Citation Styles for the Sciences

All illustrations, such as drawings, graphs, and photographs, are considered figures. GSA has specific guidelines for creating figures.

Lines and Labels in Graphs, Maps and Legends

• Use clean black lines between 1 point and 2 points.
• Include latitude and longitude, a north arrow, and a scale in kilometers when using maps.
• All axes and lines must be labeled on graphs.
• General titles of figures should appear in the figure caption, not in the figure itself.

Lettering

• Use sans serif typeface (such as Arial or Helvetica).
• Lettering must be between 7 point and 12 point type size.
• Avoid the use of boldface lettering.

Figure Captions

• Label each caption with the figure number.
• Explain all symbols and abbreviations used in the figure or refer to a previous figure that explains them.
• Label figure parts with letters and use those letters, in parentheses, to separate parts of the caption.

Tables should replace text, not duplicate it. When numbering your tables, keep in mind:

• The numbering scheme should reflect each table's physical location in the paper.
• Tables in the main text start with "Table 1"
• Tables in the appendix start with "Table A1"