101 PRS Proofreading and Editing Service PhD Experts • All Academic Areas • Fast Turnaround • High Quality them via those keywords, and in your abstract in particular you have a lot of room to include essential terms through which your potential readers might search for information of the very kind that your paper presents. So choose the words you use in your abstract and title with the same care and eye to searchability as you do the keywords themselves. The number of keywords recommended or allowed is almost always indicated in journal guidelines, with three usually being the minimum and five to eight the maximum. Some journals will want you to list your keywords alphabetically, separate them with commas or semi-colons, use an initial capital on each term or not, and otherwise format them in particular ways, so consult the instructions before finalising your list. Acronyms are usually acceptable as keywords, especially if the acronym is well known or is likely to be used as a search word by the readers you’re targeting, but connective words (e.g., ‘and,’ ‘or,’ ‘between,’ etc.) are often frowned upon because they serve little purpose and can vary considerably in the phrases used as search tools, which means that they can potentially hinder instead of helping potential readers when they are searching for papers just like yours. By choosing appropriate keywords and using them effectively in other parts of your paper, you increase the possibility of your paper being more widely read and cited and thus increase your chances of achieving the effect you would wish for your article. At the same time, you help increase the readers and ratings of the journal that has published your paper, which makes for a win-win situation (see also Section 2.1.2 above). PARt III: commUnIcAtIng wItH JoURnAl edItoRs: sUBmIssIon, AccePtAnce, RevIsIon And ReJectIon