CHAPTER 16

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Tables
Betsy Kulamer

his chapter presents guidelines for preparing the tables that

accompany a scientic paper for publication. Tables are
handled in many ways like gures, so this chapter focuses on the ways in which
tables are different and briey discusses the preparation of tables using wordprocessing programs.

When To Use Tables

Use tables when the data cannot be presented clearly as narrative, when many
precise numbers must be presented, or when meaningful interrelationships can
be better conveyed by the tabular format. Tables should supplement, not duplicate, text and gures. (If you are not sure whether you need a table or gure,
see Box 15-1.) Examples of material that is best handled as narrative in text are
results of IR absorption and NMR chemical shift studies, unless they are major
topics of discussion. In many instances, one table with representative data, rather
than several tables, is all that is needed to convey an idea.

How To Cite Tables

Like gures, all tables must be called out, that is, mentioned or discussed by
name and number in the text.
Capitalize the word Table when it is followed by the table number.
Number tables sequentially with arabic or roman numerals, depending on
the publications style, in order of discussion in the text: Table 2 or Table IV.
Copyright 2006 American Chemical Society
In The ACS Style Guide; Coghill, A., et al.;
The ACS Style Guide; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2006.

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Discuss tables sequentially, so that Table 1 is discussed before Table 2, Table 2

before Table 3, and so on.

For good examples of a callout in text, see Chapter 15, Figures, pp 345346.

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How To Prepare Tables

There are two kinds of tables: informal (or in-text) and formal. An informal table
consists of three to ve lines and is no more than four columns wide; it cannot
exceed the width of a text column. Informal tables may be placed in text following an introductory sentence, and each column should have a heading. They are
not given titles or numbers, nor do they contain footnotes.
A formal table should consist of at least three interrelated columns and three
rows. If you have only two columns, try writing the material as narrative. If you
have three columns, but they do not relate to each other, perhaps the material is
really a list of items and not a table at all (see the discussion of lists at the end
of this chapter). If your table has unusual alignment and positioning requirements, perhaps it should really be a gure. It is important to understand these
differences because tables are more expensive to produce than text; the larger
the table, the higher the cost. A well-constructed, meaningful table is worth the
expense, but anything else is wasteful and does not enhance your paper.
Tables should be simple and concise; arrange all data for optimal use of space.
If you have many small tables, consider combining some. Combining is usually
possible when the same column is repeated in separate tables or when the same
type of material is presented in several small tables. Use consistent wording for
all elements of similar or related tables. Be consistent with symbols and abbreviations among tables and between tables and text.
The table width will depend on the widths of its individual columns.
Generally, tables having up to 6 columns will t in a single journal col-

umn; tables having up to 13 columns will t in the double-column spread.

Tables that exceed the double-column spread will be rotated 90 and set
lengthwise on the page.
In books, tables having up to 8 columns can t in the page width; tables
having 912 columns will be set lengthwise on the page. Larger tables can
span two pages.
In all publications, extremely wide tables can cause composition difculties.
In such cases, consider presenting the material as two or more smaller tables.
The style for the individual parts of tables (i.e., the use of capital and low-

ercase letters and whether the entries are centered or ush left) varies among
publications. Consult a recent edition of the journal or the journals instructions
for authors.

In The ACS Style Guide; Coghill, A., et al.;

The ACS Style Guide; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2006.

Chapter 16: Tables

371

Keep sections of multipart tables at similar widths. Widely divergent section

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widths within a table waste space and detract from general appearance.
Effective tables are well-designed, so think carefully, first, about the data you need
to present and, second, about the best way to present it visually on a page. Sometimes, what looks fine on a letter-size sheet of paper is not practicable for a journal
or book page. Sometimes, what you originally conceived as the column headings
works better as the row headings. (In general, you should have more row headings
than column headings.) Understanding the parts of a table will help you design
your tables effectively; they are identified in Figure 16-1.

Title
Give every formal table a brief, informative title that describes its contents

in nonsentence format. The title should be complete enough to be understood

without referring to the text. Place details in table footnotes, not in the title.
Begin the table title with the word Table and its number, and then continue

with the title.

Column Headings
Every column must have a heading that describes the material below it. A column heading should not apply to the entire table; information that describes all
of the columns belongs in a general table footnote. If a column heading applies
to more than one column, use a rule below it that spans the columns to which
it applies; this is called a straddle rule. Below the rule, give the specic headings
for each column. A unit of measure alone is not an acceptable column heading,
unless the column heading appears under a straddle rule.
Be as succinct as possible, keep column headings to two lines if possible, and

use abbreviations and symbols whenever practical.

Be consistent with the text and with other column headings.
Dene nonstandard abbreviations in table footnotes. Name the variable being

measured, and indicate the unit of measure after a comma or slash or within
enclosing marks. Use the same style within and among all tables.

Column Entries
In many tables, the leftmost column is the stub or reading column. Usually, all
other columns refer back to it. Stub entries should be consistent with the text as
well as logical and grammatically parallel. Main stub entries may also have subentries, which should be indented.

In The ACS Style Guide; Coghill, A., et al.;

The ACS Style Guide; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2006.

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The ACS Style Guide

Column Table
headings title

Stub column

Straddle head

Table 2. Conditioned WRA and Mechanical Strength of Plain-Weave Cotton

Fabric Treated with Different Cross-Linking Agentsa
Cross-Linker
Concentration

WRA (deg, w + f) No.

