Publication
Pre-submission checklist
This page is the mirror of what the system actually checks. If it is on the first list, the software blocks submission until it passes, so there is no surprise at the other end.
Checked automaticallyBlocks submission
- Every required section is present and above its minimum length.
- The abstract is within the word limit.
- There are at least the minimum number of references.
- Every figure has a caption and alt text.
- Every figure is referenced somewhere in the body.
- No placeholder text is left anywhere in the document.
- Every listed co-author has accepted authorship.
- Author order has been explicitly saved.
- The contributions statement names every listed author.
These are cheaper for a machine to catch than for a reviewer to report, and every one of them has been the reason a real submission bounced.
Checked by a personFlagged for the reviewer
- Axes are labeled and units are stated.
- What the error bars represent is stated, not implied.
- Figures are legible at the size they will be read.
- Limitations are stated rather than avoided.
- The contributions statement matches what the paper describes.
- Anything presented or published elsewhere is disclosed.
One last read
Read your abstract on its own and ask whether it states what you found. An abstract that describes the procedure and stops is the single most common thing a reviewer sends back.