science-aaas

Science Family Journals

Workflow

1. Identify the exact journal and article type, open its current author guidelines, and fill in the limits table below. Never rely on remembered limits.
2. Check whether a format-free first submission is allowed. If it is, spend effort on content and mandatory statements rather than layout.
3. Restructure the manuscript into the venue's front matter and sections (see below).
4. Prepare the required statements, figures and supplementary files.
5. Run the checklist, then assemble the submission package: manuscript, source files, figures, declarations and cover letter.

Verify first (mandatory)

Open the current instructions for the exact journal and article type (Science: https://www.science.org/content/page/instructions-preparing-initial-manuscript and the research-article instructions linked from https://www.science.org/journal/science; Science Advances has its own instructions). Record the limits before editing:

Item	Limit (fill in from the instructions)
Abstract length
Main text length, figures/tables, references for this article type
One-sentence summary / teaser requirements
Structured abstract (Research Article) requirements
Supplementary Materials rules

Article types (Science)

• Research Article: the full-length format. A structured summary may be required at acceptance.
• Report: shorter format for a single, important finding. Tight limits on text, figures and references.
• Reviews, Perspectives and Policy Forum are usually commissioned or proposed first.

Science Advances is open access with more generous length. Its structure is closer to a conventional IMRaD paper, so check its specific template.

Writing for Science

• The first paragraph must make a general scientific reader care. Minimize jargon and define terms.
• The abstract states the context, the finding and its significance. No references.
• One-sentence summary/teaser: a plain-language statement of the main finding (check length).
• Main text in continuous prose with brief subheadings. Methods are often in the Supplementary Materials (Materials and Methods). Check the article type.
• Figures: few and dense. Legends begin with a short title and describe n, statistics and error bars.

References and notes

Science uses numbered references in order of citation, with notes and references in one numbered list in its traditional style. References cited only in the Supplementary Materials may have special rules. Use the Science CSL style or the template's bibliography style. Don't hand-format.

Required elements (commonly)

• Acknowledgments with funding, author contributions, competing interests, and data and materials availability (all data needed to evaluate the conclusions must be available in the paper, the SM, or a public repository with accession numbers).
• Supplementary Materials as a single PDF (Materials and Methods, supplementary text, figures S1..., tables S1...), plus separate files for large data or movies.
• Statistics reported with n, test, and exact P values or intervals.
• Ethics approvals, trial registration, and code availability where relevant.
• Preprint disclosure (Science allows preprints on recognized servers; disclose at submission).

Initial submission

Science accepts initial submissions in a simpler format, and full formatting is often required only on revision. Check the "initial manuscript" instructions. Include a cover letter that states significance for a broad audience (see cover-letter-to-editor) and suggested referees.

Related skills

abstract-and-title, cover-letter-to-editor, reproducibility-statement, venue-templates, scientific-visualization, rebuttal-and-response-to-reviewers.