Catalyst
Curing of Laundering Cycles Flex Abrasion Retention
Concentration Condition 1
5
10 20
(no. of cycles, warp)

Unmodified

Table text

Dried

2% NaH2PO2

180 C,
1.5 min

273 261 261 260

309

Soaked

3% NaH2PO2

182 C,
1.3 min

274 260 260 262

310

6% BTCA

4% NaH2PO2

180 C,
1.5 min

287 276 273 270

148

10.5% modified precatalyzed

DMDHEU

165 C,
1.5 min

278 273 269 264

68

control

180 C,
1.5 min

190

Modified

Table
footnote

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8% PMA

868

a
The concentrations of PMA, BTCA, and NaH2PO2 are calculated on the basis of 100% active ingredient; the concentration of DMDHEU is based on the weight of the commercial product, which contains 55% solid. The wet pickup of the treated fabric is approximately 105110%.

Figure 16-1. Parts of a table.

Source: Adapted from Chen, D.; Yang, C. Q.; Qiu, X. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2005, 44, 79217927. Copyright 2005
American Chemical Society.

Material in columns can be aligned in various ways; use only one type of

alignment per column. Words are usually aligned on the left, and numbers are
usually aligned on the decimals, unless they do not have the same units, in which
case they are aligned on the left. Use numbers on both sides of a decimal point;
numbers less than 1 should have a zero to the left of the decimal point. Columns
that are made up of numbers and words together or columns that contain a variety of sizes or types of information might call for alignment on the left, right, or
center, depending on the publications style.
Do not use ditto marks or the word ditto to indicate the same entry in a

column; repeat the entry.

Dene nonstandard abbreviations in table footnotes.
Try to keep all entries at similar lengths by placing any explanatory material

in table footnotes. If you use a dash as a column entry, explain it in a footnote the
rst time it is used (e.g., , too low to be measured.).
Make sure that all of the columns are really necessary. If there are no entries

in most of a column, it probably should be deleted and replaced with a general

In The ACS Style Guide; Coghill, A., et al.;

The ACS Style Guide; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2006.

Chapter 16: Tables

373

table footnote. Alternatively, if the entries in the entire column are the same, the
column should be replaced with an appropriate table footnote, such as In all
cases, the value was x.

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Footnotes
Table footnotes include explanatory material referring to the whole table and to
specic entries. Examples of information that should be placed in general footnotes referring to the whole table are the following: units of measure that apply
to all entries in the table, explanations of abbreviations and symbols used frequently throughout the table, details of experimental conditions if not already
described in the text or if different from the text, general sources of data, and
other literature citations.
Information that should be placed in specic footnotes includes units of measure that are too long to t in the column headings, explanations of abbreviations
and symbols used with only one or two entries, statistical signicance of entries,
experimental details that apply to specic entries, and different sources of data.
In some publications, such as books, general footnotes and sources are not
cited with superscripts; they are labeled Note and Source, respectively. Specic footnotes are cited with superscripts. In other publications, all footnotes are
cited with superscripts. Check the directions for the publication to which you are
submitting your paper.
Where superscripts are needed, use superscript lowercase italic letters in alpha-

betical order, starting from the top of the table and proceeding from left to right.
Write footnotes as narrative and use standard punctuation. Short phrases

such as ND, not determined. and x = 23. are acceptable.

Label each footnote with its superscript letter and group the footnotes together

at the end of the table. All footnotes must have a callout in the table title or text.

Using Word-Processing Software

When you prepare your tables using word-processing software, a few techniques
ensure a smoother transition to either Web or print publication.
In Microsoft Word or WordPerfect, use the softwares table feature, rather than
aligning columns using the tab key. Entries arranged with the table feature are more
likely to be properly aligned in publication than entries that have been tabbed.
Set up the table in 10 or 12 point type, although 8 point type can be used if

necessary. If you need to use type smaller than 8 points to t your table on a letter-size page, it probably will not t comfortably on a book or journal page.
Double-space the text in the table.

In The ACS Style Guide; Coghill, A., et al.;

The ACS Style Guide; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2006.

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The ACS Style Guide

When you use the table feature, put only one row of entries in each row of

the table. Do not put multiple entries in a single cell by using the hard return.
Avoid using hard returns to add space between rows of the table. If you wish

to show more space than is apparent with double-spacing, use the line formatting feature of the word-processing program instead.

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How To Submit Tables

If you follow the recommendations presented in this chapter, you should experience trouble-free submission of your tables. Keep the following points in mind:
Place formal tables after the references at the end of the text le, each on its

own page.
Place informal tables in place within the text.
Submit a printout of tables along with the printout of text if the publisher

requests one.
If a table must contain structures or other art or special symbols, or if a table

has special alignment and positioning requirements, be sure that these are evident on the printout.
Publishing with ACS: In manuscripts submitted to ACS journals through
Paragon, tables should always be embedded in the text document before
submission, that is, tables should not be submitted as separate les from
the text. Tables in manuscripts submitted through the Paragon Plus environment can be embedded in the text or supplied separately.

When To Use Lists

Sometimes you may need to give numerous examples of items, such as chemical
names. In such cases, if there are too many to run into the text, they can be set
as a list in some publications. Put the entries in alphabetical order, unless there
is a reason to do otherwise. A list of names is not truly a gure and not really a
table. Give the list an unnumbered title. In ACS journals, lists may be handled as
informal tables or even as charts.

potentially carcinogenic medicines

azacitidine
azathioprine
chloramphenicol
chlornaphazine

cyclophosphamide
cytarabine
dacarbazine
uorouracil

methotrexate
nitrofurazone
phenacetin
phenoxybenzamine

In The ACS Style Guide; Coghill, A., et al.;

The ACS Style Guide; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2006.