AUTHOR GUIDE

How To Write and Prepare Your Technical Paper

Copyright 2003, Society of Petroleum Engineers Inc.

This guide provides the basics for preparing your paper either for presentation
and distribution as part of an SPE-sponsored meeting, submission for review as
an unsolicited manuscript, or for final peer-approval and possible publication. For
further information, contact the SPE Technical Publications Dept., P.O. Box
833836, Richardson, TX 75083-3836 U.S.A., (phone) 01-972-952-9393, (fax) 01-
972-952-9435, or (e-mail) tech-prog@spe.org.

Foreword
Authors present hundreds of technical papers on many
subjects at SPE conferences each year. Many of these are
subsequently published in the Societys periodicals, which are
the Journal of Petroleum Technology, SPE Journal, SPE
Drilling & Completion, SPE Production & Facilities, and SPE
Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering.
These guidelines are designed to help you prepare a
manuscript for presentation at an SPE conference and/or
publication in an SPE peer-approved publication. The
following additional guidelines are available for downloading
(PDF format) on the SPE website or may be requested from
the SPE Book Order Dept.
1. SPE Symbols Standard
2. SPE Metric Standard
3. SPE Publications Style Guide

Organizing Your Paper
General. These hints will help you in planning your technical
manuscript:
1. Define the audience before you begin writing. How you
present your ideas depends largely on who is reading or
listening.
2. Choose your words carefully, avoiding both slang and
technical jargon. Use simple terminology and sentences that
convey a single thought.
3. Organize your thoughts to point readers to a logical
conclusion. Outline the topics you want to cover. Prepare a
first draft to improve readability and to remove unnecessary
words and phrases.
4. Get an impartial opinion on your manuscript from
someone who is not involved with the work but who
represents your prospective audience. Ask for specific
suggestions on how to improve readability.
Note: Either customary or SI metric units of measure may
be used in the paper, but please use one or the other consist-
ently rather than a combination. A conversion factor table at
the end of your paper should list the factors necessary to
convert from one system of units to another.

Outline. Proper organization should lead the reader through
your supporting data and theories to a logical conclusion. The
following outline generally applies to SPE papers
Title. The title should be concise, attract attention, and
highlight the main point of your paper. Below the title, include
the full names and company affiliations of all authors and
indicate SPE membership.
Abstract. Use an abstract of about 50 words to summarize
the paper, stating significant new information and conclusions.
Introduction. Outline the problem and briefly explain the
solution.
Statement of Theory and Definitions. Explain theory,
define terms, describe test procedures used, and outline any
problems peculiar to the subject.
Description and Application of Equipment and
Processes. Tell how the equipment was used and how tests
were conducted. Describe any unusual test procedure(s) and
discuss the development of experimental equipment, with
illustrations if possible. Evaluate the equipment and its
applications.
Presentation of Data and Results. Present results in the
clearest form, whether it be text, figures, or tables. Use the text
to provide essential information on figures. Be sure to define
all terms in the text and in figures and tables. Interpret clearly
the data your are presenting.
Conclusions. State directly and briefly your conclusions
and the utility of these conclusions. All conclusions should be
supported by data presented in the paper.
Acknowledgments. Briefly cite or acknowledge special
help from individuals or organizations.
Nomenclature. If you use symbols, define them in a
formal Nomenclature at the end of the text. Symbols should
conform to the SPE Symbols Standard and be listed
alphabetically.
References. References should be numbered in the order
they are cited in the text and listed in number order, not
alphabetically. Information should be as complete as possible
and in the following order: 1) reference number; 2) authors
last names and initials; 3) title of paper or article in quotation
marks or title of book in italics; 4) publication in which the
article appears in italics; 5) name of publisher and city where
AUTHOR GUIDE
2 HOW TO WRITE AND PREPARE YOUR SPE TECHNICAL PAPER AUTHOR KIT
the publisher is located (for books only); and 6) date of publi-
cation, volume number in bold face, and beginning page.

Examples follow.

Reference to an article in a journal.
1. Gidley, J.L. et al.: Effect of Proppant Failure and Fines
Migration on Conductivity of Propped Fractures, SPEPF
(Feb. 1995) 20.

Reference to a book.
1. Craft, B.C. and Hawkins, M.: Applied Petroleum Reservoir
Engineering, second edition, Prentice-Hall Inc., Engle-
wood Cliffs, NJ (1991) 300.

Reference to a paper presented at a meeting but not published
in a journal.
1. Omre, H. et al.: Calcite Cementation: Description and
Production Consequences, paper SPE 20607 presented at
the 1990 SPE Annual Technical Conference and
Exhibition, New Orleans, Sept. 2326.

