Academic Writing for Publication

6. Top tips: preparing the manuscript

List 2 in the previous section has highlighted specific preparation of your text for submission to your chosen journal as an integral part of your academic writing. Not preparing it according to the journal's specification, can mean your work is immediately rejected before even being read.

Preparing your manuscript prior to submission will require you to follow a journal's checklist but be aware that every journal will have a slightly different checklist to follow.

Identifying and following a journal's specific requirements is crucial.

Your selections from the previous section are highlighted below and show you are confident that your writing:

is logically planned and structured

is correct

identifies the importance of the topic

demonstrates your knowledge of the topic

provides balanced, unbiased information, clearly and concisely

includes relevant, contemporary evidence to support my opinions

is potentially of interest to other people

includes what makes it important for publication

gives a new perspective on the topic or moves the discussion in a new direction

is your own work (also applies to work written in collaboration with others).

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See how the points you selected in the previous section match with ours, as you plan your manuscript:

consultation and discussion with research team members the subject for the literature review

define objectives (require originality), study protocol (optimal methodology and statistical analysis), and novelty (importance to field)

perform study and collect data

Statistical analysis of results

Discuss with research team the probable results to publish (i.e., the core message)

Short list of possible journals to publish in

Read Guide for Authors of proposed first journal

Agree type of paper (e.g. regular or short)

Convert most results into figures and tables

Decide final results to publish via agreement with research team

Decide which articles to cite

Create working (draft) title to manuscript

Write abstract and select best keywords as per journal guide

Write introduction

Describe method(s) clearly enough to allow for reproducibility

Present and discuss all results shared with readers with final conclusions and future directions

Decide whether any extra data should be included in the Supplement, or where possible, in a linked Data micro-article

Export references list from citations database into journal style

Agree co-authors sequence from research team

Reread Guide for Authors and ensure whole manuscript complies (e.g., highlights, graphical abstract etc..)

Polish entire manuscript into good English style and circulate to research team for review

Finalise Title and ensure all authors agree with final version of manuscript to be submitted

Prepare motivated covering letter to editor, indicating disclosures, and possible referees

Prepare to submit manuscript to chosen journal...

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