Acknowledgement can be an important part of a paper too. Those who have in any way played an important role in assisting the accomplishment of the paper but not important enough to be one of the authors should be acknowledged in the manuscript.
Acknowledgement can include the the source of the research funds, your appreciation to people who have given you help in the accomplishment and the improvement of the manuscript.
Many authors, especially the Chinese authors cann't write the acknowledgewent part well. The major problem is to write the acknowledgement in very general words instead of specific aspects.
For example,
,
"the authors would like to acknowledge the assistance of XXX and XXX. The authors also acknowledge the assistance of XXX".
It will be better if the authors list the concrete assistance that the addressed people have provided.
Generally the acknowledgement should contain these parts : (1) the names of the people or the organizations you want to show your appreciation (if not a specific people, it can be a group of people); (2) the affiliation of the acknowledged people; (3)the concrete contents that you want to show your appreciation to them. Don’t just say thanks for their help (assistance, guidance). Try to be more specific. It can be fund support, material providing, field investiagation, assistance in experiment (or data analysis), manuscript improvement, language editing, and so on.
Several examples of acknowledgement:
Example One:
We thank Dr. XXX from Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Purdue University, and anonymous reviewers for their useful comments and language editing which have greatly improved the mansucript.
Example Two:
The authors wish to thank University of the Punjab, Lahore-Pakistan, for providing necessary financial assitance to Syed Amer to pursue his phD in Germany. The authors also like to thank the partial support from German Academic Exchange Service, Germany. The authors also would like to thank anonymous reviewers who gave valuable suggestion that has helped to improve the quality of the manuscript.
Example Three:
Support from numerous colleagues, friends and experts from Hunza is gratefully acknowledged. Funding was received from various generous grants from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, and support from the Aga Khan Development Network represented by past and present staff in lieu of many others is gratefully acknowledged. The article is dedicated to the mountain farmers of Hunza who have built the system that is unique and to be admired in its achievements and resilience.
Example Four:
The authors would like to thank Dr XXX, Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, CAS for field investigation and data statistical analysis.
Related link:
Write Your Thesis Acknowledgement As If You Are Acknowledging Receiving Your Academy Award