Appendix. Use appendices for mathematical derivations
and supporting material too detailed to include in the body of
the paper. Designate multiple appendices as Appendix A,
Appendix B, etc.
Tables: Tables should be used only if they present
information more effectively than running text. All tables
should be cited in the body of the paper. Number tables
sequentially as they appear in the paper. In appendices, do not
continue the numbering sequence from the body of the paper,
but number tables by Appendix and numeric sequence, i.e.,
Table A-1, Table A-2, Table B-1, etc.
Figures. All figures should be cited in the body of the
paper. The following guidelines are useful in preparing figures
that convey your message clearly.
1. Make your figures as simple as possible.
2. Use horizontal orientation.
3. Use only as many grid lines as necessary to illustrate
your point.
4. Although dual units (customary and SI metric units) are
not required, you may want to present dual scales of measure
on keys and axes.
5. Number figures sequentially as they are mentioned in
the paper. In appendices, do not continue the numbering
sequence from the body of the paper. Instead, number the
figures Fig. A-1, Fig. A-2, Fig. B-1, etc. Provide brief but
descriptive captions for all figures.
6. Use a minimum of ordinate and abscissa values so they
do not run together.
7. Do not submit graphs that depend on color for their
meaning. Technical papers are printed in black and white only.
8. Ensure that all lines in the figure are of the same
intensity and that all the figures have matching intensities.
Note: gray and blue do not print as well as black.

Commercialism
Material of a commercial nature is unacceptable in a technical
paper. Often, generic descriptions can replace trade names.
Also, authors should avoid making claims that are not clearly
supported by the data presented in the paper.

Publishing Your Paper
Meeting Papers. Upon author request, the Editorial Review
Committee will consider papers initially presented at SPE-
sponsored meetings for peer approval. Editorial review cannot
begin until a signed Transfer of Copyright Form is received
from each author or, if the work was done within the scope of
the authors employment, a signed copyright by a Manager,
Director, or other company official for the employee will
be accepted.

Unsolicited Papers
The Editorial Review Committee regularly reviews unsolicited
manuscripts (those not previously presented at an SPE
meeting) that are on topics covered by the Societys journals
and that have not been published elsewhere. Manuscripts may
be prepared following the enclosed guidelines on
Formatting Your SPE Paper for Conference Proceedings.
Handwritten manuscripts will be returned unreviewed. Review
cannot begin until a signed Transfer of Copyright Form is
received from each author or, if the work was done within the
scope of the authors employment, a signed copyright by a
Manager, Director, or other company official for the employee
will be accepted.

Review
The Editorial Review Committee bases peer-review decisions
on the consensus of committee members and on written
reviews received from industry, government, and academic
experts. Reviewers follow specific guidelines approved by the
Societys Board of Directors. Reviewers remain anonymous
and are expected to hold their comments, suggestions, and
other review contributions in confidence both during and after
the review. The committee generally provides decisions four
(4) to seven (7) months after review begins.
You will receive a written peer-review decision. Few
papers are approved without change. The committee will
usually specify revisions necessary for final peer approval
along with a recommended length (pages).
Authors whose papers are declined for peer approval may
appeal the Editorial Review Committees decision. Appeals
must be made in writing and should provide a detailed
response to each objection to the paper. The committee allows
only one appeal of a decline decision. SPE will return to the
authors of declined papers that portion of the copyright that
will enable one-time publication in a non-SPE journal.
If you are invited to revise your paper for peer approval,
send three copies of the revised manuscript along with a cover
letter that discusses changes made in response to reviewer
comments and your reasons for not addressing any reviewer
comments that were not addressed. Editorial Review
AUTHOR GUIDE
AUTHOR KIT HOW TO WRITE AND PREPARE YOUR SPE TECHNICAL PAPER 3
Committee members will re-examine the revised manuscript
for compliance with previously specified revisions and paper
length, as well as for continued timeliness of the technology
(for papers that take more than 6 months to revise) before final
approval for publication is given.
Further information on publishing your paper is available
from the Technical Publications Dept. at tech-prog@spe.org.

Electronic Submittal
All papers presented at SPE meetings and submitted for
review or publication must be accompanied by the electronic
version of the paper, including all tables and figures. For
information and tips on preparing the electronic version
of your paper, please see the enclosed guidelines,
Formatting Your SPE Paper for Conference Proceedings.

Recommended Writing Aids
1. Bernstein, T.M.: The Careful Writer A Modern Guide to
English Usage, Athenueum Publishers, New York City
(1983).
2. Strunk, W. Jr. and White, E.G.: Elements of Style, The
Macmillan Co., New York City (1979) 2730.
3. The Chicago Manual of Style, U. of Chicago Press,
Chicago (1982).