final print publication in the annual Abstracts Supplement to Phytopathology. For diskette preparation of abstracts, some changes in procedure are necessary.

1) Character count limit. Maximum of 1,140 characters, including title, author(s), affiliation(s), and text, but not including spaces between words. Most word processing applications provide statistics on characters used in a file. Experiment to determine if your word processing application counts spaces as characters.

2) Use ASCII text only. ASCII is the only viable submission format for posting on APSnet. For consistency and accuracy we require that submission on diskette be in the ASCII text form as well. ASCII text includes all normal upper- and lowercase alphanumerics and common punctuation available on your keypad. Symbols, non ASCII characters: All symbols (Greek, math, etc.) must be spelled out. If your abstract requires repetitive use of a particular symbol you may want to define it once and later represent the symbol with a character in parentheses. For example: degrees(o) F.

Bold, Italic styling. As ASCII does not support bold and italic styles, a provision has been made for this formatting. Italic words or phrases must be enclosed by start and stop coding like this: <i>words</i>. Bold words or phrases must be enclosed by the coding <b>words</b>. A bold italic word would be coded as follows: <b><i>words</i></b>. Note that there are no spaces between the coding and the words or phrases you wish to style. Note also there should not be any spaces within the coding brackets. Text formatted correctly in this manner will appear correctly formatted in print and on APSnet. Coding for bold and/or italic will not count toward the character limit.

Author affiliations. Use numerals and parentheses to code author affiliations. For an example, see the sample below. Superscripts, subscripts: ASCII does not support these characters. To indicate a superscript or subscript enclose the characters in parentheses. A superscript character should be indicated by a caret inside the parentheses preceding the character; for example, E = MC(^2). A subscript character should enclosed by parentheses, for example H(2)O.

3) Font or typeface: Use a common text font such as Times, Times New Roman, Helvetica, or Courier to type your text.

4) Additional instructions: Identify the presenter by typing the name in ALL CAPS. Use initials for first and middle names with no space between initials. Use a hard return to separate the title and authors/affiliations from the text of the abstract. The sample below uses the instructions listed above.

5) Save the file as text (.txt), rich text (.rft), or as a Microsoft WORD or WordPerfect document. Use the speakers name to name the file(s). Please label the diskette clearly with the file name(s) and the computer platform (IBM or Mac). Diskettes will not be returned.

6) Submit abstract form, diskette, and a printout of the abstract to the Division meeting organizer with a check for $45 payable to the American Phytopathological Society.

Sample Abstract

<b>Code the title of the abstract to appear in bold.</b> I.M. DEWRIGHT(1), E.Z. Doesit(2), L.M. Press(2). (1)Dept. Plant Pathology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164; (2)Dept. Plant Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721.

The abstract should be carefully written to stay within the maximum limit of 1,140 characters. An abstract should contain the usual components of good presentation: a description of the problem, methodology, results, and a concluding statement. The abstract should be concise with just enough information to introduce your subject and generate interest. In the past, abstract text had to fit within a blue box printed in the abstract form. Now, the character limit ensures that the abstract will fit the prescribed space for a consistent and economical printing of the annual meeting abstract book and again in <i>Phytopathology </i>. The ASCII format ensures that the abstract will appear correctly on APSnet. Abstracts are posted on APSnet well before the print publication of the abstract supplement to Phytopathology journal. Note that the coding for italics that surround the name of the journal <i>Phytopathology </i> will make that word italicized in print and on the Internet. This sample is 1,104 characters not counting spaces or the coding for bold and italic formatting.