cc-writing-style

Writing Style & Claim Calibration (cc-writing-style)

When to trigger

• The Results read like a lab notebook rather than a mechanistic narrative
• The Discussion overstates therapeutic / clinical impact
• Claims outrun the evidence (single-system conclusions stated broadly)
• Nomenclature, tense, or section structure are inconsistent with Cell Press

Cell Press article structure (narrative roles)

Section	Role
Summary	One-paragraph mechanistic arc (see cc-structured-abstract)
Introduction	Concise; the gap and the hypothesis, not a textbook review
Results	The mechanistic story, figure by figure, each claim tied to data
Discussion	Interpretation, limitations, and calibrated translational implications
STAR Methods	Structured methods + Key Resources Table (see cc-reporting-standards)

Results: write the mechanism as a story

• Open each Results subsection with the question/claim, then the evidence, then the conclusion.
• Each paragraph maps to a figure/panel; every assertion cites a panel.
• Foreground causality and orthogonal validation ("loss of X reduced Y in cells and in PDX tumors") over a list of assays.
• Use past tense for what was done/found; present tense for established facts.

Claim calibration (the signature Cancer Cell discipline)

Match verb strength to evidence strength:

Evidence	Acceptable verb
Correlation in human data	"associated with," "correlates with"
Perturbation in cells	"promotes," "is required for" (in this system)
In vivo perturbation	"drives," "is necessary in vivo"
In vivo efficacy + human data	"represents a therapeutic vulnerability"

• Do not call a target "therapeutic" without in vivo efficacy and/or human evidence.
• Distinguish "necessary" from "sufficient"; do not conflate the two.
• State limitations explicitly (model caveats, single-cohort findings) — reviewers reward candor.
• Avoid "novel," "first," "unprecedented," "proves"; let the data carry the weight.

Nomenclature & house style

• Use approved gene/protein nomenclature (HGNC for human, MGI for mouse); italicize genes, roman for proteins; correct species capitalization (human BRCA1 vs mouse Brca1).
• Define each abbreviation once; keep terminology consistent across text, figures, and front matter.
• Cite using the Cell Press reference style (verify current format); reference key prior work fairly.
• Active voice and direct sentences; avoid hedging chains ("might possibly suggest").

Checklist

• Introduction is concise and ends on a clear hypothesis/gap
• Each Results paragraph maps to a figure and states claim → evidence → conclusion
• Causality and orthogonal validation are foregrounded
• Verbs match evidence level; no therapeutic claim without in vivo/human support
• "Necessary" vs "sufficient" used correctly
• Discussion states limitations and calibrated implications
• Gene/protein nomenclature and species formatting correct and consistent
• Hype words removed; tense usage consistent

Anti-patterns

• Results as an assay catalog with no narrative thread
• Overstated translational/therapeutic claims beyond the data
• Conclusions generalized from a single system
• "Novel/first/unprecedented/proves" sprinkled throughout
• Inconsistent gene nomenclature or species capitalization
• A Discussion with no limitations paragraph

Output format

【Results narrative】claim→evidence→conclusion per subsection? Y/N
【Claim calibration】overstated verbs flagged: [...]
【Therapeutic claims】backed by in vivo/human? Y/N
【Limitations】present in Discussion? Y/N
【Nomenclature】gene/protein/species correct & consistent? Y/N
【Hype words】removed? Y/N
【Next step】cc-cover-letter or cc-submission