What would become of us if the deleatur did notexist, sighed the proofreader. José Saramago We not infrequently are compelled to refusepublication to an article which contains valuablefacts, but which is weighed down with so manyimperfections as to discourage one as does theporcupine from closer investigation. JAMAThe second quote, from a 1904 editorial in JAMA, certainly holds true today, but of course, editors do consider manuscripts that are poorly written but are of good science, although they may feel less confident about a paper’s content if the presentation is sloppy. Also, authors whose first language is not that of the journal should ...
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